Weekly Anticipation Index: 'Where the Wild Things Are,' 'The Road' and 'Law Abiding Citizen'

Featured Stories - on August 22, 2009 by Phil Contrino

Where the Wild Things Are will try to silence all the negative buzz that has plagued it when it opens this October.

wildthingsareindex.jpg

After a series of bad production reports and release date changes, Spike Jonze's adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are will finally hit theaters on October 16. The Road and Law Abiding Citizen are also slated to open that same weekend.

Wild Things Are represents a big gamble for Warner Bros., but after the successful summer they've had with The Hangover and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the studio won't be hurt as bad if Jonze's film doesn't perform that well theatrically. The fact that the project is based on an established property means that it's bound to open strong. Yet Wild Things Are reportedly has a dark tone, and that may turn off family audiences in the long run.

The Road is also based on a book—by Cormac McCarthy ( No Country for Old Men —and it has been the victim of release date changes as well. The apocalyptic plot may be too bleak for moviegoers seeking escapism. Luckily, star Viggo Mortensen has developed a solid following thanks to his performances in Lord of the Rings and A History Violence, which will help.

As for Law Abiding Citizen, the combination of Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx should guarantee a respectable debut. LAC also boasts minor similarities to Taken, the Liam Neeson vehicle that became a worldwide hit.

Check out our predictions for those film as well as others in the table below.


Weekly Anticipation Index, August 22, 2009
Title Release Date Distributor Opening Weekend Cumulative
Halloween 2 August 28 The Weinstein Company $27M $60M
The Final Destination August 28 Warner Bros./New Line $19M $50M
Gamer September 4 Lionsgate $17M $37M
All About Steve September 4 Fox 2000 $24M $70M
9 September 9 Focus $14M $45M
Sorority Row September 11 Summit $15M $35M
Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself September 11 Lionsgate $36M $78M
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs September 18 Sony/Columbia $18M $60M
Love Happens September 18 Focus $16M $48M
Jennifer's Body September 18 Fox Atomic $22M $53M
The Informant! September 18 Warner Bros. $11M $37M
Fame September 25 MGM/UA $24M $65M
Surrogates September 25 Disney $16M $48M
Zombieland October 2 Sony/Columbia $13M $35M
Couples Retreat October 9 Universal $24M $75M
Where the Wild Things Are October 16 Warner Bros. $25M $75M
Law Abiding Citizen October 16 Overture $15M $43M
The Road October 16 The Weinstein Company $14M $40M

Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.

Tags: No Tags

6 Comments

What do you think?