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Tim Briody: This feels like a slight disappointment considering all involved. I love Amy Adams and as much as I want to hate Justin Timberlake I can't because he's actually a very good actor and legitimately funny as well. I don't know if it's because Trouble With the Curve doesn't feel like a movie that should come out during the run up to post-season baseball (a la Moneyball last year) and instead would be a better fit during spring training. Of course, we can all speculate whether Clint Eastwood's speech at the Republican National Convention worked against it to a degree, but I honestly don't think that was a factor. I think the biggest reason this wasn't much bigger is they put a baseball movie out during football season.

Max Braden: If Eastwood's performance at the RNC convention flipped a switch in people's minds from respect to pity, it's quite possible that it tipped the balance from people going to the theater to staying home. Of course, if your movie's on the fence in audience minds, you've got bigger problems. The movie appeared to me as trying to hard to be a heartwarmer, with narrowly drawn characters. I don't think the movie pulled in any more than it earned.

David Mumpower: At the end of the day, what we need to keep in mind is that this is a baseball movie. This genre has never been known for breakout opening weekend performances. This is what is impressive about Moneyball. It is the second best debut ever for a baseball film behind (I swear to God) The Benchwarmers. Not adjusting for inflation, this opening is the seventh best of all time for a baseball movie. I don't mean to be glib but this opening is what it is.

I don't want to debate the political angle of this since that's an arguable unknown. What I will point out is that this performance is also in line with Eastwood's last five movies save for the glaring exception. Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling and Invictus all earned between $33 million and $38 million. Gran Torino, the outlier, grossed $148.1 million. So Trouble with the Curve is in line with the majority his recent releases.

On an entirely different note, I am an Atlanta Braves fan and whether intentional or not, this movie mirrors the real life of Paul Snyder. He joined the Braves in 1981 and finally retired for good after the most recent draft at the age of 77 (five years younger than Eastwood, by the way). He is the scout who discovered players such as Tom Glavine, David Justice, Chipper Jones and Javy Lopez. I am permanently indebted to Snyder for what he has meant to the Atlanta Braves and while this movie feels like a gift from Clint Eastwood directly to me, I'm going to be livid if the story isn't very good.

Hang your head in shame.

Kim Hollis: Dredd, the adaptation of the comic book (which was previously done in 1995 with Sylvester Stallone), opened to $6.3 million even with the benefit of 3D showings. What went wrong here?

Brett Beach: If ever there was a case of "Great reviews can't convince people to give certain genres a chance", then this is it. The reviews were stellar. It seemed as if it was marketed heavily and appropriately to create the right kind of awareness. I doubt many people in the potential audience held the 1995 Stallone/Rob Schneider version against this one. Is it possible this is a grim character, a la Jonah Hex or The Punisher, that just doesn't lend itself easily to the higher box office levels? I had no interest until a few days ago but with folks I respect weighing in positively, I might try to catch the 2D on the cheap - in about three weeks.

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