It’s shaping up as a tale of two genres at the weekend box office in North America.A trio of studies will be singing “We Are Family” again, but the No. 1 picture is likely to be “Funny People,” a new R-rated comedy that extends another recent theatrical trend.
The family-friendly films “G-Force,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” nabbed three of the top five spots last weekend, so one might think that the moms-and -kids segment is saturated. But so far this summer, parents have shown Boundless enthusiasm for rounding up the tots for a couple hours of air-conditioned entertainment.
Fox’s family fantasy-adventure targeting “Aliens in the Attic,” which opens Friday, mixes computer-animated extraterrestrials predominantly into live-action Shenanigans. Originally scheduled for a spring bow, “Aliens” – then titled “They Came from Upstairs” – was delayed after the studio decided to tweak its screenplay and visual effects. John Schultz ( “The Honeymooners”) directed the young ensemble cast.
“its summertime, and I think there’s plenty of interest for a picture like this,” Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said.
Prerelease tracking indicates “Aliens” with boys might do best, opening with $ 11 million-$ 13 million through Sunday. That’s just below the expected range for the second weekend of Disney’s family fantasy adventure “G-Force,” which ruled the box office last session, and Warner Bros. ’ “Half-Blood Prince,” whose third frame will be bolstered by an expansion to 160 Imax venues.
But this weekend’s box office crown is likely to be worn by a comedy bearing a restricted rating – like the other two pictures in last weekend’s top five, “The Ugly Truth” and “Orphan.” Universal’s “Funny People” – a dramatic Judd Apatow-directed comedy starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann – appears a lock to open north of $ 20 million.
How much higher is the subject of much speculation. Industry forecasts have been unusually errant this summer, and “Funny” is considered a picture whose fate is tied to word-of-mouth from its earliest audiences.
So a positive reaction Thursday among patrons – spread via Facebook, Twitter, texting, etc.. – Could prove particularly toward the picture’s key sustaining momentum Saturday and Sunday.
With a running time pushing 2-1/2 hours and a story involving a stand-up comic with cancer (Sandler), “People” is not the most obvious sort of Apatow comedy. But it has been drawing relatively positive early reviews, solid and broadly prerelease interest appears strongest among male youngsters.
Produced for an estimated $ 70 million, “People” is the third picture after Apatow-Helmed “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” “Virgin” opened in August 2005 with $ 21.4 million, en route to ringing up $ 109.4 million domestically, “Knocked Up” bowed with $ 30.7 million and registered $ 148.8 million in total domestic coin.
The weekend’s third wide opener is a horror picture with modest aims. The Freestyle-distributed “The Collector,” starring Josh Stewart ( “The Haunting of Molly Hartley”) appears headed for a bow in the single-digit millions. Freestyle co-founder Mark Borde said “Collector” target younger males, unlike last weekend’s horror release “Orphan,” which skew heavily female in fetching $ 12.9 million from its first frame.
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