Jonwo

I do wonder how TriStar can bungle two films in a row from big name directors. I would imagine directors would be vary pitching any projects to them if they end up getting shafted.

Having two years between films might work to its advantage since WB have time to hype it up and grow its audience

I think they'll be disappointed with domestic but as long as overseas holds up then it'll be fine. Potter was more of a OS beast especially in its native U.K. And it's seems to doing very well in the U.K.

i still think they'll be five films as WB has a good relationship with JK Rowling and likely won't do anything as long as overseas delivers.

It was meant to come out this year!

I'm thinking $75-85m OW with slightly better legs than Godzilla, Beauty and the Beast is likely going to suck a lot of oxygen from the March releases. Power Rangers and King Arthur will be hit I imagine.

Opening between Tomb Raider and Ready Player One doesn't give it much room to have good legs

I do think Illumination needs to develop more original films, sequels and spin-offs are great but they need to mix it up a little. Hopefully 2019 has at least one original film. One project they had in development was a Dr Seuss biopic which would be interesting to see since it likely won't be targeting their usual demographic

The Lorax while successful in the US, didn't do great OS as Dr Seuss isn't as well known, they are doing The Grinch. I'm more willing to give Sing a shot because it' a good premise and also the fact it's Garth Jennings writing and directing instead of the usual Illumination team

I never realised the two Harry Potter films had weekend previews, wonder why they stopped doing it from the fourth film onwards? I imagine BFI IMAX will be number 1, Cineworld LS is playing it so OLS won't be number 1 but i imagine combined they would be.

BFI IMAX dominates again but Vue Westfield London to have 2 and 3 is impressive, Vue Westfield SC also has two entries. Surprising Cineworld LS' top entry wasn't Doctor Strange but I guess it's been out a while.

Inception did over £35m while Interstellar did £20m so I think £30m+ is doable

I think it's better to have a lot of big hits rather than one monster hit as it benefits attendance. The winners this year are Disney, Universal and WB but eOne have done exceptionally well beating Paramount and Sony with the success of The BFG and The Girl on the Train. We've seen a real rise of Studiocanal and eOne in the last few years. It'll be interesting to see what the big hitters are next year, Star Wars Episode VIII will likely be the number 1 film but I could see Guardians 2, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman and Justice League being very successful and Paddington 2 is also next year along with Despicable Me 3. My dark horse big hit is Dunkirk even though it's opening in July against the likes of Planet of the Apes and Spider-Man,

I imagine Warner Bros picked mid November as that is the slot for their tentpoles. Moving it up would require accelerating post production and I think they want a gap between Wonder Woman and Justice League.

£11m OW for a spin-off would be fantastic and on par with other YA films that have been in this slot and because it's an original story, I think legs might be slightly better if it's well received.

Warner Bros rarely open big releases on Tuesday or Wednesdays, The Legend of Tarzan was the only one that bucked that trend this year.

Bridget Jones was the same but that had the UK to bring most of the money

I think they need more than one film to reestablish themselves. It took WDAS a few films to get back where they are now

She's still making films but I think she took time off as she had another child at the end of 2014. She has a new film out called A United Kingdom which is released in the UK in two weeks and February in the US.

Currently I'm thinking: 1. La La Land 2. Manchester by the Sea 3. Live by Night 4. Fences 5. Moonlight 6. Silence 7. Loving 8. Lion 9. Jackie 10. Arrival

The first film wasn't even that big, I suspect it was only made so Cruise would do more Mission Impossible films, its budgeted so that it won't lose money and it'll make money from ancillaries

Arrival is a win for Paramount, since the film was independently financed and sold to various distributors, isn't the budget already recouped and Paramount only need to recoup the money they spent acquiring the rights plus P&A?

I think Warner Bros would be more than happy if it matches the sort of numbers done by Twilight and The Hunger Games. Not that £8-9m would be a bad OW but it would be the first time since 2008 that the mid November slot hasn't cracked £10m on OW.

It's strange that it didn't do as well on Thursday/Friday, it'll do well midweek as it'll have solid WOM. Fantastic Beasts is the only big release next week, I'm thinking £8-9m at the moment £10m+ wouldn't surprised me.

I do wonder if Paramount didn't already have Silence, would they have pushed this to December as an award player.