Weekend Predictions: 'Puss In Boots,' 'In Time,' 'The Rum Diary' and 'Anonymous'
Featured Stories - on October 27, 2011 by Phil Contrino
A smooth-talking cat will have no problem fending off three other newcomers and a horror holdover at the box office this coming weekend.
DreamWorks Animation is understandably trying to prolong the life of its Shrek property by offering up a spin-off film focusing on Puss In Boots, the swashbuckling cat voiced with typical gusto by Antonio Banderas. Puss is wildly popular, so there's little doubt that plenty of tickets and action figures will be sold with this entry. Families are clearly starving for content—how else do you explain the complete dominance of The Lion King, a 17-year-old film?—and Puss In Boots will satisfy that need.
As of 4 p.m. PT, Fandango reports that Puss In Boots accounts for a modest 4% of daily sales. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I leads with 38%, while Paranormal Activity 3 is in 2nd with 9%.
Puss In Boots is doing quite well on Facebook and Twitter, especially when placed up against 2010's Shrek Forever After. Subscribe to Boxoffice Pro for our full Facebook and Twitter tracking.
Look for Puss In Boots to rope in $42 million from more than 3,800 locations during its debut frame.
In Time star Justin Timberlake is trying very hard to become a viable draw, but only the paying public can decide whether that's going to happen. Timberlake's last outing was Friends With Benefits, a romantic comedy that grabbed $18.6 million during its debut frame. FWB was aimed right at Timberlake's female fans, but In Time is bound to skew male. If Timberlake's female base doesn't come out that could mean trouble. Expectations are relatively modest.
Fandango reports that In Time has yet to make a dent in daily sales. That could change tomorrow as more couples plan for the weekend.
In Time looks poised for a $13.5 million debut from more than 3,000 locations.
The Rum Diary will only go so far on the star power of Johnny Depp and the passionate following that Hunter S. Thompson commands posthumously. There's simply too much competition in the market for this R-rated, adult-skewing flick to make much of an impact. Rum Diary should amass a healthy cult following.
Fandango reports that The Rum Diary didn't crack the top five sellers list today.
Expect The Rum Diary to take in $8.5 million from more than 2,100 locations.
Anonymous is essentially being dumped by Sony. Director Roland Emmerich's costume drama looked like it was assured of a wide release until just recently. A strong showing in limited release could inspire Sony to give it more locations, but don't expect anything that massive. Emmerich (2012, Godzilla) will return to destroying the planet soon enough.
Anonymous should manage $1.6 million from around 200 locations.
Check out the rest of our top 10 predictions in the table below.
| Title | Release Date | Distributor | Weekend Gross | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puss in Boots (2011) | Oct 28, 2011 | Paramount / DreamWorks |
$42,000,000 | $42,000,000 |
| Paranormal Activity 3 | Oct 21, 2011 | Paramount |
$22,000,000 | $85,200,000 |
| In Time | Oct 28, 2011 | Fox |
$13,500,000 | $13,500,000 |
| The Rum Diary | Oct 28, 2011 | FilmDistrict |
$8,500,000 | $8,500,000 |
| Footloose (2011) | Oct 14, 2011 | Paramount |
$6,000,000 | $39,000,000 |
| Real Steel | Oct 7, 2011 | Disney / DreamWorks |
$5,800,000 | $75,000,000 |
| The Three Musketeers (2011) | Oct 21, 2011 | Summit |
$4,700,000 | $16,200,000 |
| The Ides of March | Oct 7, 2011 | Sony / Columbia |
$3,400,000 | $34,200,000 |
| Moneyball | Sep 23, 2011 | Sony / Columbia |
$2,900,000 | $67,800,000 |
| Dolphin Tale | Sep 23, 2011 | Warner Bros. |
$2,300,000 | $67,600,000 |
Additional reporting by Daniel Garris and Alex Edghill.
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