Would it be fair to say the two comedies releasing next week are rather low on buzz? I’d say so. ‘Get Smart’ has the ‘Speed Racer’ vibe going, it’s based on some TV show in the sixties nobody remembers. And ‘The Love Guru’ has the Mike Myers vibe going, which can be bad (’The Cat in the Hat’) or pretty good (’Austin Powers’).

At this point, Warner’s ‘Get Smart’ is topping the Mike Myers vehicle. Especially the older crowd (25+) prefers Steve Carell over Mike Myers at this point. With about the same budgets, around $80 million, this could be a tight race. Let’s have an early look at the tracking numbers to see their box office potential.

Continue reading Early ‘Love Guru’ and ‘Get Smart’ box office tracking

Marvel has tried everything they can to distinguish ‘The Incredible Hulk’ from Ang Lee’s movie in 2003. But can the couple of million visitors be convinced to see another Hulk movie that, well, isn’t plain awful? Tracking numbers indicate so. The grittier look, the new cast and of course the positive ‘Iron Man’ buzz have given the public some merit to see the new movie.

Continue reading Good early ‘The Incredible Hulk’ tracking numbers

Does the name M. Night Shyamalan still sell movie tickets? A couple, sure. But the big numbers are long gone. It was pretty much downhill from ‘The Sixth Sense.’ His latest thriller was a drama. Not as in the genre drama, but as in a box office drama. It only made $2 million more than its $70 million budget. Will ‘The Happening’ beat that? It’s too early to tell. But it has the ‘benefit’ the studios didn’t give Shyamalan more than a $57 million budget to play with.

It looks like ‘The Happening’ will be mostly dependant on its reception and word of mouth. Because the movies’ box office opening won’t cut it. While numbers might improve during the week, when marketing will be in full motion, the box office tracking numbers indicate a $20-30 million opening. A little stronger than his latest endeavor ‘Lady in the Water.’ Here are the tracking numbers:

Continue reading Early ‘The Happening’ tracking numbers decent