Weekend Forecast: 'Let's Be Cops', 'The Expendables 3', & 'The Giver'

Featured Stories - on August 13, 2014 by BoxOffice Staff

aug15.pngFollowing Let's Be Cops' Wednesday debut, The Expendables 3 and The Giver get in on the action starting Friday.

Let's Be Cops

PROS:

- R-rated comedies are hot at the box office in recent years, and Fox's marketing campaign has played up all the right notes.
- Stars Damon Wayans, Jr. and Jake Johnson are due for star-making roles following turns in previous comedy hits in film and television.
- Twitter and Flixster activity have been generally encouraging of late, topping Neighbors on both fronts.

CONS:

- Has it been enough time since 22 Jump Street for audiences to jump into another buddy "cop" comedy?
- Following the breakout success of Guardians and Turtles, there's only so much young adult audience to go around.
- Facebook buzz has been almost non-existent.

The Expendables 3

PROS:

- The first two film performed well overall at the box office, netting a combined $188 million domestically.
- Joining Stallone and crew this time are the likes of Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer, and Wesley Snipes.
- Facebook and Flixster activity stand out.

CONS:

- The piracy leak three weeks ago could have a noticeable effect on the film's performance. This is something a testbed film in regards to that issue.
- Twitter activity has trailed that of Hercules, a discouraging sign for a sequel versus a non-sequel.
- Three-quels tend to dip from their predecessors to begin with unless something fresh is brought to the table.

The Giver

PROS:

- The original 1993 novel was, and remains, acclaimed and quite popular.
- A relatively star-studded cast led by Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges.
- It wouldn't be unheard of for this to benefit in ticket sales for underage teens sneaking into Let's Be Cops.

CONS:

- As a Weinstein Co. release, awareness and marketing have left something to be desired compared to major studio releases.
- The young adult craze doesn't benefit everything (see The Host, The Mortal Instruments, etc.)
- A crowded market will further hold back breakout potential.

Check out our complete weekend forecast in the table below. 

Title Release Date Distributor Opening Weekend Domestic Total through Sunday, August 17
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) Aug 8, 2014 Paramount
 $26,000,000 $116,000,000
Guardians of the Galaxy Aug 1, 2014 Disney
 $24,000,000 $222,000,000
The Expendables 3
Let's Be Cops 		 Aug 15, 2014
Aug 13, 2014 		 Lionsgate
Fox		 $22,000,000
$21,000,000 		 $22,000,000
$31,000,000 
The Giver Aug 15, 2014 Weinstein Company
 $12,000,000 $12,000,000
Into the Storm Aug 8, 2014 Warner Bros. / New Line
 $7,300,000 $31,200,000
The Hundred-Foot Journey Aug 8, 2014 Disney / DreamWorks
 $6,800,000 $23,200,000
Lucy Jul 25, 2014 Universal
 $5,200,000 $107,500,000
Step Up All In Aug 8, 2014 Lionsgate / Summit
 $3,000,000 $12,300,000
Hercules (2014) Jul 25, 2014 Paramount
 $2,700,000 $68,800,000

Phil Contrino, Daniel Garris, Alex Edghill, and Shawn Robbins contributed to this report.

Tags: Let's Be Cops, The Giver, The Expendables 3, predictions

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