What once looked like a surefire race to the finish line has become a blowout; “Fast and Furious 6” will dominate “The Hangover Part III” at the Memorial Day Weekend box office.
Early estimates report that “Fast” will open to at least $35 million Friday (and likely a little bit more), besting the $14 million expectation for “Hangover” and $11 million for “Epic.”
That positions “Fast” to crack the $100 million mark for the four-day weekend, making for an easy victory over both films. As of press time, multiple media sources are forecasting four-day totals of approximately $50 million for each of “The Hangover Part III” and “Epic.”
While “Fast”‘s tracking has remained hot all month, interest in “The Hangover Part III” recently began appearing cold. Done in by a lackluster promotional campaign, bad reviews and reputational damage from the critically-panned “Hangover Part II,” the film got off to a very soft start Thursday, earning less than $12 million.
That means that the comedy’s five-day total will end up far falling short of the four-day “Fast and Furious” gross. So much for the head start.