Two new wide releases join the box office fray, but neither will knock off The Lego Movie [LEGO]. The animated blockbuster will have no trouble piling on another $32 million to stay atop the mountain for a third weekend.
Paul W.S. Anderson [PANDE] takes a break from the Resident Evil franchise to direct the 3D disaster epic Pompeii [PMPEI]. Kit Harington [KHARI] of "Game of Thrones" fame and Emily Browning [EBROW] star in the action romance set against the backdrop of the Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79 A.D.. Sony is selling the PG-13 rated Pompeii on the special effects, so the bad reviews are unlikely to matter to the audience. Landing in 2658 theaters, Pompeii could bury $14 million.
About Last Night [ABLNT] got a booster from Valentine’s Day last holiday weekend. The romantic comedy looks to tumble 55% on its second date to about $12 million.
Kevin Costner [KCOST] hopes to follow in the career revival of Liam Neeson in the Europe-set thriller 3 Days to Kill [3DTKL] from the makers of Taken. However, Relativity has generated little buzz with its marketing. Despite its PG-13 rating, the film is unlikely to attract young moviegoers and only appeal to Costner’s older fans. Showing in 2872 theaters, 3 Days to Kill may collect $10 million.
With more competition for the male moviegoers, RoboCop [ROBOC] could power down more than 50% to around $9.5 million in its second weekend.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): LEGO, PANDE, PMPEI, KHARI, EBROW, ABLNT, KCOST, 3DTKL, ROBOC