Opening March 1st is the Mel Gibson war flick, We Were Soldiers. And despite any criticism the film may openly receive about its poster being anywhat related to those of both Braveheart and The Patriot, along with the sarcasm that We Were Soldiers is simply the sequels to both those films, Gibson still seems to have a hit on his hands. The actor has smoothly pulled off successful box office runs, including The Patriot, which turned in $22.4 million the weekend before 4th of July weekend in 2000 on its way to collecting a total of $113.3 million domestically. Gibson, who is well known for pulling on-set pranks for just about every project he stars in, stands as an actor who will likely pour in the crowds regardless of what the film is. While such was not completely the case for his 1999 feature, Payback, Gibson on a consistent basis delivers at the box office. And with the film carrying that war storyline that Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan have accomplished on, a very sturdy opening is to be expected.

Openings for Gibson's flicks have included $34.2 million for Ransom ($12,786 per-screen), $34.0 million for Lethal Weapon 4 ($10,923 per-screen), $21.2 million for Payback ($7,802 per-screen) and $33.6 million ($11,160 per-screen) for the romantic comedy, What Women Want. We Were Soldiers should perform right in between Payback/The Patriot and What Women Want in its debut frame, which could lean right into the box office territory of both Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down ($30.6 million and 33.6 million respectively). We Were Soldiers is likely to be headed for roughly 3100 theaters, in which an opening weekend of about $27.0 million could occur.

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