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SALT LAKE CITY -- Last week's article correctly predicted the first three films on the Top 5 list. For the fourth weekend in a row, the throne went to "The Hunger Games." Trailing "The Hunger Games" in second place was "The Three Stooges." Third place went to "The Cabin in the Woods," followed by "Titanic" in fourth and "American Reunion" in fifth.
This week sees several new releases. First is "Chimpanzee," a Disney nature film that is unlikely to place very high given the competition. This film follows the adventures of a 3-year-old chimpanzee who winds up lost and is eventually adopted by another chimpanzee. This true-life adventure film features narration by Tim Allen.
Next out in wide-release is "Think Like a Man," a PG-13 comedy, followed by "The Lucky One," a PG-13 romantic drama. What makes these two particular films notable is that they both have sufficient momentum to dethrone "The Hunger Games." The debate over which one will have that honor is raging across the Internet, with no clear consensus regarding which film will have enough drawing power to land the coveted first-place prize.
The predictions for the weekend of April 20 are:
1. "The Lucky One"
#poll
Based on a Nicholas Sparks novel of the same title, this romantic drama is set to fill a niche that has been left void since the departure of "The Vow." While "Titanic" may have arguably picked up some of the audience in the interim, this is set to win back the genre. Featuring an Iraq war veteran, "The Lucky One" focuses on a soldier who makes it his quest to find an anonymous woman whose picture served as a good luck charm while he was out fighting for our country. This article conjectures that "The Lucky One" will be lucky enough to reap the first-place victory based on the massive turnout received by "The Vow" and the significant amount of time that has passed without competition.
2. "Think Like a Man"
Propelled by the Steve Harvey book of the same title, this comedy is set to perform well and has received fairly strong reviews in advance of its opening. A series of friends in relationships of various stages find themselves in hilarious circumstances using advice given by none other than Steve Harvey himself, the author of the book upon which the movie is based. This is one you may want to bring a notepad along to in order to track what exactly is going on.
3. "The Hunger Games"
There is little remaining to be said about "The Hunger Games" other than it looks like it is finally going to succumb to the competition. After a miraculous reign on the Top 5 list, sequels are almost inevitably being prepared. This post-apocalyptic film presents a series of different moral and ethical points that have fostered a series of fascinating conversations. With a PG-13 rating, it may be too intense for a younger crowd given the nature of the subject matter.
4. "The Three Stooges"
This article incorrectly referenced "The Three Stooges" as having received a PG-13 rating in last week's article. In actuality, this comedy received a PG rating. Nevertheless, this retread is one that will unfortunately bear minimal resemblance to the wonderful black and white originals of decades gone by. Given its rating, it should be family appropriate as long as expectations are kept at a minimum.
This unique R-rated film deals with five friends who find themselves vacationing to a remote cabin. When circumstances start to get out of hand, they resolve to find the root of the mysterious happenings. This horror film did well and should continue to remain on the list at least one more week.
Joseph Irvine is an engineer in Madison, Ala. Currently working on a master's degree at the University of Alabama, he hopes to complete a degree in law at BYU in the near future.
