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Subject: Box Office Prediction: What Would Jesus Do to Penguins?
Time: 6:41:00 PM EST
Author: summermovieblog
Hey kids, it's Patricia with another box office prediction, and I must say, the coming weekend seems oddly bereft of mainstream blockbusters. In this corner, we've got reigning champions 'Happy Feet' and 'Casino Royale,' which have finished one-two at the box office for two weeks running. In the other corner, we've got ... well, everybody else. Will none other than the Virgin Mary (and her secret weapon, Jesus) topple those gosh darn penguins once and for all? Will newbie bubba8193 continue his/her perfect prediction record? Will I botch my picks as spectacularly as all of you know I can? Let's have a look.
'The Nativity Story': Keisha Castle-Hughes, the youngest Best Actress nominee in the history of the Oscars (she was nominated for 'Whale Rider' in 2004 at the age of 13) stars as "Mary," aka the Virgin Mary, aka the mother of the son of God, in this re-telling of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. I can't make any jokes about the movie because I'm afraid God might smite me; but as far as potential market share, it seems clear that the studio, New Line, is hoping the crowds that made 'The Passion of the Christ' a runaway hit will give 'The Nativity Story' a look-see. Certainly it'll draw a sizable Christian audience, and it's coming out just in time for Christmas (I hear that's related to the birth of Jesus somehow). But director Catherine Hardwicke ('Thirteen,' 'Lords of Dogtown') is no Mel Gibson. Of course, that's not always a bad thing.
'National
Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj':
Believe it or not, if you count TV and straight-to-DVD
releases, there have been 31 National Lampoon movies. Yup, this includes gems
like
'National
Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2,' which came out on DVD
this September and starred, umm, somebody. John Belushi would be proud. As for this weekend's addition to the Lampoon archives, the
sequel to 'Van
Wilder' sends Kal
Penn (who co-starred in the first film but hit the big time with
'Harold
& Kumar Go to White Castle') to Oxford so that he can teach
Brits how to party. We've seen in recent weeks that movies like 'Tenacious
D' and 'Let's
Go to Prison' have failed to move frat-boy crowd from the kegs to the
theaters, so 'The Rise of Taj,' despite its built-in audience, might have a
tough slog, especially since Tara
Reid has moved on to bigger and better projects. I'm not kidding.
Botched liposuction is a terrible epidemic.
'Turistas':
A group of pretty young things (Josh
Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde, Beau
Garrett) travels to
Brazil. The bus breaks down. Our friends find a happenin' bar conveniently located on a beautiful remote beach, party down with the locals and an excellent host named Tequila Shots, and then ... well, let's just say things go wrong. Very, very wrong. It's not quite a slasher flick, but 'Turistas' falls into a category of vacation-horror films that tend to do well, regardless of quality or logic or the blind stupidity of some of the characters involved. (Don't these people ever learn? For the lessons we've gleaned from vacation-horror movies, click here.) So while there isn't much to make this movie stand out, it's got attractive people wearing very little clothing -- there's one scene that exists for no other reason except to get Beau Garrett to take her top off -- and a decent squirm factor, and that's really all it needs. Plus, it was filmed entirely in Brazil, and that's gotta be good for something, if only to Brazilians.
NOTE:
Prediction entries must be submitted by midnight
(Pacific time) on Saturday, and you may only post one prediction. Go on, make me proud.
POST: What's your weekend top five prediction?
POST: What do youthink of these movies?
The Nativity Story: Showtimes,
tix, trailer & more | Photos | Exclusive clips
National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj: Showtimes,
tix, trailer & more | Photos
Turistas: Showtimes,
tix, trailer & more | Olivia Wilde AIM interview | Horror movie lessons
Tags:
Casino Royale, Happy Feet,
Deja Vu, The Nativity Story, National Lampoon,Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, Turistas, movies, box
office, prediction
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Happy feet will draw most of the crowd. It's cute and well made despite what its critics say. The nativity more is plain. It shows with great accuracy what happened two thousand years without fan fair, etc. If Joseph's part was played by Brad Pitt, etc., it would have drawn more moviegoers. I still thing it was great and have recommended it to all my friends, religious or not.
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Happy Feet
Casino Royale
Deja Vu
Turistas
The Nativity Story -
1. Nativity Story
2. Happy Feet
3. Casino Royale
4. Deja Vu
5. The Fountain -
its ovisly this
happy feet
nativity story
casino royale
turistas
borat
12/5/06 6:17 PM
2.Blood Diamond
3.Casino Royale
4.Apocalypto
5.The Holiday
6.Deja Vu
7.Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
8.Unaccompained Minors
9.The Nativity Story
10.Turistas