Will It Be a 'Mamma Mia' Weekend?
by EG
Musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the front-runner going into this weekend's box-office race. It will face off against two other sequels: The Equalizer 2 and Unfriended: The Dark Web. Read on for predictions on who will win the race.
Get ready for a sequel showdown at the U.S. box office this weekend.
A trio of second installments unfurl nationwide: Universal's star-studded Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again — whose cast includes Cher; Sony's The Equalizer 2, returning Denzel Washington in the title role; and Blumhouse's micro-budgeted horror-thriller, Unfriended: The Dark Web.
If prerelease tracking is correct, Mamma Mia 2 should win the weekend with $30 million-$35 million or more, thanks to female moviegoers seeking an alternative to testosterone-laced action pics (Universal is being more conservative in suggesting $27 million-plus).
Mamma Mia 2 is one of the few 2018 summer event films targeting females. The movie, based on the music of ABBA, opens exactly a decade after Mamma Mia! stormed the box office in late July 2008, opening to $27.7 million domestically and grossing nearly $610 million globally.
Many of the A-list stars who appeared in the first film reprise their role in the sequel (in some fashion, at least), including Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skargard — while newcomers include Lily James and, in the biggest get, Cher.
Ol Parker (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1 & 2) directed Mamma Mia 2, which debuts in 41 foreign markets timed to its U.S. launch. The story traverses time, with James playing a young Donna (Streep's character).
Sony's R-rated action pic Equalizer 2 is tracking to open to $25 million or more domestically. The first Equalizer quickly became a sleeper hit in late September 2014 after debuting to $34.1 million domestically on its way to grossing $192.3 million at the worldwide box office. Both installments were directed by Antoine Fuqua.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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