Will 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' soar at the box office like the first film?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
A sequel to Disney鈥檚 live-action adaptation of their animated film 鈥淎lice in Wonderland鈥� arrives in theaters on May 27.
鈥淎lice Through the Looking Glass" features the return of actors such as Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as the addition of series newbie Sacha Baron Cohen, who portrays Time.聽
Alice must contend with him as she attempts to rescue the family of the Hatter (Mr. Depp).聽
The original 2010 film was one of Disney鈥檚 earliest efforts at the lucrative genre of adapting their animated movies as live-action films. (Recent successes have included this year鈥檚 鈥淭he Jungle Book,鈥� 鈥淐inderella鈥� (2015) and 鈥淢aleficent鈥� (2014), while a trailer for Disney鈥檚 2017 production 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� recently broke the record for the amount of views for a YouTube teaser trailer in its original 24 hours of release, drawing more viewers than the trailer for 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens.鈥�)聽
The original 鈥淎lice鈥� film was not well-received by critics, with Monitor film critic Peter Rainer giving the movie a C+, writing, 鈥淭he movie is a decidedly mixed bag....鈥�
But the film became a big box office hit, becoming the second-highest-grossing movie of the year. What drew audiences to the film and enabled the movie to become such a big success?聽
noted that assessing the film鈥檚 box office performance should be done while thinking of 3-D ticket costs.聽
鈥淩emember, those higher priced 3D tickets make all the difference,鈥� Ms. Finke wrote.聽
In terms of what attracted moviegoers, noted that the story of 鈥淎lice鈥� is a very popular one. 鈥淭he brand of 鈥榃onderland鈥� is clearly recognized across the globe,鈥� Mr. Wigler wrote.
And 鈥淎lice鈥� represented a pairing of a familiar, beloved story with big names both in front of and behind the camera. In predicting the financial results for the movie 鈥淥z: The Great and Powerful,鈥� wrote, 鈥淸鈥楢lice鈥橾 started with $116.1 million on opening weekend, but without the cachet of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, it鈥檚 unlikely that 鈥極z鈥� will achieve such a gargantuan figure.鈥澛�
The first 鈥淎lice鈥� movie came out in March, a quieter time at movie theaters than the summer. We鈥檒l see if 鈥淎lice Through the Looking Glass鈥� can attract as many moviegoers during a very competitive time of year.
