New Movies and Box Office Predictions: Halloween, Death Sentence, Balls of Fury, Ladron que roba a ladron

The end of summer is here. Labor Day weekend is generally one of the weaker weekends of the year. The reason? Well, school is right around the corner, college is already in session, and many are trying to squeeze in one more barbecue and party before the Fall starts to creep in. Therefore, not as many people are interested in going to the movies. The studio behind Halloween are banking on an opening of $20 million plus. To put that into perspective, only one film has opened that high, Transporter 2 in 2005, and only six films have opened at more than $10 million. I think it has a shot at the big opening, even if it is a couple of months too early.

Death Sentence. (2007, 110 minutes, R, thriller, trailer) This looks like fun. It is a gritty old school revenge flick based off a novel by the same guy who brought us Death Wish. Kevin Bacon stars as a father who goes on a rampage of death following the murder of his son. It is directed by James Wan, who contines to step away from his beginnings in the Saw franchise. earlier this year he brought us the creepy horror of Dead Silence, and here he steps away from horror altogether.

Halloween. (2007, 109 minutes, R, horror, trailer) When it was first announced that there was going to be a Halloween remake, there was outcry from horror fans the world round. When Rob Zombie was announced as the director, some of those cries quieted, while others cried louder. There were cries that they were ruining Halloween, that classics shouldn't be touched, and other other such nonsense. It's a movie that you can choose to accept or not, but to say it is ruining the original is a complete fabrication. Anyway, Zombie is reimagining the original film, bringing in new elements and giving his own take on the character. Frankly, I am looking forward to see what he will bring to it. I have liked what I have seen so far.

Balls of Fury. (2007, 90 minutes, PG-13, comedy, trailer) This opened this past Wednesday to mostly poor reviews. It is a comedy that calls upon the zaniness of early Will Ferrell comedies to moderate success. It is a moderately funny riff on Enter the Dragon. Dan Fogler has enough charisma ans tming to carry it off, while Christopher Walken is, well, Walken is Walken. It is worth seeing with a large group looking for something stupid to watch.

Ladron que roba a ladron. (2007, 105 minutes, PG-13, comedy, trailer) I have not seen a single frame of this movie, but the description looks like fun. A couple of master thieves get together to rob an infomercial guru, but the rest of the team has no desire to participate. The duo decide to employ people with the skills that they need. The only problem is that none of them have ever committed a crime.

Also opening this week, but not near me:

• Exiled
• Freshman Orientation
• The Nines
• Self-Medicated

Box Office Predictions
Typically, Labor Day weekend is a low one at the box office. Kids are getting ready for school, college kids are already taking classes, and they are not as movie minded. There are hopes that Rob Zombie's reimagination of Halloween will breath some life into the box office. I think it will open well, but is likely to fade fast. Labor Day is not the right time to release a horror movie called Halloweem. Death Sentence should have an OK open, but will not likely have an impact on the top of the charts. The mid-week opener of Balls of Fury could help it to a decent weekend take.

Here is how I think the top ten field will play out:

Rank	Title	Box Office
1	Halloween	$21 million
2	Balls of Fury	$14 million
3	Superbad	$10 million
4	Death Sentence	$8.5 million
5	The Bourne Ultimatum	$8 million
6	Rush Hour 3	$6 million
7	Mr. Bean's Holiday	$4.5 million
8	Wat	$4 million
9	The Nanny Diaries	$3.5 million
10	The Simpsons Movie	$2.5 million

What are you seeing this weekend?