January has never been a great month for new movies, but this year Hollywood seems to be trying extra hard to disappoint. The saving grace is that last year's leftovers which were rushed to theaters in New York and LA in December to ensure a place at the 2007 awards table are now getting wider releases, offering you a few opportunities at a movie worth watching.
The most promising new release this weekend is The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything [Read the CB Preview], based on characters from the computer animated TV show "Veggie Tales". It actually hurts me to say that it's the best bet for an entertaining new release. Don't get me wrong, I love Veggie Tales and the fact that they're making successful trips to the big screen pleases me greatly. But let's face it: it's a sad day when feature length spin-offs of animated television shows are the best new thing in theaters.
Your wide release alternatives this weekend are the well-meaning but poorly executed First Sunday [Read the CB Review] and the latest offering from Uwe Boll, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale [Read the CB Preview]. Boll has a fascination with turning video games into movies, but every effort has been disappointing, at best.
As well, regardless of who directs them, video game adaptation films rarely do very well at the box office. Boll's game-film efforts have yet to break the $10 million mark on opening weekend and the most recent entry to the genre, Doom only took in $28 million total during a painfully short six week run in theaters. Even if In the Name of the King turns out to be halfway decent, don't expect it to open above fifth place on the charts.
The Bucket List [Read the CB Review] starring big names Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, is one of those movies that's been kicking around the big cities for a few weeks and finally opens wide this weekend. It's the best shot for number one movie of the weekend, but only because National Treasure has been around too long to hold the title any longer.
Even with its big names, the movie might not be a total lock. Juno, which has been slowly climbing in the last few weeks and in something of a surprise came in at number two last weekend, is poised to give the old men of Bucket a run for their money. Over the last week Juno has jumped up above National Treasure and held a strong position as the number one movie of the week. With a little more help from curious movie-goers interested in seeing what all the buzz is about, Juno might just be able to add number one at the weekend box office to its growing list of remarkable achievements.
Can the movie about teens about to bring new life into the world beat out the movie about old men ready to depart it? I'd say the odds are it won't happen, but I've doubted Juno before and been proved wrong. This might be its weekend on top.
