'The Debt' competes against twin horror pics 'Shark Night' and 'Apollo 18'

By Sarah Sluis

In terms of quality, The Debt (1,826 theatres) leads the pack of new releases this week. However, the more likely winner of the box office will be The Help, which still has strong momentum. The Debt opened on Wednesday to slightly less than $1 million, which means it could be tough for the movie to even break $10 million over the weekend. Based on the Israeli thriller Ha-Hov, the spy pic boasts a starry cast that includes Sam Worthington, Helen Mirren, and up-and-comer Jessica Chastain. In a summer full of teen-oriented action films, this movie is made for adults. Critic Wendy R. Weinstein admires director John Madden, who "knows how to assemble a brilliant cast, let them make the necessary connections and ultimately create chemistry." Even though the movie, set in two separate eras, "slackens in its third act," on the whole it's "unnervingly good."

What's summer without people being gobbled up by sea creatures at the beach? Last year it was Piranha 3D, this year it's Shark Night 3D (2,806 theatres). I have to say, the plot for this one is highly original--or should one say, grabbing at straws? There are teens alone on a vacation in the brackish Louisiana Bayou, a man-eating shark, and a serial killer. Throw 'em all in the pot, stir, and if it earns enough, repeat.

Space terror picture Apollo 18 (3,328 theatres) applies the found-footage technique used in horror picture Paranormal Activity to space. Apparently, a top-secret mission to the moon went terribly wrong, and only recently was the footage leaked to the media. At the sunset of America's space program, the subject feels oddly appropriate. This movie shows the "real" reason why mankind never returned to the moon, which has to do with space creatures, not budgetary restrictions.

Combining spirituality and sports, the winning formula that gave The Blind Side box office success, Seven Days in Utopia is a "G-rated piece of American cheese," according to THR critic Todd McCarthy, which "will find open arms across a wide swath of the Bible Belt and through the South." With 561 theatres in its release, this drama could make a real impact if it can find the right audience.

On the specialty front, A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy sells itself with its title. While it's releasing in the indie market, the movie is "mindless but real summer fun," according to critic David Noh, which may appeal to audiences who want to lighten up and enjoy its "surprising dollops of charm and insight."

On Tuesday, we'll see if Labor Day provided an extra boost to the end-of-summer box office doldrums.

Labor Day audiences turn out for 'The American'

By Sarah Sluis

Machete and The American were neck-and-neck throughout the four-day Labor Day weekend. Machete led during its debut Friday, earning $3.9 million to The American's $3.84 million. After Friday, the George

Clooney thinking man/spy film pulled ahead, rising Saturday and Sunday and finishing the four-day weekend with $16.3 million. Machete, the Mexploitation picture from Robert Rodriguez, never matched its Friday night debut and finished with $14 million. Labor Day weekend is notoriously slow, however, so both of these films performed well in terms of their time slots and genres.

Debuting in fourth place, Going the Distance brought in a lackluster $8.9 million over the weekend. This makes the movie a loser even among romantic comedy bedfellows like Love Happens and The Switch (both of which were probably worse than this one, starring Drew

Barrymore and Justin Long). The movie's release date was changed from August 27th to September 3rd at the last minute, which could have affected grosses. The American and Going the Distance also drew large portions of their audience from the 25+ and 35+ crowd. For a movie like The American, that's fine, but a romantic comedy needs support from younger audiences, who didn't seem to show up in enough force.

As the summer movie season wraps up, several movies actually increased from their previous week. Family movies and word-of-mouth hits were the biggest beneficiaries. Despicable Me, Toy Story 3 and The Sorcerer's Apprentice increased from last week, even without taking the holiday into account. With the extra day added in, the special effects movie of the summer, Inception, boosted its take 20% along with cop comedy The Other Guys, which went up 5.8%.

Among limited releases, a Chinese remake of the Coen Brothers movie Blood Simple, A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop, opened to a $7,000 per-screen average playing on five screens. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 yielded a $3,000 per-screen average playing on over thirty screens. The prior film, Mesrine: Death Instinct, opened in late August to a $5,000 per-screen average, so the second film may be a tougher sell.

This Friday will be slow at the box office, with Resident Evil: Afterlife (3D) leading releases and teen sex comedy The Virginity Hit opening under the radar in a limited release.