"War Dogs" Barks Up $1.25 Million at Thursday Box Office

War Dogs Official Trailer 2 (2016) - Miles Teller Movie

War Dogs, a film starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller, grossed $1.25 million at the Thursday box office, passing the Ben-Hur remake which grossed $900,000 at the previews.

Directed by Todd Phillips, Warner Bros. is estimating a $13 million opening weekend for War Dogs, based on a true story of two men who won a $300-million contract from the Pentagon to arm Americas allies in Afghanistan. Something of a bromance, War Dogs also features Bradley Cooperin a small, but memorable role.The filmsbudget was $40 million.

In comparison, Tina Feys recent war comedy, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, opened to $300,000 and went on to make $7.6 million, based on a $35 million budget. The genre is a tough one to sell, and war-based comedies have had trouble resonating with audiences in recent years, as Bill Murrays Rock the Kasbah proved last fall.

Also Read: "Ben-Hur" Remake Is "Forgettable and Foolish," and 8 Other Unholy Reviews

War Dogs has received decent reviews so far it has a score of 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The critically acclaimed 1959 Ben-Hur film grossed $74 million on a budget of $15 million, which was the most money spent to make a movie at that time. The remake had a hefty budget of $100 million, and multiple trackersare currently setting its opening weekend gross at a paltry $12 million on average, while the studio is being more optimistic with a $20 million estimated gross.

The remake stars Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Morgan Freeman and was directed by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Timur Bekmambetov.

It follows the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur, who flees his homeland after being falsely accused of treason only to come back years later to seek revenge. The film currently holds a score of 29 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The opening estimates of Ben-Hur are worse than Universals Warcraft, which was widely considered one of the summers biggest bombs, opening to $24.2 million domestically against a hefty $160 million budget.

Also Read: "Ben-Hur" Remake May Become Summer"s Biggest Box Office Bomb

Kubo and the Two Strings grossed $515,000 at the Thursday previews, ahead of what the studio expects will be a $12 million weekend.

Voiced byMatthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron and Rooney Mara, the animated film was directed by Travis Knight. Kubo was produced by Laika, the production company behind hits like 2009s Coraline and 2014s The Boxtrolls.

Kubo was produced on a $55 million budget and currently holds a score of 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

• May 20: "Neighbors 2" vs. "Angry Birds Movie" vs. "The Nice Guys"Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron return for some new fraternity high jinks -- and will face off against a 1970s-set film starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as well as some bitter animated birds based on the popular phone game.

• May 27: "Alice Through the Looking Glass" vs. "X-Men: Apocalypse"

  Two big sequels with wide appeal: "Alice" is a four-quadrant movie, meaning the movie offers something for every demographic. "X-Men" is another film in the popular franchise that already has a huge following, and let"s be honest -- Marvel movies do extremely well at the box office. The box office winner may depend on which movie gets the IMAX screens.

  Disney/Fox

• June 10: "Conjuring 2" vs. "Now You See Me 2" vs. "Warcraft"

  This summer day marks the release of two sequels to surprisingly successful movies, while the newcomver "Warcraft" will vie for fans of the popular video game.

  Warner Bros./Summit/Universal

• July 1: "The BFG" vs. "The Legend of Tarzan" vs. "The Purge: Election Year

  Two classics are hitting theaters in the prime of summer. Steven Spielberg"s adaptation of the Roald Dahl children"s book faces a giant challenge from Alexander Skarsgard"s jungle-raised man. "The Purge" franchise has consistently been a low-budget production but continued to make money at the box office -- the last film, "Anarchy," earned $72 million domestically.

  Disney/Warner Bros./Universal

• July 8: "Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates" vs. "The Secret Life of Pets"These light-hearted comedies target very different young audiences audiences. The former is a raunchy R-rated movie featuring Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick, while "Pets" targets family audiences in the tradition of recent Illumination hits like "Minions."

  Fox/Illumination

• July 22: "Star Trek Beyond" vs. "Ice Age: Collision Course"

  "Star Trek Beyond" hopes to boldly go where 2013"s "Trek Into Darkness" went, with a $229 million domestic gross based on the die-hard fan base. "Ice Age: Collision Course" is the fifth movie in a well-known franchise, which has accumulated$729.6 million in revenue since 2002.

  Paramount/Fox

• August 12: "Ben-Hur" vs. "Pete"s Dragon" vs. "Sausage Party"

  "Ben-Hur" and "Pete"s Dragon" are mostly remakes of movies that young audiences may be too young to remember, while Seth Rogen"s R-rated animated movie features a stellar cast ofJames Franco, Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig.

  Paramount/Disney/Sony

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Summer Movie Preview 2016: TheWrap takes a look at the most competitive faceoffs at the box office between May and August

Source: http://www.thewrap.com/war-dogs-ben-hur-kubo-thursday-box-office/