'The Roommate' and 'Sanctum' battle Super Bowl Sunday

By Sarah Sluis

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend, which has historically led to box-office doldrums. Many studios don't want to release a big film because they know Sunday will see a steep decline in ticket sales, but recently some movies, like the Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds concert movie and romance Dear John, have hopped into the time slot as counterprogramming for a young, female audience.

This year's "Miley Cyrus" counterprogramming pick is The Roommate (2,534 theatres), which should attract medium-sized hordes of young women (this demographic is already a big consumer of the horror genre, though this movie is more of a thriller). Leighton Meester ("Gossip Girl") stars as a creepy roommate in the style of Single White Female, whose possessiveness and copycat behavior quickly turn for the worse. With no advance screenings, a two-thumbs-up review is unlikely, though the lack of competing films should bring it over $10 million.

The 3D/IMAX, cave exploration movie Sanctum (2,789 theatres) will also drop into theatres. Despite the fact that the movie used the same 3D techniques as Avatar and bears the executive producer stamp of James Cameron, I was not impressed. Critic Maitland McDonagh called out the "one-dimensional characters" and added this observation: "Anyone who can't predict the order in which the bruised and battered survivors will fall prey to the implacable forces of nature and human error doesn't spend much time at the movies." I myself became distracted from the story, debating which character would be the next addition to the body count. A $10 million plus debut should also be in order for this suspense tale.

Natalie Portman's the new owner of a Golden Globe, and her prominence in both Black Swan and No Strings Attached undoubtedly motivated IFC Films to release The Other Woman (2 theatres), which stars the actress. In fact, "Portman is the only real reason to see the film," critic David Noh proclaims, faulting its "overt complexities and heavy obviousness."

On Monday, with the battle of the Steelers and Packers over, I'll give a play-by-play of this weekend's winners and losers.