What a superhero movie could do



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Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman in the 1984 Wonder Woman movie.

Warner Bros.

Can a nostalgic superhero convince people to leave their couch and head to the theaters? Wonder Woman 1984 seeks to answer this question.

Movie theater owners are hoping the ‘Wonder Woman’ series, which arrives on Christmas Day, will attract a major demographic to theaters despite the steady rise in coronavirus cases.

But the ongoing pandemic is not their only concern. The same day that Wonder Woman 1984 hit the big screen, it will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

“Wonder Woman 1984 represents the first test of the simultaneous big screen / small screen release of a title of this size,” said Paul Dirgarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.

Box office analysts have differing opinions on the film’s performance at the domestic box office. “Wonder Woman 1984” performed poorly last weekend on its international debut, grossing around $ 38.5 million. It was well below the $ 60 million expected by the industry.

The film could face more difficulties in the United States and Canada given that only 34% of theaters are open. That’s about 2,000 theaters, according to a report from comscore.

“It’s hard to put a number on a potential opening weekend because there really isn’t a straightforward launch scenario,” Dergarabedian said. “And the biggest weekend since the outbreak of movie theater closures began in mid-March hasn’t even passed $ 10 million.”

It refers to “The Croods: A New Age”, an animated film by Dreamworks, which debuted during Thanksgiving. It had the highest opening for any movie released during the pandemic, a paltry $ 9.7 million. For the five days of Thanksgiving, it was $ 14.2 million.

There is still pent-up demand for “Wonder Woman 1984”. It might convince moviegoers to head to the big screen instead of watching the movie at home.

“We see Wonder Woman 1984 driving the strongest presale of tickets for any pandemic era movies to date, but I’m cautiously leaning towards over $ 10 million for the weekend given the number of times theaters are closing and the public has warned, ”said Shawn Robins, chief analyst at Boxoffice. com: “synchronous, simultaneous release”. “A figure closer to $ 15 million could be reached, but there is a lot of unpredictability about what to do at this time.”

Robbins said high-end displays like IMAX and Dolby Cinema would likely be one of the best places to play for a sequel because they offer better picture and sound quality. Private party rentals, where moviegoers rent a theater to a group of up to 20 friends and family, is also likely to generate a healthy share of the box office.

Over the past five years, the Christmas Day box office has grossed at least $ 80 million a day. Analysts agree that number will not appear this year.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said that in non-pandemic times, Wonder Woman 1984 could have opened between $ 100 million and $ 150 million. With so many theaters closed, the threat of coronavirus looming and the film becoming available on HBO Max, Bachter expects an opening of between $ 15 million and $ 25 million.

“Although many choose to stay home on these holidays and watch the film, fans and families in markets where they are safe and able to do so can appear in relatively reasonable numbers, even if they are far away. of what they would normally be for a superhero. The Magnificent Robbins said, “The Christmas Sequel.”

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Dreamworks Animation.

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