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