BoxOfficer

10 November 2006 Openings

2006-11-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

Harsh Times
Holy cow! Christian Bale is on a roll! Even though this is opening in just shy of 1000 theatres, expect this film to perform strongly and gross $12.7 million.

Stranger Than Fiction
Will Ferrel is on an even bigger roll. $32 million dollars, and holding off Borat to be the weekend's top film.

A Good Year
This is a bad weekend to be opening a film. Will Ferrel will definitely top you, plus Borat is tripling its theatrical presence. $9.4 million, but only because Lifetime doesn't have a great movie on. Were Babel not expanding, you could possibly break the $14 million mark.

The Return
Sarah Michelle Gellar: this isn't your year. When can we see you play a coked-up slut again? Hopefully this won't set your career back too far, but don't expect to pull down anything above $8 million.

3 November 2006 Openings

2006-11-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Borat
How exciting is it to be done with the flood of horror sequels?!?!?! I'm elated, and also all a-buzz about Borat, a film based on a recurring character from a premium Cable channel! This is pretty huge stuff. Even though Borat was scaled back from about 1,600 theaters to just over 800, I still feel it will do about $10.2 million.

Flushed Away
From the same people who brought you Wallace and Gromit comes their first CGI animated feature. It's about a rat, a rat who gets flushed down the toilet. Yeah, I'm not jumping up for it, either. $18 million tops for these guys, whose box office falls short of their accolades.

The Santa Clause 3: Tim Allen, Go Away
Tim Allen. Not funny. This is why I hate Disney and ABC. Have they done anything great since Touchstone's Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I hate that this movie is going to do about $21 million. I absolutely hate that about America.

20 October 2006 Openings

2006-10-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

Flicka
Being the first family film opening since Open Season, Flicka will have every single girl that ever wanted a pony dragging their Mom, Dad, and brothers and sisters out to see this film. Since it will be the most available movie at cinemas this weekend, the whole family will find room to sit. Do not be surprised when this film, which only had a budget of $15 million, makes it all back in a $16 million opening.

The Prestige
Don't feel alone if you confused this film for The Illusionist. Even though the two films are completely different stories about magicians, the lack-luster reception of The Illusionist cannot bode well for The Prestige. The Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale headline will boost this film, however, to an $18.4 million opening.

Flags of Our Fathers
In spite of all the accolades Clint Eastwood's films received, they don't generate immediate box-office success. However, Eastwood's fresh take on the war epic (going in the opposite direction of Pearl Harbor) will own the box office this weekend, eeking out a $21.2 million opening; a new record for Eastwood.

13 October 2006 Openings

2006-10-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Grudge 2
Horror fans weren't as wild about this DVD as they were for the first Saw. However, expect The Grudge 2 to ride its PG-13 rating to another solid $40 million opening.

Man of the Year
How long has it been since we saw a good Robin Williams movie in theatres? Would you go see this movie for Williams, or Christophe Walken? Expectations for the film are a little low, but the "truthiness" of the film's concept will lead it to a $17.3 million opening weekend.

The Marine
Trying to compare this film to Walking Tall has one big problem: what was the Knoxville factor? With much of the young WWE audience checking out Grudge 2, expect this thriller to only bring in about $6.8 million.

6 October 2006 Openings

2006-10-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

The Departed
It’s hard to try and be unbiased and professional in my prediction for this one. I’ve been waking up every Friday in September thinking it was October 6th.
Let’s just describe the pedigree working on this project as Rated R Ocean’s Eleven. Now, Martin Scorsese has never had a film open this wide. It will be in twice the theaters of any of his previous films. Also, a Scorsese release has historically grossed about $10 million on opening weekend.
Dirk Diggler puts this one over the top for $32 million.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Two years ago, the remake of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre turned off a lot of fans in spite of grossing a cool $28 on the opening weekend. Box Officer had to check in with his horror friends, but it seems like everyone is still ready to buy some popcorn for this one. Expect The Beginning to bring in $20 million this weekend.

Employee of the Month
This one looks like Waiting.... I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt and say that it reaches $7.2 million. But really, who cares.

29 September 2006 Openings

2006-09-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

School for Scoundrals
If ever there were a time for Jon Heder to show up, it's opposite Billy-Bob Thornton. Even though reviewers have given School for Scoundrals an icey reception, fans of Heder and Thornton are not deterred. The trailers are an excellent promotion, and the film's place as the only new comedy will give it a good chance at toppling Jackass: Number Two as the top box office draw for its second weekend.
It may take a $15 million weekend to keep up with Johnny and Jackass boys, but my prediction of $13 million for Billy Bob and Jon may be enough.

The Guardian
Any time you put up a billboard with Ashton Kutcher not making the Kelso Face, I get curious. Put it next to Kevin Costner, and I'm even more intrigued. However, once everyone saw the trailer and realized that they would be watching Top Gun with life jackets, curiosity plummeted.
If there were a volleyball scene, maybe I'd give it a chance. Expect this to pull in Annapolis-like numbers, representing the Coast Guard with $7 million on the first weekend. Jackass: Number Two will take more than this film, guaranteed.

Open Season
What do you do when you have 2 wide-release films opening on the same weekend? As will be the case of most movie goers, Ashton will pack up Demi and the kids to catch Open Season at the Cineplex.
There have been so many of these damn animals-gone-crazy animated films this summer, I can't imagine how anyone would even care for another one. Watch the slumping box office to continue, and Open Season to close with a weak $8 million weekend.