'Warm Bodies' should lead during Super Bowl weekend

The Super Bowl weekend isn't as big of a movie dead zone as it used to be. Not only is there a picture targeted at female teenagers, the usual counter-programming for the football weekend, but there are also two movies aimed at adult males, though business will likely be best for those on Friday and Saturday.

Warm Bodies (3,009 theatres) follows the path tread by Twilight: a creature that should be in a horror film (vampire, zombie) is actually kind, and ends up falling in love with a teen girl. But this iteration is not just a romance, but also incorporates elements of apocalypse movies, horror/action
films, and comedies. "If Twilight were funnier, had a more
proactive heroine and an uglier hero, it might be Warm
Bodies," I sum up in my review. While marketing a zombie movie that combines so many genres might have been a challenge, it appears that Summit has done a good job explaining the film and revving up interest. The Nicholas Hoult-led picture should approach the $20 million mark, a great start, especially with Valentine's Day coming up in a couple of weeks.

Sylvester Stallone "plays to his base" in a "gratifying return to the action genre," Bullet to the Head (2,404 theatres). With Sunday returns likely to be dampened by the Super Bowl, a finish in the $8-10 million range is
expected. Critic Daniel Eagan predicts fans will be happy, but younger viewers may find themselves alienated as Stallone delivers on the action checklist with an "efficiency that borders on
the impersonal."

Competing for the adult male audience, Stand Up Guys (659 theatres) stars Oscar winners Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan
Arkin. The mobster comedy offers "an entertaining yet sobering portrayal of
not-so-wise guys who do not go gently into a no-good night. THR's Duane Byrge predicts it
"should play well with older audiences with a feel for the actors
and this flavor of humor." Without a lot of support and with another film angling for the same demographic, Stand Up Guys may only round up a few million.

There will also be some new Oscar-nominated films to check out. The Gatekeepers (2 theatres) an Oscar-nominated documentary that features interviews with former leaders of Israel's secret service, Shin Bet, offers a "complicated cocktail of a film sure to send audience members out of the theatre with heads abuzz and arguments a-popping," reports FJI's Chris Barsanti. All of the Oscar-nominated shorts will play at New York City's IFC Center, including the Animated Short Films 2013, Documentary Shorts 2013, and Live Action Shorts 2013. Queue up for a marathon viewing session!

Former New York City mayor Ed Koch just passed away, and the documentary Koch (2 theatres) offers an opportunity to remember and reflect on the leader. This "comprehensive" doc is no hagiography. "Made with the former mayor's cooperation," reports THR's John DeFore, it still gives "ample screen
time to those with harsh things to say about him" Sounds like as fair a shake as a politician can get.

On Monday, we'll find out which films scored the most points with fans over the weekend (and either celebrate or commiserate on the outcome of the Ravens vs. the 49ers).

'Footloose' outstepped by 'Real Steel'

By Sarah Sluis

Despite three new wide releases this weekend, last week's Real Steel narrowly won the first place spot by dipping just 40% to $16.3 million. While the robot-centered picture didn't overwhelm in its first outing, its second round has brought the expensive production to a more respectable $51 million cumulative total.

In second place, the reboot of Footloose debuted to $16.1 million. The inexpensive movie drew the greatest support from older females. 75% of all viewers were women, and 73% were over 18. The movie, which is set in a small town, drew the greatest support from Heartland locales, with Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City receiving the honors of being the dance film's top two markets. Former "Dancing with the Stars" regular Julianne Hough stars, so she undoubtedly helped the movie appeal to the show's older female viewers.

The sci-fi/horror remake The Thing underperformed, earning just $8.7 million. The movie joins other scary offerings that have failed to connect with viewers, including Apollo 18 and Dream House. Horror movies are supposed to be low-budget sure things, but the misfire of The Thing shows there are more factors at work. As Halloween approaches, it will be interesting to see if Paranormal Activity 3 helps reverse this trend.

The Big Year was a big bust. The salaries of Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson were probably barely covered by the comedy's paltry $3.3 million opening. I thought making fun of but also celebrating bird watching sounded like a hoot, but audiences didn't agree and critics warned that the feature was not particularly funny.

Director Pedro Almodvar is something of a brand name on the indie circuit, so it's no surprise his latest, The Skin I Live In, earned $38,500 per screen in six locations. The movie ran in the New York Film Festival, giving the Spanish-language genre hybrid additional advance publicity for city dwellers. Such a strong per-screen average sustained over six screens (as opposed to the two often reserved for opening weekend) bodes well for the unusual drama's future.

The generic cop vs. serial killer picture Texas Killing Fields had a rote performance at the box office, averaging $3,000 per screen at three locations. Take Shelter, one of my indie favorites this year, boosted its per-screen average by $500 from last week, even as it doubled the number of theatres in its release. In 24 locations, the drama had a mean of $5,300 per location.

This Friday, Paranormal Activity 3 starts the Halloween horror deluge, Johnny English Reborn offers up British spy humor, and the swashbuckling The Three Musketeers draws its sword.