Weekend Predictions: 'Identity Thief' & 'Side Effects'
Featured Stories - on February 06, 2013 by BOXOFFICE Staff
Opening this weekend are director Seth Gordon's Identity Thief and director Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects.
Identity Thief
PROS:
- The casting of Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman should be very appealing given the former's increasing popularity since Bridesmaids and the latter's own fan base.
- Aside from the bombing of Movie 43, audiences haven't had an appealing R-rated comedy in awhile.
- Director Seth Gordon is on a roll after Horrible Bosses and Four Christmases became box office successes in 2011 and 2008, respectively.
- Social media tracking has been strong, and the film currently leads Fandango's Top 5 sellers.
CONS:
- With certain exceptions, comedies tend to be more about legs than a huge opening weekend.
- Bateman is not a consistent box office draw (see The Change-Up).
Side Effects
PROS:
- A strong cast including Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Mara Rooney, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
- Director Steven Soderbergh found success with similar thriller themes in Contagion.
CONS:
- Could be overshadowed by Identity Thief and the recent glut of thrillers in the market.
- The film is nowhere to be seen in Fandango's best five sellers as of Wednesday.
- Channing Tatum hasn't been featured prominently in much of the marketing.
Check out our predictions for these films and the remainder of the top 10 in the table below.
| Title | Release Date | Distributor | Opening Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identity Thief | Feb 8, 2013 | Universal |
$27,800,000 | $27,800,000 |
| Side Effects (2013) | Feb 8, 2013 | Open Road |
$13,200,000 | $13,200,000 |
| Warm Bodies | Feb 1, 2013 | Lionsgate / Summit |
$11,700,000 | $36,800,000 |
| Silver Linings Playbook | Nov 16, 2012 | Weinstein Company |
$7,000,000 | $90,100,000 |
| Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters | Jan 25, 2013 | Paramount |
$5,700,000 | $43,800,000 |
| Mama | Jan 18, 2013 | Universal |
$4,000,000 | $63,700,000 |
| Zero Dark Thirty | Dec 19, 2012 | Sony / Columbia |
$3,800,000 | $83,300,000 |
| Argo | Oct 12, 2012 | Warner Bros. |
$2,400,000 | $123,700,000 |
| Django Unchained | Dec 25, 2012 | Weinstein Company |
$2,300,000 | $154,500,000 |
| Bullet to the Head | Feb 1, 2013 | Warner Bros. |
$2,200,000 | $8,400,000 |
Phil Contrino, Daniel Garris, Alex Edghill and Shawn Robbins contributed to this report.
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