The incredibly overrated, and painfully overlong The Dark Knight finally has some competition this weekend.
After bowing to a decent $6.5 million on Wednesday, DreamWorks’ Tropic Thunder starring writer/director Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr., is going into the weekend as a slight favorite to come out on top of the box office.
But the wildcard, insiders largely agree, is Warner Bros.’ Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Based on the upcoming Cartoon Network series, the Lucasfilm-produced toon is expected to appeal primarily to young boys. But if enough older Star Wars fans attend, “Clone Wars” could end up as the weekend winner.
Also opening wide today is Fox’s horror pic Mirrors. The horror thriller starring Kiefer Sutherland will hit 2,664 theaters and is expected to gross in the low- to mid-teens.
On a smaller scale, MGM opens Woody Allen’s latest, Vicky Cristina Barcelona for the Weinstein Co. at 692 locations. Based on the records of past Allen pics that debuted with similar screen counts, a gross in the low- to mid-single digits is likely for the Spain-set comedy, which stars Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.
Fly Me to the Moon, the new toon that Summit is releasing for producer N Wave, is expect to gross in low single digits. Because it’s playing only in digital 3-D theaters, however, the pic will get a boost from higher ticket prices.
Overture is also opening Luke Wilson starrer Henry Poole Is Here at 527 theaters, with modest grosses expected.
What are you gonna see this weekend? Comment and let us know.
The Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight