Zombie horror films get the comedy treatment with Zombieland [ZMBLN]. While Shaun of the Dead may have been first, Zombieland should appeal to a wider audience. Woody Harrelson [WHARR], Jesse Eisenberg [JEISE], Emma Stone [ESTON] and Abigail Breslin [ABRES] star as human survivors who go about exterminating zombies in various R-rated fashion. Sony has built up buzz with its trailers, which should translate into an opening about $21 million from 3036 locations.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs [CWCMB] has enjoyed an extended stay at the box office. A 30% decline in its third weekend would still place the animated family film at $18 million, which may be enough to retain the top spot .
Disney/Pixar cashes in the 3D craze by re-releasing Toy Story and Toy Story 2 as a 3D Double Feature [TOY3D] to build up anticipation for next year’s Toy Story 3 [TOYS3]. The breakout success of the newer Meatballs will limit the size of the family audience. Playing in 1745 theaters, the Toy Story Double Feature could round up $12 million.
Drew Barrymore [DBARR] makes her directorial debut with Whip It [WHIPT], a coming of age story set in the world of roller derby. Featuring Ellen Page [EPAGE] in her first major role since Juno, the PG-13 rated film has received good reviews. Girl power could propel Whip It to $9 million from 1720 locations.
Rickey Gervais [RGERV] toplines his second film in The Invention of Lying [INVLY]. Although his first Ghost Town opened to just $5 million, the exposure should help on his new high concept comedy, set in a world where everyone tells the truth. Playing in 1707 theaters, Lying could net around $8 million.
Capitalism: A Love Story [FH912] expands into 962 theaters nationwide after opening in NY and LA last week. Director Michael Moore’s [MIMOO] new documentary looks at the current financial crisis. His last documentary Sicko grossed $4.6 million in its first wide weekend. Capitalism: A Love Story should top that mark with about $5 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): ZMBLN, WHARR, JEISE, ESTON, ABRES, CWCMB, TOY3D, TOYS3, DBARR, WHIPT, EPAGE, RGERV, INVLY, FH912, MIMOO