One Month Out: Weekends of July 23 and 30, 2010
By BOP Staff
June 29, 2010
Josh Spiegel: I'm with Brett on Cats and Dogs. Why does this movie exist? Also, I haven't seen a thing about the movie, so I'll be shocked if it dominates over previous family films like Despicable Me and Toy Story 3. Charlie St. Cloud is a movie I've heard of, but I've seen no trailers (not even during the execrable MTV Movie Awards, which would've seemed like a good time to advertise, considering the film's lead), so who knows if Zac Efron can use his power to sway in teen girls to this?
Though I'm not a huge fan of either trailer, Dinner for Schmucks could easily be a major hit. Jay Roach has made a lot of popular comedies in the past 15 years, and with such a great duo at the head of the film, I could see it making over 100 million, easy.
Matthew Huntley: Wow--three very different movies on one weekend. It'd be nice if all three could grab a piece of the pie and keep 2010's numbers up.
I did not see the original Cats and Dogs, but I know it did respectable business back in 2001. The question is, was anyone really craving a sequel? All the kids who liked the first one are now in their mid to late teens and if Marmaduke proved anything, it's that talking animal movies without the Disney label on them don't do that well. I could see this movie grossing up to $100 million because of the 3D surcharges, but it won't do as well as G-Force. If the production budget was high, this may not be enough to make the studio happy.
The first half of the Charlie St. Cloud trailer intrigued me, but then it descended into melodrama and schmaltz. All I can hope is the movie doesn't do the same, but I have sneaking suspicion it will. I've never seen a Zac Efron movie before, but he seems talented and likable, and it'd be nice if he was cast because of his acting ability and not because the studio thought he could lure in all those girls who liked him in High School Musical. To me, this is a movie geared toward mature females, but I don't see it breaking out and becoming a big hit. I can see a final gross of $52 million, which is similar to The Lake House, and that should be enough given its dramatic subject matter.
A friend of mine told me Dinner for Schmucks has been floating around Hollywood for a long time, and its two trailers, while not very funny (I agree with Josh) do lead me to believe it will be a different kind of darkish comedy. I don't think $100 million is in the bag, though, because nobody is really talking about it or responding to the early ads. I know Steve Carell is supposed to play an obnoxious character in the movie, but he also seems obnoxious to watch on screen. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the movie did poorly--not in the way How to Lose Your Friends and Alienate People did poorly, just not live up to expectations.
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