This weekend sees the start of the 2014 releases, with Paramount kicking this off with a new addition to the Paranormal Activity franchise. These films have provided the studio and its producers extra cash, despite the cheap production cost. The new movie is a spin-off, subtitled The Marked Ones and targeted to the Latino audience.
The Marked Ones stands a chance at breaking The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’s hold on the box office. Even over the Christmas holiday weekend, Peter Jackson’s second Hobbit film still topped the new releases.
Although Box Office Mojo predicts that The Marked Ones will only start off with around $23 million, it should be enough to top the box office this weekend. As a spin-off, it could help revive the franchise, as the regular PA movies have made less and less as they are released. PA 4 made just $53.9 million during its entire run in 2012.
The Marked Ones is also the first PA movie to launch in January.
Meanwhile, Disney’s Frozen has continued its strong run. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film added $8.7 million on New Year’s Day alone, winning the box office that day. The movie has been out since Thanksgiving and is now up to $271.8 million domestically. Frozen could even move into second place for the weekend, with around $18 million.
Meanwhile, The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio is hanging around in the cluster of Christmas releases. According to TheWrap, it has made $41.5 million since it was released on Christmas Day.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, American Hustle and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty are expected to hang around in the Top 10 this weekend.
image: Paramount