Welcome to "Box Office Battle," The Fly's weekly preview projecting what the top films will be at the box office this weekend.
BATTLE FOR TOP SPOT: This weekend sees the release of several new films, including the historical period drama "Downton Abbey," a cinematic continuation of the British television series distributed by Comcast's (CMCSA) Focus Features. According to the Hollywood Reporter, advance ticket sales for "Downton Abbey" indicate that the movie will surpass its rivals at the box office. Aside from that, Lionsgate's (LGF.A) "Rambo: Last Blood," the latest film in the "Rambo" series starring Sylvester Stallone, is also out this weekend, roughly 11 years after the previous entry in the franchise. In addition, 20th Century Fox's (DIS) science fiction adventure film "Ad Astra," which stars Brad Pitt, also releases this weekend.
IMPERIAL SEES DIM PROSPECTS FOR 'AD ASTRA': In a research note sent to investors yesterday, Imperial Capital analyst David Miller maintained his In-Line rating on Disney shares but cut his one-year price target to $139 from $140. In addition, Miller reduced his fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share estimate by an additional 2c per share to account for what appears to be "dim prospects" for "Ad Astra," a film produced by 20th Century Fox that Disney inherited when it acquired Fox assets. The analyst noted that the film is expected to open somewhere in the $19M-$22M range, which would be very low relative to its negative cost, which he believes is $85M.
OVERALL DOMESTIC PROJECTIONS:
Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include CBS (CBS), AT&T (T), Sony (SNE), and Viacom (VIA, VIAB).
Comcast
-0.19 (-0.41%)
Comcast
+ (+0.00%)
Lionsgate
-0.18 (-1.81%)
Lionsgate
-0.155 (-1.66%)
Disney
-1.08 (-0.81%)
Use VIAC, VIACA
+0.065 (+0.15%)
AT&T
+0.305 (+0.82%)
Symbol now SONY
+0.03 (+0.05%)
Via Renewables
-0.12 (-0.44%)
VIAB
+