Jerry Seinfeld leads the hive in Bee Movie (reviews); American Gangster (reviews) brings together Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe for the first time since 1995's Virtuosity; And Martian Child (reviews) offers a chance for brother John Cusack to work with sister Joan...
Pamela McClintock and Dave McNary of Variety:
The domestic box office is expected to surge back to life this weekend with the arrival of Universal's mobster-cop drama "American Gangster" and DreamWorks Animation's "Bee Movie."
There's plenty of buzz surrounding both "Bee Movie," voiced, co-written and produced by Jerry Seinfeld, and director Ridley Scott's "Gangster," toplining Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
"Bee," distributed by Paramount and unspooling in 3,928 theaters, marks Seinfeld's first major outing since his hit TV series went off the air in 1998. Toon, also starring the voices of Renee Zellweger, Oprah Winfrey and Chris Rock, isn't as kid-friendly as most other broad animated fare, which will likely cut into its haul.
Bowing in 3,054 locations, "Gangster" could be the shot in the arm the box office needs, with U aiming for one of the best fall openings for an R-rated drama, as well as a strong awards contender.
The weekend's only other wide debut is New Line's John Cusack starrer "Martian Child," which opens in 2,020. Menno Meyjes-directed drama, about a man who adopts a boy who thinks he's from Mars, also stars Bobby Coleman and Amanda Peet.
The specialty side is relatively quiet in terms of new openers.
Contest for No. 1 is likely to be close between "Bee" and "Gangster," paralleling the race last November between Warner Bros. penguin toon "Happy Feet" and James Bond installment "Casino Royale." Opening to $41.5 million over the Nov. 17-19 frame, "Happy Feet" narrowly beat "Casino Royale," which debuted at $40.8 million.
Tracking is strong for both films, with some even giving an edge to "American Gangster" even though the PG-rated "Bee Movie" is a family title.
Both Universal and Paramount, which distributes all DreamWorks Animation titles, are trying to manage expectations.
The fall corridor has been a lucrative one for toons, although Par is stressing that the "Bee Movie" perf is expected to be more in line with that of "Happy Feet" than with that of Pixar's "The Incredibles," which debuted at $70.5 million in November 2004; Pixar's "Monsters, Inc.," which opened to $62.5 million in November 2001; or DreamWorks Animation's "Shark Tale," which opened to $47.6 million in October 2004. "Chicken Little" debuted at $40 million in November 2005.
Those involved with "Bee Movie" say its humor is very Jerry Seinfeld, meaning it skews older. Story follows a bunch of bees who file a class-action lawsuit against the human race for stealing their honey. Idea was first hatched during a dinner Seinfeld had with Steven Spielberg, who in turn called Jeffrey Katzenberg.
One advantage for "Bee Movie": Its running time is 90 minutes; "American Gangster" runs 157 minutes.
"American Gangster" tells the real-life story of Frank Lucas, a 1970s organized crime boss and drug kingpin in Harlem, and the cop who tried to bring him down. Steven Zaillian adapted the screenplay from a New York magazine article by Mark Jacobson...
Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly:
An inescapable ad campaign will push the animated flick to the top, but what will be that debut figure? Plus: prospects for ''American Gangster''...
Gangter looks awesome! Bee looks great! Everybody Wins!!
Next Week: Robert Redford acts in and directs the War On Terror pic Lions for Lambs with Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep...While Vince Vaughn stars as Fred Claus Santa's bitter older brother...
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