Whisper Numbers: G.I. Joe bypasses critics and goes straight to the fans.
With the success of the Transformers franchise, Paramount and Hasbro have teamed up to bring another action toy line to the big screen with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra [GIJOE]. While the 1980s cartoons were “Real American Heroes”, the feature film has a decidedly international flavor to the make up of the special ops team. Afterall, our Team America-like military has not been exactly popular around the world. Directed by Stephen Sommers [SSOMM], the PG-13 rated action film looks to appeal to every boy, and grown man, who has ever played with the action figures. The stars of the film are not Channing Tatum [CTATU] and Sienna Miller [SMILL], but rather their characters Duke, Baroness as well as Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Taking over 4007 theaters, G.I. Joe could blast away with as much as $52 million.
Sony has counter-programmed the weekend with the female-targeted Julie and Julia [JULIE]. Amy Adams [AMADA] plays a woman who sets out to finish all the recipes from a Julia Child cookbook in one year. Directed by Nora Ephron [NEPHR], the drama also serves up a mini biopic of the famous chef, played by Meryl Streep [MSTRE]. With the success of The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia!, Streep has become a bankable summer draw. Opening in 2354 theaters, Julie and Julia could cook up around $21 million.
Moviegoers were not laughing at Funny People [FUNYP]. Adam Sandler [ASAND] fans evidently preferred to see him act like an adolescent clown, rather than actually act in a serious adult role. Universal misfired by releasing a drama dealing with mortality and lost love during the summer season. With bad word of mouth evident in its low Cinemascore, Funny People may bring down just $10 million in its second weekend.
A Perfect Getaway [PGETA] stars Steven Zahn [SZAHN] and Milla Jovovich [MJOVO] as newlyweds on a honeymoon in Hawaii pursued by killers. Although the R-rated thriller was slotted into the weekend relatively recently, Rogue has supported the film with TV ads that promises a surprise climax. The thriller may be the compromise choice for the dating crowd. Playing in 2159 locations, A Perfect Getaway could take away $8 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): GIJOE, SSOMM, CTATU, SMILL, JULIE, AMADA, NEPHR, MSTRE, FUNYP, ASAND, PGETA, SZAHN, MJOVO
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