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David Mumpower: I guess I'm left to play the role of the cynic here. I believe that the first film was good enough to buy a much larger opening weekend for its successor. What I do not expect to happen is for Transformers: Lousy Sequel Title to maintain the interest of consumers the way that the first one did. I think this is a $120 million opener that behaves similarly to X-Men: The Last Stand in terms of post-debut decline. This concern evaporates if reviews are good, but I'm not expecting that. The novelty of the CGI Transformers is gone. Now, we're relying on story and let's be honest here. Neither the 1980s cartoon nor Michael Bay is known for that particular specialty.

And the rest...

Kim Hollis: Briefly discuss the positives and negatives of the other June releases: Imagine That, The Hangover, My Sister's Keeper, and The Proposal.

Josh Spiegel: Of the four films listed here, I think The Hangover has the potential to be the biggest sleeper hit. None of its stars are particularly huge - Bradley Cooper is recognizable but not completely bankable, Ed Helms is now best known for his a capella stylings on The Office, and Zach Galifianakis is a successful cult comedian - but the concept is gold, Todd Phillips has already made a successful raunchy comedy with 30-ish actors, and...okay, I want to know why Mike Tyson ties into the whole story. The Proposal could be a moderate success, being one of only a few romantic comedies this summer, but it all depends on how badly people want to see Sandra Bullock in one of these movies again. Imagine That, I think, will be forgotten, coming out at the same time as Up, Night at the Museum, and Land of the Lost. One family movie has to lose this battle, and I think Eddie Murphy will be that loser. I can't speak to My Sister's Keeper and its success, as I just read about it even existing this weekend. On the one hand, it'd be a poster child for sleeper status if it succeeds, but I'm not sure how high awareness is for this movie.

Sean Collier: Well, my awareness on all of these but The Hangover is at zero, so that can't be good...but maybe I'm just out of the loop. I see a long, Wedding Crashers-esque run for The Hangover if it gets good word-of-mouth, and I'm hoping that it makes a star out of Zach Galifinakis. Other than that, who knows...the answer is "someone, but not me."





Max Braden: Imagine That looks like Bedtime Stories without the big set pieces and Definitely, Maybe without the romance, both of which lead to a nice movie without the box office. The Hangover has Heather Graham, who's been the kiss of straight-to-video death, but I'd say director Todd Phillips' run with Road Trip, Old School, and Starsky & Hutch means this one will get a good marketing push. The trailer for My Sister's Keeper is a snoozer and will probably result in a $5 million opening. Of these four the one I recognized by name was The Proposal. I'm tempted to say it will open well because the material is perfect for Sandra Bullock, but the perfect material didn't translate into big numbers for Julia Roberts and Duplicity.

Jim Van Nest: I don't see any of these as significant box office players this summer. Has Sandy Bullock run her course yet? I'm thinking she has. The cuteness has worn off of her and what I always seem to be left with is a movie that should have been better. I think the only chance for a mini-box office breakout in this group is Imagine That. Taking the anomaly that was Norbit out of the picture, Eddie Murphy's only successes in the last 12-13 years have been family films. With the right push and some good ads, Imagine That could potentially find a niche. Unfortunately, it has about a two week window to cash in on that niche, because then Transformers hits and with Ice Age and Harry Potter coming in July it will be soon forgotten.

Since I'm supposed to mention all four of those, I'll say that The Hangover and My Sister's Keeper will be in and out of theaters pretty quick with little fanfare.

Kim Hollis: I'm hearing a lot of people buzzing about The Hangover, so I'll agree with most of my compatriots that it looks to have by far the best chance at breaking out. It's kind of got that Old School-Wedding Crashers thing going for it, where it will hit exactly the right audience at the right time. And since that audience is the primary movie-going demographic, that's an even bigger plus.

Imagine That has Eddie Murphy back in family mode, which can be a good thing, but I'm afraid he's turned into box office poison. My Sister's Keeper is Cameron Diaz in a drama. Blah. And Sandra Bullock is pretty well past her expiration date at this point, I'm afraid.

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