'Gold,' 'Roscoe' take on 'Hannah'
Comedies hope to topple Disney 3-D holdover
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The big question: Will both be outdone by Disney 3-D holdover "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour"?
"Fool's Gold," which opens in 3,125 theaters, and "Roscoe Jenkins," which unspools in 2,384, are both tracking well among their target auds. "Hannah" is far harder to predict since there's really no precedent for the pic.
"Hannah," playing in only 683 locations equipped with digital 3-D screens, grossed $31.1 million in its opening last weekend, singing its way to the best opening ever for Super Bowl weekend on the interest of tween girls.
A traditional concert film generally drops 60% in its second sesh, but "Hannah" isn't expected to take such a steep dive. It's continued to play strongly this week.
"Fool's Gold," directed by Andy Tennant, could have an edge if it plays as broadly as Warner is hoping. Film reteams Hudson and McConaughey, whose romantic comedy "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" opened to $23.8 million on the same weekend in 2003.
Warner has retooled its marketing campaign in recent days to plug "Fool's Gold" as a romantic action-adventure, along the lines of "Romancing the Stone" and "Six Days Seven Nights." The initial marketing campaign was targeted more at women, the key demo for romantic comedies. Tracking suggests the movie is still appealing predominately to women, but interest among older males has picked up.
Tennant has a strong record with romancers. "Hitch," his last movie, grossed $43.1 million when opening over Valentine's Day weekend in 2005. "Sweet Home Alabama" opened at $35.6 million.
For "Fool's Gold," Warner is expecting numbers more along the lines of the $23.8 million for "How to Lose a Guy" or the $24.4 million to which McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker starrer "Failure to Launch" debuted in March 2006.
"Roscoe Jenkins" should likewise do solid business, although "Fool's Gold" cost upward of $70 million to produce, while "Jenkins" cost under $30 million.
Lawrence is not only a big draw among African-American auds but a crossover star. He was last in theaters with Disney sleeper hit "Wild Hogs."
"Roscoe Jenkins," directed and written by Malcolm L. Dee, also stars James Earl Jones, Joy Bryant and Cedric the Entertainer.
On the specialty side, Picturehouse bows "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show" in 962 locations. Comedy docu follows four standup comedians, hand-picked by Vaughn, as they perform across the country, with Vaughn serving as emcee.
Focus Features debuts filmmaker Martin McDonagh's comedy actioner "In Bruges," toplining Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleason and Ralph Fiennes, in 28 theaters in key markets.
Other specialty releases include Regent's "The Hottie and the Nottie," which plays 111 theaters; IFC's "How to Rob a Bank," which opens in Gotham; and Bigger Picture's "One Piece Movie: The Desert Princess," which plays 100 locations.
O'seas fare
On the foreign front, "Cloverfield" and French comedy "Asterix at the Olympic Games" look likely to stay atop the charts for the second straight weekend.
Paramount's "Cloverfield," which has cumed $42 million overseas early in its foreign run, expands into Brazil, France and Scandinavia. First-day grosses in France on Wednesday totaled a respectable $677,201.
Pathe's "Asterix" grossed a socko $39 million in its opening weekend, with 60% of that coming from French moviegoers.
The frame's also seeing key expansions of Oscar contenders, with "Atonement" rolling into Mexico and Thailand; "No Country for Old Men" opening in Mexico and Spain; "Juno" launching in Benelux, France and the U.K.; "There Will Be Blood" moving into Australia and the U.K.; "Sweeney Todd" debuting in Brazil and Mexico; and "Charlie Wilson's War" going into Germany, Italy and South Korea.
"Atonement" is the top foreign grosser among the Oscar pics with $58 million overseas.
Two tentpoles nearing the end of their runs -- Warner's "I Am Legend" and Disney's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" -- add key markets this frame. "Legend" goes into Russia, its final major market, with well over $300 million already banked from offshore territories; "Secrets" opens in Denmark and the U.K. with international coin already in excess of the $173 million taken in by the original "National Treasure."
Universal's opening romantic comedy "Definitely, Maybe" in the U.K., a week ahead of its Stateside launch.
