Ben Fritz and Dave McNary of Variety:
Warner Bros. tentpole "Speed Racer" gets the green light this weekend, but may very well finish behind the second week of "Iron Man."
Wachowski Brothers-helmed "Racer," which bows at 3,606 screens, has been tracking primarily with kids and families. Awareness has been on the rise, but Warner Bros. is aiming for a relatively modest gross in the low 30s.
That should put it behind "Iron Man," which after its boffo $98.6 million bow -- $102million including Thursday night shows -- could take a sizable 50%-plus drop and still gross in the 40s on its second frame. As of Wednesday, Marvel and Paramount's super hero pic has grossed $121.3 million.
The "Iron Man" versus "Speed Racer" confrontation will also play out overseas. "Iron Man" heads into its second foreign frame with over $120 million banked while Warner goes day and date with "Speed" in about half the international markets.
Fox, meanwhile, is counter-programming with "What Happens in Vegas." Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher starrer opens at 3,215 theaters and is looking to appeal mainly to women and young auds in the mood for a comedy. Perf along the lines of last weekend's "Made of Honor," which opened to $14.7 million, appears likely.
While WB was probably hoping to come into the weekend with bigger expectations for its $100 million-plus adaptation of the classic cartoon, the studio is still aiming for "Speed Racer" to be a solid performer when foreign grosses, licensing and DVDs come together.
"We've had a nice bump in the tracking so we've got momentum going into the weekend," noted WB domestic distribution topper Dan Fellman. "We're also going to have a very strong ancillary component on the film."
Pic's two-hour plus running time, somewhat long for a family film, could prove a bit of a drag on the gross.
To give you a taste--Here's the first 7 minutes or so of Racer...
Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly:
The Wachowskis' adaptation of the anime TV classic won't be able to top ''Iron Man''
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I have been suspect of Speed Racer since I first saw footage from it a few months back--Why would you make a family rated flick longer than 2 hours in this day and age? We are not talking The Godfather here folks...The weekend numbers should prove interesting come Monday
Despite poor reviews I'm pulling for Kutcher and Diaz to hit the Jackpot in third place--The film just looks like a lot of fun.
Next Week: The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian tries to woo the world...
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