300: Rise of an Empire Looks to Break $40 Million This Weekend, Lead the Box Office

Eight years after the release of the first film, a sequel to Man of Steel director Zack Snyder's film adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 looks to take the U.S. box office this weekend, generating more than $40 million along the way. It's been a difficult movie to predict; the long wait between the first and second movies, the fact that there was no graphic novel to guide fans as to what the movie's content would be, the numerous title and release date changes all contributed to the feeling that the movie -- which was not directed by Snyder this time around, as he's focusing on Batman vs. Superman -- had the potential to be a critical and box office disaster for Warner Bros. The film has already generated $32 million in foreign sales, which means a $17.7 million Friday brings the film to a gross of nearly half its entire $100 million budget already. By the end of the weekend, it seems possible that the film's haul will eclipse $100 million worldwide. A fairly strong performance for 300: Rise of an Empire may be a good sign for Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, which has a number of things in common with 300, including the fact that it's based on a graphic novel by Miller (though in the case of 300: Rise of an Empire the graphic novel was delayed) and the long wait between installments. Dark Horse Comics, meanwhile, published both 300 and the Sin City books and has a sale going on this weekend to buy them digitally.

The animation adaptation Mr. Peabody and Sherman should come in second with just over $30 million, although that could go higher or lower depending largely on its performance today. Friday estimates were a bit overly enthusiastic at first and now it's looking like it might not perform quite as well as hoped...but then again, it's a family movie so it's likely to perform on Saturday when the kids aren't in school. That film cost closer to $150 million to make, but opened early internationally and has already raised about $40 million. All told, it could be nearly as close to recouping its expenses by the end of the weekend as is 300. The next big question might be whether there's enough in it for Warner Bros. to push for another 300 movie. While studios love franchises -- and trilogies in particular -- this one cost more than 300 did and will generate less on opening weekend, even with the 3D bump. Last week's heavy hitters, Non-Stop and Son of God, both took big hits this week, with Son of God dropping below The Lego Movie after just one week. That's arguably not surprising, though, since the film is little more than a recut of material from a The Bible TV miniseries with a bit of extra footage spliced in. Last week's strong performance was partially the result of bulk buying so that groups could go out and see it together on opening weekend.