Liam Neeson's 'The Grey' expected to lead the pack

Liam Neeson scored big in 2009 with Taken, and The Grey (3,185 theatres) could be his next shot at bringing in the hyper-masculine crowd with an adrenaline-filled story. Neeson has a bit of an everyman feel to him, and in The Grey he plays the leader of several oil-riggers who survive a plane crash in Alaska. This is man vs. nature all the way. They not only need to survive against the cold and snow, but packs of wolves! Whoa. Critic Maitland McDonagh had some doubts about the movie as a whole, but all was saved by the actors. "Every performance is a low-key, high-impact marvel in a movie that's true to its ruthless self to the very end," she praises. The Grey is in good shape to survive--it cost just $25 million to produce, and some think to the flick could open strong and actually make that much this weekend, although others are giving more conservative, $10-15 million range estimates.

Critic Marsha McCreadie describes Man on a Ledge (2,998 theatres) best, complaining that "so many people end up on a hotel ledge with the hero it could be a small cocktail party." It just kills the suspense. Sam Worthington plays a disgraced cop who is trying to clear his name by threatening to jump off a building, and Elizabeth Banks the negotiator trying to talk him down. With just a 22% positive Rotten Tomatoes rating compared to The Grey's 75% positive rating, I predict that audiences looking for a thrill will choose The Grey.

One for the Money (2,737 theatres) has two strikes against it. It didn't screen for critics, and it was moved from more optimistic spots on the schedule (like the summer) to a January dumping ground. Fans of Janet Evanovich's books may turn out for the picture, but it seems pretty stupid and honestly offensive. Katherine Heigl doesn't appear to be that strong of a heroine, and the blue collar characters don't feel authentic in a way that goes beyond their bad New Jersey accents. Then there's the trailer where Sherri Shepherd plays a hooker who needs "a snack" in order to give up information. Blech. Opening weekend estimates of the detective comedy indicate it would be lucky to reach $10 million.

Following star Glenn Close's Oscar nomination for Best Actress, Albert Nobbs will swoop into 246 theatres. The play adaptation, which stars Close as a woman who poses as a man in order to get by, has had mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike, with roughly half coming out in favor of the movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

After receiving five Oscar nominations, The Descendants will aggressively expand into 1,997 theatres, an addition of more than 1,000 theatres. The comedy-drama may not have earned the most nominations, but it received significant ones, including George Clooney for Best Actor, Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay.

The two most nominated pictures, Hugo and The Artist, are also adding screens. The family-friendly Hugo will go from around 600 to 995 theatres. Silent darling The Artist will add a couple hundred theatres for a total of 897 theatres. Hugo has been a bit of a disappointment, and while The Artist did extremely well in limited release, last week it seemed to falter while in release on so many screens. Will the Oscar nominations get people back into theatres to see these pictures?

On Monday, I'll report on the box office swings of the Oscar-nominated films, and see if The Grey's pack of wolves grabbed enough audiences to trounce the competition.