John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers send their best in Pierre Morel's latesr actioner From Paris With Love (reviews); The Nicholas Sparks romance novel Dear John (reviews) is brought to life by Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried...
Andrew Stewart of Variety:
Lionsgate's shoot-em-up action film "From Paris With Love," starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, will face off at the domestic B.O. over Super Bowl weekend at 2,722 screens with Sony's lit adaptation "Dear John" at 2,724.
Most recent Sparks adaptations have opened in the mid-teens, with Warner's "Nights in Rodanthe," bowing to $13.4 million in 2008, and New Line's 2004 "The Notebook" grossing $13.5 million in its opening weekend.
Both films enter a crowded frame of solid holdovers, led by 20th Century Fox's sci-fi opus "Avatar" and a barrage of Oscar-nommed films, including Fox Searchlight's "Crazy Heart" and Lionsgate's "Precious" hoping to benefit from expansions this weekend.
Studios expect to see a steep Superbowl-induced drop on Sunday, with most filmgoers opting to stay home for the game. Better B.O. should result from Friday and Saturday performances.
Films hit hardest by the event could be R-rated "Paris" and Warner Bros.' Mel Gibson holdover "Edge of Darkness," entering its soph sesh after a $17.2 million launch. Tracking is strongest among older males for both films.
Femmes could spark to counterprogramming with the frame's other wide opener, Sony/Screen Gem's "Dear John," starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried.
Lionsgate hopes auds who liked "Taken," also helmed by Pierre Morel, turn out for "Paris." "Taken," which launched last January to an impressive $24.7 million domestically, became a worldwide sleeper hit, grossing $225 million.
Warner has taken a similar marketing approach with its father-daughter action thriller, "Darkness," about a Boston police officer, who after the death of his activist daughter, discovers a corporate cover-up.
In "Paris," Travolta plays a trigger-happy special agent sent to Gaul to stop a terrorist attack. Lionsgate said it hopes to benefit from Travolta's edgier performance. Travolta actioner "The Taking of Pelham 123" opened last year to $23.4 million.
Based on the Nicholas Sparks romance novel, "Dear John" tells the story of a soldier who falls in love with a college student while home on leave. Pic, produced by Relativity Media, should dominate among femmes under 25.
Fox's "Avatar" continues to loom in holdover frames, slipping only 14% in its seventh frame. "Avatar" surpassed "Titanic's" $600.8 million benchmark this week, becoming the all-time highest grossing film with a domestic cume of $603.8 million through Wednesday...
Nicole Sperling of EW:
...The combo of girl-friendly romance and the Super Bowl may finally push James Cameron epic to second place...
Reviews for both Paris and Dear are not that great...But Avatar can't possibly win yet again...Can It?
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