Beverly Hills Chihuahua (reviews)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (pictured reviews)
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (reviews)
Blindness. (reviews)
Appaloosa (reviews)
An American Carol (reviews)
Flash of Genius (reviews)
Religulous (reviews)
It's anyone's guess which film ends up on top with so many pieces of the pie.
Dave McNary and Pamela McClintock of Variety:
Bill Maher’s irreverent docu "Religulous" was off to a strong start as it bowed early in Gotham, grossing $13,237 on Wednesday from two theaters for a per location average of $6,619.
"Religulous" goes nationwide [today], unspooling in 500 theaters. Lionsgate used the exclusive Gotham run to prompt reviews and build word of mouth.
It’s no wonder Lionsgate wanted to get out of the gate early. There are seven wide releases debuting at the domestic box office, in addition to several openers on the specialty side, including Maher’s docu. A counterpoint of sorts to "Religulous" is Vivendi’s feature "An American Carol," a scathing Michael Moore spoof.
Disney’s family CGI-live action pic "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," going out in 3,215 runs, should have no problem charming its way to the top of the B.O. chart. Playing to both families and dog lovers could spell a sizeable opening.
Sony’s Michael Cera-Kat Dennings dramedy "Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist," opening in 2,421 runs and catering to the young set, is looking strong as well. After that, it’s likely to get dicey.
Other new wide releases are comedy "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," which MGM takes out in 1,750; Miramax’s "Blindness" (1,690); and Spyglass and Universal’s "Flash of Genius" (1,098). Vivendi takes "American Carol" out in 1,639. Warners also enters the mix with Viggo Mortensen-Ed Harris-Renee Zellweger Western "Appaloosa," which expands from a two-week limited run in Gotham, L.A. and Toronto to 1,045 theaters nationwide. New Line film has grossed $540,905 to date.
Distributors aren’t quite sure how the frame got so jam-packed, leaving no room for error. Studios are hoping that "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist" do enough business to boost overall grosses.
New openers also will have to contend with holdovers "Eagle Eye," which won last weekend in its bow, and "Burn After Reading." ...
Among the wide openers, "Genius" isn’t tracking well despite an aggressive marketing push. Film stars Greg Kinnear in the true story of the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, only to be ripped off by the big auto giants.
Spyglass fully financed and produced the pic, with U only distributing.
"American Carol" was directed by David Zucker, whose credits include "Airplane!" and two "Naked Gun" pics. In a twist on Charles Dickens’ classic tale, spoof stars Kevin Farley as lefty director "Michael Malone," who wants to abolish the Fourth of July, only to be visited by three ghosts.
"Blindness," based on the tome by Jose Saramago, could face difficulties given its dark storyline. Starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal, pic revolves around the aftermath of an epidemic that renders nearly the entire population blind. Miramax was originally going to open the film in a limited run, and then go wide, but opted to skip the first.
"How to Lose Friends," based on the bestselling book, stars Kirsten Dunst, Brit thesp Simon Pegg and Megan Fox. Comedy doesn’t have much buzz but could make up for a tepid B.O. showing in DVD sales. ..
Nicole Sperling of EW:
Kid-friendly lost-dog adventure looks feisty enough to leave its competition fighting over box office scraps
Next Week: Ridley Scott teams Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe who are telling a Body of Lies..Fear the Quarantine; And get a dose of inspiration in The Express.
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