Fearless Forecast - 'Wall-E' Shoots Down 'Wanted' in a Crowded Theater

We're officially at the unofficial halfway point of summer, and it's an interesting race this week, up to a point. For starters, you have two of the best summer movies competing for totally different week one crowds. Yes, there will be some crossover between Pixar's Wall-E and the assassin flick Wanted, but the families who go to Wall-E this weekend would hire a sitter for next week to catch Wanted.

June usually has competitions for box office supremacy, while May and July are more often one-movie debuts. What's curious about this weekend is that carryover between audiences. Real movie fans love Pixar and they generally dig action movies, too, especially smart ones that get good reviews. So while these box office numbers will probably fairly accurate, there's a chance one movie will go five million higher and the other five million lower. Still, it's Wall-E's weekend to lose, and he won't lose it. Not even close. Pixar, more than any other film product since Miramax was at its zenith, gives you an expectation. Even though Kung Fu Panda was great, it's not Pixar and I don't always love DreamWorks animated movies, so I was more hesitant of that. Pixar could release something called Reading An Old Phonebook in the Dark and I'd probably think it would be good going in. As for Wanted, I think two months ago - around the time we said this could be the best value for your summer movie dollar - it wouldn't have done the kind of business it will now. The trailers have people talking, James McAvoy has become more ingrained in people's heads since Atonement's on DVD, and Angelina Jolie shooting a gun is going to get you $20 million by itself. While it's not a real threat to beat Wall-E this weekend, it should get a lot of business over the next month - even with Dark Knight roaming around - which will mean a total cash haul in the $175 million range. That's my guess today whereas two or three months ago I wouldn't have given it much hope over $125 million. The Top Five: 1 - Wall-E ($71 million) 2 - Wanted ($41 million) 3 - Get Smart ($17 million) 4 - The Incredible Hulk ($10 million) 5 - Kung Fu Panda ($8.5 million)