While many are claiming the latest Ghost Rider film's opening weekend makes the film a failure, might it actually be a big win for star Nicolas Cage?
The estimates are in for the weekend and it appears that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has debuted in third place, with $22 million. In addtion, predictions are currently running at a $26-27 mil total for the four-day weekend, and I would personally predict a seven-day total of $30-32 mil.
It is without a doubt a soft opening for any Marvel-branded film, yet seems to fall well above the true bombs like 2008's Punisher: Warzone which debuted at just 4.2 mil and 2005's Elektra, which debuted at just $12.8 mil.
As the only Marvel film to debut in the 20 million range, its closest comparable films are the first two Blade films, whose opening weekends earned them $17 mil and $32 million respectively and went on to earn $70 mil and $82 mil in domestic totals.
And yet...
While this may be the Marvel brand's worst opening in several years, this is also star Nicolas Cage's biggest opener as a headlining star since 2009's Knowing, and the 10th biggest opening of his nearly 60-film career. This is especially worth noting because only 3.5 million dollars currently seperates this from being his 5th biggest opening instead of the 10th.
If that sticks out to you, it should -- five of his biggest hits opened smack dab in the middle of the 20 to 30 million dollar range. It is perhaps ironic then, that commentators have been claiming Cage's lack of star credibility as the reason for the film's weak opening when it is in fact an average debut weekend for the actor, and an uptick from his films in recent years.
So congratulations Mr. Cage, your career might be back on the rise... if the abysmal critical reception doesn't weigh you down.
Final Assessment:
It seems unlikely, but IF it can hold on to screens and audiences as well as the Blade duo and Knowing did, the film could potentially end it's run in the $70-80 mil range. If not, it should at least be able to top 50 mil.
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If possible, I'll do follow-up on Friday regarding the weekend actuals, the 7-day total, and the film's international earnings.
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