'Ready Player One' Box Office Tracking Falling Short Of Expectations

Despite an over-abundance of marketing, Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One is tracking for a disappointing $35 million-plus debut weekend. Warner Bros. had been hoping for something in the $50 million range, but that's growing increasingly unlikely. Perhaps if they added even more pop culture references that might help? More on the Ready Player One box office below.

Warner Bros. has been pushing Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One for months now. The marketing blitz began with a trailer at SDCC last July, and hasn't let up since. Yet The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Spielberg's pop-culture epic is tracking for a soft $35 million-plus debut at the North American box office for its impending Marc 29, 2018 release. That's far below the projected $50 million opening Warners were hoping for.

There's still plenty of time to make one last big marketing push for the film. There's a Ready Player One event set for SXSW, and rumor has it the movie will be the secret film screened at the festival. Positive word-of-mouth from SXSW could certainly increase interest in the film.

Box office isn't everything – there are plenty of great movies that fail to break even. Still, there was a sense that this might be a big blockbuster return for Spielberg, who has spent the last few years creating mostly adult-oriented dramas that garner rave reviews but don't set the multiplexes on fire. With it's barrage of special effects and numerous pop-culture references, Ready Player One seemed tailor-made to draw big crowds. On top of that, the Ready Player One is an adaptation of an Ernest Cline novel with a built-in fanbase. In short, everyone was hoping for a slam-dunk here.