Joaquin Phoenix (pictured) and Mark Wahlberg team up in James Gray's crime drama We Own The Nght (reviews); Michael Clayton (reviews) goes wide; Cate Blanchett wears some elaborate wardrobe to play Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) during The Golden Age; Sean Astin returns to The inspirational real life sports drama genre for the Final Season (reviews) as it targets the family; and Tyler Perry returns to theaters to ask the question--Why Did I Get Married?--with Janet Jackson.
Dave McNary and Ben Fritz of Variety:
Another crowded fall weekend will see four new titles, none of which have major B.O. potential, battling it out for the No. 1 spot.
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "Michael Clayton," "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" and "We Own the Night" will all be released or expanded at 2,000-plus theaters and are expected to gross in the low- to mid-teens.
Studio sources uniformly agreed that the weekend looks like a toss-up, with any of the four debuts having the potential to break out.
The four bows are aiming at somewhat different auds, leading studios to hope they can co-exist peacefully.
Universal is releasing Working Title's "Golden Age" at 2,001 theaters. Though it has thus far garnered mostly weak reviews, U is hoping star Cate Blanchett and marketing that has positioned it as a romantic thriller will draw a sizable adult female aud.
Original "Elizabeth" grossed more than $30 million domestically in 1998 despite never going into wide release.
WB's "Michael Clayton" is going wide with very strong reviews and a boffo first week's gross of more than $1 million at just 15 locations. George Clooney starrer, which has thus far drawn a diverse adult aud, is expanding to 2,511 locations.
"Why Did I Get Married?" is the fourth Tyler Perry film distribbed by Lionsgate and, as with his previous pics, should draw a mostly African-American aud as it opens at 2,011 locations. Multi-hyphenate's previous pic, "Daddy's Little Girls," took in $16.9 million over its opening five-day weekend in February.
Sony's crime drama "We Own the Night," meanwhile, will hit 2,362 locations. Mark Wahlberg starrer will likely draw more of a male aud.
The Rock starrer "Game Plan" declined only 28% last weekend, to $16.6 million. It's unlikely to be No. 1 for the third frame in a row, but a similarly slight drop could easily put it ahead of any of the openers that underperform a bit.
Yari Film Group is also opening basketball drama "The Final Season" at 1,011.
After four weeks in limited, Sony is significantly expanding Revolution's Beatles musical "Across the Universe" from 364 to 954 theaters.
In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics opens Kenneth Branagh-helmed remake "Sleuth" at nine playdates in Gotham and L.A. MGM opens quirky Ryan Gosling starrer "Lars and the Real Girl" at seven. Magnolia's doc "Terror Advocate" hits three theaters. Joy Division docu "Control" is being opened by the Weinstein Co. at a single play in New York...
Here's The Complete Variety Preview...
Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly:
''Michael Clayton,'' Tyler Perry, ''Elizabeth,'' and even the Rock in his third week will keep the box office race supertight...
Next Up: Ben Affleck's directorial debut Gone Baby, Gone debuts, Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon take on the controversy of torture and interrogation in Rendition, and the comedy The Comebacks tries to make you laugh.
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