Fearless Forecast - Sam Jackson Wears the Kangol Hat of Victory

Nobody's movies have made more money than Samuel L. Jackson's. He's starred in just about 70 movies and they've grossed $7.42 billion in the U.S. alone. That's an average of $106 million per movie. Now, Jackson is not the primary reason people see some of those movies, like the most recent Star Wars trilogy, which accounts for a healthy chunk of that total, but the fact is he's made a ridiculous amount of movies since Pulp Fiction - one has been released every 90 days or so since 1994 - so obviously, his total is going to be way up there. Jackson will add to his stack of money this weekend with a likely number one finish at the box office. Lakeview Terrace is a new domestic drama co-starring Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington. Releasing Lakeview this weekend is just plain smart by Sony Screen Gems. Not only does it have a chance to do well because it's not directly competing with last week's four new releases, it's also skipping next week's battle royale with Eagle Eye, Miracle at St. Anna and Nights at Rodanthe. I don't think it could've been number one in either of those weeks, and it has a great shot to do it this weekend because the competition isn't as strong. Its biggest threat is My Best Friend's Girl, which could walk away the winner but it could also be the big misfire. Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, and Jason Biggs inspire zero confidence, and audiences are a little tired of Hudson's rom-com retreads. Not having press screenings doesn't help, or at least, it shouldn't help its word of mouth, which would be key on Saturday and to a lesser extent on Sunday. The animated comedy Igor doesn't really have a chance to do much damage, but because it's kid-friendly (at least in theory), Igor should sop up about $10 million worth of business, which ought to be good enough to make it in the top five. I really think Burn After Reading will have a stronger than expected second frame. It did much better than anticipated last week, producing about 25% more business than was projected, and because there's not a lot of must-see new releases, that always favors the current number one movie. I don't think it will win back-to-back weeks, but it should be pretty competitive. The Top Five: 1 - Lakeview Terrace ($14.5 million)
2 - Burn After Reading ($12.5 million)
3 - My Best Friend's Girl ($12 million)
4 - Igor ($9 million)
5 - Righteous Kill ($7 million)

Comments

[hatton]

I've been looking at this preview for weeks now. Haven't really decided if it's going to be worth it.