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Michael Lynderey: I think they were going for your old school PG-13 January horror movie thing here (and by old school, I mean January 2005). If I'm right on that guess, then they're probably just about happy with a nice mid-teen opening, though these non-R thrillers have been known to do much better. For Hopkins, it's another step on his fairly smooth transition into the outright horror movie realm, something that was probably inevitable. It's just too bad it's too late for him to play Dr. Loomis in the Halloween remake.

David Mumpower: Between The Wolfman and this, I want to take Anthony Hopkins under receivership until such a time as I have determined he is capable of rational thought once more. This must be what it felt like to watch the last few at bats of Willie Mays' career. In terms of the performance of this movie, I find it to be a strange mix in that the presence of Anthony Hopkins ostensibly should increase awareness yet the target demographic for this film wasn't even born when Silence of the Lambs was released. So, his presence almost doesn't matter on opening weekend, only when it hits the video market.

Car repair is all the rage these days

Kim Hollis: The Jason Statham/Ben Foster flick The Mechanic opened to $11.4 million for CBS Films. Is this a good enough result for the distributor?

Matthew Huntley: I would actually say yes, because CBS films reportedly only paid $5 million for the distribution rights plus advertising costs, which, as Josh suggested, wasn't that expensive. So it should at least be a profitable venture for the distributor (but probably not the production company). I wouldn't expect much more from this, though, as the movie is not garnering very good word-of-mouth and the only reason it probably reached double-digit numbers was because The Green Hornet, its only major competition right now, is now in its third weekend.





I've noticed Jason Statham movies have a reputation for being easily forgotten. They sort of just blend together. Like Anthony Hopkins, he needs to be more selective with his projects and choose ones that stand out more. Can the guy even really act? Has he ever not been in an action movie? I like Statham as an action star, but these are some questions worth pondering I think.

Bruce Hall: I'll say no, for many of the same reasons that have already been mentioned. We've talked recently about the changing face of action movies and in that arena, Statham stands as something of a relic from another time. He has plenty of appeal but has proven over his somewhat brief career to be something of a niche draw. Personally I love the guy, and am very disappointed in America for not making him the neck snapping superstar I believe he should be. But if I were less biased, I would say that while Statham has proven before to have serviceable acting chops, I don't know if they're enough to earn him mainstream appeal. I can't really see him becoming a dramatic pull, and I think that he's still searching for a career role tailor made for what he is - a brooding, type A one man army. The problem is, I'm not sure they make those movies any more, or at least they don't make them well. Perhaps Statham is destined to earn his bread and butter as a B-Movie hero and journeyman supporting actor. Or perhaps one day my countrymen will awake, and embrace the cheesy awesomeness that is Death Race.

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