Box Office Guru Preview: Eastwood vs. Scorsese - Round 2
Hollywood sure loves to dwell on yesteryear. Another wave of historical films hits the multiplexes on Friday led by the World War II drama "Flags of our Fathers" directed by Clint Eastwood.
Going back another half-century is the Hugh Jackman-Christian Bale thriller "The Prestige." Kirsten Dunst rewinds even further to the 18th century playing the title role in "Marie Antoinette." Moviegoers who want to stick to the today's times get to ride the family film "Flicka" which also is added into the mix this weekend. Overall, the North American box office should simmer down after two weeks of red-hot action thanks to a quartet of new releases that does not seem to be exciting the public too much.
What happens when two-time Oscar winners Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg join forces to produce a film? You get the DreamWorks/Warner Bros. production "Flags of our Fathers" which chronicles the famous battle at Iwo Jima and the notoriety that followed for the soldiers photographed hoisting the American flag. The R-rated film is low on starpower boasting a cast featuring Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach, and Jesse Bradford. Clearly it will be subject matter and the director that will draw in audiences. "Flags" is likely to become the oldest-skewing film in the marketplace. Young adults should not show too much interest and female appeal will be limited as well for this war story. Competition for adult men will be tough given the start of the World Series and the continuation of all sorts of live football all weekend long on television.
Clint Eastwood's WWII epic "Flags of Our Fathers."
But loyal Eastwood fans will probably find the time for "Flags" this weekend and some reviews have been good. Critics have not been giving the type of support this time that they gave in recent years to "Million Dollar Baby" and "Mystic River" giving it a lesser sense of urgency. Plus a fall season full of period films really doesn't need more of them. A narrow release will curtail box office potential too. This weekend, it could turn out to be a rematch where Eastwood will square off against Martin Scorsese whose "The Departed" is proving to be an exciting option, set in modern times, for ticket buyers.The New York-based filmmaker wants revenge after losing to Dirty Harry at the Academy Awards a year and a half ago. "Mystic River" opened wide in October 2003 to an average just north of $7,000. Paramount's "Flags of our Fathers," which debuts in roughly 1,800 locations, could reach the same vicinity and collect about $13M this weekend.
Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play dueling magicians at the turn of the 20th century in "The Prestige." The current Caped Crusader reteams with director Christopher Nolan in this PG-13 period drama which co-stars Scarlett Johansson as, you guessed it, the beautiful young woman both men desire. Michael Caine also appears in another Alfred-like role. The Buena Vista film's biggest challenge will be to convince audiences that this is not that Edward Norton film they just saw a few weeks ago. While "The Illusionist" was not a big blockbuster, it was very well-liked by moviegoers and has had some of the best legs of 2006. Those who paid to see it may not be in the mood for another one so soon. Just ask Mr. Capote. Starpower in "The Prestige" is good, but the two leads do not usually sell well outside of their comic book flicks. "The Departed" and "Flags of our Fathers" will steal away adult audiences providing ample competition, but "The Prestige" does have more female appeal than Clint's war tale so adult couples that have seen Leo vs. Matt already might give Wolverine vs. Batman a try. Opening in over 2,000 theaters, "The Prestige" could debut with around $10M.
Michael Caine and Hugh Jackman, in that other 19th century magician movie.
The weekend's only family offering comes on horseback in the form of "Flicka." 27-year-old Alison Lohman stars as a stubborn 16-year-old girl who befriends a steed against the wishes of her dad on a scenic Wyoming ranch. The PG-rated film should mostly appeal to girls and play to the same crowd that spent $9.2M this weekend a year ago for the bow of another girl-and-her-horse flick, "Dreamer." Business will be stronger in the heartland than in large urban centers. Fox is giving "Flicka" the widest release by far of any of this weekend's new openers so the sheer size of the distribution will give it some traction, even if the average limps a bit. "Open Season," which is still strong going into its fourth hunt, will be the only real threat to business. While bad girls might line up for "Marie Antoinette" this weekend, the good girls will get to ride with "Flicka" which will gallop into over 2,000 more theaters. Opening in 2,876 sites, the horse flick could take in around $10M this weekend.
Alison Lohman and Tim McGraw in "Flicka."
Spidergirl Kirsten Dunst tosses on a fancy wig to play the famous queen of France in "Marie Antoinette," written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Booed last May at the Cannes Film Festival, the PG-13 film is a biopic aimed squarely at teenage girls and young women with a story of a bold gal with a strong head on her shoulders, for most of the time. The studio is marketing the film in a hip way hoping to appeal to young people. "Marie" should skew heavily female as interest from guys will be weak. Dunst will have a chance to test her starpower as the only big-name actor in the cast. Her date movie "Wimbledon" did not fare too well in the Fall of 2004 with a $7.1M opening from over 2,000 theaters. Reese Witherspoon's "Vanity Fair" bowed to $4.8M from just over 1,000 playdates by appealing to a similar audience. "Marie Antoinette" will launch in only 859 theaters on Friday limiting its box office potential. A weekend gross of about $5M could result.
Kirsten Dunst is "Marie Antoinette."
Last weekend's box office champ "The Grudge 2" has seen its audience get frightened away during the week as the Sony thriller dropped to second place on Monday and third on Tuesday. A hefty tumble of 55% could result giving the spookfest about $9M for the weekend and a ten-day sum of $33M.
On the other hand, Warner Bros. has been enjoying great legs from its mob thriller "The Departed" which eased only 29% in its second mission. "Flags of our Fathers" and "The Prestige" will eat into its adult audience, but the Martin Scorsese hit should continue to remain a very popular moviegoing option. A 30% fall to about $13M might lead "The Departed" back into the top spot this weekend unless one of the newbies breaks out. Regardless, that would push the cume to a stellar $76M.
LAST YEAR: The Rock cooked up a number one opening with his sci-fi actioner "Doom" which opened with $15.5M. Universal's video game-inspired flick fell apart quickly and found its way to only $28M. Debuting in second place was the less expensive family film "Dreamer" with $9.2M on its way to a stronger $32.8M final for DreamWorks. The Spielberg studio also claimed the third spot with the leggy kidpic "Wallace and Gromit" with $8.6M, off only 26% in its third weekend. Sony's horror pic "The Fog" fell from first to fourth with $6.7M. Warner Bros. saw a weak opening for its Charlize Theron drama "North Country" which grossed just $6.4M. Cume reached a mere $18.3M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
Going back another half-century is the Hugh Jackman-Christian Bale thriller "The Prestige." Kirsten Dunst rewinds even further to the 18th century playing the title role in "Marie Antoinette." Moviegoers who want to stick to the today's times get to ride the family film "Flicka" which also is added into the mix this weekend. Overall, the North American box office should simmer down after two weeks of red-hot action thanks to a quartet of new releases that does not seem to be exciting the public too much.
What happens when two-time Oscar winners Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg join forces to produce a film? You get the DreamWorks/Warner Bros. production "Flags of our Fathers" which chronicles the famous battle at Iwo Jima and the notoriety that followed for the soldiers photographed hoisting the American flag. The R-rated film is low on starpower boasting a cast featuring Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach, and Jesse Bradford. Clearly it will be subject matter and the director that will draw in audiences. "Flags" is likely to become the oldest-skewing film in the marketplace. Young adults should not show too much interest and female appeal will be limited as well for this war story. Competition for adult men will be tough given the start of the World Series and the continuation of all sorts of live football all weekend long on television.
Clint Eastwood's WWII epic "Flags of Our Fathers."
But loyal Eastwood fans will probably find the time for "Flags" this weekend and some reviews have been good. Critics have not been giving the type of support this time that they gave in recent years to "Million Dollar Baby" and "Mystic River" giving it a lesser sense of urgency. Plus a fall season full of period films really doesn't need more of them. A narrow release will curtail box office potential too. This weekend, it could turn out to be a rematch where Eastwood will square off against Martin Scorsese whose "The Departed" is proving to be an exciting option, set in modern times, for ticket buyers.The New York-based filmmaker wants revenge after losing to Dirty Harry at the Academy Awards a year and a half ago. "Mystic River" opened wide in October 2003 to an average just north of $7,000. Paramount's "Flags of our Fathers," which debuts in roughly 1,800 locations, could reach the same vicinity and collect about $13M this weekend.
Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play dueling magicians at the turn of the 20th century in "The Prestige." The current Caped Crusader reteams with director Christopher Nolan in this PG-13 period drama which co-stars Scarlett Johansson as, you guessed it, the beautiful young woman both men desire. Michael Caine also appears in another Alfred-like role. The Buena Vista film's biggest challenge will be to convince audiences that this is not that Edward Norton film they just saw a few weeks ago. While "The Illusionist" was not a big blockbuster, it was very well-liked by moviegoers and has had some of the best legs of 2006. Those who paid to see it may not be in the mood for another one so soon. Just ask Mr. Capote. Starpower in "The Prestige" is good, but the two leads do not usually sell well outside of their comic book flicks. "The Departed" and "Flags of our Fathers" will steal away adult audiences providing ample competition, but "The Prestige" does have more female appeal than Clint's war tale so adult couples that have seen Leo vs. Matt already might give Wolverine vs. Batman a try. Opening in over 2,000 theaters, "The Prestige" could debut with around $10M.
Michael Caine and Hugh Jackman, in that other 19th century magician movie.
The weekend's only family offering comes on horseback in the form of "Flicka." 27-year-old Alison Lohman stars as a stubborn 16-year-old girl who befriends a steed against the wishes of her dad on a scenic Wyoming ranch. The PG-rated film should mostly appeal to girls and play to the same crowd that spent $9.2M this weekend a year ago for the bow of another girl-and-her-horse flick, "Dreamer." Business will be stronger in the heartland than in large urban centers. Fox is giving "Flicka" the widest release by far of any of this weekend's new openers so the sheer size of the distribution will give it some traction, even if the average limps a bit. "Open Season," which is still strong going into its fourth hunt, will be the only real threat to business. While bad girls might line up for "Marie Antoinette" this weekend, the good girls will get to ride with "Flicka" which will gallop into over 2,000 more theaters. Opening in 2,876 sites, the horse flick could take in around $10M this weekend.
Alison Lohman and Tim McGraw in "Flicka."
Spidergirl Kirsten Dunst tosses on a fancy wig to play the famous queen of France in "Marie Antoinette," written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Booed last May at the Cannes Film Festival, the PG-13 film is a biopic aimed squarely at teenage girls and young women with a story of a bold gal with a strong head on her shoulders, for most of the time. The studio is marketing the film in a hip way hoping to appeal to young people. "Marie" should skew heavily female as interest from guys will be weak. Dunst will have a chance to test her starpower as the only big-name actor in the cast. Her date movie "Wimbledon" did not fare too well in the Fall of 2004 with a $7.1M opening from over 2,000 theaters. Reese Witherspoon's "Vanity Fair" bowed to $4.8M from just over 1,000 playdates by appealing to a similar audience. "Marie Antoinette" will launch in only 859 theaters on Friday limiting its box office potential. A weekend gross of about $5M could result.
Kirsten Dunst is "Marie Antoinette."
Last weekend's box office champ "The Grudge 2" has seen its audience get frightened away during the week as the Sony thriller dropped to second place on Monday and third on Tuesday. A hefty tumble of 55% could result giving the spookfest about $9M for the weekend and a ten-day sum of $33M.
On the other hand, Warner Bros. has been enjoying great legs from its mob thriller "The Departed" which eased only 29% in its second mission. "Flags of our Fathers" and "The Prestige" will eat into its adult audience, but the Martin Scorsese hit should continue to remain a very popular moviegoing option. A 30% fall to about $13M might lead "The Departed" back into the top spot this weekend unless one of the newbies breaks out. Regardless, that would push the cume to a stellar $76M.
LAST YEAR: The Rock cooked up a number one opening with his sci-fi actioner "Doom" which opened with $15.5M. Universal's video game-inspired flick fell apart quickly and found its way to only $28M. Debuting in second place was the less expensive family film "Dreamer" with $9.2M on its way to a stronger $32.8M final for DreamWorks. The Spielberg studio also claimed the third spot with the leggy kidpic "Wallace and Gromit" with $8.6M, off only 26% in its third weekend. Sony's horror pic "The Fog" fell from first to fourth with $6.7M. Warner Bros. saw a weak opening for its Charlize Theron drama "North Country" which grossed just $6.4M. Cume reached a mere $18.3M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
Related Items
(1-19 of 19 posts) | Reply
 on Oct 19 2006 07:06 PM I think the prestige will make more money. Flags will flop. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 19 2006 08:36 PM In reply to this comment (#846918) Wrong, The Prestige looks good, but Eastwood plus Spielberg plus War = money. I bet it makes more than the prediction. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 19 2006 08:59 PM Not in 1,800 thetaers in will not. The film has not been getting good buzz this last week. It will flop. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 20 2006 05:08 AM I predict Scorsese will KO Eastwood so hard that Eastwood will be in a coma and then Scorsese's gonna give him a mercy killing :) (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 06:22 AM Eastwood is the toughest guy in the world. No way anyone gives him a mercy killing! My prediction - I don't care what the movies make. Eastwood lives to be 165. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 07:43 AM In reply to this comment (#846922) him and Fidel Castro ;) (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 08:04 AM My opinion: Eastwood is a better director than Scorsese. His movies SHOULD win out. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 08:24 AM Not this year. Flags of our Fathers is not good. the Departed is great (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 20 2006 09:36 AM WWII drama; veterans day a few weeks away; star director. this is all about staying power, and it will stay. through 11/10 weekend. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 20 2006 11:43 AM Scorsese. must win the Academy Award for best director this year! must!! (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 12:41 PM In reply to this comment (#846924) A little Myst Million Dollar Baby - half of it was good, so only 1 ball being sucked on Flags of our Fathers - looks incredibly boring Scorcese: Mean Streets - awesome Raging Bull - awesome Taxi Driver - awesome Goodfellas - awesome The Departed - garunteed to be a lot better then Flags, oh yeah and awesome This list could keep going, but my point has been made (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 03:15 PM All you Eastwood haters sure do come off sounding like a bunch of crybaby losers. Keep reving that "Departed" hype machine so the typical backlash gets here before Oscar time and Eastwood can walk away with a deserved third Oscar (though it should be at least four). As for box office: This movie will make at least 10 million more than this article's prediction. If not, it will only be because of the limited number of theatres. Ecen at that, it will do more than $13 million. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 03:24 PM In reply to this comment (#846928) Besides the fact you are an idiot and completely wrong about what you say of those Eastwood films (I notice you suspiciously leave out "Unforgiven"), you also forgot to mention Marty gave us "Gangs of New York," "Bringing Out the Dead," "Age of Innocence," and "Kudun." All of those "awesome" too?! And I know it has street cred amongst the "Scarface" T-shirt wearing set that seems to assume the more bad-asses in a movie and ugly gang violence the better, but "Casino" was a poor man's "Goodfellas." And it sucked. All the worse too because it was directed by the same guy who is so lazy as to actually rip-off himself. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 03:51 PM I think they are both excellent directors, but I would have to give the edge to Scorsese. Look at it this way. Clint has directed 27 films, 18 by the time he directed his first decent film, Unforgiven. How many have people heard of, 5 or 6? That's because only 5 or 6 were better than half way decent. Scorsese, on the other hand, has had staying power over the past 30 years with the great films he has made. So fuck you, Boss Fan, for saying that Clint should get his third Oscar. Out of all the films of his I've seen, which doesn't include Unforgiven, he should have only won for Mystic River, which is one of the best movies ever made. But anyway, Scorsese should finally get the credit he deserves, espcially how, in my opinion, he was robbed in 2004 when Million Dollar Baby won Picture and Director, both of which should have gone to The Aviator, which was a far superior film. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 03:55 PM In reply to this comment (#846929) If you knew anything about the Oscars, you'd know Clint has no chance to get Best Director after winning so recently. That only happens in acting catagories, and even then very rarely. His best hope is to get nominated, which considering the movies already out this year wouldn't be too hard. But no way in hell will he win. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 05:09 PM In reply to this comment (#846932) Didn't say he would. Said it'd be great if he did. (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 20 2006 05:11 PM In reply to this comment (#846931) My post wasn't even directed at you, so fuck you back, asshole! Pull yr dick out of Scorsese's ass and stop wiggin' out just because someone dare disagree with you. Relax! (Reply to this) |
|
on Oct 21 2006 08:13 AM No you said, " Keep reving that "Departed" hype machine so the typical backlash gets here before Oscar time and Eastwood can walk away with a deserved third Oscar (though it should be at least four)." No where does that say it would be great if....but my point is that everyone has their opinions, there's nothing you can do to change them. A great example is our little disagreement. Both of us will never change what the other thinks, so it's pointless to argue over opinions. And sorry Boss, for my outburst, but I felt like saying fuck you to someone. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 21 2006 12:27 PM [b]well[/b] the prestige will win the weekend with about 15-17 mil as it made 5.5 mil on friday, the departed will be second with about 13-14, and Flags will only have about 12...so yeah Nolan wins the lot =D (Reply to this) |
Related Links
Related Articles
- Box Office Guru Preview: Saw IV Set to Brutalize All Competitors 18
- Box Office Guru Preview: 30 Days of Night Gets Halloween Started Early 11
- New Comic Book Flick Alert: Mandrake the Magician! 12
- No Two-Face Against "The Dark Knight"? 29
- User Tomato Awards: "The Departed" Is Your Favorite of 2006 30
- "The Dark Knight" to Visit Baltimore? 22
- Box Office Wrapup: Sexytime for "Borat" Once Again! 6
- Box Office Guru Preview: New Pics Challenge "Borat's" Mandate 3
- Box Office Guru Preview: Saw III Brings The Pain 5
- Box Office Wrapup: Prestige Defeats Flags for #1 Spot 12
Most Discussed
- Uwe Boll's Five Favorite Films 83
- Steven Spielberg's Ten Best-Directed Films 64
- Fahrenheit 9/11 Sequel News 48
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Iron Man Rocks, Speed Racer Stalls 45
- George Lucas - A Super-Producer's History 42
- Peter Segal Talks About His Five Fave Films 36
- Indiana Jonesin': The Best of Harrison Ford 31
- Nicolas Cage to Play Bad Lieutenant 23
- Total Recall: Our Favorite Talking Animals 19
- David Lynch and Werner Herzog Plan Horror Film 19
Latest News
- Steven Spielberg's Ten Best-Directed Films 64
- Weekly Ketchup: A-Team casting rumors, Scorsese meets Sinatra 4
- Trailer Bulletin: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 9
- Cannes 2008: Jeff Vespa Premieres Nosebleed with David Arquette 0
- Cannes 2008 Exclusive: Michel Gondry Joins Babelgum Jury 1
- Critics Consensus: Prince Caspian is Movie Royalty 16
- Nicolas Cage to Play Bad Lieutenant 23
- Point Breaking News: A Sequel in the Works 18
- Fahrenheit 9/11 Sequel News 48
- RT Interview: Kat Dennings on Charlie Bartlett, Nick and Norah and Death 3
Latest Interviews
- RT Interview: Kat Dennings on Charlie Bartlett, Nick and Norah and Death 3
- RT Interview: Morgan Spurlock on the Personal, the Political and Osama bin Laden 2
- RT Interview: Jon Favreau on Iron Man, Effective CGI and the New Marvel Movies 14
- RT interview: Roger Deakins on No Country for Old Men 16
- RT Interview: Charlie Wilson 8
- RT Interview: Colm Meaney on Three and Out, Life on Mars and life after Trek 2
- Jackie Chan Picks His Five Favorite Movies -- And Only One of Them Stars Jackie Chan 16
- RT Interview: Director Baillie Walsh on Ziggy, Roxy and Daniel Craig in Flashbacks of a Fool 1
- RT Interview: Milo Ventimiglia Gets Dark in Pathology, Talks Role In Neveldine & Taylor's Game 7
- RT Interview: Daniel Craig on Bond, Growing Up and Fading Out in Hollywood 6
Latest Features
- Steven Spielberg's Ten Best-Directed Films 64
- George Lucas - A Super-Producer's History 42
- Uwe Boll's Five Favorite Films 83
- Indiana Jonesin': The Best of Harrison Ford 31
- Peter Segal Talks About His Five Fave Films 36
- New Line Cinema: A Retrospective 36
- Neil Marshall's 10 Post-Apocalyptic Picks 18
- Ole! Tour Mexico Through the Movies! 21
- The Ghost Stays in the Picture 6
- Exclusive: RT Visits the Set of An Education 0
IGN RSS Feeds