trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/PjZQNEN7SkkWovY_I4I11A2 content esgSubNav
In This List

'Hustlers' could tease a small breakout for STX, Jennifer Lopez

Blog

Broadcast deal market recap 2021

Blog

Europe: 5 key OTT trends to watch in 202

Blog

Price wars in India: Disney+ Hotstar vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

Blog

Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021


'Hustlers' could tease a small breakout for STX, Jennifer Lopez

STX Entertainment could hustle its way into a breakout over the weekend of Sept. 13, with an outside chance of scaring off horror blockbuster "It: Chapter 2" in its second weekend at the domestic box office.

The studio will distribute the true-life stripper comedy-thriller "Hustlers," led by Jennifer Lopez, which is being lauded by critics. Forecasters are calling for the film to be the best ever Lopez opening as well as the best STX opening, if it meets or beats expectations. BoxOffice.com puts it at $32 million, one of the higher forecasts. Deadline Hollywood shimmies down a little with a forecast range of $25 million to $30 million. Either of those would best Lopez's peak with "Monster-in-Law" at $23.1 million and STX's "Bad Mom" at $23.7 million. However, Variety believes the film will have to hustle hard to set those records, giving it a forecast range of $20 million to $26 million.

SNL Image"Hustlers" movie
Source: STX Entertainment

The film is based on a 2015 New York Magazine article that chronicled a group of Recession-era strippers that turned the tables on their wealthy patrons. Critics are leaning into the high-concept R-rated tale, giving it a 90% "fresh" rating on critical review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, as of 11:20 a.m. ET, Sept. 13, and some industry insiders are even talking about Oscar potential for Lopez's performance.

The title compares well to other conceptual crime comedies like "American Hustle" and "Ocean's 8," as well as stripper dramedy "Magic Mike," according to Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. A list of five comparisons saw an average opening near the bottom of forecasts for "Hustlers" at $23.4 million. That led to average revenue of $206.6 million and average net profits of $53.9 million. However, that was against an average production budget of $32.8 million; "Hustlers" only cost $20 million.

The horror sequel "It: Chapter 2" from AT&T Inc.'s Warner Bros. is expected to run a second weekend between $35 million and $45 million after its opening weekend brought in $91 million, according to forecasters.

This weekend, Warner Bros. also will drop novel adaptation "The Goldfinch," a mystery about a young man who loses his mother and turns to art forgery. BoxOffice.com and Variety give the moody story a shot at $7 million, with Variety believing it could go as high as $12 million. Deadline puts the title in the "mid-single digits" range for an opening.

Thematically, Kagan compares the title to other mystery thrillers like "Gone Girl" and "The Girl on the Train," but from a financial perspective it could land closer to fellow novel adaption and family drama "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." That would not bode well for Warner Bros. as that 2011 film opened to $10.0 million and belly flopped with a $69.4 million net loss, according to Kagan.

"The Goldfinch" had a 30% "rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes, as of 11:20 a.m. ET, Sept. 13.

SNL Image