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May 24 - 27

Lee Tistaert of Lee's Movie Info

While the soon-to-be Darth Vader and Peter Parker devour even more explosions at the box office this weekend, theaters give way for yet another trio of new releases, all expected to do at least decently. Warner Brothers offers the creepy thriller, Insomnia while DreamWorks goes in a fist-to-fist fight with Disney in Spirit, and Jennifer Lopez has just had Enough in the new Sony go-getter.

Despite a quick death to Smoochy at the box office, Robin Williams looks to achieve what appears as his first big film after his numerous round of failures in the suspense tale, Insomnia. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan, who gained ultra praise with the art-house hit, Memento, which also happened to become a critically acclaimed psychological thriller.

This Weekend at
Lee's Movie Info

Day

Update

 Update Time

Sat

Friday's Box Office

9:30 - 11:30 am

Sun

Weekend Estimates

11:00 am  - 1:30 pm

Mon

Weekend Final Results

3:30 - 5:30 pm

 

 
Even for the moviegoers who have never even seen Memento, WB's director reference in Insomnia's trailer should do some good, as the memory loss puzzle flick has picked up quite a bit of steam in buzz since its theatrical launch last year. Even if folks have not taken the time or the brain power to figure out the mystery behind the Guy Pearce tale, many filmgoers know the deal about Memento. While it is questionable to how much success Nolan can gather outside Memento's art-house audiences, the acting duo of Al Pacino and Robin Williams should be more than enough to convince those fans that believe Williams needs to re-consider his decisions that Insomnia is a trip at least worth your time and money. The thriller has also been retrieving stellar reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, which is to ensure a feverish response come Friday. Is it possible for Christopher Nolan to have two years in a row where he's had a film in the "Best of the Year" charts among critics and audiences alike? Maybe so.

 While veteran actor Al Pacino has a tendency to nail an opening weekend gross in the low $10's depending on the release, the brilliant pairing of him and Robin Williams along with the behind-the-scenes presence of Christopher Nolan will be big pluses. The other amazing fact is that Insomnia stands as Williams' big debut villain role (if you don't count Smoochy), prior to August's One Hour Photo, which is looking like a dynamite delivery of his. With the actor choosing non-exciting roles over the past few years and now turning to dark features for his groove, while darker tones can be harder sells come ticket sales time, the names behind the production could very well push the interest up there and here the actor seems to be giving a too-creepy-to-miss performance. While some of the same could have been said concerning the star-power behind Death to Smoochy, WB gave that a lukewarm ad-campaign that didn't sell well with mainstream audiences, while Insomnia has carried strong promotion and a feel as if it's the first big thrill ride since the Sony hit, Panic Room. Warner Brothers is giving the thriller a wide 2,610 theater count release, and with Memorial Day weekend as its playground, Insomnia could rake in $18 million for the 3-day frame and $22 million for the Friday - Monday period.

DreamWorks yet again gives Disney the finger, exclaiming, "we can do it too!" with their new animated tale, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The two studios have been battling it out in box office grosses with each of their family releases, with DreamWorks mostly failing to Disney with the exception of Shrek, which had to have created lots of laughs on the DW studio lot over those many weeks. With DW's new adventure lacks real supportive reviews and star-power behind the voices. Instead, the studio is relying on their bold ad-campaign, their sneak previews word of mouth from last weekend and the good 'ol presence of a 4-day weekend to haul in the youngsters, let alone about the same exact time Shrek turned in huge ticket sales last year. Spirit will likely be a film that kids will be somewhat interested in while parents are sighing at the thought of going. The film lacks the witty glare Shrek had and points more toward children than the old Disney formula of nailing everyone in the room with entertainment/humor (as Aladdin and The Lion King). The results should be a good launch, but nothing extraordinary. The majority of families out there will more likely be apt to select WB's Scooby Doo on June 14. Spirit looks to come in with a 3-day figure of $16.5 million and a 4-day total of nearly $21.0 million.

Some critics have been pointing it out already and it didn't take long for me to realize it either. The title to the new Sony abuser thriller, Enough, could say it all. Just like MGM's What's the Worst That Could Happen? The Jennifer Lopez film about seeking revenge is a very familiar and cliché topic nowadays and with the less than stellar reviews the film is receiving from critics, more filmgoers are likely to choose Insomnia or Unfaithful instead. Enough carries heavy similarities to Sleeping with the Enemy and Double Jeopardy, but both pictures had heavier buzz factors back in the days of their release while Enough carries a moderate one. Lopez is not known for bringing in big bucks, but then again, the same could have been said before Double Jeopardy turned into a $100 million blockbuster. Lopez' largest debut to date was in New Line's The Cell, which picked up $17.5 million opening weekend for a very nice $7,265 per-screen. The benefits behind that thriller involved strong buzz on the picture's visual effects and a substantially sized young audience crowd factor. Enough will be targeting adults and primarily women, of whom will more likely drag along their date or husbands for the ride. But then again, the audience will also be targeted for Insomnia, which will likely skew more male than female. Opening in 2,623 locations, Enough may earn $11.5 million from Friday - Sunday and close to $14.0 million over the long weekend.

 

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