Following such high-profile cyber-thriller flops as 2013 TIFF entry ‘The Fifth Estate,’ the stakes are high as the director’s drama attempts to connect with fest audiences.
Screen Gems' surrogate thriller, 'When the Bough Breaks,' is also expected to scare up good business; Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media releases its first movie since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Steven Spielberg's 'The BFG' and fellow Disney release 'Alice Through the Looking Glass" are other giant-sized summer tentpoles racking up major losses.
Hollywood's sequel strategy often backfired, but domestic revenue ended in a virtual dead heat with 2015's near-record $4.48 billion. "You're seeing a widening out of the haves and have-nots," says one analyst.