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Summer, summer, summer!

Kim Hollis: Given what has been happening at the box office in 2009, including Fast & Furious, should we be poised for the biggest summer ever?

Tim Briody: Barring a miraculous turnaround in the economy, I think so. This year is demonstrating more than any other time that a trip to the theater is affordable escapism.

Brandon Scott: We've certainly got a nice thing going so far, but remember it's not all blow me away box office results. Didn't Watchmen flame out at just over $100 million, which meant it was seen as a big disappointment? We are on a nice pace, but I am not ready to say this will be the biggest summer ever just yet. It's too early.

Josh Spiegel: The possibility of a massive summer is here, but I'd also be a bit wary here, not only because of the lack of consistency in amazing results, but because some of the tentpole films have just as much a chance to fail (Wolverine having a major leak a month early; Star Trek never being a frequently successful franchise; Terminator not having Schwarzenegger, and on). Still, if all of the movies perform as well as a Paul Blart or Taken, in terms of outperforming expectations, we could be looking at history.

Kim Hollis: I am cautiously optimistic. I think that the environment is certainly right for the summer box office season to be explosive. The pieces are all in place, with May alone giving us Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels & Demons, Night at the Museum, Terminator and Up. Other almost certain biggies are Transformers, Ice Age, Harry Potter and Funny People, with surprises that could arrive in the form of The Hangover, Drag Me to Hell, Bruno, I Love You Beth Cooper and Orphan. My only concern is that May is a bit top-heavy and could result in a bit of overkill, leaving audiences a little weary of going out to every big thing.

If she's not boringly pining for a vampire with ludicrous hair, we're not interested.

Kim Hollis: Advertureland, Kristen Stewart's first post-Twilight movie, opened to $6 million. Are you surprised that the film didn't gain more of a bump from its star's newfound Twilight celebrity?

David Mumpower: If I'm her representation, my argument would be that the film made $6 million because of her presence in it and would have done less than a million otherwise. Yes, I'd be lying, but that is what a celebrity's representation is paid to do. The reality is that the film was exhibited in 2,825 locations BECAUSE the theaters remembered how much Twilight carried them last November. There was the hope that Stewart would be a big enough star by now to open a film on her own, which was a bit ambitious given how low key a production this was always intended to be. Stewart is just The Girl in Teen Comedy #4,197. Expecting her to mean more to this one is asking for the proverbial rabbit pulled out of the hat, and Pixar already did that last year to magnificent comedic effect.

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