{"id":34968,"date":"2024-08-30T11:52:30","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T15:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boxofficepro.com\/?p=34968"},"modified":"2024-09-10T11:06:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T15:06:55","slug":"long-range-forecast-the-wild-robot-megalopolis-close-out-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boxofficepro.com\/long-range-forecast-the-wild-robot-megalopolis-close-out-september\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Range Forecast: THE WILD ROBOT, MEGALOPOLIS Close Out September"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Long Range Forecast \u2014 September 27, 2024<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Wild Robot | Universal Pictures
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $20M – $30M<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Q3 will close with a pair of very different films vying to close out September with enough momentum to lead into an exciting October slate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot<\/em>, released by Universal Pictures, will be looking to unseat Transformers One<\/a><\/em> from the number one spot in this frame. Releasing The Wild Robot <\/em>so soon after the debut of another family-targeted animated film is a bold move from Universal, compounded by the Transformers<\/em> franchise’s still-strong name recognition. It also indicates Universal’s confidence in the film, which is based on a multi-award-winning children’s book series about a robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) who is shipwrecked on a deserted island and develops a mother-child bond with an orphaned gosling. The trailer\u2014which debuted at CinemaCon earlier this year\u2014was well-received by those in attendance, drawing comparisons to 1999’s animated tearjerker The Iron Giant<\/em>. (That film, now regarded as an animated classic, famously flopped at the box office; with the proliferation of social media in the subsequent 25 years, The Wild Robot <\/em>should have an easier time generating positive word-of-mouth.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among DreamWorks’ top ten opening weekends, only two\u20142008’s Kung Fu Panda <\/em>($60.2M) and 2015’s Home<\/em> ($52.1M)\u2014belong to non-sequels. Home<\/em>, like The Wild Robot<\/em>, is based on a children’s book and was released near the tail end of a relatively slow month at the box office. (March, in Home<\/em>‘s case.) The Wild Robot <\/em>will be DreamWorks’ second-ever September debut, following Abominable<\/em>, which opened to $20.6M in 2019 and eventually topped out at $61.2M domestically. (In a piece of scheduling synchronicity, Abominable<\/em> came out the same day of the month as The Wild Robot<\/em>\u2014September 27\u2014and was followed one week later by the first Joker<\/em> movie).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DreamWorks Animation Top Opening Weekends<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Shrek the Third<\/em> (2007) $121.6M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Shrek 2<\/em> (2004) $108M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Shrek Forever After <\/em>(2010) $70.8M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa <\/em>(2008) $63.1M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Madagascar 3: Europe\u2019s Most Wanted <\/em>(2012) $60.3M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Kung Fu Panda<\/em> (2008) $60.2M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Monsters vs. Aliens <\/em>(2009) – $59.3M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Kung Fu Panda 4<\/em> (2024) $57.9M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World<\/em> (2019) $55M<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Home<\/em> (2015) $52.1M<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Looking beyond DreamWorks, other recent late September\/early October animated releases include 2023’s PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie<\/em> (September 21; $22.7M domestic opening, $65.2M domestic total), 2021’s The Addams Family 2<\/em> (October 1; $17.3M domestic opening, $56.4M domestic total), and 2018’s Smallfoot<\/em> (September 28; $23M domestic opening, $83.2M domestic total). If The Wild Robot<\/em> opens above $48.4M, it will snag the record for best opening for an animated September release from 2016’s Hotel Transylvania 2<\/em>\u2014unless, that is, Transformers One<\/em> sets a new record in the interim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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