Fox
- Disney will likely have another Fox flop on its hands this weekend with "The Art of Racing in the Rain," which is projected to earn between $8 million and $9 million domestically.
- Disney said during its earnings call this week that Fox’s film business suffered a $170 million quarterly operating loss, thanks largely to the box-office failure of "Dark Phoenix."
- "Hobbs and Shaw" is expected to repeat at the top of the domestic box office.
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Some cracks are starting to appear in the Disney-Fox merger.
Fox’s film business suffered a $170 million quarterly operating loss, thanks largely to the box-office failure of "Dark Phoenix," Disney said during its third quarter earnings call on Tuesday. Disney’s Fox box-office woes will likely continue this weekend with "The Art of Racing in the Rain," a new dog movie starring "This Is Us" actor Milo Ventimiglia and Kevin Costner as the voice of his lovable canine.
The Fox flick is entering US theaters with a 54% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and low box-office projections. Boxoffice.com and Box Office Mojo are anticipating it will debut outside of the domestic top five with $8 million and $9 million, respectively.
The Wrap called it a "sentimental slog," and The AV Club said that it "lacks a purpose or any sense of artistry."
Disney is still dominating the box office this year, though, with four releases in the top five at the domestic and worldwide box offices. Four of the company’s movies this year — "Avengers: Endgame," "The Lion King," "Captain Marvel," and "Aladdin" — have grossed over $1 billion so far.
And Disney has plenty more Fox releases coming up in the future that could be success stories, notably four "Avatar" sequels.
"Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw," meanwhile, is expected to repeat at the top of the domestic box office this weekend. The franchise spin-off starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham had a low opening last weekend by "Fast and Furious" standards, but is performing well internationally and could have legs throughout the rest of the slow summer movie season.
It was produced for $200 million and has earned almost $200 million worldwide so far. It has yet to open in China, where Johnson and the "Fast and Furious" franchise are box-office hits. The last two movies, "Furious 7" and "The Fate of the Furious," both grossed nearly $400 million in China.
See Also:
- The 14 Fox movies Disney plans to release in theaters from 2020 onward, and their chances of getting pulled
- ‘Dark Phoenix’ was a major flop and hurt Disney at the box office, but the ‘X-Men’ franchise should bounce back under Marvel
- ‘Hobbs and Shaw’ had the second-worst US opening of the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise, but it could still be a huge hit
Source: Business Insider – tclark@businessinsider.com (Travis Clark)