The Weekend Warrior looks to be choking a bit this week, because it seems very likely that Disney's marketing of the Rock family comedy The Game Plan is going to have a similar effect on seriously neglected family audiences as 2005's The Pacifier, and though Disney is releasing it in over 3,100 theatres (and 300 more theatres than Peter Berg's The Kingdom), the October release will keep it closer to the $20 million mark. Still, this means that we're not as sure today about The Kingdom being #1 for the weekend, but it's still likely to win Friday due to school cutting into The Game Plan's business.
MGM's romantic drama Feast of Love, well let's just say even our modest prediction of $3 million might be somewhat generous, although it's been advertised enough that it could pick up the slack from older childless women who might not have interest in some of the other movies.
Warner Independent will expand Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah into 762 theatres on Friday, and it should end the weekend with roughly $1.7 million while Sony still isn't expanding Julie Taymor's Across the Universe despite it doing far better per theatre than In the Valley on a weekly basis.
1. The Kingdom (Universal) - $20.5 million N/A (down $1.1 million)
2. The Game Plan (Disney) - $19.8 million N/A (up $2 million)
3. Resident Evil: Extinction (Sony/Screen Gems) - $9.5 million -59% (down .2 million)
4. Good Luck Chuck (Lionsgate) - $7.6 million -44% (down .1 million)
5. The Brave One (Warner Bros.) - $4.3 million -43% (up .1 million)
6. 3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate) - $4.1 million – 35% (up .1 million)
7. Eastern Promises (Focus) - $3.3 million – 42% (same)
8. Sydney White (Universal) - $3.1 million -40% (same)
9. Feast of Love (MGM) - $3.0 million N/A (down .1 million)
10. Mr. Woodcock (New Line) - $2.9 million -42% (same)
