New Movie Releases and Box Office Predictions: Snakes on a Plane, Accepted, Material Girls

It is time for those hopeful sleeper films that come through August. The last hurrah of the summer movie season. The movies seek to draw in those kids before they go back to school, and deprive them of their hard earned summer job money. Maybe, just maybe, there will be a quality film or two hoping to make a dent without the blockbuster opposition.

Accepted. (2006, 90 minutes, PG-13, comedy, trailer) Justin Long stars in this comedy about an outsider looking for acceptance. To that end, he creates his own acceptance by creating a fake college with some of his outsider friends. It looks very familiar, but could hold some laughs in its cliched chewiness. The role played by Lewis Black should at least deliver some laughs.

Snakes on a Plane. (2006, 106 minutes, R, thriller/horror, trailer) The studio would have you believe that the summer can now begin, now that Samuel L. Jackson has taken flight with some slithering lizards. An amazing amount of hype will probably lead this to a respectable opening, but will probably tail off pretty quick. That said, I look forward to its cheesiness.

Material Girls. (2006, 97 minutes, PG, comedy, trailer) The Duff sisters star in this comedy that I know nothing about, and nor do I really care. Not to sound harsh, but I have no interest in this release.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man. (2005, 105 minutes, PG-13, documentary, trailer) This is a behind the scenes style documentary made by Lian Lunson in 2005. It was filmed while he was in Sydney to film a tribute concert, :Came so Far for Beauty." This film features interviews and performances from that show.

Also opening this week, but not near me:

• 10th and Wolf
• Factotum
• The Illusionist
• My First Wedding
• Nearing Grace
• Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss
• Trust the Man

Box Office Predictions

Like Samuel L. Jackson says, "Snakes on a Plane just may be the greatest movie ever made!" That said, it will likely do well this weekend before fading away into the depths rather quickly.

Rank	Title	Box Office
1	Snakes on a Plane	$25 million
2	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	$17 million
3	Accepted	$15 million
4	Step Up	$13.5 million
5	Material Girls	$ 1o million
6	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	$8 million
7	Pulse	$6.5 million
8	World Trade Center	$5.5 million
9	Barnyard: The Original Party Animals	$3.5 million
10	Zoom	$2.5 million

What are you seeing this weekend?