Weekend Forecast for August 15-17, 2008
By Reagen Sulewski
August 15, 2008
There are some undeniably creepy shots in the commercials, but this feels very much like an also ran in the box office sweepstakes. Promotion for it has been pretty limited, and it's on just 2,600 screens, meaning Fox isn't throwing much hope behind it. I expect a modest $9 million weekend for it.
Just on the edge of wide release is Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen's latest film. Starring Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz, it's about two friends who travel to Spain and become obsessed with the same painter, whose ex-wife is about to re-enter his life. The film is heavy on the romance, with a trailer that consists of nothing but different couples in the film kissing, including the most hyped pairing of the film, Johansson and Cruz.
Allen has had another of his career resurgences with the discovery of his new muse Johansson, who has been in three of his last four films. Commercial success has still been a little bit elusive, with about $10 million total being the standard for him lately. Opening on 692 screens and with a fair amount of notice because of the same-sex kiss, Vicky Cristina Barcelona could make a small impact with around $5 million.
Against most odds, The Dark Knight has taken top spot at the box office for four straight weekends, the first film in over four years to do so. A fifth isn't impossible if both Tropic Thunder and Clone Wars fail, and the streak has to end sometime. Right? Right?
By Saturday at the absolute latest, The Dark Knight should be the second highest grossing film of all time, surpassing the original Star Wars. Titanic's all-time record is out of reach at this point, but becoming the second film to break the $500 million barrier is still a very strong possibility. Watch for a weekend of about $14 million this time around.
Pineapple Express wasn't quite up to the task of taking down Batman � it was going to take first place in the box office, but then it got high. Still, $23 million for a stoner caper film is a pretty good result, especially with a lot of its audience taking it in on Wednesday. There was a lot of front-loading going on, and I expect that to continue, with about a $12 million take for this weekend.
Rounding out significant films in the box office are The Mummy 3, which took a huge tumble from its $40 million opening weekend and should see around $8 million in its third frame, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, which built a little on the first film in the series but should fall to around $6 million this weekend.
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Forecast: Weekend of August 15-17, 2008
|
Rank |
Film |
Number of
Sites |
Changes in Sites
from Last |
Estimated
Gross ($) |
|
1
|
Tropic Thunder
|
3,319
|
New
|
26.3
|
|
2
|
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
|
3,452
|
New
|
20.9
|
|
3
|
The Dark Knight
|
3,590
|
-435
|
14.7
|
|
4
|
Pineapple Express
|
3,072
|
0
|
12.4
|
|
5
|
Mirrors
|
2,664
|
New
|
9.5
|
|
6
|
The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor
|
3,348
|
-430
|
8.0
|
|
7
|
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
|
2,714
|
+4
|
6.3
|
|
8
|
Step Brothers
|
2,648
|
-534
|
5.2
|
|
9
|
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
|
692
|
New
|
4.7
|
|
10
|
Mamma Mia!
|
2,769
|
-425
|
4.7
|
Continued:
1
2
|
|
|
|
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