Sony will release it’s first movie of 2022, and second Tom Holland title after Spider-Man: No Way Home over the 4-day Presidents Day weekend, Uncharted, in what is expected to be a $70M+ haul worldwide.
Broken down that’s another $40M overseas from 47 markets starting Wednesday with France and Korea, then traveling to Australia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and Norway. The movie, directed by Ruben Fleischer, and based on the 15-year old, Amy Henning-created Sony PlayStation game, has already bagged $22M from last weekend’s offshore start in 15 markets including UK, Russia and Spain where it ranked No. 1. The pic had a particularly huge start in Ukraine despite the threat of Russian forces in the headlines.
Holland plays street-smart Nathan Drake, who is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter, Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada.
While video game adaptations can be tricky, Uncharted is being marketed to the non-gaming audience and is looking for family play. Sony is smart to position this potential franchise-starter coming off the Holland-Spider-Man halo effect, that movie becoming the third highest grossing title ever at the domestic box office yesterday with close to $761M to date. The $120M adventure movie Uncharted is produced by Avi and Ari Arad, Charles Roven and Alex Gartner.
Previews stateside begin at 4PM on Thursday at 3,526 locations. Booked at 4,200 locations, Sony is eyeing $30M over the 4-days, $27M over three. Industry projections speculate the film could go into the mid $30M range over Friday through Monday, possibly $40M. The studio will have all the PLFs and Imax and a two-week runway before Warner Bros comes in and sops up all the box office oxygen with The Batman on March 4. Many in town are buzzing that movie will open to north of $100M.
Uncharted is sparking interest from young guys and women under 25. The comp I keep hearing is Disney’s Jungle Cruise numbers-wise which debuted to $35M. Before Covid shut down theaters in 2020, Sonic the Hedgehog, set a highwater point for videogame adaptations at the box office, which are normally challenged, with a $58M 3-day, $70M 4-day. Critics haven’t warmed to Uncharted with a current Rotten Tomatoes of 46% Rotten. Sonic the Hedgehog was 63% fresh on RT.
Holland and other members of the team have been on a European tour, including stops in Paris, Madrid, Rome. In Paris, Holland caused a near riot as he surprised fans during a preview screening at the Grand Rex theater last Friday.
United Artists Releasing has the Channing Tatum buddy comedy, Dog, opening in the U.S. at 3,677 theaters with an outlook of $12M over four days. The pic looks to hook women and Latino and Hispanic audiences. Previews start Thursday at 4PM. Tatum not only stars, but co-directed with Reid Carolin. The pic follows the misadventures of two former Army Rangers paired against their will on the road trip of a lifetime. Army Ranger Briggs (Tatum) and Lulu (a Belgian Malinois dog) buckle into a 1984 Ford Bronco and race down the Pacific Coast in hopes of making it to a fellow soldier’s funeral on time. Along the way, they drive each other completely crazy, break a small handful of laws, narrowly evade death, and learn to let down their guards in order to have a fighting chance of finding happiness. No Rotten Tomatoes rating yet.
On the Oscar front, Disney’s Encanto which is up for three Academy Awards including Best Animated Film, Lin Manuel Miranda’s original song “Dos Oruguitas” and Germaine Franco’s original score, heads back into cinemas with a 1K theater expansion to roughly 1,288 locations. The pic is already available to watch on Disney+ and counts a current domestic B.O. of $94.3M since debuting over Thanksgiving last year.