Will Dogs Beat The Mall Cop?

This weekend a quartet of new releases join the fray--hoping the nation's current deep freeze won't keep you away from the cineplex:

Kevin James is Paul Blart: Mall Cop (reviews); Emma Roberts barks up the family friendly tree of Hotel For Dogs (reviews); Director and film editor Patrick Lussier tries to scare you with My Bloody Valentine 3D (reviews); The life of The Notorious B.I.G plays out in the biopic Notorious (reviews)...



Dave McNary and Pamela McClintock of Variety ask:

Is January the new "it" month at the box office?

Historically, January is one of the quietest months of the year in terms of new releases, with Christmas holdovers and specialty films taking up most of the oxygen.

But not this year. Today, four wide releases open as the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend gets under way: Sony comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," Lionsgate's "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," Fox Searchlight's biopic "Notorious" and Paramount's kid comedy "Hotel for Dogs."

Also, Paramount Vantage's "Defiance" and Overture's "Last Chance Harvey" expand nationwide after limited runs. "Defiance" opens in 1,500 runs, "Harvey' in 1,054.

Warner Bros.' "Gran Torino" could hold well enough to win the four-day holiday weekend. Pic, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, grossed $29.5 million last weekend as it expanded nationwide after a limited run.

"Gran Torino" was one of three new titles opening on Jan. 9 that did far better than expected. Twentieth Century Fox's "Bride Wars" debuted to $21.1 million, while Universal/Rogue Pictures' "The Unborn" cleared $19.8 million. Weekend was up 15% over the same frame a year ago.

Tracking gives Sony's "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" a slight edge heading into the four-day holiday weekend. Laffer, starring Kevin James and directed by Steve Carr ("Daddy Day Care," "Dr. Dolittle 2"), opens in 3,144 runs. Film is rated PG, so it can rely on getting families.

But "Valentine" could draw plenty of box office blood thanks to higher ticket prices for 3-D fare. Film is the widest 3-D release to date. It opens in 1,033 3-D runs and 1,501 conventional theaters for a total theater count of 2,534. "Notorious," which chronicles the life of New York rap artist Christopher Wallace, who went by the names Biggie Smalls and Notorious B.I.G., is also tracking well.

Biopic, opening in 1,637 runs, could potentially compete with "Bloody Valentine" for African-American auds.

The fourth opener, "Hotel for Dogs," was produced by DreamWorks and stars Emma Roberts and Don Cheadle. Film, about an orphan girl who cares for orphan dogs, is rated PG but should play younger than "Blart."

Like the openers, top holdovers including "Bride Wars" should benefit from the four-day weekend...

Joshua Rich of EW:

This weekend is almost as far away from the 2010 Oscar season as possible -- so it's no wonder that the multiplex marquee resembles the bargain bin at your local Blockbusters...

Next Week: Inkheart arrives as does Underworld: Rise of the Lycans while Revolutionary Road goes wide...