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Kim Hollis: The movies opening the weekend of July 23rd are Ramona and Beezus and Salt. What are your thoughts and expectations with regard to these two films?

Josh Spiegel: I know that Ramona and Beezus is from a book series I read when I was a kid. I just found out that there's going to be a movie--like, found out by reading this. Could be big for a kid's movie, but I know nothing about the movie, from who's in it, to whether any kids are chomping at the bit for such an adaptation. Salt could be a hit, but the marketing isn't too heavy and I don't find myself dying to see Angelina Jolie be a blank-faced action star again. Neither of these movies are for me, but I've long since stopped wondering why people see most Hollywood movies.

Matthew Huntley: I've yet to see any marketing for Ramona and Beezus (I learned it was a book series only a couple months ago), but if I had to make an educated guess based on the popularity of the literature, I'd say it could open with $14 million and show respectable legs. I can't imagine it cost too much to make or that the expectations are very high from Fox.

Salt will determine if Angelina Jolie is still a formidable box-office draw, but it looks intriguing and I like how the trailer is ambiguous by not telling us whether Salt is a good guy or bad guy. I'm not convinced it will open as high as Wanted, but it'll be close. Female action fans have been underserved lately, but this should bring them out in full force.

Jason Lee: Ramona and Beezus makes me laugh, simply because we have acclaimed hottie Josh Duhamel playing Ramona's uncle. Is no one interested in seeing his abs anymore? This movie practically has "straight-to-DVD" written on it, IMO, though Selena Gomez could pull in the Disney Channel crowd.

I can see why Matthew brought in Wanted as a potential high-water benchmark. Both films, just based on their trailers, looked cool (though, of course, for different reasons). During the summer, that can be reason enough for a strong opening.

Kim Hollis: I think a lot of moms my age or younger could have some fond memories of the Ramona Quimby series to the point that they might warm to taking their children to see it. It's more "of my generation" than something like Nancy Drew (though I read that, too), so it's got that going for it. Along with that, Selena Gomez is a popular Disney Channel star, and that should carry some weight with the teenagers and pre-teens who would be up for attending the film. With that said, I wouldn't expect a huge breakout. I still think it can be a decent performer, though (and its budget is probably very small).

I don't have a great feel for Salt, partly because the only marketing I've seen so far is the trailer (which is to say, not very much at all). I do believe that Angelina Jolie's name means more to a movie now than it used to, and seeing her back in the action genre is just the sort of thing audiences should want.

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