January Ends on a Scary Note

January 28, 2005

Two new Horror movies open this weekend. However, the scariest part about the films could be their Rotten Tomatoes scores, as they are currently earning just 13 and 65. On the plus side, several Oscar Nominated films are earning serious expansions and should figure in the top five.

Hide & Seek has an impressive cast, but their performances are wasted by an ending that is meant to be more surprising than engaging. For my initial Predictions I felt the film would have a similar release as Godsend, but a much wider release suggests otherwise. Also, tracking has been much stronger than anticipated, making the film the early favorite for first place over the weekend with $18 million. That's a strong start for a film that cost only $30 million to make.

Expanding into over 2,000 theaters, Million Dollar Baby should snag second place with $12 million on its way to becoming the biggest boxing movie since the Rocky franchise. Although it is important to note that this is not purely a boxing movie and the human drama aspect is what makes it appealing. I can't really say more without spoiling the movie, but this one is definitely worth seeing.

After finishing a surprising first place last week, Are We There Yet? will probably drop down to third with $11 million. That's a drop of just over 40%, which is high for its target demographic and when taking into account the weather-depressed box office of last weekend.

Sideways expands into almost 1,000 new theaters tonight, and that should help the film finish in fourth place with $7 million. This may seem a little bullish, but Moviefone does have the film in third place among its most-requested movies. Also, the film earned near-universal praise and five Oscar nominations, (although Paul Giamatti was overlooked, again.) All of which should help the film earn a spot in the top five.

Making a return appearance in the top five should be The Aviator with $6 million. With 11 Oscar Nods, the film leads the race this year, but its Oscar Bounce may be too little, too late to save the $105 million production from red ink.

The last new wide release of the week is Alone in the Dark, the latest video game adaptation from director Uwe Boll. The film is earning even worse reviews than expected and may go down as one of the more critically reviled films of the year. As for its box office prospects, they are not much better. Look for $4 million and a spot low in the top ten, possibly out of the top ten.

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Filed under: The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby, Sideways, Hide and Seek, Are We There Yet?, Alone in the Dark