Although there’s no big football game this weekend competing for people's attention, a big snowstorm in the Northeast could keep many moviegoers at home away from the multiplexes. However, the rest of the country can still check out two new wide releases this weekend. Melissa McCarthy [MMCCA] has parlayed her breakout role from Bridesmaids into her first starring lead in Identity Thief [IDTHF] opposite Jason Bateman [JBATE]. He plays a straight-laced man whose credit card history has been fraudulently stolen by an obnoxious woman, so he takes a road trip to bring her back to justice. Universal is rolling out the R-rated comedy at the right time. The marketplace has been devoid of comedies with the 3-months-old Silver Lining Playbook providng its onlyl competition. While the reviews aren’t great, the ads have been amusing enough to bring in mainstream audiences looking for broad laughs. Checking into 3141 theaters, Identity Thief could walk away with $21 million.
The female target audience should keep last weekend’s top film Warm Bodies [WARMB] from a steep drop-off. Warm Bodies could thaw about 45% in its sophomore session to $11 million.
The thriller Side Effects [SDEFC] may well be director Steven Soderbergh’s [SSODE] last theatrical film, at least for a while. Rooney Mara [RMARA] stars a young man who takes experimental drugs prescribed by her doctor, played by Jude Law [JLAW], with unforeseen consequences. Magic Mike Channing Tatum [CTATU], who co-stars as her husband, is the movie’s biggest draw, but his younger fanbase is unlikely to be interested in an R-rated film targeted at older adults. Although the film has earned excellent reviews, the film may be hurt by a weak marketing campaign by Open Road. The film should have legs after word of mouth filters out about its plot twists. Playing in 2605 theaters, Side Effects could tally $11 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): MMCCA, IDTHF, JBATE, WARMB, SDEFC, SSODE, RMARA, JLAW, CTATU