This weekend sees two high profile films set to do battle at the box office. Which one will come out on top? You might just be surprised with our prediction.
Pet Sematary is a remake of the classic 1989 horror film, itself an adaptation of the 1983 novel by Stephen King. The story of an ancient burial ground that has the power to bring the dead back to life, the film stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow, and is directed by the duo of Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. Pet Sematary is one of King’s scariest, darkest novels, and the original film is well-regarded, so it’s questionable just how necessary this remake is. However, the trailers have been hella scary, reviews have been ok, and King’s clout is huge at the moment, so the film should have a very strong debut weekend. Look for Pet Sematary to debut in first place with $45 million.
That means the new DC film, Shazam, is going to have to settle for second place. The Princess and I saw it a few weeks back, and it was excellent. It’s fun and thoughtful in its depiction of family, and gives us the most optimistic, joyful superhero character in forever; certainly none of the recent DC films have had that sense of glee. The closest any genre film comes lately would be Spider-Man: Homecoming, as both lead characters are both teenagers, but Shazam doesn’t have any of the gravitas that Peter Parker carries with him. Zachary Levi is simply outstanding in the title role, and the film is well worth seeing for families (though it does a get a bit too dark at times for little ones). The reset button on the DC films slate was reset with Aquaman, and Shazam continues on that solid path
However, while Shazam is getting great reviews and is worthy of them, I don’t feel a sense of urgency or excitement from audiences for it. That could be because Avengers: Endgame is taking up all the fan thought. It could also be that Shazam isn’t a top tier character. Whatever the reason, the film won’t be getting the sort of huge numbers in its opening weekend that we’ve come to expect for the superhero genre. Look for a second place debut with $43 million.
As for the rest of the top five, Dumbo will drop to third place with $19 million. Captain Marvel will be in fourth place with $13 million. Finally, new release The Best of Enemies will debut in fifth place with $7 million.
So, to recap, here are our predictions:
1) Pet Sematary – $45 million
2) Shazam – $43 million
3) Dumbo – $19 million
4) Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel – $13 million
5) The Best of Enemies – $7 million
Be sure to check back on Sunday to see our predictions!
