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SALT LAKE CITY -- For the third time in the history of this column, all of the predictions made in last week's article were accurate!
Everything seems to be coming in thirds on this Friday the 13th. For the third time since its release, the first place at the box office again went to "The Hunger Games," beating out second place "American Reunion" by a healthy margin. "Titanic" came in third, followed by "Wrath of the Titans" and ending with "Mirror Mirror" in fifth.
This week sees three wide releases and several additional films released in limited distribution. First out is "The Three Stooges." This PG-13 comedy is a retread of the original series.
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Next is "Cabin in the Woods," an R-rated horror-comedy that has been kept on ice since its original 2009 filming as MGM navigated its way through bankruptcy. Last out is "Lockout," a PG-13 science-fiction action-thriller.
The predictions for the weekend of April 13 are:
"The Hunger Games" has clearly hit a home run in terms of audience appeal. Bolstered by the success of the books and tremendous word-of-mouth recommendations, "Hunger Games" looks set to retain its first place crown based on a strong reception last weekend and only mediocre competition this week. "Hunger Games" revolves around the forced gladiatorial adolescent battles of a post- apocalyptic United States.
This PG-13 comedy is set to try and do the impossible. It has as its goal to appeal to the older generation who still remembers the original black-and-white films, while also providing content that would attract a younger crowd. Slapstick comedy is back at its finest. This "Three Stooges," however, is one you may want to be cautious about. Society has evolved, and what was shown on screen in the black-and-white days would have been outlawed if the accepted standards of today were followed. The film did receive a PG-13 rating, and it should be carefully considered before jumping to the knee-jerk reaction that it must be a family-friendly film. The original Moe, Larry and Curly would almost certainly be shocked and horrified at what has been done to their creation.
Roger Ebert gave this film three stars out of four. MGM has been out of commission for a while during restructuring, but this film looks promising among early reviewers and appears ready to have a positive reaction at the box office this weekend. Both a horror and a comedy, "Cabin in the Woods" revolves around five friends who go vacationing to a cabin. Unbeknownst to them, there are controls in place that lead them on a wild and unexpected adventure as they try to uncover the truth behind the bizarre happenings.
This fourth film in the franchise failed to deliver on expectations that the full cast could revive this series. It only took $22 million during its opening weekend, compared to the $33 million opening of its predecessor, "American Wedding." Apparently, the lapse in time between the films did more harm than good.
5. "Lockout"
Poised to be locked out of a higher position on the Top 5 list by the fierce competition, "Lockout" has not been met with early enthusiasm as reviews have been mixed. A government agent has a chance of redeeming himself for a crime he did not commit if he can rescue the president's daughter, who is being held in a space prison. There are enough parallels in genre and target demographic to "The Hunger Games" that "Lockout" may fail to draw away significant numbers, especially given its lack of big-name actors.
Joseph was aided significantly by Jan Irvine in writing the predictions this week. An accomplished musician, Jan professionally teaches piano and harp in her Madison, Ala., studio.
