Will 'Expendables 2' Hold On To Box-Office Crown?
As the summer movie season comes to close, look for "The Expendables 2" to top the box office a second time. Industry experts expect newcomers "Premium Rush," "Hit & Run" and "The Apparition" to crumble beneath the might of Sly Stallone's grizzled band of action-movie veterans.
"None of the new movies really have much weight," ComingSoon.net's Edward Douglas told MTV News.
"The Expendables 2" made $28.7 million when it opened last weekend. Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, expects a drop of close to 50 percent. "That will leave it with around $14 million, which should be enough to muscle up to the top spot, especially considering the summer box office has already started to wave the white flag of surrender." IMDB's Keith Simanton put the number closer to $12 million.
"The Expendables 2" knocked "The Bourne Legacy" from the top spot when it arrived. Bock said "Legacy," which sees Jeremy Renner taking over the action franchise from Matt Damon, will "certainly" remain in the top five this weekend and should "easily coast" past $100 million when all is said and done.
While Douglas said "Bourne" could even wind up at #2 again, MovieFanatic.com's Joel Amos was less optimistic. "'Bourne's days of being a top-two film are over. But I would look for it to be in the top 10 for weeks to come. It will linger, for sure."
"ParaNorman" has a shot at #2 as well, according to Douglas. "It was a mistake opening this in August since it's not a good time for a family movie, but being the only game in town other than next week's 'Oogieloves' movie, it should do well, probably somewhere between $40 and $50 million overall." The second stop-motion animation flick from the folks behind "Coraline" will eventually have to go up against the "Finding Nemo" 3-D re-release as well.
As for Joseph Gordon-Levitt's action flick "Premium Rush" and Dax Shepard's directorial debut "Hit & Run" (starring the former "Punk'd" comedian alongside his girlfriend, Kristen Bell), experts predict neither will fare well at the box office. "These are both going to do sub-$8 million. I don't expect either to make much of a mark and be forgotten by the time September rolls around," said Douglas.
Finally, there's horror flick "The Apparition," which is opening in just 810 locations.
"Will 'Twilight' fans turn out for Ashley Greene? Probably not," said Amos. All of the box office prognosticators MTV News spoke with put the film's opening number at $3 million, or even below. Bock noted that marketing for the film has been "beyond scarce."
"It's not even going to make the top 10," predicted Douglas. "Warner Bros. are dumping this like it's nobody's business. It's doomed."
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