Hugh Jackman's 'The Wolverine' to Stop the Bleeding at the Box Office
Fox's "X-Men" superhero sequel is the weekend's lone wide opener and could hit $75M
Published: July 25, 2013 @ 12:18 pm
By Todd Cunningham
Fox's Hugh Jackman superhero sequel The Wolverine is a lock to win the box office this weekend in the $75 milion range, snaping a four-week run of high-priced summer flops. The only question: how high it will go?
Since Brad Pitts World War Z opened to a surprisingly strong $66 million on June 21, pricey blockbuster-wannabes White House Down, The Lone Ranger, Pacific Rim and "R.I.P.D. have all tnked in successive weeks.
So why will The Wolverine, which was converted to 3D and has a production budget of $115 million, succeed where they failed?
For one thing, as the only wide opener in a market-high 3,924 theaters, it will have the field largely to itself when it opens with late Thursday night showings. Last weeks No. 1 movie, the low-budget horror film The Conjuring, is the likely runner-up, but its looking at a three-day total in the $20 million range.
Fox President of Distribution Chris Aronson was about $10 million less bullish than the analysts, but he was confident.
Were set up with a relatively clear weekend, and thats precious in the summer time, he told
TheWrap, and it doesn't hurt that this is a really good movie.
Thanks to large part to Jackman, last seen on screen in "Les Miserables" as as Jean Valjean, "The Wolverine" should play well beyond Marvel Comics fans, of which there are plenty. (Jackman had a scene in "Movie 43," but no one saw that.)
This time the X-Man lands in Japan, where he encounters a crime syndicate and an old flame in Jean Grey (Famke Janssen).
Unlike the recent misfires, its a sequel -- the sixth in the X-Men film series -- and follows the events of 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand."
X-Men Origins: Wolverine opened to $85 million and went on to take in nearly $375 million worldwide in 2009. The new movie may not match the debut or domestic numbers of that one, but it should do better overseas. It's opening in most foreign countries this weekend, in Japan on Sept. 13 and in China once it gets a date.
The reviews are strong, particularly for a comic book movie, and it has a 74 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Of the recent misses, only Pacific Rim at 72 percent was over 50 percent. And as of Thursday morning, it was accounting for more than half the sales at online ticket broker Fandango.
The PG-13-rated superhero saga is departure for director James Mangold, who is coming off the Western 3:10 to Yuma and the comedy Knight and Day. Darren Aronofsky was originally set to direct back in 2010, but he left the project. Production was further delayed by 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan, where it was filming.
Mangold adapted Frank Miller and Chris Claremonts1982 limited series "Wolverine" with screenwriters Chris McQuarrie Scott Frank and Mark Bomback. Lauren Schuler Donner produced, along with Jackman.
