The start of a new film "season" offers a chance for me to tweak my weekly look at the new movie releases....
The CG toon 9 opened on Wednesday to solid reviews but Tyler Perry's latest I Can Do Bad All By Myself (reviews) is the favored pic to take the top spot The slasher Sorority Row (revies) has better notices from critics than Whiteout (reviews); The book on which the film is based is an awesome read
Dave McNary of Varirty:
Tyler Perry returns to the nation's multiplexes in the first fall frame with Lionsgate's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" at 2,255 playdates in what's likely to be his second No. 1 opener this year.
"I Can Do Bad," based on Perry's play of the same name, faces off against Summit's slashfest "Sorority Row" at 2,665, Warner's Antarctic thriller "Whiteout" at 2,745 and Focus' animated sci-fier "9," which debuted Wednesday with $3.1 million at 1,652.
Box office observers expect "Bad," rated PG-13, to wind up between the high teens to mid 20s during what's traditionally a slow weekend. In the year-ago frame, Perry's "The Family That Preys" launched with $17.4 million, finishing a close second to "Burn After Reading" with $19.1 million.
Perry scored his top opening in February as "Madea Goes to Jail" bowed to $41 million, and his Madea character returns in "Bad," a comedy-drama starring Taraji P. Henson as a lounge singer, Mary J. Blige and Gladys Knight. In a sign that Perry's fanbase has expanded, "Madea Goes to Jail" grossed more than $90 million domestically -- the top figure in the seven-title Perry franchise.
The "Bad" launch is the widest for a Perry pic, topping the previous record from "Tyler Perry's Family Reunion" with 2,194.
Feature toon "9," from producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, has emerged as the weekend's wild card with a Friday-Sunday total that could hit the low teens. Focus opted to open the PG-13-rated post-apocalyptic fantasy on Wednesday to take advantage of the 09-09-09 date as a marketing ploy; notices have been mostly positive, but animated fare not targeted to kids remains difficult to forecast in the current marketplace.
Summit is aiming "Sorority Row" -- a remake of 1983's "The House on Sorority Row " -- at horror fans with school back in session. The R-rated pic, centering on an unseen killer exacting revenge, has forecasts ranging from high single digits to low teens.
Recent horror titles have shown moderate traction, with "Orphan" topping $41 million and "Halloween II" taking $27 million in its first two weeks.
"Whiteout" appears targeted at fans of whodunits and Kate Beckinsale, who stars as a U.S. marshal unraveling murders at the South Pole. Beckinsale was able to generate respectable returns in the first two "Underworld" entries, and trackers expect the weekend to wind up somewhere between high single digits and low teens.
John Young of EW predicts a good weekend for Tyler Perry, topping other newcomers ''Sorority Row,'' ''Whiteout,'' and ''9''
Read On...
Next week's BIG release: Jennifer's Body in the lovely form of Megan Fox.
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