Box Office Preview: Can 'Pompeii' Dethrone 'The Lego Movie?'

On Feb. 21, two films will be released in wide release and will compete with "The Lego Movie," which has become the first blockbuster of 2014.

The first film released this weekend will be "Pompeii." The big budget historical film by Paul W. Anderson has scored negative reviews and currently has a 33 approval percentage on Rotten Tomatoes, which aggregates movie reviews. The movie, which cost $100 million to produce, is not tracking well among audiences and is expected to open below $15 million. The release comes after recent CGI-heavy movies like "The Legend of Hercules" or "I, Frankenstein," which both failed drastically. The release of "Pompeii" could mark yet another bad opening for a CGI-driven film and could become the first real flop of 2014. The movie stars Kit Harrington, Emily Browning and Keifer Sutherland.

The second film opening is "3 Days to Kill" starring Kevin Costner. The film directed by McG also has dismal reviews with a 23 percent aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie was produced for $28 million and was co-financed and co-produced by Relativity Media and EuropaCorp. According to pre-release tracking, "3 Days to Kill" will debut in the $11 million to $13 million range, similar to "Pompeii." However, the debut will not be as big of a loss as the film cost far less.

"In Secret" starring Oscar Isaac, Tom Felton, and Elizabeth Olsen will open in limited release in 266 theaters. The film has no buzz and with limited word of mouth, the film is likely to open with $1 million.

Meanwhile, "The Wind Rises" will continue to expand opening this week in 21 theaters. The film will try to use its Academy Award nomination to its advantage.

With children still on vacation, "The Lego Movie" is slated to destroy all the new contenders. The movie will make an estimated $30 million in its third weekend and some analysts are predicting it could even get to the $40 million mark. The movie has already made $149 million domestically and $200 million worldwide. Expect "The Lego Movie" to continue at No. 1.

"RoboCop" is expected to continue to do poor business especially with "Pompeii" opening and giving it competition. The $100 million budget film has only made $33 million in its first week and with bad reviews and no buzz, "RoboCop" is unlikely to hold on to its second weekend. Analysts expect a dismal $11.2 million, which would be a 48 percent decrease.

Regardless of its fabulous first weekend, "About Last Love" is expected to drop 59 percent. Most of the audience for the movie already saw it and a love story post-Valentine's Day never holds on. Expect the film to make $10 million.

"The Monuments Men" has been doing well thanks to great word of mouth. The film may have scored terrible reviews but adult audiences have showed up for the George Clooney film. The $70 million budget film has already made $48 million and is expected to make another $10 million this weekend.