The Mouse House is on the verge of becoming the Big Cheese in theaters around the country. Four big releases from studios under the ginormous Disney umbrella are opening over the next six weeks. Yes, 4 in 6 weeks! How will they stack-up against each other and the rest of the competition?
“Need for Speed” (3/14) – DreamWorks and Touchstone partner-up for this adaptation of the popular car racing video game series. Lots of action and attempts at humor, but no laughs. The only impressive elements are the driving stunts (not a hint of CGI was used). “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul is the only actor draw. It’s the biggest release of the weekend, but the 18-35 male crowd (who likely just saw “300: Rise of an Empire”) may not get behind the wheel for this. Opening Weekend Prediction: $15M; Total Gross Prediction: $40M
“Muppets Most Wanted” (3/21) – After families flocked to “The LEGO Movie” once or twice (and “Frozen” two or three times), they didn’t quite respond to DreamWorks’ “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”. They likely are saving their money for something they can count on – The Muppets! Still, having potential juggernaut (or disaster) “Divergent” as direct competition will make for a close-call weekend. OWP: $45M; TGP: $120M
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (4/4) – Marvel’s action-packed superhero sequel to 2011’s underrated, “The First Avenger” already has lots of buzz from the online community. With Chris Evans’ Star-Spangled Man with a Plan joining Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, as well as newcomers Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford, I don’t see how this can’t be a smash hit. However, it’s rare for a big blockbuster like this to open in one of the most disregarded months of the year. OWP: $85M; TGP: $225M
“Bears” (4/18) Last year Disneynature did not release an Earth Day documentary. But they’re clawing back with this inspiring story of a courageous family of Alaskan bears. John C. Reilly (who voiced the character Wreck-It Ralph for Disney) is the narrator. These films don’t do huge business, but this one could attract a larger crowd than usual. OWP: $12M; TGP: $30M
And, as if this wasn’t enough, Disney will also be releasing two more films this Spring: the sports drama “Million Dollar Arm” starring Jon Hamm on May 16, and the eagerly anticipated “Maleficent” (w/Angelina Jolie in the title role) on May 30. Following six movies in only 11 weeks, the studio will take a break in June. But if you add the continual runs of “Frozen” and “Saving Mr. Banks”, and the English-language version of the Oscar nominated animated “The Wind Rises”, you get a total of 9 Disney films that have been or will be showing in theaters over the first five months of 2014. And they only released 10 movies all last year!