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Ford vs Mouse
Action at the US BO this weekend
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Arthur J Pais
Will a talking mouse humble the mighty Harrison Ford this weekend?
Family audiences possibly would line up in huge numbers to see Stuart Little 2, sequel to the $140 million grossing movie, making it a bigger hit than the powerful ideological drama, K-19: The Widowmaker.
Stuart Little 2, like the original film, mixes animation and live action. Michael J Fox, Nathan Lane and Melanie Griffith are among the major voice providers for the movie that features Geena Davis and Jonathan Lipnicki, who grudgingly accepted the mouse as a sibling in the original film.
The first Stuart Little, which was also a huge hit abroad grossing over $150 million, was co-scripted by M Night Shyamalan. He declined the offer to write the script for the sequel, saying he did not enjoy working on sequels.
The movie also sold over $500 million worth video, DVD and tie-in merchandise.
Sony which has produced both Stuart Little movies has had an extraordinary success so far, fuelled by worldwide hits such as Spider-Man, Mr Deeds and Men in Black II.
Now that the family-movies Scooby Doo and Lilo & Stitch have enjoyed solid run, Stuart Little 2 might be able to gross about $30 million, and humble the submarine drama, K-19.
The current box-office battle reminds us of a similar situation that had erupted about a month ago when another kid movie Lilo & Stitch challenged box-office powerhouse Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg's Minority Report.
Though Minority Report grossed a few thousands more than the kid movie, the latter picked up more viewers in mid week. As a result, its gross July 16 stood at $120.8 million, $8 million more than that of Minority Report.
While Stuart Little 2 arrives in more than 3,500 theatres (and possibly on 5,000 screens) without much competition, the adult audiences for K-19 (opening in about 2,500 theaters) will still be distracted by Road to Perdition which opened last week to a solid $22 million.
DreamWorks is adding at least 150 more screens this weekend. With a terrific word of mouth and ecstatic reviews, Road To Perdition is not only headed for a hit status but to handful of key Oscar nominations. If it maintains its current pace, it could reach $100 million, making it another big winner for Tom Hanks. If it still hangs around till the end of the year, it could get a new lease of life with Oscar nominations.
Given the stiff competition, the Ford movie could open with good but unspectacular numbers, say between $25 million and $28 million. But it is not the kind of film that will burn out in two or three weeks. Like Road To Perdition, it may also play for six to eight weeks.
Unlike Road To Perdition, K-19, which salutes the heroism of a tough Communist naval officer (Harrison Ford), has received mixed reviews, though many have praised Ford and Liam Neeson who plays Ford's adversary.
The film is directed by Kathryn Bigelow, former wife of James Cameron (Titanic), who after directing half a dozen films in past 15 years, is poised to have her first international hit in K-19.