December 27, 2006

December 29, 2006

With nary a wide releaes in sight for the coming weekend, the roughly half-dozen films competing for top of the box office continue that competition with Night at the Museum likely to continue its dominance.

December 20, 2006

December 22, 2006

December 25, 2006

This is going to be a huge weekend. Not only are Night at the Museum, Rocky Balboa, The Good Shepherd and We Are Marshall promising huge returns, the following monday will see Dreamgirls show in its first contest. While it won't figure into the weekend proper, the Christmas holiday falling on Monday will allow it to have one day's worth of figures included. Night at the Museum will easily top the box office. We Are Marshall and Rocky Balboa going to fight over the sports crowd for the second spot with The Good Shepherd tries to find its niche.

December 15, 2006

Though last week's "stiff" competition was barely stiff and more limp, this weekend's prospects are much brighter. Charlotte's Web is sure to top Happy Feet as it is the biggest holiday-feeling film this weekend. However, it's dragon-riding fantasy film Eragon that is the most likely to top the chart. The Pursuit of Happyness will debut nicely enough, but shouldn't see more than $15 M in revenue.

December 8, 2006

This weekend will show us how much people like Mel Gibson. His last project was the blockbuster hit The Passion of the Christ. However, this time the controversy isn't the depiction of Jews but how Gibson himself feels about them. After his arrest earlier this year, many have come out against Gibson and his anti-semitic tirade but that kind of publicity, plus a hell-on-wheels ad compaign for Apocalypto could see Gibson rise to number one again. His biggest competition is from Leonardo DiCaprio, whose super-hyped Blood Diamond opens and could make Gibson extinct early.

The Holiday and Unaccompanied Minors could be a welcome alternative to the violence of the other two weekend openers, thus creating one of the stiffest weeks of competition we've seen since these past three weeks' top 2 films debuted at Thanksgiving.

December 1, 2006

The Nativity Story should give Happy Feet and Casino Royale a run for its money. However, in the end, Nativity may take the back seat to the other two films and land a third-place debut. The biggest question is whether Turistas will be a smash debut or a weak one. The horror barrage of the last few years has generated far fewer hits than when horror films came out sporadically.

The Van Wilder sequel is unlikely to ignite sparks at the box office and mae not even break the top 10 but is a possibility. 10 Items or Less will be lucky to make $5M at the box office with its limited press coverage and less than memorable premise.

November 21, 2006

November 22, 2006

November 24, 2006

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, studios are going to hope for huge returns.Déjà Vu and Deck the Halls are the only two films that seem poised to make huge box office returns. However, it is highly unlikely that either film will topple last week's top two films Happy Feet and Casino Royale. The Fountain could perform well as could Bobby insofar as they are the only minor alternatives to the likely top 4 films.

November 17, 2006

The battle of this week is between Casino Royale and Happy Feet. Both have potentially huge audiences but who knows whether kids or Bond fans will top the box office. I give the slight edge to Happy Feet but Casino Royale could easily top it. It may also be one of those photo finishes we love to see.

November 10, 2006

Four films open wide this coming weekend and it's clear that Stranger Than Fiction from early buzz should be the unequivocal winner. That is unless Borat continues to do well in its second weekend when it's likely to expand. A Good Year may do well on Russell Crowe's name but this seems highly unlikely. Babel may also do well if it opens wider like The Queen, which should also be going wider this week. The big question is: will the new Sarah Michelle Gellar horror flick The Return perform above expectations and possibly act as the weekend's big spoiler?

November 3, 2006

This weekend sees the competing family films Santa Clause 3 and Flushed Away battling for box office supremacy with cultural comedy Borat. With Borat pulled from a number of markets amid fears it wouldn't play well to a midwestern audience, it isn't likely to top either family pic. Clause is likely to top the box office but Flushed should come in solidly behind unless the onslaught of computer animated fare this year turns audiences completely off.

October 27, 2006

There is no question that Saw III will be the top film at this weekend's box office. The questions are whether The Prestige can hang on to a high position and how much will The Departed fall in its fourth week and how long it can keep it up.

October 20, 2006

Flags of Our Fathers should have no trouble taking the top spot at the box office. Flicka and The Prestige will be competitive for second place. Marie Antoinette doesn't seem to have caught on with hype, so could be a dud but should still debut somewhere in the Top 10.

October 13, 2006

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning opened well but not well enough to top Martin Scorsese's The Departed. This week, The Grudge 2 is expected to take the top spot being the sequel of a highly popular horror film. However, Robin William's new anti-politics comedy Man of the Year may prove strong competition and might top the box office with audiences looking to escape the annoying political campaigns that are being mounted. The Marine may also debut strong but a lot will depend on how much its 18-24 demo feels about stacking on the pics over the weekend. Sure to debut strongly in limited release are Little Children and Infamous, two of this year's key Oscar contenders.

October 4, 2006

October 6, 2006

The Oscar season finally gets on its feet with Martin Scorsese's The Departed opening this week. It's the most likely top-spot film for next week, though it must fend of retained business for Open Season, comedy Employee of the Money and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Massacre is not only titularly The Beginning. It also marks the start of October horror month. With sequels The Grudge 2 and Saw III on deck, this pre/sequel packed October could resurrect the box office like Freddy Kreuger for an upteenth sequel.

September 27, 2006

September 29, 2006

Four films will be competing for the top spot at this weekend's box office. School for Scoundrels and Sleeping Dogs Lie have no chance. The battle will be between kid-friendly Open Season and nautical drama The Guardian. Guardian looks a great deal like Armageddon, so it shouldn't have a problem topping the box office. Most audiences will have gotten their fill of Jackass, so it shouldn't pose too much competition.

September 22, 2006

With diminishing returns the norm and not the exception, it's conceivable that this week's slate of films could continue to push the box office downward. While Gridiron performed adquately, the immature sequel Jackass: Number Two may not perform well at the box office. It's competition is also fairly weak with festival bomb All the King's Men likely to follow the trail of recent period pics The Black Dahlia and Hollywoodland. However, martial arts epic (Jet Li's last) Fearless could surprise and Flyboys most surely will disappoint (hardly any buzz or advertising).

September 15, 2006

While this past weekend was hugely disappointing, look for this coming weekend to breathe some life into the box office with plenty for audiences of all type. Gridiron Gang should have no problem winning the box office race. Everyone's Hero should be an easy second place finisher and The Black Dahlia should finish third.

September 8, 2006

The Covenant will easily topple Invincible but how well will the widely-advertised Hollywoodland do? It's probably the biggest question of the weekend. Hollywoodland is poised as an early Oscar contender but depending on word of mouth, box office and critical support, the film could easily fall by the wayside being released too early in the fall for too much attention. The Covenant should have no problem with victory where it should take in more than $20 M in its opening weekend.

September 1, 2006

The big question for this week is will either Crank or The Wicker Man manage to take the throne from strongly-debuting Invincible. Crossover hasn't been talked up as much comparatively. The Wicker Man boast Nicolas Cage and, being a horror remake to boot (not to mention it looks vaguely like The Village which could turn some people off instead of on), it may top the chart. Crank looks like another Transporter rip-off. Will people buy either film? We'll see.

Aug 25, 2006

With the uber-weak debut of Snakes on a Plane, the question is which film will top the box office. My bet would be the footbal drama Invincible which should appeal to the testosterone prone though it may have competition from Broken Lizard's new comedy Beerfest. How to Eat Fried Worms has been pushed for months now and we'll see how well the irritating marketing can take the film in its opening weekend.

Aug 18, 2006

This week, the question will not be whether Snakes on a Plane will top the box office but how much money it will make.

Aug 11, 2006

It is possible that Talladega Nights could hold on to the top spot, but it will face stiff competition from curiosity seekers who wanted to know if World Trade Center is worth the controversy.

Aug 4, 2006

Now that the box office top spot stalemate has been broken, it's time to see some additional shakeups at the top of the chart. With the unimpressive debut of Miami Vice, Anchorman funny man, with a renewed interest in racing, should handily beat its competitors to the finish line. Talladega Nights looks like just the film to sate the fans who put Adam Sandler in the pantheon of big box office openers.

July 28, 2006

Lady in the Water couldn't do it but after three weeks, it will be a shock indeed if Miami Vice can't bring down Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

July 21, 2006

Lady in the Water is expected to top Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at the box office this week. If it debuts even as impressively as The Sixth Sense at around $35 million, it could easily topple the scallywags at Disney.

July 14, 2006

Pirates won't be knocked out by any of these wannabes. The big question will be which will debut higher, Little Man or You, Me and Dupree. I give the edge to Little Man but it will likely be a photo finish. Little Man is better counter-programming to Pirates than Dupree so it will be close.

July 7, 2006

Pirates will be number one...There is no question. The question is how well does the lackluster opening of Superman Returns bode for its ability to hold up against Jack & Co.

June 28, 2006

June 30, 2006

There is no other question. This will be the week (and only one with Pirates on deck the following week) of Superman Returns.

June 23, 2006

Cars won't be able to fend of Adam Sandler's Click for the top spot, so a new crown is likely. The only other new debut is Waist Deep which has virtually no chance of debuting in the top spot and probably won't even land in the top 5 with the strong contenders already at the top of the charts.

June 14, 2006

June 16, 2006

Cars should be able to hold on to the top spot as male audiences are split between Nacho Libre and Fast and the Furious. Kids might drift to the ill-conceived sequel to Garfield but the true challenge is how much threat can the only movie that will attract largely female audiences, The Lake House , pose? It may be a tough battle.

June 6, 2006

June 9, 2006

Cars will cross the finish line in first but how will The Omen and A Prairie Home Companion do?

June 2, 2006

X-Men: The Last Stand had a record-setting opening. The only new film on the block is The Break-Up. It seems highly unlikely X-Men will fall.

May 26, 2006

X-Men: The Last Stand has no opening competition but will face a tough race against runaway success The Da Vinci Code. Will the hit trilogy come to a smashing conclusion or a disappointing one?