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Isn't Bedtime Stories and Inkheart basically the same movie? Just interchange Brendan Fraser and Adam Sandler.

Totally forgot about Pineapple Express, even though I do not think it will do Knocked Up numbers. Mostly because it's more of a stoner comedy than just a all-around comedy. And stoner comedies tend to do well only on DVD.

Okay, delfinasu, here I go.

First, the bleedin' obvious:

1. The Dark Knight
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
4. Wall-E

I thought about including Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, but 2007 featured three huge superhero flicks, and only one made the Top 10 (at #1, in fact). I think the other two will do okay, given what I've seen (wich in the case of Hulk, ain't much), but I look for both of them to do between $100-$150M, just like FF2, Ghost Rider, and Daredevil. In the Top 25, but not the Top 10. And as for Hancock, I would have to agree with Nico. It's too much of Will Smith too soon after another major hit, and back-to-back $200M movies are rare, if not impossible, for any actor, even Big Willy. Besides, the concept of a down-and-out superhero just rings a bit... I don't know, off for me. (The whale bit in the trailer was hysterical, though. Grin.)

The other safe bets:

5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
6. James Bond 22

For the simple fact that The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Casino Royale just did too, too well at the box office to be ignored.

After this, it gets a bit dicey.

7. Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape

There were three animated films in 2007's Top 10, so what, besides Wall-E, has a chance to make a splash? Horton comes out in March, which means it'll have to do numbers equal to 300 to break the Top 10, and I don't think be able to do that. If only it had been given a summer release, I think it could possibly have done close to what the Ice Age films did. I can't wait for Madagascar 2, given how much I loved the original, so I'll give it the nod over Panda, whose characters, at face value, don't look quite as family friendly as Over The Hedge, which barely missed the Top 10 in 2006.

8. Star Trek

I have to say, from what I see on December '08's roster (per Box Office Mojo), there's not much that just jumps out at me. There's almost always ONE big movie that comes out around Christmas time, so which will it be? Given that we know next to nothing about any of these films, it's a tough call... so which one? The Day the Earth Stood Still looks like it could be this year's Golden Compass. Marley and Me looks like it wants to be 2008's answer to Alvin, but I doubt it will be. The Tale of Despereaux looks very intriguing on paper, but I'm not ready to make that call yet. Yes Man also has possibilities, but... ditto. Bedtime Stories could be huge, but I'll get to that in a sec. I find myself having to go with Star Trek, for sentinmental if not intelligent reasons.

9. Cloverfield

I made the call in my column. I said it would come within spitting distance of $200M, and, come hell or high water, I'll stick with that.

Damn, only one left. Hmm, let's see, what's left?

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Rachel W. is out, Jet Li is in; don't think it'll cross $70M. But then, I said the same thing about Rush Hour 3 AND Die Hard 4...

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - has a good-sized cult following, but not that big.

Mamma Mia! - I'm not big on musicals, and I'm more than willing to give Dreamgirls and Hairspray their props, but there is no way in hell this is going to crack the Top 10.

Sex and the City: The Movie - No. Just... no.

Tropic Thunder - Damn, I wish there was a trailer out for this... Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Matthew McKindagay playing army? Very intriguing, but I think this will fail to crack $150M.

Rambo - $50M if its lucky, which I would still call a success.

Speed Racer - This looks to psychedelically freakish to be a hit. Yes, the Wachowskis are directing, but it looks more like The Matrix's gay cousin than The Matrix itself. But hey, at least it has a quasi-intelligent chimp.

Well, going back over the Top 10 I have so far, it occurs to me that there is not one live-action comedy in the bunch.

(Note: Wow... did anyone notice that 27 films broke $100M in 2007, eight more than did so in 2006? Just incredible.)

When I consider that Alvin and Wild Hogs were the two top-grossing comedies of the year, it makes me... well, nauseous, to be honest. This was the year of Judd Apatow, but the only thing that looks like it has big-dollar appeal is Step Brothers, which I won't take for the simple fact that I loathed Ferrell and Reilly's last partnership.

I think the biggest comedy will either be Get Smart or something with Adam Sandler in it. As much as I want Steve Carell to do HUGE business, I just can't get Evan Almighty out of my mind. And between Adam's two projects in '08, I am more disposed to take one over the other. So, throwing caution and my last vestiges of grey matter out the window, I am going to choose as my 10th pick:

10. You Don't Mess With The Zohan

Yeah, I know, it looks stupid, but it also looks funny, in the same way that The Longest Yard and Big Daddy looked funny (and in exactly the same way that Chuck and Larry didn't). Adam is typically good for between $120 and $170 million in a summer leading role, and the trailer for this film actually made me laugh. The premise is cute, and I'm all for keeping Rob Schneider gainfully employed (just kidding, barely). I don't have a snowball's chance in the pit of Hades, I know, but I'm going to pick it anyway.

So, my prediction for the Top 10 grossing films of 2008:

The Dark Knight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull
Wall-E
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
James Bond 22
Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape
Star Trek
Cloverfield
You Don't Mess With The Zohan

So, put that in your smoke and pipe it. Er, well, you know what I mean.

Peace.

alright im in here we go

Top 10 Of 2008 in no particular Order

Indania Jones 4
The Dark Knight
Sex and The City
Kung Fu Panda
Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince
Iron Man
Madgascar 2:The Crate Escape
Chronicles Of Narnia
James Bond 22
The Hottie and The Nottie

transformers2 wrote:

The Hottie and The Nottie

Time for that CAT scan, buddy....

Okay, why not, let's give it a try. I'm pretty sure I kinda suck at predicting box-office for big budget movies, but there are a few films that an't miss.
So... I would say the Top 10 could look something like this...

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3. The Dark Knight
4. Wall-E
5. The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian
6. Bond 22
7. Madagascar 2
8. The Happening
9. Hancock
10. Star Trek

I think given the ultra cool and mysterious pitch of The Happening, it could be Shyamalan's big comeback. I think Hancock will again be huge for Smith, no matter how close was Legend. Smith is Smith.
I think the 4th Jones installment is gonna be huuuuuuuuuge. And I mean Huuuuuuuuuge. Everyone loves the man with the whip, from 7 year-olds to 77 year-olds. And it's Spielberg, and it's still Ford, and it's that new guy LaBeouf. I'm telling you, huuuuuuuuuuge.

There's simply no question in my mind: The Happening will be, hands-down, the WORST wide-release film of 2008, and is probably a lock for the '09 Razzies. It also just might end M. Night Shyamalan's career in Hollywood. It won't top $75M, and just about everyone who sees it will regret it immediately. (And I'm a Shyamalan fan.)

Air. They're running from... AIR.

I remain, as always...

Nico.

Wow, Nico, pardon me... I had absolutely no idea you had already seen the film or any kind of footage *wink*

After being atomized by everyone and everything with The Lady in the Water, I actually tend to think that Shyamalan - who is still, as of today, no matter what you think of some of his films, one of the most amazingly talented storyteller working in Hollywood - has cooked a film that might blow our minds away. Personnally I'm not a fan of his last two films, but I recognize lots of qualities in them. I think the world will be ready, in 2008, for Night's comeback.

Chien: I haven't. I've just read the script. Mark my words: What I said about the film will come to pass. This ain't one of my "projections," or "predictions," or "educated guesses." I can say this with the rock-solid certainty of someone who's been a passenger aboard E.L. Brown's fantastic flying locomotive, who's pulled the lever on the TARDIS and materialized in late Summer, who's picked up the VERY early edition of the morning paper and already memorized the Lifestyle section. The Happening will BOMB, and for EXACTLY the reasons I've already specified. Write it down and take it to the bank, my friend. I am that certain.

I agree with everything you say about Shyamalan. I, too, found many, many things worth admiring in Lady in the Water, and have been one of its most ardent defenders, as a bold, unique experiment that ALMOST didn't fail. I think that every single one of his films from Sixth Sense all the way through to The Village was of ever-increasing quality and exceptionality. But I've never read a script with a premise as patently ridiculous, as panderingly trite, as shockingly juvenile, as The Happening, a film that will certainly damage the careers of both its top-billed star (Mark Wahlberg) and its writer / director (Shyamalamaramadingdong). No wonder he had to secure financial backing from Bollywood to get it made. After this film, I'm convinced, no American studio will touch him, at least not for a while. He's already been through one career resurrection; he'll need a priest again soon, or perhaps an exorcist.

I'd love to be wrong, but I'm not. The only League I'll EVER take The Happening in will be the Bankrupts League.

But, if you like, chalk up what I'm saying to arrogance and delusion, or ignorance and illusion, or whatever. I can, after all, remember a time when I was very nearly this "down" on WALL-E. But I'm gonna stick to this bold, uncompromising forecast. We'll compare notes in about five months.

I remain, as always...

Nico.

Nico, I'll keep in mind what you just said here today.
I'll be ready, next June, to congratulate you for your foresight if I have to.

The thing is, I don't know if you already know that, but the French is one stubborn people. And I mean STUBBORN. So don't be mad at me, but until I see something really unappealing, I'll keep being excited about The Happening

Shryke42 wrote:

(Note: Wow... did anyone notice that 27 films broke $100M in 2007, eight more than did so in 2006? Just incredible.)

Not to mention that Juno looks like it will break $100 million. That takes the total up to 28.

I think this is a good idea BUT let's make this contest more challenging if u all agree

! The lucky No 1, will have from me one original DVD and I think it isn't too much for each player to give a DVD for the winner. What do u think ??

My To 10 movies for 2008 is :

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3. The Dark Knight
4. Bond 22
5. The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian
6. Madagascar 2
7. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
8. Cloverfield
9. Kung Fu Panda
10. You Don't Mess With The Zohan

Some responses and comments:

Chien:

I'll be ready, next June, to congratulate you for your foresight if I have to.

[Grimace] Hey, I wasn't looking for applause. Just callin' 'em like I see 'em.

...I don't know if you already know that, but the French is one stubborn people. And I mean STUBBORN. So don't be mad at me, but until I see something really unappealing, I'll keep being excited about The Happening...

They can't be more stubborn than the Irish and American Indian, two bloodlines that, I'm proud to say, positively DOMINATE my own personality and which give me, in addition to a frankly manic immovability and uncompromisingness, a fiery temper, passion, and a love of tobacco (in cigar form). And then I've got a touch of Polish and Russian, which means I also happen to be both a masochist, and patently insane. The rest of me is English, which explains my obnoxiousness, a natural inclination toward pessimism and skepticism, and a pronounced occasional lack of any taste whatsoever (again, I remind you: I worship Starship Troopers).

Know thyself, the sign above the Oracle's door reads, inevitably. Was Latin an invention of the Machines? I wonder... Riddles and enigmas... We are all merely inhabitants of a world designed by anonymous Architects.

J.I.:

...Juno looks like it will break $100 million. That takes the total [of 2007 films which grosses $100M or better] up to 28.

[Nodding] And I've been telling Shrykey for weeks, now, I think 2008 is going to be, hands-down, THE BIGGEST YEAR FOR FILM EVER. Up half a million dollars from '07, methinks, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see THIRTY films in '08 become nine-figure "blockbusters."

The writer's strike, and its effect on the Spring and Summer's prime-time television lineup, will be a big factor in this, I suspect. Even now, the major producers of new scripted content are struggling to put programs on their air... witness the fact that the Peacock network's all-but-forgotten Dateline has now been slated for four nights a week. NBC and ABC do have some new material, notably the Law & Orders and Lost, and a few new series with maybe eight episodes each in the can, but they'll be out of new material by late March, and if the WGA walkout still hasn't been resolved by THEN, then it's going to be a long, bleak Spring and Summer, at least, for the Big Four, as well as basic-cable content providers like TBS, FX, USA and Sci-Fi. Fox has quite a few shows with new eps yet to see the light of day, and a mini-season of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but its real saving grace will be in American Idol, just as CBS will be temporarily buttressed by Survivor and Big Brother. But this can only last so long, and long before March Madness (another finger in the dam for the Tiffany Network) concludes, viewers will be abandoning the nets in droves. Where will they go? The movies, naturally, the only screen with new content that ISN'T sports or the Presidential election.

Aside: If this insanity continues into late Summer, It wouldn't surprise me at all to see NBC begin cannibalizing series owned by NBC Universal and airing 'em on their "flagship" property. Meaning, if the writers haven't gone back to work by August, look for Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica on NBC in prime time no later than October. (And what a fragrant can o' worms THAT'll open...) Ditto The Shield on Fox. Interestingly, HBO and Showtime are in pretty decent shape for now... HBO, in particular, has three or four new series that it's been holding back, waiting for just this, and Showtime has The Tudors.

Attendance at the nation's movie houses will rise throughout the Spring and Summer; video game and Internet usage will also rise. And even when the strike ends, it's going to take three, four months to ramp up production on your favorite television programs -- sadly, a lot of crews are going to have to be staffed up nearly from scratch, and my feeling is, if this work stoppage goes on long enough, we may lose some of the longest-running (and most expensive to produce) programs altogether, chief among them, ER. (Not that that would be a great loss, or anything.) And then, just as things are getting back to normal, there'll be a SAG strike... but, more on that in a minute.

Back to my original point: The WGA-producers conflict will drive a great many people off their living-room couches and into the theaters, making 2008 a record-breaking year for film grosses, and it won't end when the striking unions return to work, because when television series DO return, a lot of 'em will be of lower quality, at least for a time, and many many people will have moved on, permanently. It took baseball the better part of a decade to recover from its last strike; I don't know, honestly, if broadcast television will EVER recover its viewers. Expect unprecedented turnout at the movies throughout 2008, with the result that ALL boats are lifted and that even mediocre films manage to turn fair-sized profits.

It's next year that worries me. Six months after the studios make peace with WGA, it'll be SAG's turn to shut everything down, and the actors' guild has the ability to sit on the sidelines a lot longer than the far less-compensated writers. I think the studios are making a big, big mistake by releasing so many tentpole titles in '07; they ought to hold a few of them back for next year, because if a SAG strike does come off, no one's going to be doing ANYTHING. Except, perhaps, Michael Moore. So '08 could be The Year of the Foreign Film or, then again, it could be The Year We All Go Online for All Our Entertainment. Who knows, the biggest winners in all this madness could well end up being Bungie Studios, 60 Minutes and YouTube.

...[L]let's make this contest more challenging if u all agree ! The lucky No 1, will have from me one original DVD and I think it isn't too much for each player to give a DVD for the winner. What do u think ??

Sure, Lili, I'm down with that. One qualification, tho: IT MUST BE A DVD PURCHASED FOR $5 OR LESS, and creativity and uniqueness is appreciated. That ought to result in some damned quirky offerings, and a fairly interesting mini-collection.

Whoever wins this better be a big Uwe Boll fan, I'm thinking...

I remain, as always...

Nico.

I'm pretty sure I have a 2nd copy of Oldboy (bought it, then got a review copy as part of the Vengeance Box-Set) to donate to the lucky winner. It's region 2, though.

Sorry Nico, but I'll stick to what I said about the French being stubborn...
I mean, we loved hating our English neighbours 500 years ago, and we still do. We loved being the only ones not following GW Bush in his war on terror, and we still do. We loved considering Howard Hawks, Woody Allen, John Carpenter or James Gray some of the greatest american filmmakers ever, and we still do.
And we have always considered ourselves the greatest lovers ever.. and... well... we ain't gonna drop that idea anytime soon, either.

And we have always considered ourselves the greatest lovers ever.. and... well... we ain't gonna drop that idea anytime soon, either.

Hey, any country whose most celebrated paramour is none other than the legendary Pepé Le Pew, is all right by me. Ooh, l'amour.

Or, to quote another famous French fry, The Merovingian from The Matrix Trilogy: "It is remarkable how similar the pattern of love is to the pattern of insanity." So, then... that would make a nation of "lovers"... what, exactly? [Grin]

Hey, I'm just playin' wit' ya. Any nation ballsy and self-confident enough to name its capital after the most idiotic, selfish, self-destructive, strutting, preening poofdah in all of classical literature, is all right by my lights. It'd be sort of like naming a future American city... Britney. Right? [Ducking] Yes, I AM, on occasion, an ugly American. Sorry to be such a cliché, but, well, there it is.

I remain, as always...

Nico.

P.S. An observation: Damn, but JMPR is getting a lot of airtime. If the film succeeds, it will be a triumph of good marketing over bad product...

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