Not surprisingly, G.I. Joe took the top spot last week with $100 million worldwide – especially impressive since G.I. Joe is an American property and international audiences aren’t very familiar with the brand. There’s a whole bunch of new movies opening in theaters this weekend, which means there’s that many more competitors vying for a spot at the top of the box office. Who do you think will win the weekend? Let’s take a look …
What’s the Scoop: A new kid (Gaelan Connell) comes to town and assembles a rag-tag group of kids to form a band so that they all can achieve their dreams and compete against the best at Battle of the Bands.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: It’s got Vanessa Hudgens of High School Music fame, and is sure to include the kind of soundtrack that will drive the tweens wild. But can Hudgens carry a flick to box office victory without her main squeeze Zac Efron?
What’s the Scoop: Peter Jackson produces this low-budget sci-fi flick about an alien race that crash lands on Earth and are forced to live in slum-like conditions while government figures out what to do with them.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: Advanced buzz is extremely good, with fanboys beginning to line up for opening day even though we’re talking about a foreign-made R-rated movie with no familiar names in the cast.
What’s the Scoop: Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star as a happily married couple with one problem: he has a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel. Needless to say, this causes just a few relationship problems.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: It’s a chick flick with badass sci-fi elements, meaning girls will have an easier time convincing their significant others to attend a screening on date night. Does that mean it has the perfect 1-2 punch needed to successfully win the weekend?
What’s the Scoop: An animated film from legendary writer-director Hayao Miyazaki about a five-year-old boy and his goldfish friend who longs to become human.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: While the film has received some great buzz from animation fans and Miyazaki followers, lack of marketing, number of theaters (800) and audience awareness could hurt it at the box office.
What’s the Scoop: Jeremy Piven (Entourage) stars as a used car liquidator who’s brought into a failing car dealership on the verge of bankruptcy to help them avoid going under by making buck during the annual Fourth of July sale.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: Non-stop advertisements – combined with some dirty mid-August foul-mouthed comedy – could make for a very successful opening weekend, especially if folks are in the mood for a few laughs.
As of right now, District 9 is pulling in 29% of all advanced ticket sales on Fandango, but don’t let that deceive you – it really is anyone’s game this week. So who do you think will win the weekend? Sound off below…
