A happy beginning for ‘Grimm’ at box office
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – With summer drawing to a close in Hollywood, the studios will try to draw weekend crowds at a time when the focus is more on back to school than moviegoing.
“The Brothers Grimm,” from Miramax Films’ Dimension label, at one point looked as if it might become just another throwaway film quickly released by Miramax before company founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein officially depart at the end of next month. But now it’s in a position to lead the box office with an opening in the mid- to high-teen millions.
Instead of appealing only to film buffs and fans of director Terry Gilliam, “Grimm” looks as if it will lure in the highly coveted young female audience — those wanting a glimpse of Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in period garb.
Damon and Ledger play sibling con artists who travel the countryside telling villagers that they will protect them from unseen nasties — for a price. But their mettle is tested when they come across a too-real curse in a haunted forest. Monica Bellucci co-stars in the PG-13 film.
Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems division will open “The Cave” using a release date strategy that benefited its end-of-summer release “Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid” last year. But insiders are not expecting the new horror picture to beat the $13 million opening that “Anacondas” registered: a bow in the $8 million-$10 million range seems more likely.
The PG-13 film from director Bruce Hunt and starring Cole Hauser, Piper Perabo and Morris Chestnut revolves around bloodthirsty creatures threatening a group of divers trapped in an underwater network of caves.
Lions Gate was banking on the rising success of Ashlee Simpson as the catalyst for box office grosses for its “Undiscovered.” But with her career stalling somewhat during the past year after a few media slip-ups, industry insiders are not placing many bets on the teenage romantic comedy from Irish music video director Meiert Avis.
The film follows a group of aspiring entertainers trying to establish careers in Los Angeles. Pell James, Steven Strait and Shannyn Sossamon co-star. With teen girls showing more interest in “Grimm,” “Undiscovered” is unlikely to generate much heat. Insiders say the PG-13 film isn’t expected to top $5 million.
As far as holdovers go, Universal Pictures’ “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” which opened at No. 1 last weekend with $21.4 million, is likely to hang in there for its sophomore session amid good reviews and word-of-mouth, while DreamWorks Pictures’ “Red Eye” and Disney’s “Valiant” are likely to drop more precipitously in their second sessions.
In limited release, Freestyle Releasing will unveil “American Pie” knockoff “Dirty Deeds” in 64 theaters. Starring Milo Ventimiglia, Lacey Chabert and Charles Durning, the PG-13 film centers on a high school senior who tries to become the first student ever to complete a series of twisted challenges called the “dirty deeds.”
Sony Pictures Classics will bow “The Memory of a Killer” in Los Angeles and New York. The R-rated crime thriller that played at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival centers on an aging contract killer from Italy who has the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
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