A (INTER)STELLAR WEEKEND AT THE BOX OFFICE?

After one of its worst weekends of the year, the box office is expected to roar back this weekend with the release of two films that together could earn more than the entire slate of films did last weekend. Disney’s animated Big Hero 6 is expected to open with about $60 million, edging out Christopher Nolan’s space epic Interstellar, which will likely earn around $55 million, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Thursday), citing people who have seen pre-release audience surveys. Only three times in box office history have two films opened to more than $50 million apiece in the same weekend, the Times observed. Paramount launched Interstellar on about 240 screens in North America on Tuesday. At the request of Nolan, the initial screenings have been at theaters that still have film projectors in place to show it in IMAX, 70mm and 35mm. It will expand to theaters with digital projectors (representing the overwhelming majority of theaters these days) on Friday. Online ticket seller Fandango said on Wednesday that Interstellar has been outselling last year’s hit Gravity, which opened with $55.6 million.