Monsters University set to rule the box office, World War Z should scare

World War Z earned $3.6 million during Thursday night showings while Monsters University earned $2.6 million.
This weekend, two different blockbusters will jump right into theatres, just one week after Man of Steel showed some strength at the domestic box office. One of them would be a prequel to a well-beloved Pixar film, while the other would be a zombie invasion movie starring one the the most well-known actors around.
Monsters University:

Monsters University

Monsters University movie database
Pixar has consistently produced a lot of good movies, and is the most famous animation studio around, responsible for films like Toy Story. It has produced several $200 million movies in a row (9, actually), until Cars 2 broke that streak. Nonetheless, the streak is continuing once again, and this time round comes a prequel to two well beloved monsters which you most likely have heard about (it’s Mike and Sulley!). Most adults should remember Monsters Inc. from about a decade ago, and it was recently re-released in theatres in 3D. Now, with Pixar’s good track record and the familiarity of the material and brand, along with lack of competition (at least until Despicable Me 2 opens two weeks later). The adults will drag the children along with them, based on good-will from the previous film, but the big problem is that those who have watched the original film already know what the ending is. With ticket price inflation and the addition of 3D, this film will build upon Monster Inc.’s audience, and will hold up well until Despicable Me 2 opens, and thus, I currently expect this film to earn $74 million this weekend.
World War Z:

World War Z movie database
World War Z comes from a source material, but the problem is, the film does not really follow it. Instead, it goes its own way and becomes a large scale zombie invasion film. Also, this film was at one stage plagued with bad publicity, due to its troubled productions (including several reshoots). The film currently has a decent score on rotten tomatoes, which will not affect its performance, and it has Brad Pitt’s name inside, which allows his fans to come first thing to watch this film (it’s a big-budget Brad Pitt film, so why not?). Paramount has also marketed this film well enough that this film should at least do well. Paramount is only predicting a modest high 30s to low 40s range. I currently expect this film to earn $55 million this weekend.
After it’s spectacular start last weekend, Man of Steel should have enough going for it to earn around $52 million. Here is my current top 10 predictions:
1) Monsters University- $74.3 million
2) World War Z- $55.6 million
3) Man of Steel- $52.7 million
4) This is the End- $13.5 million
5) Now You See Me- $6.8 million
6) Fast and Furious 6- $4.8 million
7) The Internship- $3.5 million
8) Epic- $3.3 million
9) Star Trek into Darkness- $3.2 million
10) The Purge- $3.1 million