Interstellar Movie News Update: Could Christopher Nolan's Latest Break $300 Million Mark?
The wait is over and "Interstellar" will finally open in cinemas on Wednesday Nov. 5 in IMAX and on Nov. 7 all around the country.
The new Christopher Nolan science fiction film is one of the most anticipated films of the year and it has been scoring positive reviews. However, there has been some mixed reactions on the overall film and there is a lot of reserve on whether it will be the big awards season film that many pundits expected.
It currently has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes review percentage of any film Nolan directed. However, not all critics have published and there will definitely be a lot to come before Friday's nationwide release.
While critics are not universally praising it, Nolan fans and science fiction enthusiast are definitely excited. So will it perform at the box office?
Nolan definitely has a huge following and he made one of the highest grossing comic book movies ever. His last non-comic book movie, "Inception", also made $292 million. It was praised universally and came out at a time when competition was low and when word-of-mouth was strong.
"Interstellar" for the most part has a wide open month, save for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1." However, pundits note that the audience is very different for "Hunger Games" and while it may hurt its third weekend, "Interstellar" still has the holiday weekend to look forward to. Additionally, the movie will be helped by IMAX ticket prices, which are bit more expensive, than regular priced tickets.
Another thing going well for the film is the fact that Paramount has been pushing it with sneak previews, social media interaction and awards campaigns. The movie is likely to also get a boost from awards season.
As aforementioned, it will likely not be a critics' darling, but it is undoubtedly still considered a Best Picture contender by most pundits and it will definitely get a boost at the box office if it is Oscar-nominated.
With all these factors, early box office prognosticators indicated the film would open with $50 million. However, recent reports indicate the opening could be closer to $60 million to $70 million. Boxoffice.com predicts it will open with $72 million and likely reach the $320 million by the end of its run.
However, Box Office Mojo is a bit more reserved with its predictions and estimates that the box office will not match to its hype. The website is predicting it will end its run with $285 million.
Nolan pictures are difficult to predict due to the fact that his films generally exceed expectations. "Inception" was a runaway hit that many predicted would not be such a huge summer movie since it was not a franchise picture. Even "The Dark Knight" was never expected to reach the $534 million when it was released in 2008. In 2006, the director also accomplished a mild success with "The Prestige" as the movie not only opened at No. 1, but also ended its run with $53 million.
Another thing that should be factored in is the star power in the film. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain have strong track records at the box office and that will definitely generate even more interest in the film.
Then there is the originality factor which audiences sometimes take into consideration. Last year, "Gravity" received so much hype and ended up being a runaway hit. The film opened with $55 million and ended its run with $274 million and surpassed all expectations.
How much money do you think "Interstellar will make on opening weekend? Let us know in the comments below.