American First

September 1, 2010

It's the Labor Day long weekend and The American it getting a jump on the competition by opening tonight. There have been several Wednesday releases this summer, including a few by non-blockbuster films like Vampires Suck and Knight and Day. So how will this one compare?

The American stars George Clooney as Jack, an assassin doing one last job before retiring. Not exactly the most original plot hook for a movie, but so far its reviews haven't suffered too much. In fact, it is just below the overall positive level, which is better than Knight and Day managed, for instance. Many critics are praising the film's visual beauty and Clooney's performance. Others are complaining that the movie moves far too slowly to entice you and by the end the only emotional response it will generate is boredom.

As far as its box office chances go, George Clooney hasn't had a $100 million hit since Ocean's Thirteen, while three of his past five wide releases have barely topped $10 million during their opening weekends. (One came close to $20 million, while the other failed to reach eight digits.) The Wednesday opening does complicate things, as does the long weekend.

Look for between $3 and $4 million tonight, between $2 and $3 million tomorrow, $12 million or so from Friday to Sunday, and about $15 million over the four-day weekend. I might be a little more bullish than most, but not outrageously so. I think the average prediction is closer to $15 million over the full six day period, which is also very possible, but lets hope September starts on a strong note tonight.

As for the rest of the new releases / top five hopefuls, we will get to those tomorrow with the regular box office prediction column.


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Filed under: The American