Long Range Forecast: ‘Ghost In the Shell,’ ‘The Boss Baby,’ & ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’

This week’s edition of our forecast closes out the month of March with an early look at three wide releases slated to open on the final day of the month.

First on deck is the long-awaited live action treat of the classic anime novel, Ghost In the Shell. With Scarlett Johansson in the lead and already boasting resounding success in her career as an action star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and 2014’s Lucy, we’re expecting Ghost to follow in the footsteps of the latter as opposed to the likes of Aeon Flux or Ultraviolet. Some additional front-loading should be expected from fans of the original property, especially with The Fate of the Furious opening two weeks later. A major key to Ghost‘s long-term prospects will rest in how well the filmmakers have strengthened its appeal to mainstream audiences. A planned Super Bowl TV spot this weekend will officially ramp up the marketing stage that section of the audience.

The Boss Baby marks the latest offering from DreamWorks Animation. Alec Baldwin’s presence as the lead voice should lend appeal to parents, particularly with his renewed comedic presence of late thanks to a popular take on a certain newly elected president. If Power Rangers hits as well as we expect the weekend before though, Boss Baby will mainly be catering to parents with very young kids — an audience that will also be cornered by Smurfs: The Lost Village one week later. As such, we’re expecting this to be one of the studio’s more modest performers overall.

Last but not least, The Zookeeper’s Wife will aim for adult moviegoers over this same weekend. Despite Jessica Chastain’s growing fan base, this looks to be a low-end performer for now as it arrives at the end of such a crowded month.

Broad Green Pictures’ Step Sisters is currently scheduled to open on March 31 as well; however, we are excluding it from the forecast right now given the lack of any significant marketing so far.

Meanwhile, we’ve updated a handful of other forecasts this week as buzz continues to shift around key titles. In particular, we’re increasingly confident that next weekend (February 10-12) will be a big one with The LEGO Batman MovieFifty Shades Darker, and John Wick: Chapter 2 tracking very well across all metrics.

Check out our complete long range forecast in the table below.

Release Date Title 3-Day Wide Opening % Chg from Last Week Domestic Total % Chg from Last Week Location Count Distributor
2/10/2017 Fifty Shades Darker $46,000,000 $103,000,000 3% 3,700 Universal
2/10/2017 John Wick: Chapter 2 $24,500,000 4% $60,000,000 7% 2,900 Lionsgate / Summit
2/10/2017 The LEGO Batman Movie $80,000,000 5% $289,000,000 6% 4,000 Warner Bros.
2/17/2017 A Cure for Wellness $8,000,000 -33% $21,000,000 -38% 3,000 Fox
2/17/2017 Fist Fight $22,000,000 $63,000,000 3,100 Warner Bros. / New Line
2/17/2017 The Great Wall $19,000,000 -14% $49,000,000 -14% 3,200 Universal
2/24/2017 Collide $5,000,000 $11,000,000 Open Road
2/24/2017 Get Out $24,000,000 20% $69,000,000 23% Universal
2/24/2017 Rock Dog $3,000,000 $7,000,000 -13% Lionsgate / Summit Premiere
3/3/2017 Before I Fall $7,000,000 $18,000,000 Open Road
3/3/2017 LEAP! $6,500,000 $20,000,000 The Weinstein Company
3/3/2017 Logan $81,000,000 $205,000,000 Fox
3/3/2017 The Shack $9,500,000 $34,000,000 Lionsgate / Summit
3/10/2017 Kong: Skull Island $35,000,000 $100,000,000 Warner Bros.
3/10/2017 Trainspotting 2 n/a n/a Sony / TriStar
3/10/2017 The Wall $7,000,000 $25,000,000 Roadside Attractions / Amazon Studios
3/17/2017 Beauty and the Beast (2017) $144,000,000 $470,000,000 Disney
3/17/2017 The Belko Experiment $7,000,000 $16,000,000 High Top Releasing
3/24/2017 CHiPS $16,000,000 $53,000,000 Warner Bros.
3/24/2017 Life (2017) $15,000,000 $42,000,000 Sony / Columbia
3/24/2017 Power Rangers $38,000,000 $110,000,000 Lionsgate
3/31/2017 The Boss Baby $24,000,000  NEW $83,000,000  NEW Fox / DreamWorks Animation
3/31/2017 Ghost in the Shell (2017) $40,000,000 NEW $105,000,000 NEW Paramount / DreamWorks
3/31/2017 The Zookeeper’s Wife $5,000,000 NEW $19,000,000 NEW Focus Features

Shawn Robbins and Jesse Rifkin contributed to this report.