June 27, 2008

New Movies and Box Office Predictions: Wall*E, Wanted

This weekend will be ruled by a single movie. One movie will rise to the top and crush all competition. That movie is the successor to last year's hit Ratatouille and has been quite highly anticipated by me since its first trailer. Perhaps not as much as The Dark Knight, but it is way up there. Outside of that, this week's two wide releases are targeting two very different crowds, the animated film is going after the children and family audience, while its competition squarely goes after the bullet riddled action fan in us all. Which will you see? Perhaps both?

Wall*E. (2008, 97 minutes, G, animated, trailer) A new Pixar film is always something to celebrate, this new release is no different. The first time I saw the trailer, I was absolutely floored. It looked funny, the character was intriguing with its blend of Johnny Five (Short Circuit) and ET, and the animation was stunning. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see more. It is finally here. The movie centers on a robot named Wall*E, he was left behind on Earth, all alone, to clean up. Many years later a ship returns and he hitches a ride on it, adventure and comedy ensure. I admit to not knowing much about the story, but I look forward to finding out first hand. If it is half as good as Ratataouille it will be a classic.

Wanted. (2008, 110 minutes, R, action, trailer) The first trailer I saw for Wanted reminded me of Shoot'em Up, which I loved. Not exactly the same, but this seemed to share a similar over the top aesthetic in its approach to action. James McAvoy stars, alongside Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, as a worker drone who discovers his father was an assassin and he has the same genes laying dormant. This is based on a graphic novel and is being brought to the big screen by a director with an interesting visual style, Timur Bekmambetov, the Russian director behind Night Watch and Day Watch. I am not expecting greatness, but I do expect this to be an absolute blast.

Also opening this week, but not near me:

  • The Last Mistress

Box Office Predictions
Last week was the first week in a while that did not have a $50 million flick at the top. Still, Get Smart delivered a strong opening of near $40 million to take the weekend. On the other hand Mike Myers latest failed to deliver much of anything in its initial frame. While the overall box office did well, this weekend should deliver another big hit with Pixar's Wall*E. I suspect this will have a strong opening and do well through the upcoming holiday weekend.

Here is how I think the top ten field will play out:

RankTitleBox Office
1Wall*E$68 million
2Wanted$28 million
3Get Smart$21 million
4The Incredible Hulk$12 million
5Kung Fu Panda$11.5 million
6The Love Guru$7 million
7Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull$5 million
8The Happening$4.5 million
9You Don't Mess with the Zohan$4 million
10Sex and the City$3.5 million

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