Box-office predictions: ‘Wolf Man’ expected to claw its way to the top with $20 million+ debut

What will be the winners and the losers this week at the U.S. box office? Universal and Blumhouse’s horror flick Wolf Man, Sony’s comedy One of Them Days, and Paramount’s Oscar contender September 5 open in theaters this Friday. They’ll be facing off against the current top five money-makers: Den of Thieves: Pantera, Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Nosferatu, and Moana 2.

Gold Derby readers predict that Wolf Man will win the Jan. 17-19 weekend with less than $25 million domestically. Mufasa: The Lion King is the runner-up choice of our odds-makers. Do you agree or disagree with those rankings? Make your predictions right now — it’s fun and easy! Join the box-office discussion in our forums.

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NEW RELEASES

One of Them Days

Director: Lawrence Lamont

When best friends and roommates Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) discover Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact. The inventive music biopic has a running time of one hour, 37 minutes, and is rated R. Reviews compiled by Metacritic show a “generally favorable” response with an overall score of 73 percent.

September 5

Director: Tim Fehlbaum

During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, an American sports broadcasting team must adapt to live coverage of the Israeli athletes being held hostage by a terrorist group. The historical thriller (which was released in limited theaters on Dec. 13) has a running time of one hour, 35 minutes, and is rated R. Reviews compiled by Metacritic are “generally favoriable” with an overall score of 78 percent.

Wolf Man

Director: Leigh Whannell

A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something unrecognizable. The horror movie starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner has a running time of one hour, 43 minutes, and is rated R. Reviews compiled by Metacritic are mixed with an overall score of 51 percent.

BOX-OFFICE PREDICTIONS

Wolf Man is projected to come out on top with anywhere between $17 million and $21 million, but One of Them Days is the sleeper hit our readers didn’t see coming. The buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and music superstar SZA in her film debut is comfortably in third position, looking to earn between $8 million and $13 million, as reported by Variety.

Holding strong in second place is Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, which looks to continue its box office run with around $14 million — bringing the Barry Jenkins film across the $200 million mark domestically. Last week’s box-office champ, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera will drop to fourth place, earning about $10 million. Paramount’s blockbuster Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which has already raked in over $200 million domestically, will round out the top five with an estimated $9 million to $10 million.

Here are Gold Derby’s current box-office rankings for the top five:

1. Wolf Man

2. Mufasa: The Lion King

3. One of Them Days

4. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

5. Sonic the Hedgehog 3

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