Can 'Aladdin' Break Disney's Memorial Day Curse?
by EG
Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin should have a big opening weekend over the Memorial Day holiday, but its success is not a given. In past years, Disney has released a string of big-budget films that have failed to live up to expectations. Will Aladdin be different? Read on for details.
Via Deadline.
Disney’s live-action take of their 1992 half-billion grossing animated hit Aladdin finally takes flight over the Memorial Day weekend frame, and while we’ve typically trumpeted the lofty-end of projections for most global launches, especially Disney’s, we’re going low on this one with $73M-$75M domestic (including Monday’s holiday), and $173M-$175M worldwide.
First to Disney’s credit, they’ve been bold about staking out the Memorial Day period for several years. They have yet to beat their own holiday opening record from 12 years ago, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End ($139.8M). But here’s what has gone on: the Memorial Day period has increasingly become slower as the earlier part of the month (heck, the end of April) has become the official start of the summer season.
In addition, in recent B.O. history, Disney, despite its doggedness, has struggled with launching movies over Memorial Day weekend with a string of disasters including 2010’s Prince of Persia, ($37.8M 4-day), 2015’s Tomorrowland ($42.6M), 2016’s Alice Through the Looking Glass ($33.5M), 2017’s tired Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales ($78.4M) and last year’s No. 1 $250M upset, Solo A Star Wars: Story (which squeezed out $103M). Aladdin we hear cost around an estimated $183M, which is just north of Dumbo‘s $170M net production cost before P&A.
Get the rest of the story at Deadline.
Are you planning to see Aladdin? Let us know in the comments below.