Which movie will be number 1 this weekend?

[GreenScar]

Will it be another showdown between Hangover and Up or will Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 or Imagine That have a shot at number 1?!

[Diesel]

i went with Up, but it was just a quick guess

i expect Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 to do good

[Blu Titan]

Going for Pelham 1 2 3.

[dcowboy7]

Boguru says a photo:
1. up 31
2. hangover 29
3. pelham 29

ill go with up also.

[Aerodude73]

I'm going with Pelham 1 2 3 as well.

http://www.boxofficeguru.com/weekend.htm

THIS WEEKEND Two A-listers duke it out in North American multiplexes in the new action thriller The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta which will challenge last weekend's top films Up and The Hangover for a three-way race to the number one spot. Eddie Murphy also joins the fun with his latest family comedy Imagine That which will try to enter the top five. Overall ticket sales should once again fall behind last year's numbers, only by a much wider margin this time.

After two weeks of animation, horror, and comedy offerings, Hollywood shifts back into action mode with the hostage thriller The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 which reunites Washington with director Tony Scott for the fourth time. The R-rated pic is using starpower as its draw with moviegoers pitting the Oscar winner against Travolta who has been successful in selling tickets as a bad guy. Unlike the effects-driven actioners of May that skewed younger, Pelham will appeal mostly to adult audiences with a subway standoff story that tries not to be totally mindless.

Washington's high profile action films typically find their way to the $20-30M range. Inside Man and Man on Fire debuted to $29M and $22.8M, respectively. American Gangster found him going head to head with another major star in Russell Crowe and bowed to a career best $43.6M. The star wattage of the leads and the slick marketing should attract a sizable adult audience in the first weekend, but don't expect legs to be Bourne-like as the film does not deliver the goods. Mixed reviews will have an impact as older moviegoers pay attention to critics. Plus the staying power of this month's other big R-rated pic The Hangover could steal away some young adult ticket buyers. Debuting in over 3,000 theaters, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 may open to about $29M this weekend.

Second weekend drops for other well-liked R-rated summer comedies include 24% for 2005's Wedding Crashers, 36% for 2007's Knocked Up, 45% for the same year's Superbad, and 37% for last summer's Tropic Thunder. With the first wave of summer action movies now released, audiences are rallying behind something different with the raw laughs of Hangover which should hold up well this weekend thanks to strong buzz. A 35% drop would give the Vegas-set pic around $29M for the session pushing the ten-day cume to a fantastic $100M with much more still to come.

Up is set to fly past Wolverine this weekend to become the third biggest blockbuster of 2009. Eddie Murphy will not pose much of a threat so the flying house flick could fall by 30% to roughly $31M. That would raise the 17-day tally to a stellar $186M. Fellow family hit Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian may slide by 35% to about $9.5M for a total of $142M to date.

Will Ferrell has nowhere to go but down with his action-comedy flop Land of the Lost. The Universal release's only shot at making money was during its opening weekend but the funnyman wasn't able to fool too many people into buying tickets launching well below industry expectations. Land's $18.8M debut was on par with the $18.6M launch of last summer's first big disappointment Speed Racer which collapsed by 56% in the second lap. Look for a similar 55% tumble for Land of the Lost to around $8.5M giving the expensive production only $34M in ten days.

[PH3AR]

Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, and im going to see it too!

[Moefiz]

Pelham 1 2 3....I think will do good at the box office this weekend..surprise that no one picked the Eddie Murphy movie

[Deadset]

Here's my prediction...

1. Taking of Pelham 123
2. Up
3. Hangover
4. Imagine That

[PH3AR]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

Pelham 1 2 3....I think will do good at the box office this weekend..surprise that no one picked the Eddie Murphy movie

Well look at the last couple of movies with Eddie Murphy in them!

[fatediesel]

1. Pelham 123
2. Up
3. Hangover
4. Land of the Lost
5. Night at the Museum
6. Imagine That

Maybe I'm just hoping Imagine That does that bad, but I've read it's only expected to make around $6 million. However, you never know with family movies, especially with no new competition. I'd expect the top 3 movies to be fairly close and it wouldn't surprise me if Up or Hangover were first.

[drobswim13]

I went with Up but I think Pelham 123 might best it because it does have two prominent actors in the leads, along with a great supporting cast in Turturro and Gandolfini (you need to go see his play on Broadway this summer if you can).

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by PH3AR

Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, and im going to see it too!

+ 1 - This movie looks Very cool - Travolta is usually Better playing the "Bad guy" role, Denzel is usually great every time out, plus RIDLEY SCOTTis one of my favorite directors also.

Originally Posted by Moefiz

Pelham 1 2 3....I think will do good at the box office this weekend...surprise that no one picked the Eddie Murphy movie

what happened to him? all these family friendly type movies now. guess he has his $$$$$, so no more Edgy stuff Eddie?

[king_patrick_7]

I went to the hangover last night at 11:30 and the theatre was PACKED, I expected to see it still have a strong showing. I know a few friends who are going to see it this weekend for the second time. Hangover FTW!

[drobswim13]

Originally Posted by Aerodude73

+ 1 - This movie looks Very cool - Travolta is usually Better playing the "Bad guy" role, Denzel is usually great every time out, plus RIDLEY SCOTTis one of my favorite directors also.



what happened to him? all these family friendly type movies now. guess he has his $$$$$, so no more Edgy stuff Eddie?

I think he's in the works for Beverly Hills Cop 4, which will be a must see for me.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by king_patrick_7

I went to the hangover last night at 11:30 and the theatre was PACKED, I expected to see it still have a strong showing. I know a few friends who are going to see it this weekend for the second time. Hangover FTW!

Hangover won the box office last weekend with a very narrow margin over Up. Up will probably decline another 35%, and Hangover will be pressed to match that. I have heard great things about the Hangover, but I dont expect it to best Up once again since there's increased competition from Phelham 1 2 3. Up; on the other hand, has smooth sailing.

[milner828]

Am i the only one that thinks Pelham looks awful...it may hit number one but i voted for UP...

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by milner828

Am i the only one that thinks Pelham looks awful...it may hit number one but i voted for UP...

Why, Yes. You are the only one. - but hey, if it doesn't look good to you, it's cool. We'll find out Monday and in weeks to come, what the rest of the public says about it, right?

check this out:
LOS ANGELES — John Travolta is thanking his colleagues from "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" for promoting the film while he continues to mourn the death of his 16-year-old son, Jett, who died after a seizure in January.

Travolta posted a note on his personal Web site Monday thanking "Pelham" director Tony Scott and co-stars Denzel Washington, John Turturro, Luis Guzman and James Gandolfini for "their unselfish efforts" publicizing the picture, which allowed his family the additional time to reconcile their loss.

The 55-year-old actor also thanked Scott for "the freedom to define, and then to become, the ultimate evil mastermind."

[milner828]

Yeah and its always a matter of opinion with movies but the preview did nothing for me except make me think i have seen this move already....Dont get me wrong i love both denzel and travolta but travolta needs this movie to do well. He has not been in a good role for a while now. Pending reviews from friends/co-workers this weekend I may see it.

[GLaDOS]

I'm pretty sure UP has the balls to still be #1 at the box office.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by kotsedriver

I'm pretty sure UP has the balls to still be #1 at the box office.

The Hangover was #1 last weekend:

1. The Hangover 44.98M
2. Up 44.14M
3. Land of The Lost 18.84M
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian 16.63M
5. Star Trek 8.31M

My vote is for Pelham 123, Denzel and Travolta alone guarantee that this movie will win this weekend even if Ebert didn't like it.