‘Hateful Eight’ may fare well at the box office but won’t end ‘Star Wars’ reign

Quentin Tarantino’s new brutal western epic “The Hateful Eight” could generate solid box-office returns over New Year’s weekend, even as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” extends its winning streak all but unchallenged.

The violent, three-hour “Hateful Eight” is expanding to about 2,000 domestic theaters starting Wednesday, with some screenings beginning Tuesday night.

The bloody drama is expected to gross $20 million to $22 million in ticket sales through Sunday, according to people who have reviewed pre-release audience surveys.

The movie began its theatrical run Christmas Day on 100 screens in 44 cities for its so-called roadshow debut, where it played on special wide-scope 70-millimeter film, a format praised by cinephiles for its high-resolution image quality.

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The movie has grossed $5.7 million as of Monday for a per-theater average of $56,000, an impressive result considering the new “Star Wars” movie continues to dominate the marketplace.

Longtime Tarantino collaborator the Weinstein Co. is releasing the film, which cost an estimated $62 million to make.

Box-office analyst Bruce Nash of Nash Information Services said the unusual release strategy for “The Hateful Eight” might be a smart move for a director with a following as loyal as Tarantino’s.

“I think it reinforces Tarantino’s brand,” Nash said. “He’s an uncompromising filmmaker and he wants to present his vision to an audience. If he didn’t do that, he wouldn’t be Tarantino.”

Tarantino’s latest picture has garnered mostly positive reviews, but has also attracted attention for reasons other than its artistic merits. The outspoken Tarantino, known for stylishly violent fare such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Django Unchained,” brought on the ire of police unions with remarks he made about abuses by law enforcement officers.

A screener copy of the movie was pirated online last week, along with multiple other awards hopefuls, and some theaters reportedly had technical difficulties in projecting the roadshow version, though the Weinstein Co. has said those issues were very rare.

“The Hateful Eight” cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

The only other high-profile release this week is the R-rated stop-motion animated drama “Anomalisa,” which Paramount Pictures is debuting in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, starting Wednesday. Written and co-directed by Charlie Kaufman, the film has won nearly universal praise from critics and is nominated for the Golden Globe for best animated film. Duke Johnson also directed.

Paramount acquired the movie for about $4 million in September.

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Meanwhile, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is expected to continue to display its box-office might by grossing $90 million or more in the U.S. and Canada Friday through Sunday. That should easily push the Walt Disney Co. picture, directed by J.J. Abrams, past the $700-million mark domestically.

The space saga has broken records around the world, grossing $1.16 billion globally as of Monday, according to studio estimates. Some analysts think it could eventually challenge “Avatar’s” worldwide box-office record of $2.8 billion. “The Force Awakens” opens Jan. 9 in China, the world’s second-largest film market.

“It’s going to have to do exceptionally well in China to overtake ‘Avatar,’” Nash said.

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