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Okay, but how do you think a remake of Cry-Baby would do?

Kim Hollis: With the successes of Dreamgirls and Hairspray, do you forecast similar good things for Tim Burton's upcoming Sweeney Todd, a film that is significantly different in both tone and content?

Reagen Sulewski: On the surface, I'd expect there to be a fair bit of overlap of John Waters fans and Tim Burton fans, but then this is John Waters' most accessible (family-friendly, even) story, and Sweeney Todd moves well over into the macabre. I think you might have the studio more willing to promote it, but it's still a bit of a dice roll.

Joel Corcoran: I think the crossover among Dreamgirls, Hairspray, and Sweeney Todd is so limited as to be statistically irrelevant, and not only for the reason Reagen pointed out. Admirers of Stephen Sondheim would recoil with revulsion if you lumped Sweeney Todd into the same category as John Waters movies or modern musicals, so I doubt the recent successes of Hairspray and Dreamgirls (or even Chicago, for that matter) will affect Sweeney Todd much at all. However, I'll bet some enterprising young studio exec out there is just chomping at the bit to greenlight the musical film adaptation of Spamalot! now.

Dan Krovich: Sweeney Todd seems completely different to me. I think there was some overlap between Dreamgirls and Hairspray in that they take place at least partially in the same era and the music has some similarities. They also both happen to center on an overweight female who has to overcome superficial preconceptions through her talent. But Sweeney Todd is a totally different beast. It still might do well based on Depp, though.

Jim Van Nest: I seem to just be agreeing with Dan on every point, but the combo of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton will bring people in moreso than some sort of genre-connection with Hairspray and Dreamgirls. Burton just makes such a good looking film and Depp is spot-on in everything he does...that puts me in the seat and I don't even know what Sweeney Todd is about.

Jerry Simpson: As more and more musicals get made, I think there will need to be a distinction made between musical comedy (Dreamgirls, Hairspray, the Footloose remake, etc) and films like Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd will be pretty graphic and adult and I'm not sure that the girls will want to see it. I'm sure it will be wonderful in a Depp/Burton way, but the songs aren't catchy and it is about a barber who bakes his victims into pies.

Kim Hollis: I do think that a lot of fans of musicals are fans of all kinds of musicals - but as far as being popular amongst a wider range of movie fans, I think Hairspray's upbeat positivity has it all over the darkness of Sweeney Todd. With that said, I do think Sweeney Todd (if it is good) has the better chance at awards recognition because it's something different than what most musicals have offered recently.

David Mumpower: Honestly, I don't believe one has anything to do with the other. It's like comparing a pair of animated movies simply because they are animated. Hairspray is a teeny bopper light-hearded affair. Sweeney Todd is a Tim Burton bloodbath waiting to happen. I can't draw any conclusions about one from the other any more than I could say how Ratatouille's performance will impact Ponyo on a Cliff.

Harry Potter and the Great Competition Against Himself

Kim Hollis: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix dropped 58% in weekend two as it earned $32.2 million (and crossed the $200 million mark). Is this about what you expected to happen? Do you think that the release of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had an impact?

Les Winan: My assumption is that the release of the book sucked viewers from the movie, as Potter fans who had yet to see the movie were home feverishly reading.

Joel Corcoran: Considering that just about every Harry Potter fan who was old enough to read in June 1997 was holed up with The Deathly Hallows this weekend, and considering this weekend was the biggest literary event since the last Harry Potter book was released, I'd estimate that the book's release was responsible for a good chunk of the weekend two drop-off. Without the book being released, I would've expected around a 40% drop-off.

Michael Bentley: It will be interesting to see how it is does this next weekend, as those eager beaver book readers finish up. How many repeat theater visits will Pottermania be able to spawn?

Jim Van Nest: As a Potter fan who is scared to even get on the Internet for fear of spoiling Book 7 before I have a chance to finish, I'm with Michael, next weekend will be very interesting and I think it will buck the Summer '07 sequel trend and have a very small drop from this weekend. I've never felt such a sense of urgency to finish a book as quickly as possible like this before and I'm quite sure Im not alone. People have put a lot of time, money and thought into this series and the thought of having the very end ruined was enough to keep a ton of people in their homes all weekend reading.

Kim Hollis: I really thought that the book would have an effect, but the drop isn't excessive, in my opinion. It's really right in line with what most of the other blockbusters have done this summer. If it recovers huge this weekend, I'll change my tune.

David Mumpower: I don't take anything from the second weekend drop as a whole. We're still talking about estimates rather than actuals here. Without the actual splits in terms of daily numbers, it's sheer speculation rather than analytical study. Any impact Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the novel had on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the movie will have been felt on Saturday and Sunday. Afterward, it should be an asset rather than a negative. The interest in Potter has peaked at a perfect time for the fifth movie's theatrical presence.

We swear we spoil nothing. It is totally safe to read.

Kim Hollis: Finally, if you've finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, what grade do you give it?

Joel Corcoran: NO SPOILERS! I wasn't able to get to the midnight release party at Powell's Bookstore (which is, without question, the best bookstore in the entire world), and I haven't yet picked up a copy. However, based on all the Internet buzz and my mother's review, I'm expecting it to be a B+.

Michael Bentley: F! (Just kidding. I'm one of those hard-to-find wacky people who haven't read any of them.)

Kim Hollis: No spoilers here, but I do give it an A.

David Mumpower: It's a solid A+. I am not a person who is blind to reason with regards to the work of J.K. Rowling (Order of the Phoenix is an epic mistake), but the series finishes at a creative peak. She is to be commended for working so tirelessly to make sure that all of the pieces of the puzzle fit into the right places in the end.

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