A couple of newcomers hope to finally take down the caped crusader. Unable to convince Matt Damon to reprise his role, Universal relaunched its spy franchise with Jeremy Renner [JRENN] in the fourth installment The Bourne Legacy [BORN4]. In order to one up on the Bourne trilogy, the studio marketing describes his character Aaron Cross as a genetically altered super-soldier who is even better than Jason Bourne. Cross goes on the run with a scientist played by Rachel Weisz [RWEIS] after the government terminated their black ops program and marked them for death. With all the elements from the Bourne series, the PG-13 rated film should appeal to at least a portion of the fanbase that opened The Bourne Ultimatum to a whopping $69.3 million in 2007. Breaking into 3746 theaters, The Bourne Legacy could earn around $39 million.
Will Ferrell [WFERR] and Zach Galifianakis [ZGALI] square off in the political comedy The Campaign [CMPGN]. Both comedians excel at playing buffoons and politicians provide great fodder this election year. Ferrell’s last R-rated wide release Step Brothers grossed $30.9 million in August of 2008, while Galifianakis co-led the R-rated Due Date to a $32.7 million debut. However, moviegoers may not be in the mood for a film about dirty politics, even one played for laughs. The Campaign may be able to tally $27 million from 3207 locations.
After a three week reign, The Dark Knight Rises [BATM3] looks to fall back to third place with around $22 million to its total just short of $400 million.
Meryl Streep [MSTRE] and Tommy Lee Jones [TLJON] star in the PG-13 rated dramedy Hope Springs [GHSPR] targeted at the older adult demographic. Streep’s late summer film Julia & Julia debuted with $20 million in 2009. However, Hope Springs doesn’t have her portraying any famous, real-life figure. To get the word of mouth started, Sony opened the film on Wednesday and grossed $2.2 million. Playing in 2361 theaters, Hope Springs should be able to manage about $14 million for the weekend.
Total Recall [RECAL] came out of its below expectation opening weekend with poor word of mouth. With added competition, the sci-fi remake looks to drop 55% to around $11 million.
Nitro Circus The Movie 3D [NTROC] seeks to follow the trail blazed by the Jackass crew. The documentary hopes to attract young male fans of extreme sports not interested in the Olympics. Opening Wednesday in 800 theaters and grossing $0.7 million, Nitro Circus The Movie 3D may score $2.5 million from Friday to Sunday.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): JRENN, BORN4, RWEIS, WFERR, ZGALI, CMPGN, BATM3, MSTRE, TLJON, GHSPR, RECAL, NTROC