'Wild Things' eyes $25 million weekend
Spike Jonze's film poised to top 'Citizen,' 'Stepfather'
By Carl DiOrio Oct 15, 2009, 05:27 PM ET
Overture Films has jumped into the fall season with both feet.
The domestic box office was mere spectator sport for the fledgling mini-major for most of the summer. But Overture unspools its third wide release in a month today as the Jamie Foxx-Gerard Butler starrer "Law Abiding Citizen" bows in about 2,800 theaters.
Distributing the crime thriller for producer the Film Department, Overture looks likely to open "Citizen" in the low-teen millions during a crowded theatrical session that includes two other wide openers: Warner Bros.' "Where the Wild Things Are" and Screen Gems' "The Stepfather." Directed by F. Gary Gray ("The Italian Job"), the R-rated "Citizen" should draw its most solid support from y-chromosomers.
"We're tracking really strong and predominantly male," said Kyle Davies, who as exec vp distribution amounts to Overture's Mr. October. "But there is solid interest among all quadrants."
The "Citizen" debut follows Overture's expansion of Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" two weeks ago and before that its wide release of the Dennis Quaid starrer "Pandorum." On Nov. 6, Overture will unspool military comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats," starring George Clooney and Jeff Bridges.
Overture's heavy fall slotting of pics targeting niche audiences mimics a strategy used by such distributors as mini-major Lionsgate and Sony's genre unit Screen Gems.
"Not only is fall underutilized, but it's a time of year when films get a little more breathing room," Overture topper Chris McGurk said. "That's a big part of our strategy and makes for a good opportunity for the kind of films we release, which are not big, expensive tentpoles of the sort that can suck on the air out of a market at other times of the year."
Meanwhile, the heavily marketed "Where the Wild Things Are," co-financed by Legendary Pictures, is likely to fetch more than $25 million and capture the weekend. The horror thriller "Stepfather" could be confined to the teen millions because of audience overlap with Paramount's first big expansion of the buzz title "Paranormal Activity."
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i8ecb95ad2867bbdb6229027184ff388a
UPDATE: 'Where The Wild Things Are' Overperforming For $12+M Friday & Probable $38+M Weekend
By Nikki Finke
Friday October 16, 2009 @5.31pm
At a surprise #2, Overture's Law Abiding Citizen starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler did a better than expected $7.5M Friday and could open to as much as $20M from 2,889 venues.
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/
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Subject: LAC in #2 Box Office Position Opening Weekend 
Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:09 am
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