Aliens invade earth once again and LA gets destroyed yet again in Battle Los Angeles [BATLA]. Combining their sci-fi film District 9 with their disaster film 2012, Sony hopes for equal success on their new PG-13 rated action film. The marketing campaign has built up buzz since the very effective first teaser and by tying the film with the real Battle of Los Angeles in 1942. Mixed reviews have likened the story to a first person shooter videogame, which is right in the wheelhouse of its young male target audience. Descending upon 3417, Battle Los Angeles could tally $35 million.
Despite its number one opening, Rango [RANGO] drew mixed word of mouth. With a new competition in the family film arena, Rango could drop more than 40% and finish around $22 million.
Amanda Seyfried [ASEYF] stars in the werewolf romance Red Riding Hood [GWRRH], the first of many re-imagined fairy tales to come. Warner Bros. hopes the sumptuous and stylish PG-13 rated film will entice young women who flocked to director Catherine Hardwicke’s [CHARD] previous effort, Twilight. Critical reviews won’t matter to this target audience. Opening in 3030 theaters, Red Riding Hood could bring home $20 million.
Although Gnomeo and Juliet is still hanging around the top five, Disney is releasing another CG-animated film Mars Needs Moms [MNMOM]. Are parents willing to splurge for another 3D surcharge? Without any built-in following for the story or its cast, the PG-rated Mars Needs Moms could muster $15 million from 3117 theaters.
Between the two other sophomore pics, The Adjustment Bureau [ADJBU] could decline 45% to $12 million, while Beastly [BSTLY] is likely to drop 50% to $5 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): BATLA, RANGO, ASEYF, GWRRH, CHARD, MNMOM, ADJBU, BSTLY