Viacom Hoping For Good News At Box Office As 'Zoolander 2' Opens

Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA) has not had a good week.

Investors and analysts have seen the media giant take a hit after it reported lower-than-expected earnings. At one point, the stock took a double-digit loss and many attributed that to reports that subscription growth among its TV components were slowing down. While that may be true, many were also spooked by the company's studio divisions taking a sizable revenue drop.

The studio in 2014 had the benefit of an "Interstellar" sized hit, but Paramount's Q4 2015 was quieter thanks in large part to the studio's "feud" with theaters over VOD rules. Paramount did have a surprise hit in "Daddy's Home", which over-performed during the holidays and its "The Big Short" is a front-runner at the upcoming Academy Awards.

For as good as those accomplishments are, they don't translate to having a film that globally takes in $600+ million (though one could argue if "Short" wins Best Picture, that's something worth more than money).

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15 Years Later

Now the page turns to 2016 and all eyes specifically fall on this first frame. While the studio's "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" isn't moving the needle as hoped, expectations are higher for "Zoolander 2."

The bar for success with "Zoolander 2" is around $25 million, comparable to "Anchorman 2" opening take from 2013. It's hard to compare the sequel to its 2001 original as the first "Zoolander" opened not long after 9/11 and only saw success when it hit home video.

"Zoolander" opened with $15 million and made $45 million in total off a budget of around $28 million. The sequel was given extra budget ($50 million total) but is so far seeing scathing reviews, which has led to some questioning if that will impact the final tallies.

The film's opening on a crowded weekend with Fox's "Deadpool" gaining a crazy level of momentum and Warner Bros.'s "How To Be Single" expect to siphon off some of its audience.

Regardless, "Zoolander 2" will still put up a nice number for Paramount/Viacom, but likely its bigger guns are still to come as Tina Fey's "Whisky Tango Foxtrot" and "Cloverfield" sequel "10 Cloverfield Lane" hit theaters in March.