Box office battle: 6-20-14

Clint Eastwood adapts a hit musical while a sequel to “Think Like A Man” also hits theaters. Who will come out on top?

“Think Like A Man Too”, from director Tim Story, hits theaters two years after the first one surprised many by opening to $33 million. This one stars Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Ealy, Romany Malco, Adam Brody, Jerry Ferrara (“Entourage”) and Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Bridesmaids”). Oh yeah. And a little known comic named Kevin Hart.

The film moves its location to Las Vegas, always a smart choice for a comedy (“The Hangover”, “Last Vegas”, “What Happens in Vegas”, etc.) and this one will benefit from a summer opening. “The Best Man Holiday”, also a sequel, earned more than $30 million about the same amount of theaters as this one. Expect this one to be in the same range.

Opening weekend: $35-40 million.

On paper, Clint Eastwood plus “Jersey Boys”, an award-winning musical, should equal Oscar bait, right?

Clearly not, because Warner Brothers is releasing this one in the summer, not the fall. The last musical they released during the summer was “Rock of Ages” with Tom Cruise and a host of others. That movie bombed. And I can’t see this one doing much better. In fact, it might do worse.

The film brings much of the stage cast with it, and adds Christopher Walken to the mix. But, this is going to have limited appeal. I don’t see many young people seeing this film. And Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons aren’t the Beatles. Their appeal to people from that generation are also much more limited. On a side note, it can also be argued Eastwood’s last few outings, including “J. Edgar”, “Trouble With The Curve” and “Grand Torino” haven’t been up to par either.

Opening weekend: $10-15 million.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

 

“Anchorman: The Legend Continues” cast keeps getting better

We don’t know much about the script. But “Anchorman: The Legend Continues”, which sees the return of Ron Bergundy, added another cast member. Harrison Ford is set to play a Tom Brokaw like character in the anticipated sequel. He joins Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate James Marsden, Meagan Good, John C. Reilly, Kristen Wiig and Dylan Baker in the anticipated sequel from director Adam McKay. At this point, if this film is anything short of a classic, it’ll be a massive disappointment.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Box office battle: 04/20/12

Two new chick flicks try to do something that no other movie has been able to do in a month…beat “The Hunger Games” at the box office.

First up is “Think Like A Man”, the ensemble romantic comedy. The film stars Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Meagan Good, Taraji P. Henson, Romany Malco, Gabrielle Union and Michael Ealy and will be looking to capture Tyler Perry’s crowd this weekend. The movie should open strongly, the question will be how good of legs it has. But it should open north of $20 million.

Opening weekend: $20-22 million

Total box office gross: $45-50 million

The other new release is “The Lucky One” starring Zac Efron. Look, a Nicholas Sparks movie always has the potential to break out (Like “The Notebook” and “Dear John”). But, I just don’t see this one opening much higher than around $20 million as well. But, Efron is looking to continue his string of hits year after starring in “21 Jump Street” and “The Lorax”. However, his last few movies more geared to women haven’t opened well, including “New Year’s Eve” and “Charlie St. Cloud”.

Opening weekend: $19-21 million

Total box office gross: $35-40 million

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.