11/4 – 11/6 Last weekend, Saw II finally broke the oppressive box office slump to bring in some solid, ticket-buying numbers. With this week’s crop of significant releases, that over $30 million trend should continue for at least one of the weekend’s newly released films. The question is, will it be kids or parents who choose?
Sneak Previews
Zathura continues to build towards its official launch next weekend with another sneak preview this weekend. They did one last week, so if you missed it and can’t wait till November 11th, you get a second chance. Look for it in a single showing Saturday evening at a theater near you.
Expanding
Good Night, and Good Luck continues its slow expansion across the country, this weekend bumping up to 640 theaters. But it’s probably Shopgirl that most folks are interested in. The Steve Martin/Claire Danes romance movie expands into 500 theaters, making it easy to find in most major markets.
Misc. Limited Releases (Opening in fewer than 500 theaters.)
The artsy fartsy cinemas have been flooded with sharp, new limited releases over the past few weeks, which leaves this weekend pretty empty as that big crop of new indies (like Good Night, and Good Luck) focuses on expanding into wider realms. Of interest though, is new opener The Dying Gaul, debuting in 13 theaters. The premise is a bit of a bore, an aspiring writer sells his script, and then rips the gay heart and soul out of it to make a million bucks. But the movie’s got the brilliance of Jarhead’s Peter Sarsgaard in it… in fact that’s probably why they chose this weekend to release it.
Chicken Little (Opens in 3,000+ theaters.)
Disney is desperate to do well with Chicken Little. Since it’s a CGI film, audiences will no doubt turn out for it (people still haven’t figured out that computer generated doesn’t necessarily equal good), but the movie’s a dud. It’s more of the usual mediocre, hum-drum stuff we’ve gotten from the Walt Disney company over the past few years, more of the lazy, paper-thin storylines that are killing the now Pixar-less company. Putting it in a new CGI wrapper hasn’t fixed the problem, and at this point I don’t know what will. Getting Pixar back in the fold might be a good start.
Jarhead (Opens in 2,400 theaters.)
The reviews haven’t been overwhelmingly positive, but the buzz on Jarhead is good, and the trailers, well there’s no denying that they’re fantastic. Don’t go in expecting Saving Private Ryan, this isn’t an action movie. It’s a day in the life of, the story of soldiers sitting around waiting to kill something, not engaging in actual killing. With the new war in Iraq still floundering, this is the right movie at the right time. Unlike some of the other projects out there on the whole Iraq subject, Sam Mendes film tries to avoid political bias, and simply tries to help audiences understand what these guys went through on the ground in the now all-but-forgotten Desert Storm. Don’t miss what will no doubt be one of the year’s top Oscar contenders. Give Jarhead your money this weekend.
STILL IN THEATERS AND WORTH YOUR TIME: The Weather Man, Elizabethtown, Capote
