'Nanny,' 'Pirahna,' 'Lottery Ticket' and 'Vampires' crowd the box office

By Sarah Sluis

Emma Thompson's "snaggle-toothed, uni-browed, wart-ridden" version of Mary Poppins makes a second appearance in Nanny McPhee Returns (2,783 theatres). Our critic David Noh was unimpressed with the

movie's jokes about farm animal excrement and "unending, chaotic chase scenes," which leave the audience with a "noisome and numbing" effect. As the only new offering for kid audiences, the movie may open well, but it's unlikely to approach the must-see status that drew such large audiences to the animated crowd-pleasers of the summer.

Expanding into the largest amount of locations this weekend, Vampires Suck (3,233 theatres)

opened on Wednesday to $4 million, a surprisingly high number for a movie that, judging by the number of the times its name and release date were changed, didn't inspired much confidence among the folks at 20th Century Fox. However, making fun of Twilight and the glitter content of vampire heartthrob Edward's body has become a favorite topic for young males, so this spoof may prove popular among that set. It comes from the creators of genre parodies Date Movie, Epic Movie, Disaster Movie and its ilk, so viewers will be in store for some stupid fun that, just maybe, offers them a few laughs, especially if you still have a -teen suffix at the end of your age.

Lottery Ticket (1,973 theatres) is expected to draw in largely black audiences to the tale of a boy from the projects who wins the jackpot right before the

long Fourth of July weekend, leading everyone from his grandma to a rogue preacher to try to snag the ticket from him. First-time director Erik White is "unable to blend broad comedy with the uncomfortable ghetto realities," according to THR critic Kirk Honeycutt, leading to a stereotypical presentation of life for poor blacks. Its first weekend will be the test, since black-oriented comedies, including Tyler Perry's, tend to open big and fade quickly.

Oh, look! It's Jennifer Aniston in another romantic comedy, The Switch (2,012 theatres). In this one, she stars opposite Jason Bateman as a

woman who decides to become a mother with the help of a sperm donor of her choosing, except Bateman replaces his sperm and becomes the father of the kid. It's pretty average, and apparently isn't tracking well. This movie will have to contend with Eat Pray Love, as the two will be battling for some of the same audiences.

A remake of a lowest-common-denominator horror film and Jaws spoof, Piranha 3D (2,470 theatres) adds another dimension to the equation, releasing almost exclusively in 3D (2,220 out of 2,470 theatres in 3D). With just a limited amount of critics seeing the movie, it's currently tracking at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes--what?? As long as you're evaluating it as a low-brow, cheesy exploitation horror movie, it's a "pitch-perfect, guilty-pleasure serving of late-summer schlock that handily nails the tongue-in-cheek spirit of the Roger Corman original," according to THR critic Michael Rechtshaffen.

Releasing with an R rating, despite the filmmakers' protestations, the documentary The Tillman Story (NY/LA; 4 theatres) tells the story of NFL player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman who died in Afghanistan in what was spun as an act of heroism but was later determined to be a friendly fire incident. Talented director Amir Bar-Lev (My Kid Could Paint That) elicits both heartbreak and outrage with his story. For something lighter, there's the story of a restaurant owner (Adam Bousdoukos) with a struggling business, Soul Kitchen (NY; 2 theatres). Despite an "awful run of bad luck," the owner's "constantly changing fortunes are the good-natured joke in this disarmingly loose and energetic comedy," according to critic Kevin Lally. Based on a true story of a Chinese ballet dancer who goes to Texas as part of an exchange program, only to abandon his homeland for America, Mao's Last Dancer (29 theatres) is a "conventionally told biopic," according to Lally, that "follows a pretty basic path of contrasting Western freedom with the rigid totalitarianism of Li's [Cunxin, the dancer] upbringing." The ballet sequences and true story help make this movie a crowd-pleaser, according to Lally.

On Monday, we'll see where each of these new releases fell in the top ten, and if returning releases The Expendables and Eat Pray Love continue to hold on to their sizeable audiences. The summer movie season is coming to an end, and this may be the last week any film has even a chance of breaking $100 million. Then we'll be on to the September slump. Though many of next month's films aren't expected to be huge winners at the box office, there should be some entertaining ones in the bunch.

'Despicable Me' and 'Predators' seek opposite audiences

By Sarah Sluis

Despicable Me, the first animated movie released by the new kid on the

animation block, Illumination Entertainment, will open in 3,474

theatres, including 1,551 3D theatres. Releasing a tight three weeks

afterToy Story 3, Despicable Me will have the advantage of being the

fresh offering. Among infrequent moviegoers, however, the

highly-lauded Pixar sequel may hold more sway than an unknown offering

(though those minion characters are pretty big draw). Despicable Me is expected to bow similarly to How to Train Your Dragon, a similarly unknown property that opened at $43 million but eventually accrued an outsize $216 million over its run. Critic Rex Roberts praised the minions, calling the movie a "cleverly formulaic cartoon that is, by turns, caustic and charming, gross and poignant, silly and sophisticated."

Believe it or not, Predators, the latest movie in the long-running Predator franchise, offers the "creatures

their best showcase since the original Predator," enthuses critic Ethan Alter. Not only that, the "meat-and-potatoes action movie" is "solidly entertaining" and the action set-pieces "are crisply shot and genuinely fun." That is, if you get your kicks out of "a Predator ripping out the spine of his unfortunate victim Mortal Kombat-style." Opening in 2,669 theatres, its man-creature combat is expected to offer particular allure to males under twenty-five.

On the specialty front, Sundance favorite The Kids Are All Right opens in seven theatres. The comedy centers on a lesbian couple (Annette Bening, Julianne Moore) whose children decide to seek out their sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo). His presence ends up ruffling up the family feathers,

resulting in a "smart, humane, hilarious and poignant tale," according to critic Kevin Lally. While the movie has a thoroughly modern American plotline, "the laughs arise from recognizable, truthful human behavior."

The second installment in author Stieg Larson's trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, opens in 85 theatres. According to critic Doris Toumarkine, the Swedish-language movie is "every bit as entertaining as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," which earned $11 million this March. However, could the movies be released too close together? Even the second and thirdTwilight movies were eight months apart, and some have called Eclipse's first-week performance disappointing. Conversely, the books' popularity, as well as holdover awareness from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, could boost the second movie even higher. The final movie, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, will open in late November, so hopefully distributor Music Box's tight release strategy works...or they figure it out before the third movie hits.

On Monday, we'll reconvene for the outcome of Despicable Me vs. Predators, and weigh in on the second week of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which could drop heavily. We'll also take a look at the holding power of The Last Airbender and Toy Story 3, both of which will be threatened by the competing family release,Despicable Me.

'Pelham' hopes to take 1, 2, or 3

By Sarah Sluis

With so many good films piling up in theatres, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (3,074 theatres) and Imagine That (3,008 theatres) may have a tough time making waves at the box office. While Pelham has a shot at number one, prognosticators estimate the film will pull in roughly $20 million--the same amount The Hangover and Up should settle at. Reviews for the film have been middling, as it requires some suspension of disbelief to get on board with the characters and plot. The New York Times' A.O. Scott enjoyed watching Denzel Washington and John Travolta "barreling through every clich and nugget of corn the script has to offer with verve and conviction. Even when you don't really believe them, they're always a lot of fun to watch," while Michael Rechtshaffen found "the sleek new edition isn't as transporting as it should have been." Pelham's no runaway train, but it just can't quite pull everything off.

Imagine That has received barely a blip in marketing, usually a sign that the studio has little faith in the film, but our reviewer Kirk Honeycutt found the banter between Eddie Murphy and child actor Yara Shahidi top-notch. He commends the director, Karey Kirkpatrick, for "[knowing] how to entertain children while amusing adults," and "[using] Murphy much better than many past directors, not letting him run away with the film, but forcing him to work with the story and his character." For some reason, Variety pegs the potential audience as moms and girls (which might explain why marketers abandoned it), but it seems like the kind of film a whole family would enjoy. That is, unless watching Eddie Murphy being chastised for being an absentee father is a bit too squirm-inducing for most dads.

On the specialty front, festival favorite Moon, directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones, opens in New York and L.A. "[A] meditation on the conflict between the streamlining tendencies of technological progress and the stubborn persistence of feelings and desires that can't be tamed by utilitarian imperatives," as summarized by A.O. Scott," the film has been commended by critics for its minimalism, which they also view as something of a fault. "There may simply have been too little in Parker's script to play with beyond a couple of plot twists," FJI's Chris Barsanti noted.

Also opening in New York and L.A., Food, Inc. provides a rundown of the organic, local, anti-agribusiness movement. I blogged about the documentary last week, and recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more, or become more fervently devoted to, the food movement.

On Monday, I'll recap to see if Pelham will be able to debut above holdovers The Hangover and Up, and if Imagine That will manage to exceed the modest expectations set by Paramount.