Box Office Battle: 'Don't Breathe' expected to scare away competition

This weekend's major new release is horror film "Don't Breathe," from privately held Ghost House Pictures, which is expected to open in the $20.5M-$23.5M range at 3,051 theaters. Time Warner's (TWX) Warner Bros. comic antihero film "Suicide Squad," starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, and Viola Davis, is expected to earn an additional $9M-$10M in its fourth weekend of release. Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK) subsidiary Focus Feature's critically acclaimed animated adventure "Kubo and the Two Strings," which boasts a voice cast of Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, and Matthew McConaughey, is expected to earn $7.5M-$8.3M in its second weekend in theaters. Sony's (SNE) animated R-rated comedy "Sausage Party" is expected to earn an additional $7.5M-$7.7M in its third weekend of release. Warner Bros. action comedy "War Dogs," starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller, is expected to gross in the $6.8M-$7M range. Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include 21st Century Fox (FOX, FOXA), Disney (DIS), Lionsgate (LGF), and Viacom (VIA, VIAB).