Spider-Man to Shrek: “$122 million? That’s cute.”
Yes, Shrek broke the record for highest animated opening and holds the third highest opening of all time now, but you know some exec at DreamWorks is out there whispering, “Fuckin’ Spider-Man!”
5/25
Wide
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
ARRR, WHAT BE THE PITCH?
Pirates vs. Dutch East India Co.
ARRRR, WILL IT BE SUCKING THIS TIME?
It’s a simple enough maxim: Dance with the one that brought ya. This franchise has stuck with Gore Verbinski at the helm and Terry Rossio & Ted Elliot (Both in the first Shrek writing pool, btw) for all three. Chances are, this will be just as good as the first two (yes, I liked the sequel). Adding Keith Richards and Chow Yun-Fat to the mix should be fun, and bringing back Geoffrey Rush probably won’t hurt, either.
ARRR, HOW MANY DOUBLOONS WILL IT BE STEALIN’?
Again, if we calculate the improvement in performance of the sequel (now the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time) to the original, the next step proportionally is $583mil. Again, I’m going to wuss out on that prediction. $437mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
I’ve got bugs crawling under my skin, man!
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed - some consider this to be William Friedkin’s third best film after The Exorcist and The French Connection, others are less impressed. Interesting, though, to see a horror film adapted from a stage play.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
No real horror competition, but Lionsgate has got to bump up the ad campaign. $16mil.
Limited
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Touched by a Really Hot French Angel
WILL IT SUCK?
Buzz has it that like most post-Professional Luc Besson, it looks beautiful but is as cheesy as hell.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
People want action from Besson and they’ll get it - from Timur Bekmambetov’s Daywatch the following week. $2mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Anime Dreamscape.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. Writer/director Satoshi Kan has scored before with Tokyo Godfathers and the transcendent Millennium Actress, one of the few animes I’ve actually understood.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Unless your name is Miyazaki, your anime is gonna have trouble getting traction in the States. $750,000.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Guy hires an actor to pretend to be the president of a company.
WILL IT SUCK?
Comedy has a new name and it is - Lars Von Trier. Well, this time, anyway. Read more.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Last time Von Trier tried to be funny, it didn’t turn out so well. $500,000.
THE GOLDEN DOOR
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Romance on the high seas - an immigrant boat, actually.
WILL IT SUCK?
Cleaned up at Venice. Trailer looks cheesy, though, and a lot of early reviews support that notion.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The fact that they slapped Scorsese’s name on it and got a Tribeca slot might help. $1mil.
Next Week: The movie with the best trailer of the summer.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:58 am
Spiderman: Again, another big hit from the opening weekend, but $28M is a good opening weekend for most movies, let alone a THIRD weekend.
When I saw the second “Pirates”, I left the theater not knowing whether I liked it or not. I decided that P2 was essentially the first act of a much longer movie, with P3 being the second act. So in the end, I decided that I liked it, conditionally. I’ll decide after next weekend whether to revise that ruling.
May 24th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Argh, me thinks I’ll be seein’ some pirates this weekend!