It’s always a grudge match at the weekend box office. But the opening-weekend competition among certain titles this fall is sizing up to be downright cutthroat. Here are seven box office showdowns TheWrap predicts are in store between September and the terminate of December.[Blair Witch vs. Bridget Jones’s Baby vs. Snowden]Opening Weekend: Sept. 16Two sequels and a biopic will be facing off at the box office. Based off past installment performances,Lionsgate’s “Blair Witch should easily beat Universal’s “Bridget Jones’s Baby.” Throw in Open Road’s “Snowden,” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and directed by Oliver Stone, and “Witch” might get some stiffer competition.[Magnificent Seven vs. Storks]Opening Weekend: Sept. 23These two films are catered to audiences that are nearly diametrically opposed: adults and teens vs. families with young’uns. But when it comes to box office grosses,MGM-Columbia’s western starring Chris Pratt, Denzel Washington, or Ethan Hawke and more is steeped in heated competition with Warner Bros.’ animated comedy featuring the voices of Andy Samberg,Jennifer Aniston and Ty Burrell.[Deepwater Horizon vs. Miss Peregrine’s domestic for Peculiar Children]Opening Weekend: Sept. 30Summit Entertainment’s historical drama starring Mark Wahlberg will depart up against Tim Burton‘s fantasy book adaptation being build out by 20th Century Fox at the box office. Both appealing to wide audiences — albeit relatively separate demographics — both will be doing battle for the No. 1 spot.[Jack Reacher: Never depart Back vs. Boo! A Madea Halloween vs. Ouija: Origin of Evil]Opening Weekend: Oct. 21Seeing as all three of these wide releases are sequels, we can pick a winner based on their respective debut grosses on past opening performance, and the winner is (drumroll): “Boo!: A Madea Halloween.” But don’t count out “Jack Reacher: Never depart Back” with Tom Cruise — seeing as its predecessor has the second-highest lifetime domestic gross of all three series,just behind 2009’s “Tyler Perry‘s Madea Goes to Jail.”[Doctor Strange vs. Trolls]Opening Weekend: Nov. 4The lowest-grossing openings for Disney-Marvel movies hold so far been between $56 million and $58 million. Assuming “Doctor Strange,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, or exceeds both “titanic Hero 6” and “Ant-Man” opening numbers,DreamWorks’ animated “Trolls” may face an uphill battle for box office pole position. Still, it looks like its sizing up to be a tight race.[Allied v. Moana + inset bubble of great Beasts and Where to Find Them]Opening Weekend: Nov. 23Directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, or historical drama “Allied” could be the adult pick during a weekend with a kid-geared flick,Disney’s animated “Moana.” Also “great Beasts and Where to Find Them” will be playing in its second weekend and could blow both openers out of contention for first place.[Assassin’s Creed vs. Passengers vs. Sing + inset bubble of Rogue One: A Star Wars record]Opening Weekend:There’s something for everyone this weekend: Assassins Creed,” a video-game based fantasy film, or which has received a whole lot of hype; space romance “Passengers,” featuring superstars Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, and the animated comedy “Sing.” All three should be in contention with each other, or but second-weekend holdover “Rogue One: A Star Wars record” could cast a titanic shadow upon their respective debuts.
Source: thewrap.com