After spending 3 months on Pandora, moviegoers finally get to feast their spectacled eyes on a new 3D film other than Avatar. Tim Burton [TBURT] and Lewis Carroll seems such a perfect match that it’s surprising it’s taken this long for the director to put his spin on the classic Alice in Wonderland [ALCNW]. Top box office draw and quirky character maven Johnny Depp [JDEPP] stars as the Mad Hatter in the PG-rated fantasy film based on the book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” as well as its sequel “Through the Looking Glass”. The Disney machine couldn’t have asked for a better hook for their marketing campaign. Anticipation and awareness for the film are so high that the opening is unlikely to suffer from the effects of mixed reviews. Marching into 3728 theaters, Alice in Wonderland could discover around $76 million.
Despite poor exit polls from audiences, Shutter Island [SHISL] held up in its second weekend. The older-skewing thriller should entice more moviegoers to solve its mystery for another $12 million.
Overture took over the release of the cop drama Brooklyn’s Finest [BRKLN] when its previous distributor Senator went bankrupt. Without much marketing support, the R-rated film must rely on the recognition factor of its stellar cast, which includes Wesley Snipes [WSNIP] returning to the screen after a five-year absence due to tax problems. Overture has had success opening similar hard-boiled fares in Law Abiding Citizen and Righteous Kill, though with much wider releases. Playing in just 1936 theaters, Brooklyn’s Finest may debut with about $10 million
Cop Out [2COPS] did not distinguish itself from any other buddy cop movie. The disposable action comedy is likely to lose half its opening weekend take and return $9 million in its sophomore session.
Overture already knew The Crazies [CRAZI] is likely to deteriorate quickly when they scheduled Brooklyn’s Finest to open during its second weekend. The horror remake could scare up another $7 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): TBURT, ALCNW, JDEPP, SHISL, BRKLN, WSNIP, 2COPS, CRAZI