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Weekly Anticipation Index
posted October 24, 2009 10:18 AM
This week, we've added two new films to the Anticipation Index. Avatar and Did You Hear About the Morgans? both open on December 18.
To say there is a ton of expectations attached to Avatar is an understatement. Not only does the film mark director James Cameron's first fiction effort since Titanic, but it is also being viewed by the exhibition industry as a film that could represent a major turning point in the 3D revolution. Unfortunately, Avatar carries a production price tag of as much as $250 million, and the buzz behind the film can best be described as mixed at this point. Reactions to the special 15-minute preview that was screened for free on IMAX screens across the country in August ranged from enthusiastic to highly skeptical. While audiences still have faith in Cameron, some moviegoers have unfavorably compared footage of the film to the videogame Halo. The 20th Century Fox release certainly has a big mountain to climb, and it needs to win over a lot of people in order to become a profitable venture.
Did You Hear About the Morgans? should work as a perfect bit of counterprogramming to Avatar. The film pairs two reliable romantic-comedy icons in Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker, which means that date audiences will see Morgans? as a no-brainer.
Check out predictions for both of these films as well as others in the table below.
| Weekly Anticipation Index, October 24, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Release Date | Distributor | Opening Weekend | Cumulative |
| Michael Jackson's This Is It | October 28 | Sony | $50M | $125M |
| Disney's A Christmas Carol | November 6 | Disney | $47M | $175M |
| The Box | November 6 | Warner Bros. | $12M | $33M |
| The Fourth Kind | November 6 | Universal | $14M | $38M |
| The Men Who Stare at Goats | November 6 | Overture | $11M | $40M |
| 2012 | November 13 | Sony | $64M | $165M |
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon | November 20 | Summit | $98M | $250M |
| Planet 51 | November 20 | Sony | $16M | $50M |
| The Blind Side | November 20 | Warner Bros. | $12M | $38M |
| Old Dogs | November 25 | Disney | $26M | $90M |
| Fantastic Mr. Fox | November 25 | Fox | $20M | $65M |
| The Road | November 25 | The Weinstein Company | $11M | $32M |
| Everybody's Fine | December 4 | Miramax | $13M | $43M |
| Armored | December 4 | Screen Gems | $11M | $30M |
| Brothers | December 4 | Lionsgate | $10M | $28M |
| The Princess and the Frog | December 11 | Disney | $22M | $110M |
| Invictus | December 11 | Warner Bros. | $16M | $70M |
| Avatar | December 18 | 20th Century Fox | $65M | $195M |
| Did You Hear About the Morgans? | December 18 | Sony/Columbia | $21M | $90M |
Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.
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