Box Office Talk: October 12

As some of you may have noticed, I've been incorporating a lot of new things to The Cinematic Katzenjammer and having an occasional contributor that's not myself write something for the blog. This is a gradual progression that's going to slowly lead to something more. Below, I've "borrowed" Joe from Two Dude Review's Box Office Predictions for the weekend and will continually have as a feature on the site. 

If the past two weekends are any indication, the box office is back on track and in a strong way. Hotel Transylvania and Taken 2 each over-performed finishing #1 during their respective opening weekends. This weekend four new films are being released, each arriving with a certain level of expectation.

Ben Affleck has reinvented himself as actor, thanks in large part to him finding a director talented enough to showcase his true talent; Ben Affleck is that director. Argo is the newest film directed by and starring Affleck, and much like his 2010 film The Town is garnering very strong Academy Award buzz. I’ve already gone on record saying that I think Argo is my dark horse pick to win the Best Picture award at the next Academy Awards. I think the film is going to be a huge hit with audiences and at the box office, and will catapult Affleck near the top of the list of best directors working today. As discussed on a recent episode of As You Watch Podcast, Affleck is the most recent successful director to star in his own film(s). Argo is based on a true story about a top-secret CIA operation, led by Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to help rescue 6 Americans that find refuge hiding out in the home of the Canadian Ambassador during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Sinister is the newest ‘scariest movie in a long time’, a phrase that is seriously overused in the horror genre. It’s not that I think Sinister isn't going to be scary, or at least in the way scary is defined to some, it’s just that so many films have failed to live up to that expectation. I've got high hopes that the film does offer its fill of scary moments, and hope that a classic ‘villain’ is born out of Bagul, because the genre desperately needs a character in the form of Jason Voorhees, Michael Meyers and Freddy Krueger. In Sinister a crime novelist (Ethan Hawke) finds home videos of the family that used to live in his new home, and wound up gruesomely murdered. After watching the videos and doing some investigating, he discovers the possibility of a supernatural entity causing the deaths. As his discoveries further, he puts himself and his family in danger of being Bagul’s next victims.

Here Comes the Boom at first glance appears to be a comedic retelling of the 2011 hit dramatic film Warrior. The film stars Kevin James as Scott Voss, a high school biology teacher who decides to take a shot a mixed-martial arts in an attempt to help earn money for his financially strapped school. That’s not even the funniest, or should I say unlikeliest thing to happen in the film as apparently Salma Hayek plays James’ love interest in the film. There have been a large number of pre-screenings of the film, as well as a massive marketing push with James making a number of appearances to promote the film. Based on what’s been shown in the trailers, I feel pretty confident in stating that it was a huge waste of time and money.

Seven Psychopaths looks to be the type of film that may not succeed at the box office, but goes on to become a word of mouth sensation after it’s released on video. The film is written and directed by Martin McDonagh, whose previous film In Bruges was a hit with audiences and critics alike, and even earned McDonagh a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. Along with having a good director and writer, Seven Psychopaths also has an incredible cast. Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Abie Cornish, and Michael Pitt are just a sampling of whom appear in the film. In Seven Psychopaths when a gangster’s (Harrelson) beloved Shih-Tzu is dog-napped, a screenwriter (Farrell) finds himself dragged into the situation since his two crazy friends (Rockwell and Walken) stole the dog.

Here’s a look at how I see the Top 10 shaking out this weekend:

Box Office Predictions

RANK	TITLE	JOE'S PREDICTION
1	Argo	$26,000,000
2	Taken 2	$22,100,000
3	Hotel Transylvania	$16,200,000
4	Sinister	$15,000,000
5	Here Comes the Boom	$13,000,000
6	Seven Psychopaths	$9,000,000
7	Pitch Perfect	$7,700,000
8	Looper	$7,500,000
9	Frankenweenie	$6,400,000
10	End of Watch	$2,200,000