Focus unspools noirish mystery pic 'Hollywoodland,' aimed squarely at adults, this weekend.
While theaters filling up with arthouse pics, Sony horror pic 'The Covenant' should hit No. 1.
The box office is starting to get serious.
Focus Features is sending out its R-rated, Adrien Brody-starring gumshoe pic "Hollywoodland" on 1,548 screens.
Strategy echoes the Universal shingle's rollout of last year's "The Constant Gardener" in early September. That pic bowed with $8.6 million on about the same number of runs.
Focus will be aiming for a finish in the high single digits for "Hollywoodland," which investigates the mysterious death of '50s TV Superman George Reeves. Ben Affleck and Diane Lane co-star.
Also vying for the adult auds will be strong-running holdovers "The Illusionist" (Yari Film Group) -- expanding its run from 971 theaters to 1,234 -- and "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight) at 1,560.
The edge to finish No. 1, however, goes to PG-13 rated horror pic "The Covenant," from Sony's Screen Gems label and action helmer Renny Harlin.
At 2,681 screens, the film is the frame's widest opener by far as Sony looks to dominate and move on.
Horror/thriller follows a cadre of New England boarding school students with good looks and supernatural powers.
Pic is tracking best with young males, but as the only PG-13 option, it should draw a teen female demo also, racking up high single digits to low double digits.
In the way is the Weinstein Co.'s "The Protector," an R-rated martial arts feature bowing on 1,541 screens.
Pic stars Thai martial arts master Tony Jaa and marks a litmus test for his popularity with U.S. auds after his last effort, "Ong Bak: Thai Warrior," raised awareness among key demos but failed to break out.
Two years ago, Bob and Harvey Weinstein picked late August to open martial arts pic "Hero" on 2,000 screens and scored a surprise No. 1 knockout.
Focus, meanwhile, will look to land in the top five and get a good launch for "Hollywoodland" for a longer fall run.
Seeking to capitalize on the current success of "Sunshine" and "Illusionist," Focus has been running "Hollywoodland" trailers ahead of both those pics.
"Sunshine" has so far shone brightly, garnering $36.7 million in six weeks of play. "Illusionist" take stands at $13.1 million after three frames; period romance starring Edward Norton has relied on a strong female base for its success so far.
Spanning the globe, the nine-weekend winning streak for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" may finally be over: Pic, which led last weekend with $11.9 million, likely will see grosses decline in the 35%-45% range, so BVI's "Cars" or UIP's "Miami Vice" can grab the top spot instead.
"Cars," with $173.5 million overseas, is starting its final major launch in Germany, Austria and Switzerland this weekend. "Vice" will open in Spain and Argentina.
"Snakes on a Plane" slithers into Austria, Brazil, Germany, Mexico and South Africa, and Sony's "Click," with $37 million overseas from 32 markets, goes into Hong Kong, Sweden and Thailand, with major European launches set for the end of the month.
"Beerfest" will try to make some suds in the U.K., while "Little Miss Sunshine" sets its sights on the U.K. and France.
In domestic arthouses, a number of players in limited release enter the fray for early fall, including IFC's Maggie Gyllenhaal starrer "Sherrybaby" and the distrib's docu "The Saint of 9/11," Strand's "Paper Dolls," First Independent's "I Trust You to Kill Me" and Palm's "Rolling Family."
(Dave McNary contributed to this report.)
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