Disney/Pixar’s “Hoppers” is off to a good start with $3.2 million grossed from Thursday preview and early advance screenings, heading into its opening weekend with rave critical and audience reception.
For comparison, Pixar’s 2020 film “Onward,” released a week before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down theaters, earned $2.7 million from previews and went on to gross $39.1 million that weekend. Trackers give “Hoppers” a chance to clear that with a projected opening of $36-40 million.
From there, “Hoppers” looks like it has everything it needs to leg out through March, holding a splendid 96% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. That just tops the 95% scores for Pixar’s 2020 Oscar winner “Soul” and its 2022 straight-to-streaming film “Turning Red.”
If it tops “Onward,” “Hoppers” will have the best opening for an original animated film since Pixar’s Thanksgiving 2017 film “Coco” opened to $50.8 million. Even if it is not expected to reach the $1 billion-plus heights of “Zootopia 2” or the upcoming “Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” a successful run for “Hoppers,” combined with the current strong run for Sony Pictures Animation’s “Goat,” will be a relief for theaters that don’t want to rely on established franchises for family turnout.
Also opening this weekend with $1 million grossed from Thursday previews is Warner Bros.’ “The Bride!” a macabre, off-beat, noir-tinged take on “The Bride of Frankenstein” starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale. Projected for a $16-18 million opening weekend, “The Bride!” has received reviews that are all over the place, earning a polarized 61% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The Bride!” will be the first Warner Bros. release since “The Alto Knights” a year ago to not open to No. 1, breaking a streak of nine films that topped the charts.
