Weekend Box Office Preview: Nov. 6 and Nov. 13
November 6
It seems a bit early for holiday movies, but A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey opens this weekend. This version sticks to the original story and is set in its original Victorian England, but comes with a bit of a twist. Adapted and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the movie employs the performance capture technique he also used in Polar Express and Beowulf and is in 3-D, so expect some visual stunts. It’s the only real family-friendly movie opening in the next two weeks, so it should draw in some crowds despite being a little ahead of season.
The Fourth Kind is a sci-fi thriller starring Milla Jovovich. The film purports to be based on documentary footage of alien abductions (the fourth kind of alien encounters) and includes actual videotape footage of the events. While it’s clearly fiction, the use of the faux-doc style tries to capitalize on the success of Blair Witch Project and the recent Paranormal Activity by playing into the audience’s fear of the unknown. The film might find an audience, but it’s going up against another paranormal thriller with more star power.
And that movie is The Box. Richard Kelly, the director of Donnie Darko, wrote and directed this film, based on the 1970 short story “Button, Button” by author Richard Matheson. A married couple, Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, receive a box — if they push the button, they will receive a million dollars, but someone, somewhere will die. The plot is certainly intriguing and Kelly has a penchant for creepy, cerebral stories, so it might be worth a look. Perhaps even more interesting for music fans is the score, penned and performed by celebrated indie rockers Arcade Fire. It’ll be the first new music from the band since 2007.
November 13
It’s been a while since we’ve had a big disaster movie and 2012 opens this weekend to fill that void. Based on the Mayan Calendar-based theory that the world will end in 2012, this movie follows the series of cataclysmic events that take place on December 21, 2012 and the resulting survivors. Roland Emmerich, the creator of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, wrote and directed the film, so it has a good pedigree, and large-scale disaster movies tend to do well regardless of poor reviews. I don’t know why it’s coming out in 2009, though, except that it will give everyone something to worry about for three years.
Keep an eye out for: Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (yes, that’s the movie’s official title). Sixteen-year-old Precious lives with her abusive family and is pregnant with her second child, but gets a chance to turn her life around with support from teachers at her alternative high school. Its been making the festival circuit and won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize for best drama at Sundance. It’s only in New York and LA this week, but look for it at your local arthouse theater in the next month or two.
Coming up: There might as well be only one movie opening on Nov. 21, New Moon, but there’s also the animated Planet 51, and Sandra Bullock-fronted tearjerker The Blind Side. Nov. 27 brings family comedy Old Dogs with John Travolta and Robin Williams and The Road, based on the Cormac McCarthy book.
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