Two new openers will try to knock off the reigning champion Avatar [HWAVA], but the sci-fi adventure still has enough momentum to up its streak to seven weekends atop the box office. The 3D spectacle has slipped less than 20% in each successive weekend, a rate unheard of since Titanic. Speaking of the sinking ship, Avatar is poised to bank another $28 million this weekend, bringing its cumulative gross just a few millions short of Titanic’s all-time domestic record of $600 million.
Returning to acting for the first time since 2002’s Signs, Mel Gibson [MGIBS] stars in Edge of Darkness [EDRKN] as a detective looking for who killed his daughter. It’s a page Taken straight from last year’s surprise Liam Neeson [LNEES] hit. Though he may be a bigger star in name, Gibson’s appeal may now be limited to older moviegoers. The R-rated thriller could muscle out $19 million from 3066 theaters.
Just when you though Leap Year had the dumbest idea for a romantic comedy, along comes When in Rome [WROME]. Kristen Bell [KBELL] and Josh Duhamel [JDUHA] may be nice on the eyes, but the story looks painful on the brain. Opening in 2456 theaters, the PG-13 rated film may attract $9 million from the young date crowd.
The end-of-the-world thriller Legion [LEGIN] connected with male genre fans last week. A drop at least 50% in its second outing would bring in around $8 million.
The Book of Eli [BOELI] and Tooth Fairy [TOFRY] should battle to a photo finish for fifth place. Both films look to end up in the vicinity of $7 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): HWAVA, MGIBS, EDRKN, LNEES, WROME, KBELL, JDUHA, LEGIN, BOELI, TOFRY
