'Premium Rush' will try to coast ahead of 'Expendables 2'

In an end-of-the-summer sprint, Premium Rush (2,255 theatres) will try to grab the last of the hot weather box office. The Manhattan-set actioner about a bike messenger trying to outwit a dirty cop should earn in the teen millions this weekend, but lackluster marketing support could see it
debut to less than $10 million. If that's the case, the number won't be enough to beat the second weekend of The Expendables 2. Critics are generally warm on the movie, giving it a 71% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I white-knuckled some of the chase scenes, but had a harder time buying into the motivation behind the constant and sometimes unnecessary racing and evading. But most action-driven plots don't have that much depth, so in that context, Premium Rush is quite good. It's unclear whether smash-'em-up audiences will want to trade in car chases for bike ones, but this is one premise that's actually original.

Hit & Run (2,870 theatres) is a car chase movie, but it's also a low-budget indie and a bit of a comedy and romance. It opened on Wednesday to $625,000, and it's expected to settle at $7-8 million through the weekend. That's not a ton, but the production and marketing cost just $2
million, so there's definitely a profit in store. Engaged couple Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell star in the feature, which was written and co-directed by Shepard. David Noh praises the chemistry between the two stars, explaining that "you are almost fully willing to revel in whatever caper
befalls this eminently likeable and fun couple, so pleasurable is
their company." The "laugh riot" is also "seriously romantic" and " has something for the girls as well as the boys."

The anti-Obama documentary 2016: Obama's America will expand into 1,090 theatres, timed to the Republican National Convention. The politically charged picture has already earned $2.6 million, mainly in Texas. The conservative movie is topping Fandango's advance sales chart.

Sweltering audiences in need of a chiller can check out The Apparition (810 theatres), which
stars Twilight's Ashley Greene but doesn't have much else going for it. In fact, advance reviews are giving it a 0% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Ouch. Without much marketing traction or a thumbs-up, it's set to earn in the $2 million range.

On the specialty front, Mike Birbiglia expands his one-man show into a movie in Sleepwalk with Me (1 theatre), a "supremely self-deprecating delight," according to Noh.

On Monday, we'll see if Premium Rush outraced The Expendables 2 and Hit & Run. With the Republican National Convention in danger of being washed out by a hurricane, maybe 2016: Obama's America will pick up the slack.