Produced outside the Hollywood studio system, the superhero satire Kick-Ass [KCKAS] relishes in breaking all the rules of conventional films. Although grounded in the real world where superheroes don’t exist, the Matthew Vaughn [MVAUG] directed film nevertheless takes off into a fantasy realm where a 12-year-old girl is able kill dozens of people, all without remorse or even a conscious. Lionsgate picked up the film after its rapturous reception at Comic-Con and has been supporting the film with copious marketing and pre-screenings. The nihilistic glorification of violence is unlikely to appeal to female moviegoers, while its prime audience of teenage boys is unlikely to be admitted to the R-rated film. Nevertheless, the buzz is strong within the fanboy community which should allow Kick-Ass to whoop about $31 million from 3065 locations.
An all-star cast of African-American comedians star in Sony’s Death at a Funeral [DEFUN], a remake of a 2007 British film. Chris Rock [CROCK], Martin Lawrence [MLAWR] and Tracy Morgan [TMORG] all have cross-over appeal that could expand the film’s target audience. The R-rated comedy has been tracking well on awareness and interest, which should translate into a healthy opening. Programmed into 2459 theaters, Death at a Funeral could wake up with $25 million.
How to Train Your Dragon [HTRYD] has shown great legs in a marketplace currently lacking other family-friendly options. The 3D animated fantasy should fire up another $17 million.
Date Night [DATEN] underperformed in its first time out and even came in $2 million under initial estimates. Perhaps moviegoers realized they can already watch Steve Carell [SCARE] and Tina Fey [TFEY] in better material on television. The comedy should be able to land $13 million on its second weekend.
Although Clash of the Titans [CLASH] repeated as the weekend box office champ, the film dropped 57% from its debut. A similar third weekend decline would bring in $12 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): KCKAS, MVAUG, DEFUN, CROCK, MLAWR, TMORG, HTRYD, DATEN, SCARE, TFEY, CLASH