Tom Hanks and Ron Howard’s Inferno will have a hard time matching the financial success of its predecessors at the box office. Seven years have passed since symbology professor Robert Langdon appeared on the big screen, and maybe the wait wasn’t worth it for Sony.
In the United States, Inferno should top the box office with approximately $25 million in its opening weekend. It will be enough to surpass last week’s chart leader Boo! A Madea Halloween.
However, estimations say Inferno will earn a lot less domestically compared to the first two movies of the Robert Langdon film series. Weak reviews and fading interest have even overshadowed Tom Hanks’ box-office appeal.
It seems that the timing was just a little too late for the third installment in the franchise based on Dan Brown’s book. The Da Vinci Code made $758.2 million, while Angels & Demons garnered $485.9 million. Inferno is likely to make fewer bucks.
Sony is counting on the international markets to save the day
Inferno cost Sony $75 million to produce. Internationally, the film debuted two weeks ago across 53 overseas markets. Inferno topped the box office in 45 of those countries but fell 49% in its second weekend. The movie has amassed $94.4 million. So far, so good.
Another advantage to avoid disaster is that Sony gave Inferno a much lower budget than the previous two films. The studio spent $125 million and $150 million to make The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, respectively.
Nonetheless, Inferno will probably be the latest disappointment for Sony and Columbia Pictures. They have suffered from a lack of global franchises other than Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and the everlasting James Bond.
Initially, Sony and Columbia were going to make a film adaptation of The Lost Symbol
Set after the events of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown’s 2009 novel The Lost Symbol should have been the next movie. But Sony and Columbia never followed the chronological order of the book series. They first released The Da Vinci Code in 2006 even though it is the second book.
In fact, the first one is Angels & Demons, which received its film adaptation in 2009. The third book is The Lost Symbol. Both studios intended to make The Lost Symbol, and began production shortly after the release of Angels & Demons.
Sony and Columbia kept going until 2013 when they unexpectedly announced they would instead adapt Inferno. Originally, Inferno had a December 18, 2015, release but Sony moved it to avoid competition with major blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Once again, usual suspect Ron Howard and Tom Hanks return to direct and star, respectively. Inferno also features Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Ben Foster, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Irrfan Khan, and Ana Ularu.
The plot follows Robert Langdon (Hanks) and Dr. Sienna Brooks (Jones) as they must race across Europe to thwart a deadly global plot. Inferno is set to hit theaters in the US and Canada on October 28.
Source: Los Angeles Times