Don Cheadle takes the lead as action guy in the Wednesday opener Traitor (reviews); Vin Diesel counters with Babylon AD (reviews) but director Mathieu Kassovitz says don't bother; Disaster Movie (reviews) A great cinema spoof or self-fulfilling prophecy?; Actor/singer Drake Bell goes off to College (reviews) for laughs; And Hamlet 2 (reviews) hopes to fill more seats...
Pamela McClintock of Variety:
There are five new wide releases playing over the long Labor Day weekend -- more than ever before for the holiday -- in a fitting end to a summer that's been full of surprises. As it stands now, total B.O. revenues for the season should come in just behind last summer's record-breaking haul of $4.16 million once Labor Day weekend grosses are tallied...
Don't expect any of the new Labor Day titles -- 20th Century Fox's "Babylon A.D.," Lionsgate's send-up "Disaster Movie," MGM's R-rated laffer "College," Overture's political thriller "Traitor" and Focus Features' quirky comedy "Hamlet 2" -- to rack up big grosses. Most should, however, see solid biz for their respective genres, continuing a summer-long trend of relative prosperity.
For years, the film biz avoided opening movies over Labor Day because it was too close to the fall TV season. That's not the case anymore, however, since TV shows preem throughout the year.
The race for the weekend crown could see a battle between DreamWorks/Paramount holdover "Tropic Thunder" and "Babylon." "Hamlet 2" is off to a wobbly start, having opened wide on Wednesday to $245,813 from 1,530 runs. "Traitor," toplining Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce, grossed a respectable $792,214 as it opened in 2,054 runs on Wednesday. The remaining Labor Day titles open today.
Biggest victor of the summer B.O. is Warner Bros.' Batman sequel "The Dark Knight," which should jump the $500 million mark domestically over the extended Labor Day frame. Through Wednesday, pic's cume was $492.7 million. It's already the second-highest grossing pic of all time after "Titanic" (which earned $600.8 million domestically).
Box office observers didn't think "Dark Knight," directed by Christopher Nolan, could reach such heights, considering its dark and brooding tone. Nolan's "Batman Begins," likewise dark in tone, grossed $205.3 million domestically...
McClintock also gives a history of this Summer's hits and misses in the same article...
Meantime-Foreign box office has solid summer overall...
Joshua Rich of EW:
Vin Diesel's sci-fi flick ''Babylon A.D.'' leads a gaggle of new releases with merely moderate prospects at the Labor Day weekend box office...
It's any body's guess which of these enders if any will land at number one...I'm pulling for Traitor...
Next Week: Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang bring their 1999 flick Bangkok Dangerous to the US--with Nicolas Cage--Ugh!
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