By Chris Kavan - 10/18/12 at 06:21 PM CT
After early September brought nothing but bad news, it's looking like October is providing the turnaround Hollywood needs. This week, it's going to be up to a horror franchise to keep those wheels turning. I have good feeling that with Halloween just around the corner, it's going to be another winning weekend. Combined with strong holdovers, the new entries should help make a big mark at the box office once again.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 Horror franchises seem to thrive on these yearly, precisely-timed releases. However, they also devolved thanks to the law of diminishing returns (see the Saw and Final Destination films for reference). However, after a disappointing second entry - I thought the third Paranormal Activity film was a step back in the right direction. This fourth film is set firmly in the present - with web cams being the main way we see the "found footage" horror. Each movie has their own set-up - the first was a basic one-camera show, we moved on to security cameras, the third took us back in time with camcorders (one on an oscillating fan) and now we're come full circle with technology. From all I can see - this is going to follow the same premise - scary things in the shadows, people getting dragged about by invisible forces, and now throw in a creepy kid just for the heck of it. It's not original any more, but this franchise is still popular enough that I think it will have no problem kicking Taken 2 off it's perch and opening no top. I'm still looking forward to Sinister over this - I'll probably just rent this one.
Next up is a movie that, frankly, boggles my mind. We've seen Alex Cross on screen before - James Patterson has written a massive amount of books, but only two have been made into movies: Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Both times Alex Cross was played by Morgan Freeman. Now we have what looks like an origin type film and this time Alex Cross is played by... Tyler Perry. Yes, the same man who dresses up like a sassy black woman in an umpteen number of Madea films and stage productions. I can understand why he would want to take on a role that shows a more serious side, but how many people will be able to looks past his more iconic role and see him as an anything different? Despite the inclusion of Giancarlo Esposito, Jean Reno, Matthew Fox and Rachel Nichols I have a feeling this movie is going to struggle mightily. Plus the tag line: "Don't Cross Alex Cross" is just terrible. If it reaches the top 5, I would be impressed.
So, is anyone else looking forward to this weekend? With at least one new film looking to be a sure thing, not to mention the continuing success of Argo, Taken 2 and Hotel Transylvania (I have a feeling Sinister will see a steep decline), it should be another good weekend.
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