Warner Bros. and New Line have been enjoying a couple of weeks of great success as Shazam! has further cemented the DC brand as strong and no longer in danger. Last week, the superhero flick won its second weekend in a row, bringing in $24.4 million and besting Hellboy. This weekend will see the hot streak continue for Warner Bros./New Line as The Curse of La Llorona looks to scare away the competition over Easter weekend. Elsewhere, Fox 2000's faith-based Breakthrough and Disney Nature's Penguins are both set to open as well.
The Curse of La Llorona, which made its debut last month at SXSW, is the latest chapter in The Conjuring universe. The studio has hit the jackpot with this franchise, which is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. The Nun, which hit theaters last fall, set a new franchise record. This entry, which is based on a popular tale ripped from Mexican Folklore, looks to keep up the tradition of turning a relatively minimal investment into maximum box office profit.
Box office tracking suggests that the movie will make between $15 and $20 million over the three day weekend alone. Some of the other releases this week are getting an early start. The Curse of La Llorona, which comes from first-time feature director Michael Chaves and stars Linda Cardellini, won't need the head start. Even on the low end, that should be enough to take the top spot. That should give the studio confidence in trusting Chaves with The Conjuring 3, as he's been tapped to helm the upcoming sequel as well.
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Breakthrough which is based on the book of the same name and stars Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace and Dennis Haysbert, should finish in second with around $15 million. This comes from Fox 2000 and is one of the first movies to come out after the merger with Disney. It's also one of the last movies that will ever sport the Fox 2000 label, as Disney has opted to shut down the studio. So it's a significant release, outside of its financial prospects. Disney will also, in a way, be competing with themselves, as Penguins, which is narrated by Ed Helms, is also coming out. It should earn around $5 million.
Elsewhere, Shazam should hold a spot in the top three with between $10 and $13 million. Little should also have a nice holdover, with between $8 and $10 million. Meanwhile, the critically panned Hellboy reboot from Lionsgate will be very lucky to hold onto a spot in the top five, if it can scrape together $6 million in its second frame. Either way, things aren't looking good for director Neill Marshall's R-rated comic book adaptation. Be sure to check out our full list of weekend box office predictions below and check back with us on Sunday for a full list of estimates. These numbers were provided by Box Office Mojo.
1The Curse of La Llorona2Breakthrough3Shazam!4Little5Hellboy6Penguins7Captain Marvel8Dumbo9Pet Sematary10Us
