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Friday, October 10, 2014

Box Office Preview: Cineplex Pile-Up

Universal Pictures releases its "Dracula" reboot called "Dracula Untold" (reviews).
 

Formerly known as "Dracula Year Zero"--the project centers on Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) and his lust for blood which inspired the mythology behind Bram Stoker's classic novel. In this version Dracula is a Transylvanian prince who risks eternal damnation in order to save his wife and son from a Turkish horde.


Here cones The Judge (reviews). The initial script by Nick Schenk that Bill Dubuque rewrote sees Robert Downey Jr star as a big-city lawyer who returns home after the death of his mother to learn that his estranged father (Robert Duvall), a judge, is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

The live-action adaptation of author Judith Viorst's children's book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (reviews) is here. The story centers on a boy (Newcomer Ed Oxenbould) who has a very horrible day and finds out that other people can have them too.


Jennifer Garner will play his mother. Steve Carell is set to play the boy’s father. Dylan Minnette and Kerris Dorsey will play Alexander’s older brother and sister. Bella Thorne former star of the Disney Channel comedy Shake It Up is also in the film.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Don't surprised if there is a Sig Alert at the box office this weekend.

A slew of new films open nationwide at the box office this weekend -- including The Judge, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, origins pic Dracula Untold, family film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day -- and all are tracking to open in the same range (mid- to high-teens). Addicted, a thriller targeting African-American audiences, also rolls out, although in fewer theaters.

David Fincher's Gone Girl, which opened to can impressive $37.5 million last weekend, could easily stay at No. 1, considering strong word-of-mouth and brisk midweek business (the movie will jump the $50 million mark sometime on Thursday). That is, unless one of the other movies pops and outperforms tracking, which has been unreliable as of late.

Gone Girl could make life tough for courtroom drama The Judge, since both are going after adults. Downey has plenty riding on the movie, the first title from Team Downey, the production company he runs with his wife, Susan. Warner Bros. made the $50 million film, which opens in 3,003 locations and also stars Vera Farmiga. Downey, known the world over for his blockbuster Iron Man franchise, has tirelessly campaigned for The Judge.

In New York and Los Angeles, both The Judge and Gone Girl will have to compete with Chernin Entertainment's adult dramedy St. Vincent, starring Bill Murray opposite Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd and Naomi Watts. The Weinstein Co. is rolling the film out in four theaters. And Focus Features' adult drama Kill the Messenger, starring Jeremy Renner, debuts in 374 theaters in select markets. The other high-profile specialty opening is Whiplash, although Miles Teller, starring as a young jazz drummer who attends a top music school, should help lure a younger crowd. Sony Pictures Classics opens the critically acclaimed film in six theaters in L.A. and New York.

Dracula Untold, from Universal and Legendary Pictures, hopes to sink its teeth into male moviegoers. It could also overperform among Hispanics, considering the movie's strong debut in Latin America last weekend. Dracula Untold, opening in 2,885 North American theaters, also should boost from Imax and large format runs.

Costing $70 million to make but lacking any big names, Dracula Untold is part of Universal's campaign to revitalize its monster universe, and chronicles the transformation of Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) into the world's most notorious vampire. Gary Shore make his feature directorial debut, while Michael De Luca produced.

Alexander and the Terrible, playing in 3,088 locations, is the weekend's only new family offering, a potential advantage if it clicks with audiences. The $28 million Disney and Village Roadshow title, based on Judith Viorst's 1972 novel about a family suffering a horrible day, stars Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner and Ed Oxenbould. Disney produced the movie with 21 Laps and The Jim Henson Company.

Lionsgate and Codeblack partnered on Addicted, a thriller about a successful businesswoman (Sharon Leal) who embarks on a series of affairs. The film, opening in 846 theaters, also stars Boris Kodjoe and cost less than $5 million to make.

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