Stanton's box office predictions: 'Panther,' 'Push'

By: Stanton Brasher Contributing Writer

Posted: 2/6/09

This weekend, the infamous Inspector Clouseau will have to battle it out with a self-help book for the top spot. A lot of people are unhappy with Steve Martin's portrayal of the Inspector in "The Pink Panther" series, a role originally made famous in the '60s and '70s by the legendary Peter Sellers.

Martin stars with Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Lily Tomlin, John Cleese and Jeremy Irons. This film should repeat the success of its predecessor and open in first place with $23.2 million.

Although "He's Just Not That Into You," has been sitting on the shelf for two years, it should still do fairly well. It has a well-known cast, including Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson and Ben Affleck. Plus it's based on a popular book, and there is a vigorous advertising campaign behind it. By Monday morning, this film will be in second place with $21 million.

"Taken" should hold up due to positive word-of-mouth. It blew away my estimate from last week by $10 million. This week, I expect a reasonable drop and for it to fight its way to third place with another $13.5 million.

On Friday Hollywood will again try to cash in on the superhero trend with "Push." Starring Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans, many consider this film to be a "Heroes" rip-off. With no franchise like "Fantastic Four" or "X-Men" behind it, and the highly anticipated "Watchmen" coming out next month, it is unlikely that "Push" will push past fourth place with $12.3 million.

"Coraline" is a movie that I am personally excited about but don't expect much from in terms of the box office. Henry Selick, the director, has only made a few other films. None of them were as successful as "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which boasted the name of another famous director, Tim Burton. This one will still attract some kiddies and draw in $11 million worth of business by Monday morning.