G.I. Joe did much better than I expected. Julie & Julia, much worse. But guess which one will turn a pre-DVD profit.
8/14
Wide
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Alien Nation without the assimilation.
WILL IT SUCK?
All the initial buzz about this movie was actually about another movie, one that doesn’t exist. When Peter Jackson was tapped to supervise Halo, he tapped this film’s director, Neill Blomkamp, to direct.
Given that Halo fell apart (some say over Universal and Fox being squeamish about handing the project over to an unkown – but given what happened to Tin-Tin, Jackson could have directed it with Spielberg and it still would’ve been dumped) this fim – especially with the human/alien throwdown – is being seen as a what could have been.
All that having been said, I know nothing about Blomkamp, but people seem to love his shorts, including the one this film is based on.
Early buzz is fantastic, and the screening at Comic-Con killed.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
2nd frame of G.I. Joe, 1st frame of Time Traveller’s Wife and The Goods with Inglourious Basterds the following week? Good word of mouth will help, but damn. $56mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Hayao Miyazaki’s latest, so I don’t see how trying to describe the plot will help.
WILL IT SUCK?
If it’s anything like his previous work, it will be gorgeous and make about as much sense as a Mr. Sparkle commercial. Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not a lot of competition, but Miyazaki’s work is never wide-release huge in the States. $5mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Endearingly dorky teens try to win a battle of the bands.
WILL IT SUCK?
Did you like Camp? Do you remember Camp? Same writer/director, theme.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Could make some bank off of Vanessa Hudgens being one of those endearingly dorky teens. $34mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Guy travels through time. Gets married.
WILL IT SUCK?
Definitely a strong cast: Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams as time traveler and wife, respectively, plus Ron Livingston and Stephen Tobolowsky in supporting roles. And I can see how they chose their screenwriter; Bruce Joel Rubin’s breakthrough was Ghost. Director did the meh Flightplan, but I think the greater challenge this film faces is that the book is not an easy adaptation.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Crowded marketplace, but not a lot of romance. $48mil.
THE GOODS: LIVE HARD, SELL HARD
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Comedy about a used car liquidator (Jeremy Piven).
WILL IT SUCK?
Director did some Chappelle’s Show. Not much known about the writers. Cast from every comedy you’ve seen over the last year. Funny red-band trailer.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Too. Many. Movies. $37mil.
Limited
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The Edge, Jack White and Jimmy Page talk about the electric guitar.
WILL IT SUCK?
I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over how awesome the premise sounds. And any trailer that starts with Jack White MacGyvering an electric guitar from scratch is all right by me. From the director of An Inconvenient Truth, as if I needed more prodding. Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Music docs very rarely do well. $3mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Playboy (Ashton Kutcher) finds The One.
WILL IT SUCK?
The only really interesting aspect to this is that Ashton Kutcher is in an indie – one directed by Young Adam and Hallam Foe director David Mackenzie, no less. Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Don’t know how much crossover there is between the arthouse crowd and the Kutcher crowd. $2mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Single mom raises undead baby with, um, special dietary needs.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. “Restores your faith in the horror genre” kind of good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Probably not everyone’s bottle of blood. $500,000.
Next Week: You realize a whole generation is going to grow up thinking “inglourious” is spelled with two u’s now, don’t you?
Did you know? You can get this preview e-mailed to you:
Best quote: “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over how awesome the premise sounds.”
Re: “Bandslam” – I’m a bit surprised that Todd Graff would go back to the well so soon. I loved “Camp” – no surprise, since it was largely based on Todd’s experiences at (and filmed at) my old theater camp, Stagedoor Manor – but that was a labor of love in a lot of ways. “Bandslam” seems…bandwagonish.
For me, this weekend is ALL about “D9″.
Oh, and here’s an OMGSPOILER! for “Time Traveler’s Wife”…they get married! Don’t tell anyone!