New Movie Releases and Box Office Predictions: Ricky Bobby, The Descent, Barnyard

Three new movies are set to make their move to the multiplexes. It is an interresting mix as we start into the dog days of August. This is a month that does not tend to produce much in the way of blockbusters, but a sleeper or two is not out of the question. However, with a new Will Ferrell comedy here, we may have a big moneymaker on our hands. The other two will probably have a decent showing.

Barnyard: The Original Party Animals. (2006, 83 minutes, PG, animated comedy, trailer) This is what the farm is like when the farmer isn't looking. I have to be honest, but this does not interest me in the least. Frankly, I think it looks rather stupid, but what do I know? The animation doesn't impress me, nor does the concept, but then, I am sure I am not in the targeted audience.

The Descent. (2006, 93 minutes, R, horror, trailer) Now here is the movie I have been looking forward to for sometime now. It is from the director of Dog Soldiers, an excellent werewolf flick that made it to the US as a Sci-Fi Channel Original, Neil Marshall. This film follows a group of female spelunkers who encounter something while trapped under the earth. I have heard good things about this film. I have heard that it is truly scary, and I need something like that.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. (2006, 110 minutes, PG-13, comedy, trailer) Will Ferrell tends to be box office gold, and I am sure this going to take it. NASCAR has been greatly growing in popularity over the past years, and is ripe for the comedic picking. This movie follows top driver, Ricky Bobby, and an incoming French star intent on taking his title. This looks like it will be very funny, stupid funny even. Hopefully it pays off.

Art School Confidential. (2006, 102 minutes, R, comedy, trailer) From the director of Bad Santa, Terry Zwigoff, comes this movie about an artist pursuing his artistic dreams at art school. I do not know much about this, other than the mixed to positive reviews it has received, and the trailer that I have seen once. It looked like it would be funny, in a weird sort of way. I like weird, so maybe I will like this movie? This did not play first run, it is starting at the second run theater.

A Scanner Darkly. (2006, 100 minutes, R, drama, trailer) Richard Linklater directs from his adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story. The look of this film is fascinating, it employs rotoscoping, the filming of live action, and then converted to animation. It is the story of a near future and the drug culture. It has an impressive lineup of stars, including Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Winona Ryder, and Woody Harrelson. This is beginning a run at the arthouse this week.

Also opening this week, but not near me:

• The Night Listener
• Jail Bait
• My Country, My Country
• Quinceanera
• Shock to the System

Box Office Predictions

Three new movies are all set to assault the top ten chart, but where will they fall? Will Ferrell's latest will most likely take the charts, and I think Pirates still has enough gas to retain the number 2 slot before its slide starts. The other two wide release films could surprise, but I am not expecting them to. Here is how I think it will play out:

Rank	Title	Box Office
1	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	$32 million
2	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	$17 million
3	Miami Vice	$16 million
4	The Descent	$14.5 million
5	Barnyard: The Original Party Animals	$ 11 million
6	Monster House	$6 million
7	The Ant Bully	$5.5 million
8	The Night Listener	$4.5 million
9	John Tucker Must Die	$3 million
10	The Devil Wears Prada	$2 million

What are you seeing this weekend?