LOS ANGELES, Oct 2 — If the walking dead, roller babes and Ricky Gervais aren’t enough to lure recently resistant moviegoers back to North American multiplexes, perhaps a three-dimensional Buzz Lightyear will help?
Disney sends out 3D versions of its animated classics “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” as a double feature today. The extra-dimensional gambit is largely a scene-setter for the June arrival of “Toy Story 3,” and a weekend haul of about US$10 million (RM35 million) looks likely.
The Woody Harrelson zombie comedy “Zombieland” should end the two-week reign of “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” with US$25 million or more in domestic box office through Sunday. Both films come from Columbia Pictures. The new picture was modestly budgeted at an estimated US$24 million.
Elsewhere this weekend, Fox will open the roller-derby movie “Whip It,” starring Ellen Page (“Juno”). A bow in the high-single-digit millions looks likely.
The best hopes for Drew Barrymore’s feature directing debut seem to lie in the longer haul built primarily on interest among female demos.
Warner Bros. debuts the high-concept comedy “The Invention of Lying,” starring Gervais. “Lying” is tracking a bit softly in pre-release surveys of prospective moviegoers and could bow in the mid-single-digit millions.
Also today, Overture expands Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” to 962 theatres. The documentary has rung up about US$400,000 from a week of bicoastal exclusive engagements.
Despite recent lackluster sessions, the domestic box-office, at US$7.6 billion, maintains a 5 per cent year-to-date increase over the same portion last year. — Reuters
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