By Carl DiOrio
1 hour, 21 minutes ago
The comparable period from 2007 rung up less than $109
million, the second-smallest tally of the box-office season. A
similarly underwhelming industry performance is likely this
weekend, even with four new titles hitting the marketplace in
wide release.
DreamWorks/Paramount's R-rated comedy "Tropic Thunder"
could drop as much as 50 percent or so from its chart-topping
opening session. That could find it fetching less than $13
million this weekend while still potentially competing for
second place.
But Sony's PG-13 comedy "The House Bunny," starring Anna
Faris ("Scary Movie"), also looks likely for the low-teen
millions and could outpace "Tropic" if its grosses climb into
the midteens, mostly on interest from young females.
Warner Bros.' box-office behemoth "The Dark Knight" likely
will finish third or fourth during its sixth frame, with $10
million or so. But two additional wide openers look unlikely to
make it out of the single-digit millions.
Fox's PG-13 comedy "The Rocker" might need five days to
reach a similar range. Having earned some positive early buzz,
the Rainn Wilson-starring comedy unspooled Wednesday to
stimulate additional word-of-mouth, but its first-day tally was
just $600,000.
The R-rated "Death Race" stars Jason Statham, who tends to
be popular with female filmgoers, and tracking also shows
appeal among prospective urban moviegoers. Depending on how
many females and older men join the film's young-male target
group, "Death Race" could represent the weekend's best hope for
a breakout performance.
Notable limited releases this weekend include exclusive
engagements for Focus Features' comedy "Hamlet 2." The gambit
aims to stimulate positive word-of-mouth before wide expansion
of the Steve Coogan/Catherine Keener film over the long Labor
Day frame.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment