Box Office - '17 Again' Dominates on Friday

For the first time in a long time, the early box office results are all over the road, making it difficult to predict where they'll go next. We said on Thursday that 17 Again would win the weekend, and with a $9 million opening day, according to Box Office Mojo, that's definitely going to happen. But who thought this would almost do $10 million in business on one day?

So can it hold that audience the way Hannah Montana did and flirt with $30 million this weekend? Probably not. But a $20 million prediction seems like a low figure now. $25 million is certainly possible, which cements Zac Efron's status as a star who can open a movie. State of Play had a slightly higher opening day that I would have expected, around $4.5 million. That could mean a $17 million weekend, and the way it's playing out, that should keep the film in second place for the weekend.

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Box Office - A Big Weekend for 'Hannah Montana'

Although Miley Cyrus says she wants to move on to other things, it's going to be difficult for her to find another project that rings the cash registers quite like Hannah Montana. Just look what happened to Hilary Duff after Lizzie Maguire.

The new Hannah movie zoomed to the top of the box office charts, beating most predictions with $34 million. It's the second $30 million debut for Hannah, who scored impressively with a 3-D concert film last year. Half of the business came on opening day, which isn't out of the norm, losing an average of 39% each day after that. The slide on Saturday and Sunday probably means a one-and-done scenario here, because it shows that there was early heat and then it cooled down. In fact, the movie was only number one on Friday, falling behind Fast & Furious the rest of the weekend. The Vin Diesel-Paul Walker sequel was competitive despite losing 60% of its opening weekend crowd, and with more movies on the way aimed at young men - Crank, Fighting, Wolverine, and everything else in May - this was probably the last major cash grab for Fast & Furious. But nobody at Universal is complaining about a movie that has already made $118 million.

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Box Office - 'Hannah' on Pace for $40 Million

Hannah Montana > The Jonas Brothers. The Disney trio's recent film outing, a 3-D concert flick, only earned about $20 million and would be the lowest rated movie ever on IMDB if it had enough votes to qualify. The new Hannah Montana movie nearly made $19 million in one day.

For the second straight weekend, and for about the fifth or sixth time this year, a new release has started its run much stronger than anyalysts have predicted. The trick is whether Hannah Montana can keep the momentum going for the next couple of days like Fast & Furious did last weekend. It's off to a great start - $17 million - and that could mean a $38 - $44 million weekend, about $10 million more than the teen idol was given credit for. That would knock Fast & Furious into the silver medal position through no fault of its own; if it falls short of $30 million in its second weekend, it would be a little disappointing, but the ten day total is likely to be around $120 million.

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Movie Review - 'Observe and Report'

Observe and Report Starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, and Ray Liotta Directed by Jody Hill Rated R

You know what's funny about Taxi Driver? Nothing. And yet, in very real ways, that film's dark, obsessed DNA comes up as a match in blood tests of Observe and Report, which strictly speaking is supposed to be a comedy. Comedy is both the simplest and trickiest business of them all in the movies. You laugh or you don't. It's that easy but that specific. Laughs are the currency of comedies and when there aren't laughs, it's hard to say a comedy is successful. The trouble with Observe and Report is that, while it generates laughs, it also repels them, and almost in equal measure. Some scenes and characters are disturbed or pathetic, and it's difficult to laugh at anything under those circumstances. This is not new for writer-director Jody Hill, whose previous film, The Foot Fist Way, told a very similar story that also dared you to laugh at things that wouldn't normally be considered very funny. That movie also got very dark but it was also more inherently comic. One film this is unlikely to be compared to for long is Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which is saying something since both are about pasty, pudgy rent-a-cops feeling the tug of responsibility to be a hero after a pretty girl who works in the mall is victimized by criminal activity down by the food court. But Mall Cop is lighthearted and for whatever faults the movie has, Paul Blart is a likable guy you could root for. It's nearly impossible to pull for Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) in Observe and Report, however. He's a bully, he's selfish, he's not terribly bright, and when there is crime to pursue, Ronnie does nothing but get in the way of the real cop on the beat (Ray Liotta), because he's more interested in being the man than solving a case.

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Fearless Forecast: Vin Diesel Outmuscles Hannah Montana

Last weekend was the biggest April weekend ever at the box office, and at the rate it's going, the entire month might be the biggest April in history, as well. That's because, in addition to three new releases, two of which have some decent to good business prospects, we've still got two movies sure to make at least another $100 million combined between now and May.

Even though we're seeing a lot of advertising for Observe and Report, I don't think there's any way that's the movie to beat this weekend. And just because Hannah Montana has a built-in crowd, don't expect that to rise to the top, either. No, it's going to be another win for Fast & Furious, and the reason I say that is not because it made $70 million last weekend, but because it will make about $15 million more during the week. People really want to see this, as evidenced by a ten-day total that will be near $125 million.

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