The year of movies that flashback to the ‘80s continues with the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps [WALS2] directed once again by Oliver Stone [OSTON]. Michael Douglas [MDOUG] reprises his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko, newly out of prison for his white collar crimes from the first film. Older moviegoers should welcome the return of the iconic ‘80s character especially in a timely drama about the recent financial crisis. Fox hopes Shia LaBeouf [SLABE] as the new young banker will attract younger moviegoers. Opening in 3565 theaters, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps could ring up around $25 million.
Another weekend, another 3D animated film as Warner Bros. hopes audiences that enjoy the penguins of Happy Feet will check out Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole [GHOOL]. However, animated action fantasies are harder sells than animated comedies. Parents may even find the PG-rated too intense for young kids. With mixed reviews, the film is unlikely to cross-over to older demographics. Storming 3575 theaters, The Owls of Ga'Hoole could claim $18 million.
The Town [TOWN] has built up strong word of mouth coming off its chart topping debut. A respectable 40% drop-off would give the heist drama $14 million in its second weekend.
Disney targets the female gender with the PG-rated comedy You Again [UAGAN] starring Kristen Bell [KBELL] and Jamie Lee Curtis [JLCUR]. The promise of catfights between old school rivals has not generated much heat. You Again may settle with $13 million from 2548 theaters.
The teen comedy Easy A [EASYA] did not breakout as trackings had anticipated. With competition from You Again, Easy A looks to downgrade 45% to about $10 million.
Sony is releasing The Virginity Hit [VRGNH] wide in 700 theaters even though the R-rated sex comedy failed to generate buzz during the last two weekends of preview screenings. With zero starpower, the film would be lucky to break $2 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): WALS2, OSTON, MDOUG, SLABE, GHOOL, TOWN, UAGAN, KBELL, JLCUR, EASYA, VRGNH