More than a decade after moviegoers last saw George Clooney's character Danny Ocean mastermind daring crime heists on the big screen, a new "Ocean's" movie featuring Danny's sister is expected to steal box office glory for Warner Bros. over the June 8 weekend.
"Ocean's 8" Source: Warner Bros. |
The Time Warner Inc. studio is looking for a mid-$30 million opening gross for "Ocean's 8," roughly in line with the franchise's three previously male-led films, all of which proved profitable. Some forecasters suggest the new film could open above its predecessors. Most expect it to easily reach No. 1 with U.S. moviegoers over the June 8 weekend, with returning films "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and "Deadpool 2" sliding into second and third place, respectively, according to projections by BoxOffice.com.
The forecasting site offered a weekend gross expectation of $41 million for "Ocean's 8." On the conservative side, Variety projected an opening range of $33 million to $40 million. While some models estimate "Ocean's 8" opening over $40 million, Deadline Hollywood said that forecasts have been "wonky" lately. The "Solo" opening, for instance, came in about 30% below its most conservative estimates.
Boosting the odds for the new all-female ensemble film to turn a profit is its budget: "Ocean's 8," which features Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, cost about $70 million to produce, well below the $124.0 million spent to make the franchise's last film, "Ocean's Thirteen." The 2007 film exited theaters on an 18.2% profit margin, according to data from Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. The franchise's first film, 2001's "Ocean's Eleven," also produced for $70 million, generated a 28.7% profit margin for Warner Bros.
Critics are generally pleased with "Ocean's 8," which was running a 71% "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes as of 10 a.m. ET, June 8.
Horror flick "Hereditary" and action thriller "Hotel Artemis" are also debuting June 8; neither is expected to come close to the popularity of "Ocean's 8" or the top returning franchise titles over the weekend.
A24 Films' "Hereditary", which had a 93% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, follows other recent critically acclaimed independent horror films like "A Quiet Place" and "Get Out." However, forecasters generally predict an opening for "Hereditary" in the high single digits, which would put it below Kagan's comparison films. A24 Films' "The Witch," for instance, opened to $8.8 million in 2016 and ended with a loss margin of 30.1% despite its modest $3.5 million budget. A24 Films did not release a production budget for "Hereditary."
"Hotel Artemis" should come in roughly alongside "Hereditary" for its opening, according to Variety and Deadline. BoxOffice.com is particularly bearish, forecasting a $2.5 million opening for the title. A list of comparisons compiled by Kagan that included high-impact action titles like "John Wick" and "Dredd," saw an average opening of $8.2 million leading to an average loss margin of 38.0%. "Hotel Artemis" had a "rotten" 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes 10 a.m. ET, June 8.

