Hollywood has two determined underdogs arriving in theaters this weekend-but neither appears powerful enough to pull Spider-Man: Brand New Day from his perch.
The Tom Holland superhero juggernaut is expected to claim the No. 1 spot at the North American box office for a fifth consecutive weekend, with current estimates placing its August 28-30 haul between approximately $19 million and $27 million. The film collected $39 million last weekend and has already passed $850 million domestically, making its continued domination almost embarrassing for the competition.
The weekend's real drama belongs to Coyote vs. Acme, the movie Warner Bros. once tried to bury as a tax write-off. After an extraordinary fan campaign helped rescue the completed film, Ketchup Entertainment is finally releasing it-and audiences may be turning its arrival into a delicious Hollywood revenge story.
Starring Will Forte and John Cena, the live-action and animated comedy earned approximately $1.7 million from previews and is now tracking toward a $12 million to $15 million opening. That should place it in contention for second or third place. Even sweeter, the formerly unwanted movie entered the weekend carrying exceptionally strong reviews, with its critical score sitting around 96 percent ahead of release.
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey could complicate that comeback narrative. The epic has demonstrated unusually strong staying power and is expected to earn approximately $14 million to $16 million, potentially beating Coyote vs. Acme for second place. The film recently became Nolan's biggest worldwide release, showing that audiences are not ready to abandon his much-discussed voyage just yet.
The other major newcomer, The Dog Stars, has considerably more to worry about. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney and Guy Pearce, the post-apocalyptic drama reportedly cost more than $100 million. However, early tracking now points to an opening of only around $8 million. Unless word of mouth produces a dramatic turnaround, this expensive prestige production may become the weekend's most uncomfortable box-office conversation.
Insidious: Out of the Further should remain competitive with approximately $10 million to $15 million, although horror sequels frequently suffer steep second-weekend declines. That leaves Coyote vs. Acme, The Odyssey and Insidious fighting over the places beneath Spider-Man while The Dog Stars attempts to avoid becoming Ridley Scott's latest costly disappointment.
Meanwhile, Yash's Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is playing an entirely different-and much louder-box-office game in India. The gangster drama earned approximately ₹101.10 crore net in India on its opening day and reached about ₹221.35 crore worldwide after three days, despite sharp daily declines following its enormous debut. Hindustan Times,
That virtually guarantees Toxic will dominate the Indian weekend, although its long-term prospects remain less certain. Its headline-making first-day business was followed by substantial drops on Thursday and Friday, meaning Saturday and Sunday will reveal whether audiences genuinely love Yash's comeback-or simply rushed to see it before the gossip and spoilers arrived.
The most likely North American weekend order is:
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day - approximately $19 million-$27 million
- The Odyssey or Coyote vs. Acme - approximately $12 million-$16 million
- Coyote vs. Acme or The Odyssey
- Insidious: Out of the Further - approximately $10 million-$15 million
- The Dog Stars - approximately $8 million
In short, Spider-Man should remain America's box-office king, Toxic should rule India, and Coyote vs. Acme may enjoy the weekend's most satisfying victory simply by becoming a genuine theatrical hit after Hollywood nearly erased it.
