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SALT LAKE CITY -- Last week saw a spectacular recovery by "Breaking Dawn." Believed to be doomed to second place, "Breaking Dawn" held onto first solidly, showing no signs of capitulation. "The Muppets" maintained second. "Hugo" came in third, followed by "Arthur Christmas" and "Happy Feet Two" in fourth and fifth, respectively, as originally predicted last week.
Compared to last weekend, which saw no wide-scale releases, this weekend heralds in several substantive possibilities. "New Year's Eve," releasing this weekend, stars Halle Berry, Jessica Biel and Bon Jovi. Garnering a PG-13 rating, this will be a film parents can escape to if vampires and puppets prove too underwhelming. "The Sitter" starring Jonah Hill will also be released with an R rating, serving an adult comedy about a college student in New York City who winds up tending for three children.
Several additional films will enjoy somewhat limited openings this weekend. While it may seem like a dearth of new content at the moment, the theaters are gearing up for several exciting Christmastime, releases including the awaited "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."
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The predictions for this weekend are as follows:
1. "The Muppets"
Beat out last weekend, "The Muppets" has a strong chance of finally outpacing "Breaking Dawn." Having been released after "Breaking Dawn" chronologically, it is conceivable that "The Muppets" will still be new enough to mount a strong campaign for first place this week as "Breaking Dawn" starts to age. If "Breaking Dawn" did manage to maintain frontrunner status, this would mark its fourth weekend on top of the charts, an amazing feat.
2. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1"
"Breaking Dawn" will likely take second place as outlined.
3. "New Year's Eve"
"New Year's Eve" promises to make a strong showing featuring a cast of well-known actors. While certain to perform well, it fails to have the backing of a major franchise like "Breaking Dawn" or "The Muppets" and is likely to end up placed just behind that duo as a result.
4. "Hugo"
"Hugo," which is continuing its expansion into additional theaters, is still performing well. It is unlikely that it will gain much additional traction given the length of time it has now been out. It should, however, provide a strong repeat of past performance with relative ease.
5. "Arthur Christmas"
"Arthur Christmas" has performed strongly, likely guaranteeing it a spot in the top five. It did see some decline in the weekly box office numbers, but still maintains a strong holding over "Happy Feet Two," which will likely be pushed off the list this week.
Joseph Irvine is a self-employed computer engineer in Madison, Alabama. A graduate of Utah State University, he hopes to pursue a degree in law at BYU in the near future.
