'Jack the Giant Slayer' sets its sights on the clouds

Depending on how Jack the Giant Slayer (3,525 theatres) opens today, the first of March, the box office may come in like a lion, and out like a lamb. Usually mid-March holds at least one blockbuster, like Alice in Wonderland--but it's also a prime place to put an extremely expensive flop and hope for the best (see: John Carter). Originally scheduled for release during the busy
summer season, Jack switched to March but didn't get a reprieve from a crowded slate: Another special-effects fantasy, Oz the Great and Powerful, will release next Friday. Forecasts predict that Jack will have a difficult time going above $30 million. "Kids won't be all that impressed by an adventure that recycles so much
material from other movies," FJI critic Daniel Eagan assesses, though "3D and some extended battle sequences" will at least give it mileage among some audiences.

Following in the storied path paved by American Pie and last year's Project X, 21 and Over (2,771 theatres) dangles a risque, R-rated comedy in front of young viewers. The writers of The Hangover, Jon Lucas and Scott
Moore, "who also wound up directing," THR's David Guzman says scathingly, apply the 'one crazy night' format to a guy's 21st birthday, to mostly "dull" results. Even with eager audiences in younger
demographics, the comedy will likely open in the teen millions.

Specialty-seeking audiences looking for a new carrot to nibble on can check out Stoker (7 theatres), which comes from Korean auteur Park Chan-wook making his first English-language feature. The "dreamy, claustrophobic thriller," as described by critic Maitland McDonagh, has a Southern gothic feel and includes a widow (Nicole Kidman), her remote daughter (Mia Wasikowska) and their just-a-touch creepy uncle (Matthew Goode).
Things do not end well. Chan-Wook's visual splendor is in full display, and although you may not like the movie, it's not a waste of time either.

With an oxymoron in the title, people are right to be a bit suspicious of The Last Exorcism Part II (2,700 theatres). The sequel to the hit found-footage film is "soporific," with not enough "genuinely creepy" moments to balance out the anticlimactic ones, according to THR's Frank Scheck. The horror follow-up should end up somewhere below 21 and Over.

Appearing out of nowhere yet releasing in over 2,000 theatres, Phantom is in the vein of Das Boot, The Hunt for Red October and K-19: The Widowmaker. Apparently, it might be better to catch one of those than to go out to the theatres for this. Phantom "harks back to a genre long gone and probably better
forgotten," remarks critic Shirley Sealy. Ed Harris and David Duchovony play Russians, without much in the way of an accent, which subtracted credibility from the enterprise.

On Monday, we'll see if Jack the Giant Slayer was able to defy expectations and eke
out an opening over $30 million, and if the other releases were able to
gain some traction in what looks like a much slower weekend than last
year.

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1' boasts high advance ticket sales

By Sarah Sluis

Even as the marathon Potter series reaches its penultimate installment, the movie is still a must-see ticket. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (4,125 theatres) boasts over 1,900 sellouts and a fifth-place spot among all advance ticket sales, according to Movietickets.com. Fans will be greeted with a dark, adult film and oh-so-slightly incomplete feeling. Hogwarts is absent from this film, though the architectural wizardry of the Ministry of Magic makes up for the change in setting. "The film's centerpiece, Harry, Ron and Hermione's daring raid on the Ministry...recalls an episode of Mission: Impossible, complete with the trio temporarily donning false faces," notes critic Ethan Alter, praising director David Yates' maturation into a "more confident director of action." Thursday midnight screenings could give the film some $30 million, with a $100 million plus weekend in the crystal ball. Like the opening weekend behemoth Twilight: New Moon, Harry Potter will benefit from all-digital multiplexes that can program the film in every theatre at midnight and give the movie lots of screens to meet demand. 239 IMAX screens will help boost ticket sales.

For adults in search of some non-wizard focused entertainment, The Next Three Days (2,564 theatres) sets it target on those who "favor twisty plotting over slam-bang action," according to critic Daniel Eagan. The action thriller has similarities to last year's hit Taken, with its family-oriented kidnapping/rescue plot. Liam Neeson, who starred in Taken, has a supporting role here as a kind of advisor to Russell Crowe's character, almost creating a sense of continuity from film to film. An older, more male audience, the exact opposite of the Harry Potter demographic, will ensure this movie won't have to compete with Potter-philes. Still, The Next Three Days has been pegged as a $10 million or so opener, with a chance that it will disappoint and open in the single digit millions.

The U.S.' Payroll Fairness Act may be caught in a Republican filibuster, but on the screen, a group of U.K.-based female autoworkers receive just such a right in Made in Dagenham (3 theatres). "Catching the ripples of optimism of Britain's swinging '60s, the film is intelligent and feel-good and should pull in the usual suspects," critic Doris Toumarkine predicts, comparing the movie to Norma Rae.

Also opening today is Heartless (1 theatre), an "ambitious horror-art movie hybrid," according to critic Maitland McDonagh. The movie centers on a mildly disfigured photographer who is convinced crime is being caused by "feral thugs" that are less than human. Director Philip Ridley's style "walks the line between campfire creep-out and cautionary fable," and "should appeal to horror buffs who prefer lingering unease to the gut-bruising sucker punch."

"[I]ntriguing but inconsistent, drifting back and forth between sequences of razor-sharp insight and slack, ponderous stretches," according to critic Jon Frosch, White Material (3 theatres) centers on a white French woman who refuses to leave her plantation home even as the African country she resides in falls into civil war.

Screener will be taking a break. Look for new posts starting December 1.

'Machete,' 'Going the Distance,' and 'The American' vie for Labor Day audiences

By Sarah Sluis

The final week of the summer movie season is usually a slow one at the box office. The sun-seeking beachgoers on the East Coast may have to trade in their beach blankets for theatre seats because of Hurricane Earl, potentially boosting the grosses in that area of the nation.

Opening in the widest amount of theatres, Going the Distance (3,030 theatres) should appeal most to female audiences drawn in by the friendly, lovable star Drew Barrymore. Guys may be surprised by the more vulgar humor and male bonding that takes place between leading man Justin Long and friends Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis. The romantic comedy is expected to earn somewhere above $10 million.

A full-length version of a trailer in Grindhouse, Machete (2,670 theatres) stars Danny Trejo as a Mexican Federale who becomes a vigilante after being double-crossed. The female co-stars are

tough in real life, known for being tabloid fodder and/or for their run-ins in the law: recently released inmate Lindsay Lohan plays a frequently naked nun, former inmate Michelle Rodriguez plays an organizer who works out of a taco truck. Jessica Alba, with the comparatively tame moniker "style icon," suits up as an immigration officer. The movie's stance on immigration comes across as political in the wake of Arizona's controversial immigration policy. According to critic Ethan Alter, the filmmakers "[use] the film as a vehicle to pointedly tweak the anti-immigration rhetoric expressed by a certain segment of the American public," but "subtle" these references are not. This homage to exploitation movies should earn in the high teen millions, and because of its appeal to male and Latino audiences, who are known for being first-weekend audiences, it's my pick for number one.

A quiet (some say slow) tale of a hit man (George Clooney) taking a break in Italy, The American (2,823 theatres) opened on Wednesday to $1.6 million, a head start that indicates the movie will hit the low teen

millions. Critic Ethan Alter astutely observes that the role doesn't play to Clooney's strengths as an actor. He "thrives when playing a determined man of action with a quick wit and/or a clearly stated goal," but here "he barely registers a pulse onscreen. Some actors can say volumes with a single expression�Clooney usually requires at least a line or two of dialogue as well." Director Anton Corbjin (Control), who started out as a photographer, "tells the story through a series of carefully composed still frames with minimal camera movement." This movie may not be getting the positive buzz that screams "awards season," but should appeal to indie-loving, mature audiences eager to escape popcorn pics.

Another crime-focused offering, the French movie Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1, will unspool in 28 theatres. A follow-up to Mesrine: Death Instinct, the biopic follows a real-life French criminal played by Vincent Cassel. "[A] towering achievement of the crime genre," according to critic Doris Toumarkine, and "the action scenes...induce total immersion in what transpires."

On Tuesday, we'll circle back to crown the winner of the four-day holiday weekend and see which of the trio of wide releases distinguished itself the most. Goodbye, 2010 summer movie season!

'Takers' and 'The Last Exorcism' take on 'Avatar' re-release

By Sarah Sluis

Kids are starting to go back to school, the first cold chill has swept through New York City, and summer is drawing to a close. This week will be a light one at the box office, with a couple of fun, genre-y diversions sharing space with the re-release of Avatar.

A "Michael Mann-lite," stylish drama about a bank heist, Takers (2,206 theatres) features a cast including hip-hop stars Chris Brown and T.I., "The Wire"'s Idris Elba, and well-known actors Matt Dillon and Star Wars-cursed Hayden Christensen. Younger audiences may get the most out of the movie, which "is actually kind of cool, if you've never watched this kind of thing before," according to critic Frank Lovece, who himself was plagued by an ability to predict the plot twists well in advance.

The Last Exorcism (2,874 theatres) pairs up a charlatan priest with a real-life exorcism case, shot in a mockumentary style that "works

beautifully," according to critic Maitland McDonagh. Teen girls are expected to shriek through the PG-13 contortions of their peer, but "hardcore gore-hounds will be disappointed by the lack of flashy special effects," predicts McDonagh, since the movie "is more concerned with psychological chills."

Avatar will be re-released in 810 3D venues, including 125 IMAX theatres. The reboot is expected to provide a boon to exhibitors, with an expected gross in the high single millions. The second round in theatres will also help promote the movie's deluxe DVD and Blu-ray release in November. An extra 8 1/2 minutes of footage has been added to provide incentive for fans to see the movie yet again. Especially the kind of fans that tattoo Avatar characters on their back.

For specialty audiences, part one of the ominously titled Mesrine: Death Instinct will open in 28 theatres. The French gangster film is "snazzily shot" but "disappointingly superficial," according to critic Jon

Frosch. Forced incest takes center stage in the Mexican film Daniel & Ana (NYC), and lovers of B-movies will get a kick out of Gladiator-esque Centurion (9 theatres) from director Neil Marshall. Critic Ethan Alter dubbed him "one of the most reliable contemporary creators of kick-ass genre flicks," and I'll praise him for authoring the truly creepy cave horror movie The Descent.

On Monday, we'll see if there were any takers for Takers, if The Last Exorcism enticed spook-seeking audiences, and if Avatar's second coming resulted in crowded theatres filled with people anxious for a second glimpse.

'Inception' stays at the head of the table, with 'Dinner for Schmucks' close behind

By Sarah Sluis

For the third week in a row, Inception led the pack at the box office. The dreamy sci-fi movie dipped just 35% to $27.3 million, for a total of $193 million. That means the movie will cross the $200 million mark within the next few days. If it continues to drop around 30% for the rest of its run, it will finish just shy of $300 million.

Debuting in second place, the Steve Carell-led Dinner for Schmucks rang up $23.3 million. Based on the French comedy Le Dner des Cons, the remake received mixed reviews (averaging 51% on Rotten Tomatoes). The question here is if the movie will end up with a run similar to Carell's April release Date Night, which opened to $25 million but finished with a figure four times its opening weekend. The tamer PG-13 Date Night, which also co-starred a woman, has more of a mass-market appeal, but Schmucks features Carell as an oblivious buffoon somewhat similar to his Michael Scott character on "The Office," which could draw in audiences.

The idea of pet movies as box-office gold suffered a setback with the $12.5 million debut weekend of Cats & Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. The first Cats & Dogs, which released ages ago in 2001,

opened to $21.7 million. With all the original fans of the series now in their teen years, it's no wonder the sequel failed to generate significant buzz.

Zac Efron was able to secure a $12.1 million opening for his romantic drama Charlie St. Cloud, playing a sensitive young man overwrought with guilt over the death of his younger brother. Awareness and intent to see was high among teen girls, but for the movie to open higher it needed to

appeal to broader audience. Efron can enjoy the fact that his weepie romantic movie played better than that of the competition. Twilighter Robert Pattinson's Remember Me opened to just $8 million in March.

On the specialty front, The Kids Are All Right expanded yet again, going from 201 to 847 theatres and bringing in $3.4 million for a total that's now hovering just under the $10 million mark.

Get Low, starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Billy Murray, had an equally starry debut in four theatres with a per-screen average of $22,700. The Weinstein Co.'s The Concert averaged $10,000 per screen on two screens, and the documentary Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, Rebel earned $10,000 on one screen.

This Friday, Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell take on the buddy cop comedy in The Other Guys, and Step Up 3D brings urban dancing to theatres everywhere.