Box Office Preview: Breaking Dawn to Maybe Break Harry Potter’s Records

Summit Entertainment

It’s Friday and Hollywood has disgorged another batch of movies into multiplexes. Which will reign supreme and why? Below, our predictions for the Top 5 films at this weekend’s box office.

1. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Critics say it’s terrible, but that won’t matter to the fanatical, unshowered hordes who’ve been camped out in front of theaters for a week without access to bathrooms or Rotten Tomatoes. The plots of previous Twilight movies have mostly revolved around Edward and Bella gazing boringly into each others’ dead eyes. But Breaking Dawn features a wedding, a sex scene, and a womb-shredding demon baby, so tracking indicates its first-weekend gross to hit triple-digit Harry Potter numbers.

Prediction: $135 million

2. Happy Feet Two

Penguin-rendering technology hasn’t seen many advances in these past five years as HF2 looks almost identical to 2006’s original Happy Feet, distinguishable only by its worse reviews. Luckily for Warner Bros., the only thing less discerning than a Twilight fan is a parent of young children seeking a quiet Saturday afternoon.

Prediction: $40 million

3. Immortals

Tarsem Singh’s slow-motion swords-and-sandals epic scored a moral victory at last weekend’s box office, opening to a just-okay $32 million but defeating Adam Sandler’s even more execrable Jack and Jill. Say thanks by seeing it again!

Prediction: $15 million

4. Puss in Boots

Plan B for the penguin-averse family.

Prediction: $13 million

5. Jack and Jill

With a seven-day gross of about $30 million, this Razzie-contending stinker is underperforming by Adam Sandler’s usual standards. Maybe he should have played a third character, too.

Prediction: $11 million

Filed Under: Box office, Jack and Jill, Money, Puss In Boots