The only thing remarkable about this weekend’s box office is that it’s November and Eagle Eye is still in the top ten.
11/7
Wide
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The Madagascar animals go to the plain-y part of Africa instead of the jungle-y part.
WILL IT SUCK?
Same director. Same cast with additions like Sacha Baron Cohen and the late, great Bernie Mac. Looks like they’ve got new writers this time, including a guy who worked on Tropic Thunder and Idiocracy..
Early buzz is mixed.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It’s not that Quantum of Solace is going after the same audience, but it will be a drag on the second frame. $194mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
They didn’t remember the first one.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott do the whole man-child learns values by mentoring actual children thing.
WILL IT SUCK?
David Wain directs and co-writes with some of his State cohorts. Love The State. Haven’t been as impressed with State alums’ film work since (though I have yet to see Wet Hot American Summer…I know, I know). I will say this, however, the red band trailer is much funnier than the, um, green band trailer.
Oh, and Elizabeth Banks is officially in every movie coming out this year.
Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
2nd frame of the much-higher profile Zack and Miri‘s gonna hurt and this week you’ve got Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson in Soul Men. $18mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Sam Jackson and Bernie Mac try to put their 70′s soul act back together.
WILL IT SUCK?
Director Malcom D. Lee (The Best Man, Undercover Brother) more often than not brings it (Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins notwithstanding) but a bigger concern is the writing team behind Life penning the screenplay. Seeing Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes in the same film (both passed on the same weekend) is sure to make one misty, but the chemistry between Mac and Jackson could be interesting.
Early buzz is mixed.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Bernie Mac has to fight himself in Madagascar this week before Quantom of Solace knocks everything out of play the following week. $38mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but it will be sad to see Mac and Hayes in the dear departed montage.
Limited
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Boy becomes friends with a prisoner in his dad’s Nazi concentration camp. This can’t end well.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is strong. From writer/director Mark Herman, he of the excellent Brassed Off and Little Voice. David Thewlis plays the dad in what looks to be some real tour de force shit.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Two major indie releases next week could obscure this in the long run. $1mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Depending upon the push from Miramax, who has this film’s opposite number to promote in Happy-Go-Lucky, you could see Thewlis up for something, with a longer shot for screenplay or one of the boys.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Musical taking place in a dystopian future where replacement organs are sold and, if you miss a payment, get repossessed.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good in a very cult classic sort of way. Interesting to see this as Saw II, III and IV director Darren Lynn Bousman’s first step out of that wheelhouse (check out this episode of “The Business” for the fascinating story). From the writers of the original cult musical. Interesting casting as well. Anthony Head plays the repo man in question, and I can’t think of a better first lead for him. Andrew Lloyd Webber vet Sarah Brightman is up in here, too, along with an all-growns-up former Spy Kid Alexa Vega. Oh, and Paris Hilton.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Being a cult classic almost precludes you from making a lot of money until you come out on DVD. $6mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Might even be too out there for the Indie Spirit Awards.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Kind of like a Christian Saw.
WILL IT SUCK?
As you may or may not know there is a Christian horror novel genre of which Frank Peretti is the Stephen King. This movie is based on a novel he co-wrote with Ted Dekker (the Dean Koontz?) in 2006. Peretti also co-wrote the screenplay. Robby Henson, who helmed a film version of Dekker’s Thr3e, directs. Buzz has it that Thr3e (the movie) pretty much sucked so I’m not breaking out the champaign for this one just yet.
Early buzz is not so hot.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Will build on the modest b.o. of Thr3e. $2mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Not so much.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in this satirical version of his life in which he, down on his luck and out of money, gets caught up in a real-life bank robbery.
WILL IT SUCK?
This one has my vote on concept alone. Fortunately it has the good early buzz to back it up.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Travolta set the standard. If you want to revive your career, go indie. Unfortunately, this isn’t Tarantino’s follow-up to Reservoir Dogs so it’s not going to have quite the same effect. $2mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
That would be awesome. Jean-Claude Van Damme gets a nod for taking the piss out of himself. But no.
Next Week: That buff guy from Munich takes on that French guy from Munich.
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