'Semi-Pro' looks to score at box office
'Boleyn,' 'Penelope' also opening wide
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Basketball spoof "Semi-Pro" should have no trouble dribbling its way to No. 1 at the weekend box office, although it faces some issues in being rated R. Previous Ferrell topliners "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and last year's "Blades of Glory" were both rated PG-13.
Weekend's other two new wide releases target the female crowd. Sony bows royal bodice ripper "The Other Boleyn Girl" in 1,196 runs, while Summit Entertainment debuts modern-day fairytale "Penelope" in 1,166 runs.
On the specialty front, Miramax's "No Country for Old Men" will try to parlay its top Oscar wins into additional gains at the box office. Film goes from 1,101 to 2,037 runs in its biggest expansion to date. Film's domestic cume was $64.3 million through Sunday, according to Rentrak.
Some had speculated that New Line parent company Time Warner wouldn't announce New Line's fate until after "Semi-Pro" opened.
"Semi-Pro" is tracking well among males under 25, although many are predicting that it will open well lower than Ferrell's most recent films. Last year's "Blades of Glory" opened to $33.9 million in March 2007, while "Talladega Nights" opened at $47 million in August 2006.
"Semi-Pro" is more likely to open higher than Ferrell's "Kicking and Screaming" ($20.2 million) and "Bewitched" ($20.1 million). "Old School," also rated R, opened at $17.4 million.
Studio had hoped for a PG-13 rating, but to achieve that goal, director Kent Alterman would have had to cut too much language. Studio said it has a long tradition of supporting filmmakers.
"Semi-Pro" also stars Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin and Will Arnett.
"Boleyn Girl," based on the bestselling book of the same name, stars Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson as the Boleyn sisters and Eric Bana as King Henry VIII. Anne and Mary Boleyn, and their tempestuous affair with the king, also are the subject of the Showtime series "The Tudors," which is returning soon for its second season.
The PG-rated "Penelope" is expected to do less business, but is showing awareness with younger girls. Produced by Reese Witherspoon's production company Type A, "Penelope," which toplines Christina Ricci as a young heiress cursed with a pig nose, plays in 1,166 theaters. Witherspoon and James McAvoy co-star.
Film marks the second release from Summit, which is trying to stake a claim in the distribution business.
Opening on the specialty side are Miramax's Brazilian film "City of Men," which plays in 75 theaters. Roadside Attractions opens Brett Morgen's "Chicago 10" in 14 theaters.
International business
Overseas, the post-Oscar weekend will see expansions for "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood."
Par's moving "No Country" into 10 new markets this weekend, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland and will also be expanding existing releases so that it will be on over 2,000 prints internationally, up by 400. It took in $3 million in the three days after the Oscars, boosting the foreign cume to $40 million.
"We have all major markets in release, just going into release in the case of Germany or yet to release in the case of Japan, so we think we are ideally positioned to capitalize on the awards this past weekend," said Par Intl. president Andrew Cripps.
"There Will Be Blood" will also see a significant Oscar boost in the wake of Daniel Day-Lewis' actor Oscar. "Blood" has gone past $12 million overseas and moves into France and Russia this weekend.
Fox's "Juno" is also poised to cash in overseas, thanks to Diablo Cody's winning the Oscar for original screenplay. The quirky comedy has gone past $40 million overseas. "Michael Clayton" may also see a bounce from Tilda Swinton's Oscar win via a German opening; the drama's already played out in most international markets with a $34 million cume.
"The Golden Compass," which took home a visual effects Oscar, is poised to locate even more overseas coin via this weekend's Japanese launch on nearly 700, after scooping $2.5 million in sneak screenings Feb. 23 and 24 -- 159% better than similar sneaks for "Night at the Museum," which went on to cume $33.4 million in Japan.
"Compass" has continued to post impressive grosses outside the United States, with a foreign cume of nearly $260 million -- nearly four times the domestic total.
Fox's "Jumper" may lead the foreign box office for the third straight weekend, as it launches in Italy with international grosses already north of $60 million. It's likely to see competition from Sony's "Vantage Point," which goes into major markets such as Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Taiwan after a smallish opening in half a dozen mid-sized territories last weekend.
"The Other Boleyn Girl" is going day and date in Holland and Spain, and "Semi-Pro" will launch in the U.K. Other openings include "The Bucket List" in France, "Charlie Wilson's War" in Brazil, Mexico and Singapore, "Fool's Gold" in South Korea, "Untraceable" in the U.K. and "We Own the Night" in Australia.
