Welcome back to another fun-tastic week at the box office, where even the least buzzed-about films have a shot at taking home the crown. Last week Judd Apatow’s Funny People managed to win the weekend with a pretty light haul ($22 million), but now Hollywood is doling out another big, action-packed blockbuster. Will the bad buzz hurt its opening take, or will all the kids line up regardless? Lets take a look at the competition:
What’s the Scoop: Like they did with Transformers, Paramount looks to take another toy/comic property and turn it into a mega-huge movie franchise, complete with a hot young ensemble cast (Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller, anyone?) who battle massive amounts of special effects and villains hell-bent on destroying the world.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: While the film enters its opening weekend with a tremendous amount of bad buzz (thanks, in part, to the studio not screening it for critics), moviegoers hungry for one more summer blockbuster will find plenty to feast on here.
What’s the Scoop: Based on a famous blog and a famous book, this light foodie comedy follows the intertwining stories of famous chef Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and blogger Julie Powell (Amy Adams) as each – living in different time periods – tries to use food to discover their real passions in life.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are enough to pull in the female audiences, along with their reluctant significant others who promised them a chick flick on date night. Also, it’s a great film for foodies!
What’s the Scoop: Those in the mood for a few chills and thrills will find something to enjoy in this flick about a couple on vacation who are stalked by psychopaths murdering other tourists on a Hawaiian island.
Why It Might Win the Weekend: This one will do well with the folks who don’t plan on traveling to some beautiful destination this year, as well as with kids who want a little more edge with their weekend movie watching.
While Funny People and Harry Potter are still lingering, I think your top movie this week will come from one of the three films above. I’d personally go with G.I. Joe to take the top spot, though expect the widely-marketed Julie & Julie to give it a run for its money.
