Weekend Box Office Preview: Oct. 23 and Oct. 30
October 23
The studios are packing in the releases this weekend to get their movies out before Halloween with three movies opening on over 2,500 screens and one on 800. The most obvious choice for the teen audience is Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, based on the first three books of Darren Shan’s Cirque du Freak series. The movie stars newcomer Chris Massoglia as Darren Shan, a teenager who unwittingly gets drawn into a war between rival vampire factions and joins the Cirque du Freak, a traveling sideshow of various creatures. The release got pushed up from summer 2010, no doubt to draw in a Halloween audience and ride on the success of the Twilight franchise. It will likely be popular with fans of the series and a general teen audience, but most kids and adults have more appealing options to choose from this weekend.
The big kid’s release of the week is a reimagining of classic anime series Astro Boy. This sleek, computer-animated version tells the origin story of Astro Boy, who was created by scientist Dr. Tenma in the image of his dead son. While it looks like they’re trying to appeal to a new generation of Astro Boy viewers by marketing to kids, the movie will certainly attract anime aficionados and longtime fans of the 50-year-old series.
For older teens and 20-somethings, Saw VI is the clear winner this weekend. The franchise follows the exploits of the Jigsaw Killer, who tortures his victims in a series of “games.” But for torture horror movies like this, the plot is really secondary to the thrills. Despite increasingly poor reviews for each film, the series has consistently opened with a big $30 million on its traditional weekend before Halloween release.
For a bit of counter-programming, Fox Searchlight is putting out its Amelia Earhart biopic Amelia with a moderate release. Directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) and starring Hilary Swank, the film focuses on Earhart’s relationship with her husband and her rise to fame. Based on the movie’s pedigree, it certainly has Oscar aspirations. It will probably appeal to an older audience, but with a PG-rating it might be suitable as a family film.
October 30
Studios are avoiding this weekend, since Halloween falls on Saturday this year. The only release of note actually opens on Wednesday, October 28. This Is It documents Michael Jackson’s rehearsals of what would have been his concert series of the same name. With a limited two-week engagement, this will certainly draw in huge crowds of Jackson fans.
Best Bets: If you want something scary for the season, I’d still say Zombieland is the best sure thing.
Coming Up: The Box from Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey, thriller The Fourth Kind, and disaster film 2012
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