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Nic Cage is Knowing what comes Next. (Bear suit!)

Kim Hollis: Knowing, the Alex Proyas-directed film starring BOP's favorite whipping boy Nicolas Cage, opened to $24.6 million. What do you think of this result?

Josh Spiegel: I think Nicolas Cage's deal with the devil will continue for many years to come, apparently. What do mainstream audiences like about Cage so much? Every time one of his movies hits number one these days, I just shake my head; it's completely baffling to me that so many people flock to his work, for the most part (how did The Wicker Man not get the top spot, I wonder?). I'm disappointed, mostly, as it means that Cage gets to continue working in some of the biggest garbage Hollywood has to offer.

Tim Briody: I could have sworn this movie was already released but there was something about it that audiences didn't see in Next, as Knowing has already outgrossed it.

Jason Lee: I applaud the folks at Summit Entertainment - after the spectacular performance of Twilight and the solid performance of Push, I think this up-and-coming studio is proving that they can deliver the goods. That said, the opening of this movie totally blew past my expectations for its opening weekend...but does anyone else think that this movie will not have any legs?





Brandon Scott: As for the total figure, it seems a solid number to me. I'm a little surprised that it nearly doubled up on Duplicity, though. Cage continues to remain one of the biggest anomalies in Tinseltown. He has acting chops, but so frequently fails to need them/utiltize them by turning out seemingly run-of-the mill thrillers. This one had a slightly different angle to it, but not enough to fail to make many of us cringe. How do we as BOP writers compare as a cross-section of America, though? That is the key, as obviously, America still loves the guy enough to win a weekend during a somewhat crowded weekend.

Daron Aldridge: I think Brandon is on to something with the mass appeal of Cage. If you look at the Rotten Tomatoes Community rating for Cage, they give him 62% freshness and Knowing a 63%. So not accounting for taste and talent, it seems that his box office pull will be debated for many more years. Personally, there is little to no differentiation between this one and 2007's Next. Maybe audiences were more willing to buy into Nicolas Cage as a poor man's Nostrodamus/heroic father over a time-jumping Nicolas Cage with a hot girlfriend. Or it could be all the doomsday talk by the GOP made people think this was a documentary of things to come.

Max Braden: It beating Next is no surprise - Knowing had big set piece visual appeal while Next was just about the chase. This is the kind of material that can bring in $50 million plus around Memorial Day weekend (I'm thinking of The Day After Tomorrow). And even though Cage brought a sense of legitimacy to what could have been just a straight to SciFi Channel or network MOW, you probably could have swapped in Mario Lopez and seen a $20 million-plus opening. On the other hand I expected Julia Roberts to win the weekend, so given the season and winning the weekend, I think Summit can be satisfied. They should see plenty of business on the DVD end.

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