Son of Odin

I just can't see how it managed only $20m. I thought $35m was reachable. next week will be very bad for SR. maybe $11m. Prince Caspian should do $65-70. with Iron Man still doing very well at perhaps $34M.

My Other Self

My money is either on Sex and the City or Get Smart.

RichC2

Sex and the City is apparently tracking very strongly with its key demo.

For those interested in how The Fall did.

Michael T Hudson

Yea right. Every woman that I have talked to is going to see the move. I am sure my wife is going to drag me along.

Mr. Cinema

I think both of those will do well.

Based on the unfunny trailer, I'd choose Step Brothers as a possible flop. Based on his last few films, I'd also choose M. Night's The Happening as a possible candidate.

Doctor Gonzo

From Deadline Hollywood Daily...

WHAT A DISASTER! 'Speed Racer' $20M Weekend Half What Warner Bros Hoped; Rival Studios Accuse WB Of Inflating #s

SUNDAY AM: Showing just how fiercely competitive the summer box office is right now, rival Hollywood movie studios are complaining to me they don't believe Warner Bros' domestic gross numbers released today claiming its disastrous Speed Racer came in 2nd behind Marvel's Iron Man in the weekend's Top 10 contest. All the other majors -- Fox, Sony, Paramount, Universal, Disney, and MGM -- have the anime actioner opening only 3rd. And they dispute WB's reporting that Speed Racer made $20.2 million for Fri-Sat-Sun because its projected Sunday number isn't seen as possible. "That's a very aggressive Sunday estimate to try and claim 2nd," one studio's top marketing and distribution mogul complained to me this morning, echoing the disbelief of most of his colleagues. "Warners is hoping moms want to go to Speed Racer for Mothers Day." (To give Warner Bros the benefit of the doubt, it's true that family pics do well on Mothers Day.) But all the other studios have Fox's romantic comedy What Happens In Vegas in 2nd place with $20 million, and Speed Racer only 3rd with $19.7 million. And the rival execs say that, since Speed Racer's gross was even softer than anyone thought, up only 18% on Saturday because of kiddie matinees compared to Friday, the Warner Bros film couldn't possibly get to $20 million for the weekend barring a box office miracle on Sunday. "Their estimate is utterly laughable!," a top exec at a rival major told me this AM. "That being said, from what I've heard, they are not trying to dress up the pig. They're resigned to it being a disaster... just not enough to stop them from fabricating a number to jump Fox for the #2 position." These kind of controversies don't develop often in Hollywood, but when they do, they can be ugly. That's because there is a certain code of honor among thieves, if you will -- a tacit agreement that every Hollywood studio will try to report weekend box office numbers as accurately as possible, even though there's a significant PR advantage to artifically moving a disappointing film up a slot in the Top 10 by inflating numbers. The irony is that these controversies get settled quickly, as soon as tomorrow when the actual theater by theater grosses for Sunday come in Monday and then determine the "actual" figures as opposed to the Sunday "estimates"...

Nobody is disputing distributor Paramount's figures that Marvel's summer blockbuster Iron Man made a platinum $15 million on Friday from 4,111 venues, and $21.6 million on Saturday, giving it an estimated FSS total of $50.5 million, or more than double the domestic box office gross of its nearest weekend competitor, to stay No. 1 again. Its new cume is a monster $177.1M. But Warner Bros' Speed Racer, whether its weekend total is $19.7 million or $20.2 million from 3,606 plays, made only half what the studio hoped, even with lowered expectations because of bad buzz and poor tracking. Not only is the anime actioner this summer's first summer bomb, but it's also doing dismally in key areas of its 30+ day and date opening foreign territories. The pic has gone bust in many international markets, with some disastrous openings in Europe in particular. Besides a too-long running time and a too-small audience of younger boys, the Wachowski siblings spent at least $160M making the pic, whereas Fox's What Happens in Vegas cost only $35 million. Hollywood is convinced Warner Bros has a major writedown on its hands. Vegas took in $7.1 million Friday and $7.5 million Saturday from 3,215 runs for a $20 million weekend. For much more analysis, see my 'Speed Racer' Crashes & Burns To Become First Summer Bomb and Weekend Prediction.

fumanstan

Yeah it won't matter how bad Sex and the City is, the women are going to flock to it.

I think Get Smart is going to be a modest hit too.

The Bus

What's funny is that Speed Racer has gotten (for me) the best word of mouth of any 2008 release. I had two people give it high recommendations by Friday evening.

Ronnie Dobbs

I think X-Files 2 will be a bomb. Its been so long since the series went off the air. Step Brothers will be a hit. It looks hilarious.

Dan

Could it be the "Titanic" of 2008?

Either it sinks... like the real Titanic.
Or
Women (like my girlfriend) go see it 8 or 9 times to make it more profitable than Star Wars.

Brack

LOL, I'm picking "other."

Gizmo

I have 0 intentions of watching Speed Racer. All the commercials make me thing its a Wii video game or some sort of Anime. I hope the damn thing bombs as its not going to make any money in the next few weeks against Indy, Sex and the City or Narnia.

B5Erik

Why do so many people assume Sex and the City will be a hit?

It's a cult show from a pay cable channel that has a relatively small audience. It's not that different from Firefly going to the big screen, and we all know how that went at the box office.

I'm not saying it's going to bomb, necessarily, because the budget is relatively small, but it's not going to be some runaway hit. The audience for the show wasn't all that big, and I don't see the movie suddenly converting a couple million new fans.

It should do respectable business considering that it is a movie based on a pay cable TV show, but I can't see it making more than $50 million at most at the box office (someone flag this post to bring it up later if the movie hits $100+ million, and then make fun of my "predictions" ).

kstublen

I don't know why people always assume only women are fans of Sex and the City. I'm a guy and I love the show. I am eagerly anticipating it and will be there the day it opens.

And I HIGHLY doubt Step Brothers will flop. All of Apatow's films seem to do pretty well.

invisiblegt

I have to disagree with the "Firefly" comparison. Nearly no one beyond fans of the show had ever heard of it, and, even after the movie was made, it did little to boost the recognition of that.

However, "Sex and the City" is known to nearly all, regardless of whether people had ever seen the show. My mother has never seen the show, nor does she hang around people who have and even she knows the basic premise and cast.

Hell, I was out at a bar Friday night, and on one of the TV's was a local FOX station which, at midnight or so, began airing an episode of "Sex and the City." One of the girls mentioned the show, and thus launched a nearly ten minute conversation about it, with both the men and the women at the table taking part in it.

I'm not certain how well it will do, because regardless of the name appeal, it's core audience is still a fairly niche market. That having been said, I see it doing fairly big business.

(And, should any of the preceding text not make sense, let's all chalk it up to the fact that I haven't slept in nearly 48 hours...)

kstublen

On another note...I wanted to see Iron Man, but chose to see Speed Racer over it. I'm pleased with my decision (and Iron Man is one of my favourite superheroes). Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of all these superhero movies coming out one after another. I feel oversaturated with comic book movies.

Ronnie Dobbs

I'm just sick of the bad comic book movies Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Catwoman, 30 Days of Night.

If you have a good superhero movie with a good comic book with a good story e.g. Sin City, Iron Man, Ghost World, X-Men, Hellboy and he upcoming Watchmen then BRING IT ON PLEASE.

30 Days of Night could've been awesome too.

kstublen

I'm looking forward to Hellboy, Watchmen, and Sin City 2. Other than that, I'm not excited about much else in the way of comic books/graphic novels.

elengineer

I saw the previews and thought that it would suck, bad. There was something about the ads and stuff that really made me queasy.

I went to see it in IMAX (hedging my bets because I figured in the worst case scenario, at least the "look" of the movie on a big IMAX screen would be worth it).

I agree with GatorDeb. This flick was FUN!

Yes, it did drag in spots, but, IMHO the original cartoon did as well.

This, for me, WAS the original cartoon...just done in live action.

Was it incredibly profound and thought provoking? Well, it was faithful to the source material, so you can draw your own conclusions.

To any doubters, go see it in IMAX. I can almost guarantee that even if you don't like it as a movie, as an IMAX experience, it will knock your socks off! Slightly off topic, but I do bet it is going to be a reference quality Blu-Ray.

This most likely is going to be a big commercial dud...which IMHO will be a bit of a shame. IMHO, it is a cult classic in the making.

Out of curiosity, does anyone have box office figures for the IMAX version?

For the curious, when I saw it, there was about 15 folks in the the theater.

GatorDeb

This is what I don't get. Why are people rooting for it to bomb?! Don't want to watch it, don't! But why are people cheering for a film to bomb?

wm lopez

I betting SEX & THE CITY.
That movie should have been released in the fall.

riotinmyskull

did you see the matrix sequels? that's why.

greg9x

at those thinking Sex and the City will bomb..... no, it won't be THE blockbuster of the summer, but if you think it will do badly then you don't know many women ! (and hint, the demographic for it won't be posting here.....so you won't get much 'buzz' on it)

Oh, and I am one of the ones who cringed when the trailer came out.... but of course my gf was giddy.

Jackskeleton

I agree. Next, what's up with these Comedies that are like.. romantic? And enough already Dramas that pander to the Oscar voting crowd! We don't need entertainment of that nature!

Jericho

You do realize that the last two summers have seen the following movies released:

Hairspray $118,871,849
The Devil Wears Prada $124,740,460

You can make money not appealing to pure action or comedy