Detective Pikachu isn't just shaping up to be the best live-action Pokémon movie – it has the potential to be the best video game movie, period. After some initial scepticism, it would appear that the Hollywood outing has won over critics and each new piece of information has been met with a positive response from fans.

All of this translates into a promising box office opening, and Box Office Pro – a site dedicated to analysing and predicting how movies will do once they hit theatres – is expecting big things.

It is suspected that Detective Pikachu could open with a '$75 to $90 million' haul on its first full weekend, with a potential $250 million gross in the US alone – that doesn't include the global market, which has the potential to be even bigger, given how popular the Pokémon brand is these days.

Box Office Pro has been monitoring social media to see what kind of buzz the film is creating, and has reported that it has smashed the previous tracking record, with over 400,000 mentions on Twitter on the day its first trailer went live.

Ironically, the involvement of Ryan Reynolds – something that annoyed a few fans – could end up enhancing the performance of the film. Reynolds might not have been your first choice to voice Pikachu, but he's a global star with wide-reaching appeal across all ages and genders, and his voice has already resulted in some memorable trailers.

Finally, Box Office Pro notes that Detective Pikachu is opening in an advantageous window; by the time it hits screens, Avengers: Endgame will have been out for three weeks, while Disney's live-action Aladdin remake will still be a fortnight away.

Do you think these predictions would come true, or could we have an upset on our hands?

[source gonintendo.com, via boxofficepro.com]