Following up the enormous success of "The Lion King 3D" last fall, "Beauty and the Beast" will get its 3D re-release this weekend as Disney/Buena Vista looks to scoop up the family demographic once again. As "Beauty and the Beast" battles for the top box office slot, Mark Wahlberg's thriller "Contraband" also should find a decent segment of its intended demographic, though a big weekend seems unlikely for the Universal distribution. The other new wide release of the weekend is "Joyful Noise," a fairly obscure music drama starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton that doesn't seem to be in line for a very big opening.
Once "The Lion King 3D" racked up an eye-popping $30 million at just 2,330 total theaters back in mid-September, it was very easy to see that Disney was going to start unveiling some of their other beloved animated masterpieces in 3D. Another one of Disney's beloved classically animated films from the 1990s is "Beauty and the Beast," which is getting a 2,500-theater release this weekend and is in great position to land as the top overall box office draw.
Released in 1991, "Beauty and the Beast" was a commercial and critical smash hit, racking up $171 million domestically and $377 million worldwide, which are enormous numbers for the early 1990s. "Beauty and the Beast" doesn't have quite the level of overall commercial appeal as "The Lion King," but a very solid opening in the neighborhood of $20 to $25 million seems likely this weekend. Though "Beauty and the Beast" won't likely earn the $94 million that "The Lion King 3D" made domestically in theaters this past fall, a successful total around $70 million is very possible, which would set up future 3D re-releases like "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin."
While "Beauty and the Beast" looks to hit with its target family demographic, R-rated thriller "Contraband" hopes to find a home with adult audiences as "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" finally start to fade. Though there will be some overlap with horror-thriller "The Devil Inside," there should be plenty of an audience leftover looking to check out a more traditional shoot-'em-up action-thriller. At 2,750 theaters, Universal doesn't seem to be expecting a huge opening weekend, though a steady opening in the $14 to $17 million range seems likely at this point.
The final wide release of the weekend, "Joyful Noise," doesn't seem to be in quite as good of a position, as the Warner Brothers release carries almost no buzz - positive or negative - heading into its release. Queen Latifah has a spotty box office record, at best, and Dolly Parton hasn't really been a commercial draw since "Steel Magnolias" in the late-1980s, which will make "Joyful Noise" a difficult sell for Warner Brothers this weekend. A negative critical consensus and dubious star power will likely prevent "Joyful Noise" from getting to $10 million this weekend.
But as "Joyful Noise" struggles to find its target demographic, "The Devil Inside" is in great position to continue to hit big with horror audiences around the country. With an enormous opening ($33 million), "The Devil Inside" actually earned more than 30 times its production budget, making it one of the rarest releases in box office history; only incredibly cheap releases like "The Blair Witch Project" and "Paranormal Activity" have done the same, and no film has ever done it with a production budget of $1 million or more. Backed by the enormous success of "The Devil Inside," the incentive only goes up from here when it comes to studios cranking out ultra-inexpensive horror releases.
The weekend will also likely be last that dramas "War Horse" and "We Bought a Zoo" will make it into the top ten after fairly under-the-radar box office runs. Benefiting from the enormous holiday audience, both features overcame slow opening weekends to end up with some decent overall numbers, with "War Horse" still in line to potentially get a big Oscar boost in a couple of weeks.
After a couple of slow weekends, the release schedule will again pick up with a slew of action-thrillers over the next few weeks. Next weekend, Steven Soderbergh's thriller "Haywire" will hit theaters as will the Terrence Howard-starring historical drama "Red Tails," a George Lucas production that tells the story of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. "Underworld Awakening," the fourth in the semi-popular action series is the last wide release of next weekend, with Kate Beckinsale stepping back into the franchise after skipping "Rise of the Lycans."
RTT Studio Box Office Predictions for 1/13/12 - 1/15/12 (In Millions):
1. Beauty and the Beast 3D (Buena Vista): $23
2. Contraband (Universal): $16.5
3. The Devil Inside (Paramount): $15
4. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Paramount): $12
5. Joyful Noise (Warner Brothers): $8
6. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Warner Brothers): $7.5
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sony/Columbia): $6
8. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (Fox): $5
9. War Horse (Buena Vista): $4.8
10. We Bought a Zoo (Fox): $4.7
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.