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Friday, February 08, 2008

No Foolin'?

This weekend's new flicks hope to have you laughing...

Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey (pictured) spend most of Fool's Gold (reviews) half naked; Martin Lawrence proves you can't go home again in Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (reviews) with James Earl Jones as Papa J; And finally Vince Vaughn gets together with some pals for the concert film The Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights (reviews).



Pamela McClintock and Dave McNary write for Variety 'Gold,' 'Roscoe' take on 'Hannah':

Warner Bros. is getting a head start on Valentine's Day, unspooling Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson starrer "Fool's Gold" at the domestic box office this weekend, while Universal opens Martin Lawrence laffer "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins."

The big question: Will both be outdone by Disney 3-D holdover "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour"?

"Fool's Gold," which opens in 3,125 theaters, and "Roscoe Jenkins," which unspools in 2,384, are both tracking well among their target auds. "Hannah" is far harder to predict since there's really no precedent for the pic.

"Hannah," playing in only 683 locations equipped with digital 3-D screens, grossed $31.1 million in its opening last weekend, singing its way to the best opening ever for Super Bowl weekend on the interest of tween girls.

A traditional concert film generally drops 60% in its second sesh, but "Hannah" isn't expected to take such a steep dive. It's continued to play strongly this week.

"Fool's Gold," directed by Andy Tennant, could have an edge if it plays as broadly as Warner is hoping. Film reteams Hudson and McConaughey, whose romantic comedy "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" opened to $23.8 million on the same weekend in 2003.

Warner has retooled its marketing campaign in recent days to plug "Fool's Gold" as a romantic action-adventure, along the lines of "Romancing the Stone" and "Six Days Seven Nights." The initial marketing campaign was targeted more at women, the key demo for romantic comedies. Tracking suggests the movie is still appealing predominately to women, but interest among older males has picked up.

Tennant has a strong record with romancers. "Hitch," his last movie, grossed $43.1 million when opening over Valentine's Day weekend in 2005. "Sweet Home Alabama" opened at $35.6 million.

For "Fool's Gold," Warner is expecting numbers more along the lines of the $23.8 million for "How to Lose a Guy" or the $24.4 million to which McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker starrer "Failure to Launch" debuted in March 2006.

"Roscoe Jenkins" should likewise do solid business, although "Fool's Gold" cost upward of $70 million to produce, while "Jenkins" cost under $30 million...


Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly wonders:

Will Miley Cyrus' concert film stand in the way of a totally buff debut for Kate and Matthew's ''Fool's Gold''?

Read More Here...

Vaughn's comedy concert tour is doing so much better among critics--than either of the 2 other wider releases. And then of course, there's Hannah-the queen of tween.

Next Week: Ryan Reynolds' feels the love Definitely, Maybe; Joanna Becker and Michael Blumenstock Step Up 2 the Streets for the dance/romance sequel; While the actioner Jumper hopes to be the date night spoiler...

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