After
The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor couldn't do it, we figured
Pineapple Express had a decent shot of dethroning
The Dark Knight from the top of the box office. That didn't quite work out as expected but it seems that Ben Stiller will have the cojones do it, and aptly too with a big-budget satire of Hollywood action extravaganzas. The writer-director's
Tropic Thunder will blow some of its load early on Wednesday and Thursday but should perform strong enough between Friday and Sunday to eek past
The Dark Knight, which is looking to finish the weekend with about $17 million, bringing it ever-so-close to the $500-million mark. Playing in a robust 3,319 locations, and coming at us with an all-star cast and mostly positive write-ups,
Tropic Thunder could finish the weekend with about
$22 million. Opening in just as many screens will be
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, "a for-kids-only animated saga that fills in the gaps between George Lucas's
Episode II and
III." That's according to our own Nick Schager, though I'm of the opinion that the film will largely appeal to the overgrown kids who read Ain't It Cool News, from which the fascistic Lucas apparently had an early pan of
The Clone Wars removed. Opening in about as many locations as
Tropic Thunder, but to considerably less positive reviews,
The Clone Wars will open modestly with about
$18 million. Lower down the chart, expect the horror film
Mirrors to finish with about
$8 million, a number that could have been higher (given the film's star and director) if Fox had enough trust in the film to screen it for critics and assign it a decent publicity budget. Even lower down the chart, Woody Allen's vile but well-received
Vicky Cristina Barcelona should see an impressive
$4 million opener from 692 locations. In select cities or limited release:
The Romance of Astreé and Céladon,
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer,
Apology of an Economic Hitman,
Blitzkreig: Escape from Stalag 69,
Fly Me to the Moon,
A Girl Cut In Two,
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer,
Henry Poole Is Here and
One Bad Cat: The Reverened Albert Wagner Story.
Box Office Forecast (8/15/08 - 8/17/08):
1.
Tropic Thunder:
$21.7 million
2.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars:
$17.6 million
3.
The Dark Knight:
$16.7 million
4.
Pineapple Express:
$12.6 million
5.
The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor:
$8.1 million
6.
Mirrors:
$7.8 million
7.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2:
$6.2 million
8.
Mamma Mia!:
$5.5 million
9.
Step Brothers:
$5.1 million
10.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona:
$3.6 million
Ed Gonzalez
© slant magazine, 2008.
