Weekend Box Office Preview: Nov. 20 and Nov. 27

The Weekend Box Office Preview features movies with teen and tween appeal opening in the next two weeks. For the most part I won’t feature R-rated films, but occasionally there will be R-rated movies on teens’ radar and the rating will be noted. Limited release movies will be featured the week they get a wide release.

November 20
It’s finally time for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. I probably don’t need to say much about the plot, but this is based on the second book in the Twilight series. It’s the one where Edward leaves Forks to protect Bella and Jacob and the other Quileutes play a much bigger role in Bella’s life. If the fan turnout at the Monday night premiere is any indication, people will turn up in droves for the midnight and opening day showings. Many theaters are also screening the first movie on Thursday before the midnight showing of New Moon.

Based on a true story, The Blind Side follows the high school years of professional football player Michael Oher. As a junior, he was taken in by the Touhy family and given a chance to turn around his life and play for the school’s football team. The film follows the relationship between Oher and Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, and Oher’s transformation into one of the nation’s top football prospects. It looks like a predictable, feel-good sports movie, but it should appeal to a broad audience. The book on which the movie was based, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis, won an Alex Award for adult books with YA appeal.

For the younger set this weekend, we have Planet 51. This computer-animated movie tells the story of an astronaut, voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who lands on Planet 51, only to find it’s already inhabited by aliens living a sort of 1950s, all-American life. Antics ensue as he tries to escape before becoming a permanent exhibit in an alien museum. This is the only kid’s movie coming out this week, so it might be a draw for those who’ve already seen A Christmas Carol, even though it looks bland.

November 25 (Thanksgiving)
Fantastic Mr. Fox has been out in limited release since Nov. 13, but it finally opens for everyone this week. Based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, the movie centers on Mr. Fox, his family, and various other animal friends. Mr. Fox is a chicken thief who attracts the ire of a trio of farmers and must band together with his friends to outwit them. Indie film auteur Wes Anderson directed this stop-animation film, which features the voicework of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray among others. It’s been getting rave reviews so far and did well in its first weekend in New York and LA, so this will likely be a top choice for families and other film fans over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Old Dogs is the other family movie opening for the holiday. It stars John Travolta and Robin Williams as two bachelors who suddenly become caretakers for Williams’ seven-year-old twins. Undoubtedly, the two realize what’s important in life after a period of wacky shenanigans with the kids. I have some strong negative feelings about movies in this vein, so let’s just say that I hope more inventive fare like Fantastic Mr. Fox does better at the box office.

For something completely different, there’s The Road, based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel. This is a bleak story about a father and son’s journey to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The book is critically acclaimed (it won the Pulitzer) and a bestseller thanks to Oprah’s book club, so it already has an audience. The movie has had a long journey to release — it was originally supposed to come out last year — but it’s gotten favorable reviews by critics so far. It’s certainly not warm, holiday fare, but it’s been generating some buzz as an Oscar contender. (Rated R)

Ninja Assassin, a martial arts movie about a trained assassin, may appeal to an older, largely male, teen audience. It’s produced by the Wachowski Brothers and stars Korean superstar Rain, as a ninja who goes rogue against the clan who trained him. (Rated R)

Best bets: I’m most looking forward to Fantastic Mr. Fox

Coming up: Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, the action-packed heist movie Armored, Hugh Grant/Sarah Jessica Parker rom-com Did You Hear About the Morgans?, and horror spoof Transylmania

November 18th, 2009  ♥  Box Office Preview, Movies  ♥  No Comments »