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Will Smith heads up the grammatically irritatingly titled film The Pursuit of Happyness, a based-on-a-true-story film about a broke single father who makes a stab at becoming a stockbroker, even while being evicted from his home and struggling to raise his young son.

The film was a handpicked star vehicle for Smith (complete with the uglification process for a young male actor � graying hair), and is also notable for featuring his own son Jaden in the film. Smith has already received a ton of acclaim for his performance, including a Golden Globe nomination, and is a strong contender for an Oscar nomination (his second). The film itself doesn't look that remarkable, though it attempts to tug at a lot of heartstrings, which is something that can play well at this time of year.

This is Smith's first film in almost two years, since 2005's Hitch, which opened to a massive $43 million, a terrific number for a romantic comedy. The Pursuit of Happyness is a departure from that, though Smith's notable star power (he hasn't really had a flop in several years) should give this one a fighting chance. Look for an opening weekend of about $15 million.

Last weekend, Apocalypto was one of the most unlikely films to top the box office since, well, The Passion of the Christ (Okay, Borat is the more recent unlikely chart topper, but isn't as relevant a comparison). The Mayan-language action film directed by Mel Gibson took advantage of a weak field to hit top spot with just over $15 million. Gibson's name is pretty much the sole reason anyone paid attention to this film, with the controversy surrounding him both hurting and helping. I would not be surprised to see a steep drop in its box office this weekend, with a lot of the first weekend business being due to simply curiosity. Give it $8 million for the second weekend.

Among the handful of films it beat out for top spot were Happy Feet, which is set to cross the $150 million mark, and is starting to get the benefit of end-of-year awards, as well as The Holiday, the biggest romantic comedy offering out there. Starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black, its $13 million opening and third place finish could be seen as a tad disappointing, though I believe it'll carry over well, with close to $8 million. Look for Blood Diamond to fare decently in its second weekend, though an $8 million opening start for Leo's second big film this year is definitely an under-performance.

As we near the end of the year, a lot of Oscar contenders are making their debut in limited release. Most notable is Dreamgirls, an adaptation of a Broadway musical about a fictional 1960s female pop trio. Starring Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson, the film is attracting a lot of attention, including Golden Globe nominations for the film and for American Idol's Hudson. This will certainly see a wider debut in the coming weeks but for now starts on just three screens.

The Good German starts in just five locations itself. A black-and-white World War II drama, it stars George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood in a noir that evokes Casablanca and The Third Man. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, The Good German was filmed with 1945 cinema techniques, though that gimmick may prove more notable than the movie itself. One more notable film this weekend is Anthony Minghella's Breaking and Entering, starring Jude Law and The Departed's Vera Farmiga.

Forecast: Weekend of December 15-17, 2006
Rank	Film	Number of Sites	Changes in Sites from Last	Estimated Gross ($)
1	Charlotte's Web	3,566	New	22.2
2	Eragon	3,020	New	17.8
3	The Pursuit of Happyness	2,852	New	15.3
4	Apocalypto	2,465	0	8.1
5	The Holiday	2,614	+4	7.7
6	Happy Feet	3,335	-315	7.5
7	Blood Diamond	1,910	0	5.7
8	Casino Royale	2,437	-724	5.3
9	Deja Vu	1,985	-787	3.9
10	The Nativity Story	2,574	-509	3.4

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