It’s time once again for Movie Prediction Madness! Well I was wrong last week about Marmaduke, but that’s OK because if me being wrong means one less terrible movie is successful, so be it! Let’s move onto this week, shall we?
#1 The A-Team
The first of this weekend’s 1980’s retreads is “The A-Team”, a movie based on a show I watched religiously as a child yet hardly remember (see also: “Dukes of Hazard”)
I am basing this #1 prediction off seeing the trailer during a packed showing of “Iron Man 2: The Suit Would Never Fit In That Briefcase And Even If It Did You Wouldn’t Be Able to Lift It”. Despite the “A-Team” trailer not being very funny (or having any welding scenes) people reacted to it very strongly. The trailer for “Prince of Persia” got crickets, and it still made $32 million opening. “A-Team” should be able to do at least as well.
This has been a very weak summer thus far, so something’s gotta open decent eventually. I mean, besides “Toy Story 3” and “Twilight”.
#2 The Karate Kid
…a movie about Kung-Fu, not karate. Maybe it doesn’t matter, “Mummy 3” contained NO mummies whatsoever (or Rachel Weisz) and it still made a decent chunk o’ change.
Wil Smith’s kid stars along with Jackie Chan. I have recently determined the reasoning for a lot of these remakes. People my age who grew up with movies like “Karate Kid” now have kids of their own. Apparently we see ads for this new one and think “Oh, I remember that movie as formulatic, safe fun. I’ll take my kids to something live-action for a change.”
This may not open as high as “A-Team” but it could hang in there as a sleeper hit, like “The Blind Side” or “insert-generic-but-crowd-pleasing-sports-movie-here”.
Old Releases
Shrek 4 will still hang in there, of course, since it has “Shrek” in the title. Probably as #3, or maybe just above “Kung Fu Kid”. All other releases will continue their rapid declines, yet Hollywood will continue to make video game adaptations despite the fact “Persia” blew it, even with its massive production / advertising budget.
The tepid box office summer will finally heat up later in June with “Toy Story 3” and “Twilight: More Suckage” which will both open north of $100 million.
