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hmmm i have half of those movies on my bankrupts slates..... is that a bad sign?

I think that Eagle Eye, Igor, and Choke will all play out really well. and that righteous kill is a safe bet. I am forseeing Taken, Nights in Rodanthe, Passengers, My Best Friends Girl, and Bangkok Dangerous to all tank -- they all seem too similar to other movies that were terrible.

Well Ron I'm glad to see you read the Dances with the Arthouse column, because if you don't remember, that is where you have read the "film lover" sentence.
I would be even more delighted though if you had remembered it right, and so not misinterpreted it (no offense man).

What I said was not that you must watch all films from all genres whatsoever to be a film lover. What I said is that even if watching only Hollywood blockbusters don't prevent you from being a film lover, it makes you miss a huge part of the joy of loving films.
You're a film lover from the moment you begin to love watching films, but from my own experience, the more different films you see, the more you enjoy watching films, be them Hollywood blockbusters, Asian thrillers, European auteurs films or films from 50 years ago.
There are lots of films I don't go see, lots of directors, or genres I don't appreciate, and therefore don't go see anymore. But I still consider myself a huge film lover.

As for the september films

I like the chances of "Bangok Dangerous" thanks to the lack of comeptition at the beginning of September.
And I like the chances of "Taken", because it's a good actioner from the Luc Besson team and the word will probably spread about it
And "Eagle Eye" is a real bargain, even if it's only got 1 weekend.

Appreciated your response Chienfantome, i guess you are right, to really love film you must experience all the types of stories, that way you can compare against other genres and taste every possible flavour. When i was still in school, i would have to watch every blockbuster there is, in saying that when i really delved into watching films (after school), i looked for highly recommended films and films that feature one of my favourite actors, nowadays i look for a bit of both and as long as its not painfully boring.

I haven't seen any of the Arthouse pictures from France in that period where film was Art, but i'd like to, which ones would you recommend? My fav films are: LOTR, Memento, LA Confidential, Sin City, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A Clockwork Orange, Anchorman and soon im sure TDK

Oh and Eagle Eye does look good for its price, 35-45M Opening Weekend?
Bangkok D, i hope does better than Next, 25M OW? Where the f*ck has the Old Nic Cage gone? I used to like him when he did Con Air and Face Off, then i discovered (thru rentals) he could act with Leaving Las Vegas and Bringing Out the Dead. All he's got now is Hollywoods glossy crap, stuff like Ghost Rider, National Treasure 2 and Next is just not up to his standards. He needs a meaningful role again!

As for Shia, well he could be the next Nic Cage...

'The arsenist has oddly shaped feet'

Those numbers you predict are way too high Ron. Its September, meaning the OW's will drop significantly from the summer. A 25 million opening for Eagle Eye and a 15 million for Bankok Dangerous would be considered strong successes for both.

Yeah, i guess they are quite optimistic aren't they? Haven;t played a September yet so it will be to test my knowledge of BO, seeing you have said OW's will drop, is there any other September patterns? Looks like hardly any films will get more than 50M during September, maybe Babylon A.D, but what else? I hate choosing PTA winners, its gonna suck!

Box Office Predictions:

Bangkok Dangerous 12/30
The Accidental Husband 1/2
Righteous Kill 24/65
The Family That Preys 21/52
The Women 10/28
Lakeview Terrace 15/40
Igor 11/38
Taken 7/25
My Best Friend's Girl 6/16
Ghost Town 5/18
Eagle Eye 27/84
Nights In Rodanthe 15/55
Miracle At St. Anna 14/63
Blindess 18 million final
The Duchess 11 million final

If those numbers are what I think they are, you are SEVERELY underestimating The Accidental Husband. They did well to run its trailers before Sex and the City, over all it will be mediocre, but mediocre is pretty much the norm for the masses of RomComs out there. If you simply typoed 10/20 I might start to believe you are closer to realistic numbers...

It's the Yari Film Group. That means low grosses aplenty. And since this is probably their last release, they'll open it low (about 600-800 theatres) and with no ads on TV or the Internet. My expectations are so low on it that I think $1 million opening weekend is too high.

Surely a film with Colin Firth and Uma Thurman will pull in more than 2 Mil, it has to make at least 4M

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