New Movies and Box Office Predictions: Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen, My Sister's Keeper

The ninth week of blockbuster season brings with it what will likely be the biggest moneymaker of the year. It is one of the more highly anticipated movies of the summer and I hope it delivers the explosive goods of mindless entertainment. It will breath life into the season that seems to have fizzled a little bit. With the disappointing Wolverine and Terminator films, the bright spot has been stolen by Star Trek, Up, and The Hangover, now we have a movie to take the spotlight back. Will you be suckered in? Or will you use this weekend to catch up on what you may have missed?

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. (2009, 151 minutes, PG-13, action) 2007 saw the arrival of the 80's animated icon invade theaters in tangible form. Shepherded by Steven Spielberg and helmed by Michael "I make things Awesome!" Bay. It was received with mixed word from critics and fans alike. I liked it, but did not in any way love it. That said, the combination of 'bots and Bay seems like the perfect fit for his sensibilities. Now we have the bigger, louder sequel with even more robot action! It has been savaged by critics to the tune of a $60 million opening day. I am sure Bay is crying in his Cheerios. I am looking forward to checking it out on the IMAX screen and am completely expecting to enjoy it, but I am sure I will not love it and feel that it is not the Transformers of my youth, much like its predecessor. Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox return to star for Michael Bay.



My Sister's Keeper. (2009, 96 minutes, PG-13, drama) Director and co-screenwriter Nick Cassevetes follows up 2006's Alpha Dog with this emotion-filled drama. Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric star as the parents of a young girl stricken with leukemia. In an effort to find a way to save their daughter, the couple have had a second daughter genetically engineered to use as a doner when the time comes. Trouble arises when the young girl, played by Abigail Breslin, decides she does not want to be a doner and sues her parents for her right to decide. It looks like a weepy, but it is also interesting in the idea of having a second daughter to use, essentially, for parts. I am looking forward to this, although it may be a week before I get the opportunity.



Also opening this week, but not near me:

• Cheri
• Girl from Monaco
• The Hurt Locker
• New York
• Quiet Chaos
• The Stoning of Soraya M.
• Surveillance

Box Office Predictions
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will win the weekend, mark your calendars, you heard it here first. All right, maybe not. Still, I guarantee that it will destroy everything. Having opened this past Wednesday, it did gangbuster business, taking in more than $60 million in one day. No, it did not overtake the current top dog, The Dark Knight, but it is still nothing to sneeze at. What will be interesting now is whether or not poor word of mouth will hurt the weekend? No doubt it will take the top spot, just by how much? The rest of the chart will probably just slide down a bit.

Here is how I think it could play out.

Rank	Title	Box Office
1	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	$115 million
2	The Proposal	$19 million
3	The Hangover	$18million
4	Up	$15 million
5	My Sisters Keeper	$10 million
6	Year One	$8 million
7	The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3	$7 million
8	Night of the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian	$6 million
9	Star Trek	$4 million
10	Land of the Lost	$2 million