“Silver Surfer” rides sequel wave at box office
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Another weekend opening, another sequel.
“Ocean’s Thirteen” had its moment at the top of the heap last weekend, and now “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” is set to take over the lead.
“Nancy Drew,” a revival of the celebrated teen detective and the weekend’s other new wide arrival, appears fated for a place in the middle of the pack.
The original “Fantastic Four,” which bowed in July 2005 via 20th Century Fox, attracted decidedly mixed reviews but captured the top spot with sales of $56.1 million, going on to a domestic gross of $154.7 million. The sequel should also arrive in the $50 million range.
Like “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Silver Surfer” reunites the principals from the original film — director Tim Story and actors Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon — and introduces a new character, the legendary Silver Surfer, with movement by Doug Jones, voice by Laurence Fishburne and CG effects courtesy of Weta Digital. The introduction of the Silver Surfer could prove a big plus, rewarding fans for their loyalty to the franchise.
Holdovers “Ocean’s Thirteen” and “Knocked Up,” which have held down the first and second spots in midweek business, should shift to the second and third positions, respectively.
Meanwhile, “Nancy Drew” is aiming for tween girls and their moms, and should end in the low-teen-millions.
As a character, Nancy Drew has been around for decades: She first appeared as the central character of a long-running series of kids’ books in 1930. Bonita Granville played her in four Warners movies in the late 1930s, and Pamela Sue Martin, pre-“Dynasty,” played her in “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries” series on ABC in the late ’70s.
The new movie, directed by Andrew Fleming (“The Craft”), stars Emma Roberts — or, as the media insist on identifying her, “Emma Roberts, niece of Julia Roberts and daughter of Eric Roberts.” Actually, to her young fans, Roberts is better known as the star of the Nickelodeon series “Unfabulous.” That should help the film, in which Nancy travels to Hollywood to unravel a mystery surrounding a dead movie star, to carve out a constituency.
Additionally, Disney will sneak Pixar’s “Ratatouille” in about 800 theaters Saturday to stoke word-of-mouth for its official bow June 29.
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