Kung Fu Panda (reviews) and You Don't Mess With The Zohan (reviews) open wide but my money's on the Panda to come out on top...
Dave McNary, and Pamela McClintock Variety:
Comedy will take many different forms at the weekend box office as two new players --toon "Kung Fu Panda" and Adam Sandler laffer "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" -- open domestically and go after different auds. Paramount and DreamWorks Animation open "Panda" in 4,114 runs; Sony bows "Zohan" in 3,462.
It's anybody's guess as to which film will win the weekend considering that each of the two new pics has its own distinct advantages.
New Line and Warner Bros. holdover "Sex and the City" will add to the intrigue if it has a strong hold in its second sesh. Comedy grossed a whammo $57 million last weekend--by far, the best debut ever for a chick flick -- and has enjoyed strong weekday grosses. Through Wednesday, the domestic cume was $73.2 million.
"Panda," starring the voice of Jack Black, is the first toon and youngest-skewing family pic since Fox's Easter tentpole "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who," which has grossed $152.7 million domestically.
If pent-up demand for a family film is strong, "Panda" could pull ahead. Movie also features the voices of Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Ian McShane and Lucy Liu. Mark Osborne and John Stevenson directed from a script by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.
"Panda" has three weeks free and clear before Disney and Pixar open "Wall-E" on June 27.
"Zohan," rated PG-13, has a proven box office star in its corner, as Sandler has become a permanent fixture of the summer box office.
Last year, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" opened to $34.2 million. A year before that, "Click" debuted to $40 million, while 2005's "The Longest Yard" grossed $47.6 million in its bow.
Laffer reteams Sandler with "Chuck and Larry" director Dennis Dugan, who helmed "Zohan" from a script by Sandler, Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow. Movie also stars John Turturro and Emmanuelle Chriqui; Sandler and Jack Giarraputo produced...
... On the foreign front, Paramount's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" looks likely to notch its third straight victory after grossing $285 million internationally in its first two weeks, including $20 million during the Monday-Wednesday period. Domestically, "Crystal Skull" has grossed $226.7 million through Wednesday...
Joshua Rich of EW:
Jack Black's ''Kung Fu Panda'' aims to beat down Adam Sandler's ''You Don't Mess With the Zohan'' at the weekend box office
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Adam Sandler is classic in his own way, though he tends to do his best work when he stays casual, not trying too hard to be funny or deep, etc.
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