Kevin Smirh's controversial comedy Zack & Miri Make a Porno (reviews) opens amid a new bruh-ha-ha; Clint Eastwood's mystery Changeling (reviews) is solved; Haley Bennett screams a lot in the dopey looking horror flick The Haunting of Molly Hartley (reviews ); And Guy Ritchie's pre-divorce flick RockNRolla (reviews) opens wider...
Ben Fritz and Dave McNary of Variety:
Just how big a scare will Halloween give the movie biz?
That's the question going into this weekend, as debuter "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" and holdovers "High School Musical 3" and "Saw V" all contend with a holiday that's likely to distract their young-skewing auds.
Universal's "Changeling," which goes wide, should have less of a problem since its demographics are older.
It's expected to be an overall soft frame as the biz copes with its first Friday Halloween since 2003, when the holiday also had a major impact. Disney's tuner will most likely win the frame again, even if it takes a substantial 50%-plus drop after its strong $42 million bow. "Saw V" will likely see an even bigger drop, possibly more than 70%, since last year's "Saw IV" fell 67% and didn't have to cope with Halloween.
"Zack and Miri," which the Weinstein Company is bowing at 2,735 playdates, is looking to compete for the No. 2 spot with an expected bow in the low- to mid-teens. That would make it the lowest opener for star Seth Rogen, but quite possibly the biggest for writer/director Kevin Smith, whose previous record was "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001) at $11 million.
"There's a chance [Halloween] will hurt us a little, but the reason we went out now is the lack of competition for our quadrant," Weinstein Co. distribution prexy Steve Bonnell said.
The other pic with a shot at No. 2 is Universal's Angelina Jolie starrer "Changeling," which expands from 15 to 1,850 theaters. Clint Eastwood-helmed drama grossed a boffo $33,000 per play last weekend and appealed to a somewhat younger and more male aud than the studio expected given that it's a period piece and deals with a family tragedy. Two years ago, Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers" opened with a similar print count in late October and grossed just over $10 million.
Also opening wide this weekend is Freestyle's horror pic "The Haunting of Molly Hartley," which is expected to gross single digits from 2,652 playdates.
Warner Bros. expands Guy Ritchie's thriller "Rock N Rolla" from 19 theaters to 826...
Joshua Rich of EW:
Kevin Smith's ''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'' will try to take down Zac Efron's ''High School Musical 3'' at the box office this weekend...
Look for High School Musical 3: Senior Year to be scaring up more big bucks at #1 come Sunday night...
Next Week:The CGI animals are on the loose again in the animated Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ....The late Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes are remembered in Soul Men...while Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd are Role Models...
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