Box Office Preview:'300' Strong

Box Office Preview

'300' Strong

Sword-and-sandals epic figures to feast on ''Wild Hogs,'' arrest the ''Zodiac,'' and bust ''Ghost Rider''


Entertainment Weekly.com


March 9,2007


by Joshua Rich



Just one major movie hits theaters this weekend: the bloody, R-rated action flick 300. This historical graphic-novel adaptation is a formidable new film for sure, but, most importantly, it'll elbow Wild Hogs and Ghost Rider aside, thus liberating me from having to come up with any more motorcycle puns. Neato, you say — but will it take the top spot? Let me put it this way, using a different sort of metaphor: While a week ago Wild Hogs looked like it could win by banking its shot in at the buzzer, 300 is a slam dunk. You mark my words.

Oh, but, speaking of, back to Wild Hogs for a moment. Um, whoa! The John Travolta-fronted midlife-crisis comedy far exceeded expectations last time around, earning nearly $40 million and thwarting the critics. To be sure, its success was more akin to a swish from mid-court. How did that happen? As you'll read in the new edition of Entertainment Weekly, families turned out in large numbers for the film, which also played very well in small cities like Albuquerque and Fresno. And for that, Travolta and the folks at Disney deserve a high five. Anyway, please read on about the 300 Ghost Hogs and then cast your vote below for the release that you think will score the winning basket.

THE (LIKELY) TOP FIVE

300
Warner Bros. · R · 3,103 theaters · NEW
The buzz is there for sure. And all potential competitors effectively conceded the weekend to this version of Frank Miller's graphic novel about the legendary Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. So it's hard to imagine anything slowing down this effects-heavy flick, from Dawn of the Dead director Zack Snyder. Except, maybe, the fact that we have to go back to last fall's Borat, Saw III, and The Departed to find R-rated movies with hit openings. Or the fact that the similarly green-screen-dependent action fantasy Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow flopped with a $15.6 mil debut. Or the fact that star Gerard Butler (Phantom of the Opera) isn't much of a household name. Or the fact that recent sword-and-sandals flicks like Alexander haven't done so well domestically. Or... oh, who am I kidding? There's a lot of ass-kicking in 300 and, with nothing in its way, a dedicated fan base, and solid reviews, it'll do plenty of ass-kicking in the multiplexes. It should surpass the $29.1 mil premiere of the last highly anticipated, violently R-rated, graphic-novel F/X extravaganza, Sin City.
Weekend prediction: $30 million

Wild Hogs
Touchstone · PG-13 · 3,296 theaters · 2nd weekend
The biggest strike against 300, in actual fact, is that families can't attend — painful in a year when blockbusters like Ghost Rider and Norbit have been driven by diverse crowds. Thus, even with a typical 49 percent drop, the Harley homeboys will benefit. Indeed, they've been riding very strong during the week, earning well over a million bucks per day.
Weekend prediction: $21 million

Zodiac
Paramount · R · 2,379 theaters · 2nd weekend
Despite stellar reviews (scoring 77 out of 100 on review-tracker Metacritic.com), David Fincher's serial-killer thriller disappointed in its debut, grossing just $13.4 mil. Still, you've gotta think — or just hope — that those positive grades will keep it from getting completely slaughtered.
Weekend prediction: $8 million

Ghost Rider
Columbia · PG-13 · 3,347 theaters · 4th weekend
When Nicolas Cage's comic-book flick goes over the century mark this weekend (it heads in with $96 mil and change), the star will have a sixth $100 mil grosser on his résumé. The others? The Rock ($134.1 mil), Con Air ($101.1 mil), Face/Off ($112.3 mil), Gone in 60 Seconds ($101.6 mil), and National Treasure ($173 mil).
Weekend prediction: $6 million

Bridge to Terabithia
Disney · PG · 3,210 theaters · 4th weekend
Quietly but steadily, the children's lit adaptation has earned just under $60 mil in four weeks, making it the top bona fide kiddie flick since Charlotte's Web made $81.9 mil last year. Certainly, 300 is no threat to its business, so, as in past weeks, Terabithia will decline no more than 38 percent.
Weekend prediction: $5.5 million

THE OTHER NEW RELEASE

The Ultimate Gift
Fox Faith · PG · 797 theaters · NEW
Not a lotta chatter about this faith-based film (maybe its distributor's name gave that detail away) starring James Garner, Abigail Breslin, and Brian Dennehy, about a young man (model-actor Drew Fuller) who must complete a series of tasks in order to cash in on his late oil-tycoon grandfather's estate. So here's how I see it: The recent, under-publicized inspirational flicks Amazing Grace and One Night With the King both bowed in about the same number of locations as this one, and both earned $4.1 mil in their debuts. Friends, my crystal ball is crystal clear.
Weekend prediction: $4.1 million



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