‘Freddy’ Ready for Box Office Bonanza
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Hard-core gore fans will be filling the theaters this weekend when New Line Cinema releases “Freddy vs. Jason,” which is expected to snatch the box office crown from cop thriller “S.W.A.T.” with an opening haul in the $20 million range.
The R-rated horror flick, which pairs two of cinema’s most infamous forces of evil, stars Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger from the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise) and Ken Kirzinger, the latest actor to play “Friday the 13th’s” Jason.
Ronny Yu directed the picture, which sees a group of kids, including Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child, stuck in the middle of the formidable foes.
Its main competition will be Sony’s “S.W.A.T.,” which could bring in close to $20 million if the film drops a modest 40% from its No. 1 bow last weekend.
The lesser battles for the frame will come from MGM’s modestly budgeted comedy “Uptown Girls,” starring Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning, which will compete for the same young female crowd that powered the Jamie Lee Curtis role-reversal comedy “Freaky Friday” to a $22 million bow last weekend. Disney, meanwhile, will target the adult crowd with actor/director Kevin Costner’s Western “Open Range.”
The newcomers will likely vie for the Nos. 3 and 4 slots, with openings in the $10 million-$12 million range, with “Freaky” getting into the game as well.
MGM’s PG-13 film marks Murphy’s first solo starring role — as a spoiled, freewheeling socialite who is forced to get a job as the nanny of a precocious kid played by 9-year-old Dakota Fanning. Murphy’s previous outings, “Just Married” and “8 Mile” opened with $17.5 million and $51.2 million, respectively.
“Open Range,” an R-rated morality tale that co-stars Robert Duvall and Annette Bening, has tracked better with audiences than is usually expected for a Western.
The other new wide release is Warner Bros.’ skateboarding film “Grind,” about four fans following the summer tour of a skateboard star. The PG-13-rated film isn’t expected to cross the $5 million mark.
In the limited-release world, new entries include “American Splendor,” starring Paul Giamatti in the true-life story of comic-book writer Harvey Pekar; and two romantic comedies “Passionada” and “Loco Love.”
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