New Line Cinema is getting ready to unleash their video game adaptationRampageinto the world, with the early box office projections for the newDwayne Johnsonaction-thriller looking quite solid, although not astronomically impressive. The early projections forRampagehave put its opening weekend at $35 million, just weeks after New Line moved the project up a week from April 20 to April 13, to put some space between this movie andAvengers: Infinity War, after it unexpectedly moved to April 27 from May 4. WhileRampagehas two weeks before it has to contend withAvengers: Infinity War, it certainly needs to make the best of them.
The new tracking data released indicated there was a 44% “definite interest” inRampage, while just 9% of the film’s core male audience indicatedRampagewas their “first choice.” While these numbers may certainly not be impressive, it’s worth noting that box office projections can often shift quite greatly, when the studio ramps up marketing effortscloser to the release date. Recent hits such asDeadpool($50 million projection, $132.3 million opening weekend) andBlack Panther($100 million projection, $202 million opening weekend) show how greatly the buzz can increase in just a short amount of time, but also how unreliable these tracking figures can be.
Still, the $35 million figure matches up with the opening weekend of Dwayne Johnson’s last film, Sony’sJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which opened last December in a crowded holiday frame that includedStar Wars: The Last Jedi, and still managed to open with $36.1 million. In this era of front-loaded releases,Jumanjiproved tohave stellar legs, posting a sizable increase in its second weekend and minimal decreases throughout its run, with the movie just crossing the $400 million domestic plateau at theBox Officethis week, following its 13th frame in theaters. It has fared well internationally as well with $541.3 million for a worldwide total of $941.9 million, from just a $90 million budget.
While no budget figures have been released forRampage, the surprising success forJumanjicould have an impact on theRampageresults as well, and while it would certainly be impressive ifRampageput up numbers similar toJumanji, that may be quite the tall order, consideringAvengers: Infinity Waris expected to dominated at the box office, likely throughout most of May. Still,Jumanjimanaged tocut an unconventional path to successeven while going up againstStar Wars: The Last Jedi, the highest-grossing movie of 2017, and given the massive fanbase Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has amassed, anything is possible.
Rampage, which also stars Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Joe Manganiello, Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy, willface three new movies in wide release, although none of them have the same blockbuster pedigree thatRampagedoes.Rampagewill be going up against Universal’s thrillerTruth or Dare, starring Lucy Hale, Neon’s indie sports dramaBorg Vs. McEnroestarring Shia LaBeouf and Stellan Skarsgard and FUNimation’s animated movieSgt. Stubby: An American Hero, featuring a voice cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter, Logan Lerman and Gerard Depardieu.Varietybroke the news aboutRampage’s box office projections today.
