'Now You See Me' pulls off magic trick, beats 'After Earth'

Going into the weekend, most predictions had After Earth opening above $30 million, and Now You See Me languishing in the teen-million range. But the predictions were wrong. Now You See Me exceeded expectations, landing in second place with a $28 million opening. After Earth underperformed with just $27 million over the weekend. The fact that Now You See Me wasn't a tentpole worked in its favor, as the feature drew younger audiences (52% under 30) who liked the idea of a light, magic-driven heist movie. The casting of popular star Morgan Freeman also contributed to the bottom line. In contrast, After Earth suffered from poor reviews and a tepid "B" CinemaScore. The original sci-fi concept also didn't entice audiences the way other pre-sold Will Smith and Jaden Smith properties, like MIB 3 and The Karate Kid, did.

Bollywood movies often debut in the top twenty, but it's rare for a feature to open in the top ten. But that was the case for Yei Jawaani Hai Deewani, which landed in ninth place with $1.6 million, posting a $10,000 per-screen average. The romantic coming-of-age story stars Ranbir Kapoor, the fourth generation of an action family who have been dubbed "Bollywood royalty."

Eco-thriller The East debuted with the highest per-screen average of the week, earning $18,900 in each of its four locations. Fellow indie The Kings of Summer was right behind, averaging $14,500 per screen in its four-screen opening weekend. Before Midnight had an excellent second weekend as it expanded from five to 31 locations. The travelogue romance averaged $13,000 per screen and earned $431,000. With $800,000 in total, the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy starrer should pass $1 million by week three.

This Friday, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson sign up for The Internship with Google, and those in search of scares can check out the speculative thriller The Purge.

'After Earth' and 'Now You See Me' unlikely to overtake 'Fast & Furious 6'

Jaden Smith is a rising star. He played opposite his dad, Will Smith, in The Pursuit of Happyness, and then led The Karate Kid to a $55 million opening. The prospects for his latest, After Earth (3,401 theatres), are not quite as bright. Projections have the movie opening in the $35-$40 million range, which would put it behind the second weekend of Fast & Furious 6. But then again, I think there is a chance that the movie could overperform, even with the terrible reviews coming in. Our Daniel Eagan, for one, dismissed the feature as a "somber, soapy, only occasionally effective sci-fi adventure." That said, although the father-son tale is intense, meriting its PG-13 rating, it could still appeal to families with kids who are a bit past the sweet spot for animated features. Marketing has completely left out the fact that M. Night Shyamalan directed, a sign of how this once brand-name director has fallen in audiences' estimation.

A group of magicians pull off a heist in Now You See Me (2,925 theatres), which our critic Harry Haun calls a "fun ride if you don’t look where you have been or where you are headed." In other words, just sit back and enjoy the magic, and don't worry too much about the "big leaps from
logic" or unbelievable plot twists. The estimates for this sleight-of-hand feature are modest, with an expected opening in the teen millions.

There are already a few great indies out right now--Frances Ha and Before Midnight are on track to be the biggest successes, but there's also Fill the Void, Stories We Tell, What Maisie Knew, Kon-Tiki, and Mud, which is still going strong. This week, two more indies with strong prospects release. The eco-thriller The East (4 theatres), which stars Another Earth's Brit Marling, was a movie I loved, and so did our critic David Noh, who dubs it a "gripping, intelligent and deeply socially conscious thriller" that is the "best feature
inspired by the Occupy movement," with an "all-around technical smoothness and visual certitude that is a real
yet unstressed joy to anyone interested in truly good
moviemaking." A strong per-screen average in its debut will set this movie up well for the rest of the summer.

A kind of Stand By Me on stylistic steroids, The Kings of Summer (4 theatres) charmed Noh, leading him to call it the "perfect summer movie for 2013." Centering on three boys who escape to the woods, build a house, and live (somewhat successfully) off the land, the coming-of-age tale has "verve, freshness, laughs and effective moments of rue." The very accessible movie should resonate with young indie-seeking crowds.

On Monday, we'll see if After Earth manages to overperform expectations, if Now You See Me can pull off some box-office magic, and weigh in on the performance of the new and returning specialty releases.

Morgan Freeman rounds out the cast of 'Now You See Me'

By Sarah Sluis

Recently, I've developed a bit of a Morgan Freeman obsession. On television, I keep finding his voiceovers left and right. It's a rare person who wasn't won over pre-DVR by his starring role in cable TV favorite The Shawshank Redemption. His voice is rich and reserved, authoritative but twinkling. He just may be the best narrator out there. I recently took a look at his Alex Cross films (Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls) on the announcement that Tyler Perry plans to star in a reboot of the franchise, I, Alex Cross. They're generic, formulaic detective movies that date quickly, but they're also films in which Freeman gets to play the character he's honed so well over the years: wise, competent, and always ready to save the day.

Now You See Me centers on a couple of FBI agents who are trying to take down a quartet of magicians who carry out bank heists during their performances, ending by distributing the money to the attendees. Freeman will play a former magician who now gives away the secrets behind the tricks, an action that makes him reviled in the magic community. Freeman as a wise, behind-the-scenes guy who has more insight into what's going on than anyone else? Sounds like the perfect Freeman role to me.

Besides Freeman, Mark Ruffalo has signed on to play one of the FBI agents for the Summit Entertainment project. Jesse Eisenberg will play the cocky ringleader of the magicians (presumably employing his mile-a-minute delivery) and Amanda Seyfried and Melanie Laurent will play femme fatales. Though the cast is top-notch, the writing/directing team has a less than stellar track record. Director Louis Leterrier helmed the ill-fated Clash of the Titans, the poster child for poor 3D conversions, as well as The Transporter and its sequel. His record is pure action, but is he hungry to prove himself dramatically? The screenwriting team of Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt also gives little indication of their capability. Yakin has writing, directing, and producing credits on a variety of films, including Uptown Girls (director, executive producer), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (writer), and the documentary Bombay Beach (producer). Ricourt is a new talent, with no finished films but four scripts to his name on IMDB, which range from sci-fi to thriller to literary adaptation. There's no telling what shape the project Now You See Me might take, but one thing's for sure. Freeman will be there, lending his wise and comforting presence.