Two For One Sale

Opening in theaters today is the flick The Reaping (reviews). And while it may feature Oscar winner Hilary Swank facing off against an apocalyptic threat...Critics, as I post this, have not been kind. Having the horror film open a day before the latest Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino collaboration, Grindhouse (reviews), was probably a smart move. So far, most critics love the double biller... Grindhouse has been really getting a publicity push. Promos have been all over the place in the last 2 weeks or so...



Ian Mohr and Dave McNary of Variety offer up this holiday weekend preview:

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse" will aim to grind out the B.O. bucks this weekend for the Weinstein Co., but the movie's three-hour-plus runtime and unorthodox two-pics-in-one format may flummox some auds.

Core fans of the directing duo should give the film a solid launch for TWC, which said Wednesday it is adding 10 p.m. Thursday shows of "Grindhouse" in 13 markets to meet demand from ticket buyers.

Standing in the pic's way will be Paramount/DreamWorks' No. 1 holdover "Blades of Glory," as well as Warner Bros.' new horror entry "The Reaping," from a producing team that includes Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver.

Going for family auds, meanwhile, will be Fox's "Firehouse Dog" and Sony's "Are We Done Yet?," which face off against the second frame of Disney CG pic "Meet the Robinsons."

"Grindhouse," which bows in 2,624 theaters, is a weekend wild card.

Hard R-rated pic, budgeted at about $53 million, includes Rodriguez's zombie movie "Planet Terror" and Tarantino's action-horror pic "Death Proof," separated by a string of fake trailers and ads by guest genre helmers.

But it remains to be seen whether younger auds will respond to an ode to exploitation pics from an era they don't remember. And the movie's runtime means fewer screenings over the frame for exhibs.

Warners' "Reaping," starring Hilary Swank as a former Christian missionary investigating a series of Biblical plagues, will be in 2,603 theaters by Friday.

Sony will go with 2,877 theaters for "Are We Done Yet?," starring Nia Long and Ice Cube as a couple whose suburban dream house becomes a money pit.

Fox walks its "Firehouse Dog" to 2,566 theaters. Pic follows a Hollywood pooch who winds up the mascot of a fire station.

Both "Done" and "Dog" got head starts in theaters with Wednesday releases.

Last weekend, "Blades" broke the ice with $33 million, and the laffer should have some legs left to skate along to the top of the charts.

Tarantino's biggest-ever opening was the $25.1 million for Miramax's "Kill Bill Vol. 2" in 2004.

Rodriguez's biggest opening weekend came in 2003 when the third installment in Dimension's "Spy Kids" franchise racked up $33.4 million. His last film, "Sin City," opened to $29.1 million two years ago.

In more limited release, rollouts include Miramax's "The Hoax," Sony Classics' "Black Book" and ThinkFilm's "The TV Set."

The complete article can be found right here