How to Train Your Dragon
Cast – Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera
Director – Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Genre – Animation Adventure Comedy
Synopsis – A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely owner of a young dragon and learns the creatures are misunderstood.
Release Date – 3/26/10
Trailer –
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COMPARISONS
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TITLE
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OPENING WEEKEND
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TOTAL
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Monsters vs. Aliens
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$59.3M
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$198.4M
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Madagascar
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$47.2M
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$193.6M
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Shark Tale
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$47.6M
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$160.9M
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Ice Age
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$46.3M
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$176.4M
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Bottom Line – As evidenced by the boffo box office of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, 3-D is all the rage right now and Dragon will capitalize on this trend. Studio Dreamworks has a great track record with animated films including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs. Aliens and Dragon will be no different. Opening weekend could be a bit higher than the films above due to inflated ticket prices from 3-D and IMAX showings, but Dragon will still face competition from Wonderland which will be entering its fourth frame.
Bill’s Opening Weekend Prediction - $55M
Bill’s Popcorn Period* Prediction - $155M - $160M
*The Popcorn Period – The settlement date for all movie contracts takes place approximately four weeks after a film has been released in theatres. It is during these 4 weeks that a film will collect money at the box office. If a film makes $50M at the box office during these 4 weeks, the contract will cash out at $50. I refer to this time frame as the Popcorn Period.