“Superbad” vies for box office honors
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Does the summer box office have room for just one more break-out hit? As an overheated season draws to a close in North America, Sony Pictures is betting that it can eke out yet one more chart topper with the teen-sex comedy “Superbad,” which opens Friday.
By contrast, the weekend’s other new wide arrivals — Warner Bros. Pictures’ sci-fi remake “The Invasion” and the Weinstein Co.’s fall-of-the-Roman-Empire actioner “The Last Legion” — are shaping up more like traditional, late-summer entries, which aren’t expected to burn up the box office.
“Superbad,” which stars relative unknowns Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as high school buddies bent on sampling that good ol’ American Pie, appears headed for an opening in the mid-$20 million range.
The only thing that could stand in its way is the second weekend of Rush Hour 3.” New Line’s buddy cop flick debuted last weekend to a chart-topping $49.1 million. If it holds to a typical 55% drop, it will pick up $22 million or so, but a steeper fall would see it fall below the $20 million level.
“The Invasion,” starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, is the weekend’s starriest offering. But this latest adaptation of the Jack Finney novel about body snatchers from outer space — its fourth film adaptation — has been through four directors, credited filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel, the Wachowski brothers and James McTeigue. The film will probably find itself stuck in the teen-million-dollar range.
“The Last Legion” stars Colin Firth and Ben Kinglsey in a tale that weaves the final days of the Roman empire with the rise of the Arthurian legend. It should arrive at one side or the other of the $5 million mark.
Other titles entering the race include MGM’s “Death at a Funeral,” a Frank Oz-directed comedy of dark British manners; Picturehouse’s documentary about die-hard gamers “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”; and Warner Independent Pictures’ environmentally minded documentary “The 11th Hour,” with Leonardo DiCaprio narrating.
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