July 13, 2007
THE SCORECARD: 9 "expert" sources call for a robust $86.6M for 'Harry Potter'; 'Transformers' pegged at $35M
by Steve Mason
Each week, we round up the weekend box-office predictions of the so-called experts, including yours truly. The old show business adage "Nobody knows anything" is in full effect because, even by studying and poring over the tracking, the release plan, the screen counts and the reviews, and even after seeing the films, the movie-going public is still too fickle and unpredictable for this to be a science rather than an art.
Hopefully, this weekly feature will keep me, and the rest of the box office "authorities," humble and be instructive for Fantasy Moguls players.
Please note: Predictions are different from projections. Predictions are based on hunches. Projections, like the ones I will go online with tonight (Friday, July 13), are based on actual box office numbers. The numbers that I go online with tonight are the earliest Friday and weekend projections available anywhere, and they are generally quite accurate.
This week, we're posting the predictions of eight "expert" sources plus the Box Office Mojo Derby Averages (No predictions this week from Lee's Movie Info or Brandon Gray from Box Office Mojo.) Everyone agrees that Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros) will easily win the weekend, but the range is pretty wide. The average of the eight sources puts HP5 at $86.6M
Steve Mason, Fantasy Moguls
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $76M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $34M
World of KJ
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $72M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $33M
Gitesh Pandya, Box Office Guru
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $90M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $35M
Box Office Report
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $80M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $35M
Box Office Mojo Derby Averages
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $88.4M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $36.9M
Reagen Sulewski, Box Office Prophets
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $96.3M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $38.7M
Edward Douglas, Coming Soon Weekend Warrior
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $83.2M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $37M
Joshua Rich, Entertainment Weekly
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $99M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $36M
Box Office Psychics
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $95M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $30M
BOX OFFICE "EXPERT" PREDICTION AVERAGES
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) -- $86.6M
2. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) -- $35M
Note : Looks like it's 72 to 99 for HP. Make a prediction ? I did see 1 prediction for FF 2 2.2 million.