20th Century Fox's Live Free or Die Hard opened a bit softer than expected, making $8.86 million on Wednesday, and it will probably make around $5 million on Thursday so it'll be tough for it to get to the $38 to 41 million weekend predicted earlier this weekend. Reviews are mostly good and word-of-mouth isn't bad, and it'll get a few hundred more theatres, but with more competition on Friday, $35 million will probably be the ceiling and that might be pushing it.

That main competition comes from Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille, which will get close to 4,000 theatres and is likely to do as well or better than Cars last year. (You can read more box office updates after the jump.)

Updated Predictions

1. Ratatouille (Disney/Pixar) - $62.7 million N/A

2. Live Free or Die Hard (20th Century Fox) - $34.3 million N/A

3. Evan Almighty (Universal) - $15.2 million -53%

4. 1408 (Dimension) - $11.3 million -45%

5. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (20th Century Fox) - $9.2 million -54%

6. Knocked Up (Universal) - $7.1 million -35%

7. Ocean's Thirteen (Warner Bros.) - $6.0 million -47%

8. SiCKO (The Weinstein Company/Lionsgate) - $5.7 million N/A

9. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney) - $3.5 million -52%

10. Surf's Up (Sony) - $3.3 million -50%

11. Evening (Focus Features) - $2.9 million N/A

NEW YORK, June 28, 2007—The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces that Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited will open the 45th New York Film Festival, and Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men will be honored as the festival's Centerpiece. Two other notable titles in this year's festival slate are also confirmed: Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu; and Lee Chang-dong's Korean feature, Secret Sunshine, which stars Cannes' Best Actress recipient, Jeon Do-yeon.

Yippee-ki-yay, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers! Bruce Willis is back as John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard and we want to hear from you what you think of the fourth film in the franchise. Let us and your fellow moviegoers know by posting your comments below.

June comes to a close with what might be one of the biggest weekends of the month as two high profile movies compete for the top spot, with Michael Moore's long-awaited follow-up to Fahrenheit 9/11 bubbling under. Over the weekend proper, Disney and Pixar's 8th collaboration Ratatouille should have a strong lead over Bruce Willis' return as Detective John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard, but only because the action sequel opens on Wednesday and should do a lot of its business before hitting the weekend. Still, we may be looking at nearly $100 million divided between the two movies over the weekend alone, which is quite impressive.

Michael Moore's SiCKO expands moderately wide on Friday (anywhere between 250 and 1,000 theatres) and though one shouldn't expect an opening anywhere close to what Fahrenheit 9/11 made three years ago, it should do respectably due to the amount of interest and controversy that follows the filmmaker everywhere.

Vitus (Sony Classics)
Starring Teo Gheorghiu, Julika Jenkins, Urs Jucker, Bruno Ganz
Written and directed by Fredi M. Murer (Vollmond, Zones) with Peter Luisi
Genre: Drama, Foreign, Music
Rated PG
Tagline: "The story of a highly gifted boy."
Plot Summary: Vitus (Teo Gheorghiu) is a young piano-playing protege and a child genius who is much younger than the rest of his classmates. His parents are so caught up in their own things, that the boy wonders if they'll still love him if he were to be normal, something he's able to learn after an accident takes his genius and talent away from him.

As is the case with many of the movies that earn the honor of "Chosen One," this was a complete surprise that I discovered when it played as part of this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Despite having seen the movie twice already, it's somewhat hard to believe, but this Swiss import is currently residing as my favorite movie of the year so far. Yes, that's above Hot Fuzz and The Host and Once and Knocked Up, each of which I've seen numerous times and would see again in a second. It's that wonderful a film.

I'm not sure what it is about the movie that's made me such a fan, whether it's the touching story of a young boy trying to fit in despite his amazing talents or how he affects those around him or how filmmaker Fredi Murer mixes gorgeous classic music into the film, but it's a movie that works in many ways that you wouldn't expect. It's a lot of fun to see how the main character Vitus uses his genius to help his grandfather and parents and to try to win over the woman he loves (his older babysitter), and it makes this movie one of those heartwarming crowd-pleasing films that you can't help but cherish. Then on top of that, you have a really different role for Bruno Ganz, best known here for playing Adolf Hitler in Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall, giving a wonderful and surprisingly light-hearted performance as Vitus' beloved grandfather without batting an eyelash. There are so many amusing twists and turns to Vitus' story, especially after the story jumps forward seven years, and while I'm hesitant to give them away, seeing how this story unfolds in such a clever and funny way makes it easier to understand what makes the film so special. Surprisingly, first-time actor and real piano prodigy Teo Gheorgiu is able to hold things together with one of the best breakthrough performances of the year that's only matched by young Jacob Kogan, who stars in next week's "Chosen One," Joshua. If you're into simultaneously clever, funny and touching coming-of-age films like Lucas, Stand by Me or even something like The Goonies, then you might want to give Vitus a look when it opens in New York and L.A. on Friday. (I'm hoping to transcribe and run my interview with Murer and Gheorgiu later this week.)

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.

The Universal comedy sequel Evan Almighty continued the apparent jinx on sequels to Jim Carrey movies that omit the popular comic star. Despite an attempt to fill his shoes with the ultra-hot Steve Carell, who many thought stole the show in Bruce Almighty, it wound up with a disappointing estimated opening weekend of $32.1 million in 3,604 theatres. It was slightly overshadowed by the success of Dimension Films' Stephen King thriller 1408, starring John Cusack, which ended up in a tight race for second place with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, each grossing just under $20.2 million.

As we get into the weekend, things are looking even better for Dimension Films' 1408, which adds a few more theatres but more importantly, has received a ringing endorsement from Stephen King, so his fans may be less tentative about going out to see it this weekend. Though it still might be hard for it to do more than $20 million due to its generic numerical title, it should come very close. Things aren't looking great for Universal's Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell, which has been getting scathing reviews and has little interest among the 20-something and older crowd. It still has a good chance of making over $30 million due to the kids and religious audience, but it's not looking good for it to have much of a shelf-life with much stronger films opening in the next few weeks.

(You can read more updates after the updated predictions and the jump.)

Updated Predictions

1. Evan Almighty (Universal) - $35.6 million N/A
2. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (20th Century Fox) - $26.0 million -55%
3. 1408 (Dimension) - $19.6 million N/A
4. Ocean's Thirteen (Warner Bros.) - $11.0 million -44%
5. Knocked Up (Universal) - $9.5 million -33%
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney) - $6.7 million -46%
7. A Mighty Heart (Paramount Vantage) - $6.5 million N/A
8. Surf's Up (Sony) - $5.3 million -44%
9. Shrek the Third (DreamWorks) - $5.1 million -43%
10. Nancy Drew (Warner Bros.) - $3.5 million -48%

The sequels keep a-comin' and while a few of this summer's offerings haven't done as well as their predecessors, that will probably be nothing compared to what happens when Steve Carell tries to step into Jim Carrey's shoes for Evan Almighty (Universal), an animal-driven comedy based on the biblical tale of Noah's Ark. Although Carell's appeal from "The Office" and The 40-Year-Old Virgin will play a large factor in getting people into theatres, it's more likely to appeal to kids and their parents than teens and adults, and it will fall way short of the opening of its predecessor Bruce Almighty.

This is a pretty dismal weekend for limited releases, and though Manufactured Landscapes is an excellent doc, I have to go with something that I think will go over better with CS/WW readers...

Black Sheep (IFC Films)
Starring Matthew Chamberlain, Tammy Davis, Oliver Driver, Peter Feeney, Glenis Levestam, Danielle Mason, Kevin McTurk, Nathan Meister, Mick Rose, Tandi Wright
Written and directed by Jonathan King (debut)
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Rated R
Tagline: "Get the flock out of here!"
Plot Summary: When he was a boy, Henry Oldfield (Nathan Meister) was scared in a sheep-related incident by his older brother Angus (Peter Feeney), forcing Henry to leave the family sheep farm to go to the city. After the death of his father, Henry returns home years later, still deathly afraid of sheep, which becomes heightened when his brother's genetic sheep experiment goes wrong causing the flock to go wild, attacking anyone who comes near them.

No, this isn't a remake of the David Spade-Chris Farley comedy classic, but a horror-comedy from New Zealand that's been making the festival rounds and is finally being released theatrically. It's another fine addition to the dark horror-comedy genre that has produced some great movies including Shaun of the Dead and The Host and Severance, all past Chosen Ones, and this one has more of a New Zealand flavor ala Peter Jackson's early flicks like "Bad Taste." Most of the humor comes from the thought of docile creatures like sheep attacking and killing people, but surprisingly some of the best laughs come from simple shots of sheep just standing there not looking particularly menacing. But don't let that fool you 'cause once they have their teeth on your throat, gore will fly in a way that will appeal to the most bloodthirsty of horror fans. I really like what first-time filmmaker Jonathan King did with this, assembling a great cast of unknowns in creating very funny character stereotypes whose interactions really make the film special, much like the best movies in this horror sub-genre. Sure, the joke does get a bit tired after a while, but one has to marvel at the make-up effects, especially in creating half-man-half-sheep creatures, and this is a movie that should have a long life well past its regular placing on the midnight track of various film festivals. It will open in New York and L.A. this weekend, and it's recommended if you like any of the movies mentioned above.

Interview with Jonathan King
My Review from Tribeca Film Festival
Watch an Exclusive Clip

Before we get to the Battle Cry, I just want to let readers know that yours truly will be setting the Movielines in this season's EZ1 Productions Movieline Game, and you still have time to register and play along if you want to match wits with the Weekend Warrior.

This week's battle cry is a special tutorial for anyone who works at a studio, whether in production, publicity or marketing, and it's called simply "How To Get Good Reviews."

A good percentage of critics and studios have already decided that reviews and critics don't matter, and yet, as long as there's somebody out there with an opinion, they will find a way to voice and share it. As long as people continue to buy newspapers or read the internet or care what other people think, they'll want to read those opinions, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with what they're reading. So here's a guide on how to get good reviews from those whose opinions seem to matter and who are read (or watched, in the case of TV critics).

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.

As projected based on early estimates, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer has surpassed the opening weekend of the original movie by just $1.4 million, having grossed an estimated $57.4 million in 3,959 theatres, an average of $14.5k per site.

Warner Bros.' modernization of the classic literary detective Nancy Drew wasn't able to find nearly as much of the teen and 'tween girl audience as it hoped, pulling in just $7.1 million in business in 2,612 theatres to open in 7th place over the weekend.

ShowBIZ Data has box office estimates for Friday, and it looks like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will score an easy #1 this weekend with its $22.7 million estimated gross for Friday (including Thursday midnight screenings). This is $1.5 million greater than the opening of Fantastic Four two years ago, though with its PG rating, it might be slightly more kidcentric and possibly not as frontloaded. Still, one can expect an opening in the range of the first movie's $56 million, give or take a million.

Warner Bros.' Nancy Drew didn't fare nearly as well, making roughly $2.8 million on Friday and pointing to an opening weekend below $8 million, another movie made for teen girls that didn't score well with that target audience.

This weekend, the Silver Surfer rides into theatres, joining the returning cast of superheroes in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Tell us whether you liked it, hated it, how it compared to the first movie, to the comic or any other thoughts you might have about what you thought was great, what sucked, what worked and what didn't by posting in the comments below.

Not much has changed since earlier in the week except for a few of the theatre counts, but I'm holding steady on my earlier prediction that Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will make over $60 million (helped by a release into over 3,900 theatres and a shortened running time) and that Warner Bros' Nancy Drew will barely get into the Top 5 this weekend.

(You can read my FF:RotSS mini-review and more weekend analysis after the jump.)

Revised Predictions

1. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (20th Century Fox) - $61.7 million N/A
2. Ocean's Thirteen (Warner Bros.) - $19.0 million -48%
3. Knocked Up (Universal) - $13.1 million -34%
4. Surf's Up (Sony) - $11.2 million -38%
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney) - $11.0 million -48%
6. Nancy Drew (Warner Bros.) - $10.3 million N/A
7. Shrek the Third (DreamWorks) - $8.5 million -44%
8. Hostel: Part II (Lionsgate) - $3.8 million -54%
9. Mr. Brooks (MGM) - $2.7 million -45%
10. Spider-Man 3 (Sony) - $2.4 million -45%

Often here on ComingSoon.net, we have to sadly announce the passing of a great actor, director or other celebrity, but yesterday, the internet entertainment industry lost one of its greats, Daniel Robert Epstein.

If you've been on the internet anytime in the last five years, you're bound to have run across one of Dan's interviews or stories, whether it be at his main stomping ground SuicideGirls or at Newsarama or UGO or FilmStew. I think it's safe to say that he probably racked more interviews in the last five years of anyone in the industry, and he wasn't just talking to actors, directors or movie people, 'cause he was fully into the comic book industry and music biz, talking to many of the greats. Like myself, he was into movies, musics and comics, and really, the guy set the litmus for what was cool. He was a true fan of great art and music who had turned that love into some of the best interviews and writing on the internet.

After a weekend where two sequels opened below expectations and below previous installments, it's rather daunting to see that the big movie this weekend is another sequel, this one being the second live-action movie starring Marvel Comics' greatest family superteam Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Although it's following a less than well-received introduction to the group, one can expect that the added bonus of the Silver Surfer will bring a lot of comic book, action and effects fans into theatres this weekend, and it should be helped by a short running time (i.e. more screenings) and a family-friendly PG rating. Look for it to open respectably on Friday as many rush out to see it, although it's likely to be as frontloaded as the previous movie.

There are only two movies in wide release this weekend but a ridiculous amount or movies in limited or platform release and yet, it was every easy to pick this week's Chosen One, the New Zealand comedy...

Eagle vs. Shark (Miramax)
Starring Loren Horsley, Jemaine Clement, Brian Sergent, Rachel House, Craig Hall, Joel Tobeck, Jackie van Beek
Written and directed by Taika Waititi (various short films)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rated R
Plot Summary: Jarrod and Lily (Jemaine Clement, Loren Horsley) are two oddball outcasts who find themselves thrown together in a strange romance when they meet at a party dressed as a Shark and an Eagle, but Jarrod wind ups dumping Lily because he's focusing on a grudge match against a school bully who is returning home after nearly 20 years.
Tagline: "Luckily, love is blind."

This was one of the movies that I missed at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and I've been kicking myself ever since, even though I've been able to see the movie twice since then, and frankly, I love it so much that I'd probably see it two or three more times if given the chance. This is very much like the kind of movie that Fox Searchlight was releasing back in their banner year of 2004, kind of a mix of Garden State and Napoleon Dynamite in that it's a quirky romantic comedy, an outsider love story with a bit of a twist due to its New Zealand setting. It stars Jemaine Clement, who most Americans will have seen in his Outback Steakhouse commercials but who is one-half of the folk-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. It's probably not much of a coincidence that Jemaine's group will be debuting their new HBO series "Flight of the Conchords" this coming Sunday, and regular fans of this column may want to watch it in order to see the Warrior's Chinatown 'hood, because parts of the show were shot there.

As far as Eagle vs. Shark, it's a very funny movie, strange and quirky and even touching at times in an endearing '80s kind of way, the kind of movie that might appeal to anyone who's ever had a crush or been in love with someone. It's a bit like one of my other Sundance favorites, Son of Rambow, in that it throws together two disparate characters who on the one hand, may seem perfect for each other, but also are so weird on their own that one can see why things might not work out. In this case, Jemaine plays Jarrod, an egotistical video game enthusiast wanting to get revenge on a school bully decades after being humiliated by him, while Loren Horsely is the droopy, emotionless Lily, who falls for Jarrod when he comes by the fast food restaurant where she works as a cashier. Adding to the mix are a bunch of funny secondary characters like Joel Tobeck as Lily's brother Damon, who does a lot of really bad impressions, and Jarrod's equally strange family. Eagle vs. Shark opens in New York and L.A. and it's recommended if you like some of the movies mentioned above, particularly Napoleon Dynamite and Garden State.

Interview with Jemaine Clement
Review

So six weeks of the summer have gone by and we've made it past the Big 3 blockbusters. With Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix moving to a Wednesday and Transformers opening on a Monday night, it's doubtful we'll have another $100 million weekend this summer and maybe not even for the rest of the year. Although this summer, we've already seen three movies pass what once seemed like an unattainable amount for a single weekend, none of them look to be breaking any records as far as domestic gross. In fact, it would be surprising if any of them even end up within the Top 10 highest grossing movies ever the way they're going, which is surprising when you consider that most of them are sequels to some of the biggest movies of the past decade.

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.

Three new movies opened nationwide this weekend including two high-profile sequels, but none of them lived up to expectations, as they faced the big budget blockbusters and Judd Apatow's sleeper comedy Knocked Up.

As expected, Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen opened on top with an estimated $37 million, slightly less than the opening of both of its previous installments, despite opening in 250 more theatres than Ocean's Twelve. It averaged roughly $10,000 per theatre.

It looks like all three of the movies opening wide this weekend will wind up with disappointing showings according to Friday estimates posted at ShowBIZ Data. Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen, the fourth threequel of the summer, made an estimated $12.4 million on Friday, $2 million less than the previous sequel Ocean's Twelve made its opening day. It will likely wind up with an opening weekend somewhere between $33 and 36 million, less than both previous movies. Considering the much higher early projections for the weekend (including the Weekend Warrior's own), that's a rather disappointing showing for a movie that received many favorable and gushing reviews despite the unpopularity of the previous installment.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and the gang are back for another risky heist in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen. Have you seen the third installment? Then let us and fellow moviegoers know what you thought by posting below!

Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II is now playing in theaters and we'd like to hear what you thought about the sequel! Post your thoughts below...

The big shake-up in the Top 10 comes in the form of something I forgot to address in the column earlier this week and that's the continued success of Judd Apaow's Knocked Up, the summer's first high profile non-sequel which grossed over $30 million last weekend and has been holding up very well, making consistently more than Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End every day during the week. One can look forward to a photo finish between the two movies for third place over the weekend. Even if the Apatow comedy might put a crimp on some of the sequels already in theatres, Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen will still come in at #1 with a somewhere close to $45 million due to the renewed interest in the franchise and the significant theatre count.

You can read more, as well as my mini-review of Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II, after the...

Updated Predictions

1. Ocean's Thirteen (Warner Bros.) - $43.5 million N/A
2. Surf's Up (Sony) - $24.8 million N/A
3. Knocked Up (Universal) - $20.8 million -33%
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney) - $20.7 million -53%
5. Hostel: Part II (Lionsgate) - $19.6 million N/A
6. Shrek the Third (DreamWorks) - $14.5 million -48%
7. Mr. Brooks (MGM) - $5.8 million -43%
8. Spider-Man 3 (Sony) - $3.9 million -48%
9. Waitress (Fox Searchlight) - $1.5 million -31%
10. Gracie (Picturehouse) - $0.8 million -40%

After two weekends of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End residing at the top, it's time for three major new movies to open nationwide, and thankfully, only two of them are sequels. Almost a sure thing to take the top spot this weekend is the return of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and the rest of the gang in Steven Soderbergh's big budget threequel Ocean's Thirteen, a movie with such a diverse cast that it should bring in the same varied audience that enjoyed the previous two movies.

La Vie en Rose (Picturehouse)
Starring Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Clotilde Courau, Jean-Paul Rouve, Pascal Greggory, Marc Barbe, Caroline Sihol, Emmanuelle Seigner, Catherine Allegret, Gerard Depardieu, Jean-Pierre Martins
Written and directed by Olivier Dahan (co-written with Isabelle Sobelman) (Déjà Mort, La Vie Promise, Le Petit Poucet)
Genre: Biopic, Drama, Music
Rated PG-13
Plot Summary: A biodrama following the life of legendary French singer Edith Piaf from the brothels of Belleville to the height of fame.

Despite my long-standing love of all types of music, I never really got into the vocal work of Edith Piaf, maybe because I'm not French. Certainly, I'm more than familiar with other cabaret singers like Lotte Lenya, who was famous for singing the Kurt Weill songbook, but Piaf somehow escaped me, which is why Olivier Dahan's musical biopic is such a welcome treat. Anyone who wasn't familiar with what Piaf went through in her tragic life, from being abandoned by her parents and raised in a brothel, to her stint singing on the streets for money, to her alcohol and substance abuse after being propelled to fame and far more dire health problems later in life will be very impressed by how Olivier Dahan uses a distinctive non-linear technique to tell Piaf's story with style, flair and panache. As talented as Dahan is as a visual storyteller though, what most people will get out of seeing La Vie en Rose is how stunning and amazing Marion Cotillard is in her Oscar-ready leading role as Piaf. Cotillard is the pretty French actress who starred opposite Russell Crowe in A Good Year, but when one first sees Piaf on stage in the movie, one might immediately assume she's being played by an older actress. Cotillard adds so much life and energy to Piaf in her younger days, but she goes through such a major physical transformation in playing this musical icon over nearly 30 years that it's rather incredible and unbelievable, especially when we see her old and dying and realize that it's the same actress! If that's not enough to sell you on the movie, then the film's cast is rounded out by some of France's most famous actors including the ubiquitous Gerard Depardieu, Pascal Greggory, and hot young actresses Sylvie Testud and Emmanuelle Seigner. It will open in New York and L.A. on Friday, but one can expect a wider release to come. It's recommended if you were into musical biopics like Ray and Walk the Line, but especially if you want to learn more about this famous French singer who hasn't really caught on with Americans and the current generation, but who was someone whose tragic losses are things that surprisingly, many people may be able to relate to.

Interview with Marion Cotillard and Olivier Dahan

With last week's release of the sports drama Gracie and this week's biopic La Vie en Rose, it started me thinking about overused genres, ones that have been done so much in recent years that they've become formulaic in a bad way. Not that either of those movies are particularly bad--the Edith Piaf biodrama is one of my favorites of the year and this week's "Chosen One"--but there's a definite formula to certain genres where you almost feel like you know everything that's going to happen simply from having seen other movies in the genre.

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.

Despite dropping 62.4% in ticket sales, Walt Disney Pictures' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End earned another $43.2 million in its second weekend to bring its 10-day domestic total to $216.5 million. The second installment, "Dead Man's Chest," had earned $258 million after the same time last year. For more on the worldwide gross to date, click here.

Writer/director Judd Apatow's new comedy Knocked Up, starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, debuted with an impressive $29.3 million from 2,871 theaters for an average of $10,199 per theater. The Universal release only cost $30 million to make and good legs should make this a very profitable movie for the studio. It opened better than Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which took in $21.4 million its first weekend on its way to $109 million.

ShowBIZ Data has posted estimates for Friday, and despite a huge 69% drop from its opening Friday, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End looks to hold the top spot for the weekend, its $13.4 million Friday take pointing to a second weekend between $46 and 48 million, and a much bigger sophomore drop than Dead Man's Chest.

The big story yesterday was the near $10 million grossed by Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, which will put it neck and neck for second place with DreamWorks' Shrek the Third, which took another big drop. Expect both of them to wind up somewhere in the $27 to 29 million range for the weekend.