Men in Black 3 starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Josh Brolin will be the film that finally unseats Marvel and Disney’s The Avengers from its nearly month-long box office reign this holiday weekend. The sequel is also stirring up the home video charts on the day of its theatrical debut thanks to an offer that will get you in to see it theatrically for free.
Early studio tracking is targeting an $80 million or more four-day opening weekend for Men in Black 3 in which Will Smith plays against two versions of Agent K; the younger played by Josh Brolin and older by series veteran Tommy Lee Jones. It has already earned $1.55 million from midnight showings and positive word-of-mouth is expected to propel ticket sales into the Memorial Day holiday weekend where business should swell.
Men in Black 3 has two things working in its favor that are helping differentiate it from its predecessors. First, Sony is playing up the time travel angle with its “Back in Time” marketing tagline. Second, Josh Brolin absolutely nails a younger Tommy Lee Jones impersonation in the ads and has people talking about how great he will be in the role before ever seeing the film.
Also working in Men in Black 3’s favor is the return of Will Smith to the summer box office where he has reigned supreme many summers before. It has been awhile since Smith last appeared in a film, the December 2008 release Seven Pounds to be exact, and four years since his last summer hit, Hancock. Audiences love Smith in the summertime and are letting him and Sony know with their wallets.
Sony must be impressed with Men in Black 3 as they have partnered with online retailer Amazon.com to offer Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D pre-orders for the newly released film on the same day of its theatrical bow. Early results are encouraging as the three-disc Blu-ray and DVD combo pack has been sitting in the top spot of Amazon’s Blu-ray bestsellers list all day, while the three-disc Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD combo pack has been hovering near the number five spot.
Best of all, Amazon is offering a free ticket to see Men in Black 3 in theaters with each Blu-ray pre-order.
Click here to pre-order Men in Black 3 on Blu-ray and DVD for $28.69 at Amazon.com, 30% off the $40.99 list price.
Click here to pre-order Men in Black 3 on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD for $39.19 at Amazon.com, 30% off the $55.99 list price.
I’ll be back Saturday morning to report on Men in Black 3’s opening day box office take.
