Nicolas Cage set to win holiday box office race
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Between Valentine’s Day and the Presidents Day holiday weekend, Hollywood is throwing a lot of product at moviegoers, hoping that some will stick.
The studios might have gotten it right this time, scheduling five new wide releases that target five different audiences.
After a cold streak with films such as “The Weather Man” and “The Wicker Man,” Nicolas Cage is poised to take pole position with the Marvel Comics adaptation “Ghost Rider.”
The long-gestating film is set for a huge start along the lines of writer-director Mark Steven Johnson’s previous Marvel outing “Daredevil,” which opened to $45 million during the 2003 Presidents Day weekend.
Cage plays a former motorcycle stuntman who, in order to secure the safety of his true love ( Eva Mendes), makes a deal with the devil. Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott and Peter Fonda co-star in the PG-13 film, which Sony opens on Friday.
It’s possible that three of the other new wide releases could edge into the $20 million range for the four-day frame.
Bringing much-needed family product to the marketplace is Disney’s “Bridge to Terabithia” from “Narnia” producer Walden Media. Directed by Gabor Csupo (writer-producer of “The Rugrats Movie” and “The Wild Thornberries Movie”), “Terabithia” is based on the 1978 Newbery Award-winning children’s book from Katherine Paterson. The PG film stars Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb as friends who create an imaginary land to escape their problems. Zooey Deschanel also stars.
The movie looks as if it will open in the $16 million-$19 million range for the four days, but with strong word-of-mouth expected, it could get a bump Monday, which could put it in the $20 million-plus category.
The weekend’s other potential $20 million earners opened Wednesday to capitalize on Valentine’s Day.
Lionsgate is expected to continue its Tyler Perry hot streak after it launched “Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls” on Wednesday to $4.5 million. “Daddy” marks the first Perry feature that doesn’t star the writer-director-producer; the PG-13 film features Gabrielle Union as a successful attorney who falls for blue collar single father Idris Elba. “Daddy” should gross $20 million for the four-day frame.
Warner Bros. opened “Music and Lyrics” to $4.1 million. The PG-13 romantic comedy stars Hugh Grant as a washed-up ’80s pop star who must come up with a hit song in a matter of days and turns to his plant lady ( Drew Barrymore) for help. “Music,” attracting primarily females, is likely to gross in the high-teen millions, but could edge into $20 million territory.
“Breach” is not expected to match the numbers of the other new films. The spy drama, which stars Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney, tells the true story of a Russian mole within the CIA (Cooper). Drawing a relatively older audience, the Universal Pictures film is looking to bow in the $7 million-$9 million range.
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