Universal is banking on an appetite for a PG-13 disaster film even with Marvel's big crossover hogging the pop culture limelight
The post Can ‘Twisters’ Find Box Office Riches Among the Coming ‘Deadpool’ Storm? appeared first on TheWrap.
Universal has a stormy path ahead for its big budget disaster film “Twisters.” In order for it to become a box office hit it must find a way to leg out in theaters against the oncoming juggernaut that is “Deadpool & Wolverine” next week.
It will be a tough test, particularly with projections set at a $50 million domestic opening weekend against a reported $150 million budget before marketing — but it’s not an impossible one.
Studios typically steer clear of releasing big films the weekend prior to a Marvel movie, but Universal didn’t choose to be in this position. The Comcast studio set “Twisters” for this mid-July release slot back in December 2022, roughly five months before the start of the writers strike that shook up the release slate.
With its production schedule set back, Disney moved “Deadpool & Wolverine” from the first weekend of May to July 26, right on the second weekend of “Twisters.” Opening weekend projections for the comic book crossover are a staggering $170 million, and the actual total will likely be higher.
So with “Deadpool 3” likely to take up significant screen space and pop culture discourse, how does “Twisters” find its own lane?
Strong reviews will help. A standalone sequel to the 1996 Bill Paxton/Helen Hunt film “Twister,” the sequel currently has an 82% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, who praised it as an effective big screen thrill ride with a solid emotional core courtesy of director Lee Isaac Chung, an Academy Award nominee for his 2020 film “Minari.”
That will provide a sufficient foundation for pre-release buzz, one that Universal hopes will build into strong audience reception this weekend. Some rival distributors and theater owners tell TheWrap they think there’s potential for stronger walkup traffic and for the film to stretch out to a $55 million opening.
The other thing that “Twisters” has going for it is that it stands out from all the other wide releases in the weeks to come. Along with “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the upcoming release slate also includes “Borderlands” and “Alien: Romulus,” all of which are rated R. The family film “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is also set for release in early August.
The box office fate of “Twisters” relies on whether there’s a large enough audience looking for a thrilling but less-gory alternative to “Deadpool 3” and its R-rated brethren. If that’s the case, the word-of-mouth should spread well as the film has all of the intensity of its 90s predecessor with support from a cast led by red-hot “Anyone But You” star Glen Powell.
Overseas, “Twisters” is projected to gross $45 million with openings in 38 markets, Korea and Japan being major exclusions. Should it hit projections, it is looking at a global launch of around $100 million.
While that’s not the most optimal start for a film with a $150 million budget before marketing, modest success is still attainable if it can leg out. But if “Deadpool & Wolverine” turns out to have a stranglehold on the theatrical market akin to “Spider-Man: No Way Home” despite its raunch and violence, “Twisters” may get caught in the crossfire similar to how the well-received “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning” had its legs curtailed last year by the ultimate double feature of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
The post Can ‘Twisters’ Find Box Office Riches Among the Coming ‘Deadpool’ Storm? appeared first on TheWrap.
