The Reject Report Robs the Bank

Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on March 6, 2008

Stick ‘em up. Welcome to the Reject Report where we once again try in vain to make predictions on how the movies will do at the weekend box office. We have quite a selection on tap. We have 10,000 B.C., we have The Bank Job, we have College Road Trip and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. So here we go.

10,000 B.C. is the latest effort by filmmaker Roland Emmerich. He’s brought you such classics as The Day After Tomorrow (that wonky-weather movie from 2004) and Independence Day. You remember Independence Day, right? That’s that movie where they blew up the White House. Anyway, that movie made a fortune and grossed $50 million its opening weekend in 1996, and so plenty of people think that 10,000 B.C. has the potential for big things. Certainly the track record from Emmerich is there.

It’s a period epic set in the age of prophesies, gods, and, of course, the woolly mammoth. A mammoth hunter, played by Steven Strait, must gather together an army to fight an evil warlord who has kidnapped his love interest Evolet, played by Camilla Belle, and they must battle all kinds of prehistoric beasts including saber-toothed tigers and the like, on their way to the ends of the earth. There they find an ancient lost civilization, where they must mount a daring rescue of Evolet.

I must say, I am worried about my prediction for this movie. I keep reading guesses from industry people that this picture might hit $50 million for this weekend. The problem is I really don’t see much excitement out there from the fans! I just see the usual Hollywood promotion for this flick. No one else really cares– certainly not on the web, anyway. I remember with Cloverfield there was a lot of interest on these movie sites about the infamous monster and what it might look like, and that flick made $40 million its opening weekend. I have a hard time seeing 10,000 B.C. getting past $40 million. Besides which, I’m not even all that excited by this movie. I don’t know why not. Maybe it’s because I want to see a movie which will channel Raquel Welch and her hot One Million Years B.C. bikini. This latest one doesn’t seem to cut it with me, not from the previews anyway. I’m just curious whether my sense of the situation is accurate and if there really is a lack of excitement from the fans. For the record, my prediction is $38 million, but that’s only because it’s in 3,300 theaters.

The Bank Job is based on the true story of an infamous 1971 robbery of the Lloyds Bank on Baker Street in London, England. It stars Jason Statham as this car dealer who is tipped off by his model friend about the chance of a lifetime– a lead on a bank hit. Turns out that when they finally do get around to the bank job that they are in for a lot more than they bargained for, because it turns out the safety-deposit boxes that they targeted contain some compromising pictures of the Royals!!! Holy cow. The cast also features Saffron Burrows (Babe alert!) and Stephen Campbell Moore. It’s directed by Roger Donaldson who also directed No Way Out.

You know, this looks like my kind of movie, a real heist movie. I don’t think it will do much more than $8 million, though. It’s not a blockbuster, and it’s not some movie aimed at families in middle America, and the cast features lots of people with this weird accent. You can tell my cynicism is through the roof about American moviegoers these days with my comments. Well, of course it is– look at all these mediocre flicks that have finished in first place the past several weeks! Also, The Bank Job is in 1,350 theaters, not a large number. Anyway, at the very least I’ll see it. That’s The Bank Job.

College Road Trip is next, and it stars Martin Lawrence, whose last appearance was not too long ago in Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. This movie from Walt Disney Pictures features Raven-Symoné as a graduating high school senior who has a big decision to make about where to go to college. Problem is, her overprotective dad (Lawrence) wants to get in on the decision-making, so they end up going on a big road trip to all these colleges. Fun stuff.

You know, this doesn’t sound like my kind of movie, but it does have Martin Lawrence in it, and Raven-Symoné is known for her sitcom stuff like That’s So Raven, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper and The Cosby Show. Plus, it’s a Disney movie in 2,500 theaters. So that ought to be good for $20 million right there.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day stars Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. It’s set in 1939, and Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) has been fired from her job as governess. Her quest for new employment finds her swept up in the world of actress Delysia Lafosse (Adams), and she finds herself hanging with the high society crowd — and finding romance. It is being rolled out on 535 screens and doesn’t look like a top 10 contender to me, but these actresses do have fans. So I say maybe $1.5 million.

So here are my predictions for how the box office will go.

1 10,000 B.C. $38 million
2 COLLEGE ROAD TRIP $20 million
3 THE BANK JOB $8 million
4 SEMI-PRO $7.7 million
5 VANTAGE POINT $7 million
6 THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES $5.8 million
7 THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL $5.6 million
8 JUMPER $4.2 million
9 STEP UP 2 THE STREETS $3.5 million
10 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN $2.9 million

A final piece of news to pass along from earlier this week. I don’t usually mention the DVD rental totals, but they are in for 2007 and the top rental for the year was — drum roll please — Rush Hour 3.

I will repeat. The top rental for 2007 was Rush Hour 3. I am not kidding you. Apparently it made $71.2M from rentals based on numbers compiled by data from Home Media Retailing. Now, I just don’t get it. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker just sleepwalked through that flick and even admitted to the press afterwards that they thought this movie was junk. Everyone says these two looked bored in the movie. So why are people renting this flick? Are people at home that bored, too?! There must be very little to do in the United States, folks, if a film like Rush Hour 3 wins at the rental counters. Who knows? Maybe people need something to help them get to sleep at night.

It’s obvious now why people made this latest Rush Hour flick: to take the money and run with it all the way to the bank.

That’s all for now. Back at weekend’s end when we count the loot here at The Reject Report.

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