'Edge of Darkness' no match for 'Avatar'

By Sarah Sluis

Avatar continued its reign over the box office with its seventh week at

number one. The sci-fi crowd-pleaser coasted through the weekend with a mere 14% drop to rack up another $30 million. Just $5 million away from the

domestic all-time record of $600.4 million set by Titanic, Avatar will roll past the

milestone sometime this week. While Titanic is still the winner once the numbers are adjusted for inflation, both movies had remarkably similar trajectories, rising above initial bad press ("those blue creatures look funny, "there's no way it can make back its money") and then breaking record after record.

In second place, with about half the audience of Avatar, Mel Gibson-starring Edge of Darkness opened at $17.1 million, in line with industry expectations. The solid genre film (57% on Rotten Tomatoes) will draw in action and thrill-seeking moviegoers but won't expand much beyond its genre base.

Romantic comedy When in Rome opened on the high side of expectations, with $12 million of coins to count in its fountain. Its romcom cousin, Leap Year, opened a month ago to $9 million. Since both movies ended up with a 20% Rotten Tomatoes rating, When in Rome benefited from stronger marketing and a younger star to draw in young women to the sketched out, immature storyline.

After a so-so opening weekend, Tooth Fairy flexed some staying power with a small 26% drop, adding another $10 million to its under-the-pillow stash. At the opposite end of the spectrum, horror movie Legion fell a hard 61% to $6.8 million.

This Friday, Edge of Darkness and When in Rome will have to tough it out as they deal with fresh competition. From Paris with Love, an action film starring another older male star, John Travolta, will hit theatres to snatch away Edge of Darkness viewers. When in Rome will have to contend with Dear John, a romantic weepie starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried.

'Edge of Darkness' challenges 'Avatar'

By Sarah Sluis

This week's new releases have set up shop in diagonal demographic quadrants: older men (Edge of Darkness) and younger women (When in Rome). Edge of Darkness has the best chance of unseating Avatar, which is still bringing in its millions at an impressive clip. A 20% drop for Avatar will still put the movie at $28 million for the weekend. Unless Edge of Darkness can divert a significant portion of the audience, Avatar will remain on top, though it's likely that Darkness will win Friday before dropping through the rest of the weekend, just like The Book of Eli two weeks ago.

A "well-made genre-blender by professionals who know how to coax tears, deliver thrills," according to our critic Rex Roberts, Edge of Darkness (3,066 theatres) offers a familiar filmgoing experience that will appeal to Mel Gibson fans in particular. The theme of a kidnapped daughter worked particularly well with Liam Neeson's Taken, which released exactly a year ago. Will Darkness be able to beat Taken's $24 million opening weekend?

Romantic comedy When in Rome (2,456) falls on the low end of the struggling genre. It will probably appeal most those teenage girls who haven't fully grasped the genre's conventions yet. In my review, I noted that its brisk pace keeps the audience from dwelling on the movie's considerable faults, "[whisking] us through the conventions of romantic comedies so quickly there's barely time to groan." The movie will probably open in the single digits or low teens and drop quickly out of the top ten (e.g. Leap Year).

On the specialty front, Saint John of Las Vegas will release in one theatre as part of a new strategy by distributor IndieVest. Wealthy people invest in the film with the side benefit of parties and Hollywood glamour. The movie raised over $10 million, more than it needed, so at least the investors will get some of their money back, given its 5% Rotten Tomatoes rating. That seems to nix its chance at being a cult favorite.

On Monday we'll see if Edge of Darkness was able to pull a coup on reigning champion Avatar, and if When in Rome and Saint John of Las Vegas were able to draw in audiences for their opening wekened.