Cocaine Bear’s Absurdist Premise Points to Decent Box Office Estimate: Report

gadgets.ndtv.com:

Cocaine Bear — releasing Friday in theatres — might not be in the same league as Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but early estimates suggest it could pave the way for more promising mid-budget movies. As per Variety, the Elizabeth Banks-directed dark comedy film is expected to rake in $15 million (about Rs. 124 crore) to $17 million (about Rs. 141 crore) at the North American box office, during its opening weekend — aiming for the second spot in the region, right behind Ant-Man 3. Produced at a $35 million (about Rs. 290 crore) budget, it will be interesting to see how things play out globally.

Evoking the sense of an absurd Reddit story reinterpreted for the screen, the film could gain traction for simply being oddball — aimed at a younger audience, expecting some campy horror and laughs to go along. A big-budget company such as Universal Pictures backing it could only mean more publicity, with Variety estimating that positive buzz could propel it to a $20 million (about Rs. 166 crore) opening in the US and Canada. Universal has been putting out advertisements and trailers for Cocaine Bear on their Indian channels, but there is no word on whether the film will be screened in other languages besides English. The company also put out a pixelated browser video game for the same, last week, in which you chase after civilians and pick up duffel bags of cocaine for speed boosts.

In India, the film faces tough competition on both Hollywood and Bollywood fronts. Up first is the aforementioned Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which reportedly opened to Rs. 25 crore in its first three days in the country — a great start for a not-so-popular character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That said, it still lacks far