Image Credit: Peter Iovino/CBS FilmsStudios really need to be more careful when they title their films. This weekend at the box office just screams the inevitable headline: “The Losers is a loser for Warner Bros.” To be fair, the title isn’t an original, but rather the name of the popular Vertigo comic book about a group of mercenaries who wage war on the CIA. Still, with Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Chris Evans as its marquee names, The Losers will have a challenge going up against the star wattage of Jennifer Lopez’s movie return in the romantic comedy The Back-Up Plan. Even then, neither film is likely to nab the top spot in theaters. Should it resonate with its core female audience, The Back-Up Plan has a better shot at number one. But more likely, that honor will go to How to Train Your Dragon, which in its fifth weekend in theaters should score better than either new release or, for that matter, last weekend’s winner Kick-Ass.
Why the box office malaise? Well, despite the fact that last year at this time Screen Gems’ Beyoncé Knowles thriller Obsessed bowed to $28.6 million, the weekend is often a downer for the month. Most kids are back in school and the studios are gearing up for their big summer tent-poles kicking off in May. This weekend should be no different and another first place title for Dragon will prove it.
1. How to Train Your Dragon: $14 million
It might have missed the top spot last weekend by a meager $200,000, but this animated kid flick is proving to be a solid juggernaut for the spring movie-going season.The movie has now grossed over $160 million and should cross $200 million by the end of its run. Not bad for a movie that upon its debut had shareholders downgrading Dreamworks’ stock.
2. The Back-Up Plan: $12 million
Nascent studio CBS Films needs a hit with The Back-Up Plan, their second release. (The first one, Extraordinary Measures, bombed back in January with a dismal $6 million opening weekend.) The studio is much more bullish about Back-Up. They screened it for exhibitors at ShoWest and are counting on Lopez’s fans — who drove Monster-in-Law and Maid in Manhattan to solid-grossing hits — to embrace J.Lo as a relatable protagonist who gets artificially inseminated, then falls in love with Alex O’Loughlin (television’s Moonlight). The PG-13 rated film from director Alan Poul is more likely to open to numbers similar to 2004′s Shall We Dance, which bowed to $11.7 million. But that turned into a $58 million grosser, and I think the studio would be cheering if Plan reached that goal.
3. Kick-Ass: $11 million
Eking out a box office win last weekend with $19.8 million, the R-rated Kick-Ass didn’t seem to live up to the fan-boy hype that had been surrounding the movie since last year. Now everyone is waiting to see how the film will hold during its second weekend in theaters. Considering Lionsgate included its Thursday 10 p.m. and midnight showings in its three-day gross, a second weekend take of $11 million would be solid. Anything more and they should be ecstatic. Remember, the movie cost only$28 million and has grossed $24 million as of Wednesday.
4. The Losers: $10 million
There doesn’t seem to be much heat around this movie at all. And it doesn’t help that the box office has been chock full of action and violence in the past few weeks with Kick-Ass, Clash of the Titans, and even Date Night. I think Warners will be lucky to hit double-digits this weekend.
5. Date Night: $10 million
Let’s give the fifth spot to Date Night. The Steve Carell-Tina Fey starrer has grossed over $50 million in two weeks of release, only falling 34 percent its second weekend in theaters. Should the movie lose another 40 percent of its value, it will still land in the top five for the frame. Not bad for two TV comedy stars!
Also playing: Disney will open Oceans on 1,200 theaters today in honor of Earth Day. Last year, the studio bowed the documentary Earth to a weekend gross of $8.8 million. Expect around $5 million for this doc narrated by Pierce Brosnan.
the loser’s preview is terrible. when it comes on tv i always think its a movie being released on DVD. i know i’ve seen it several times but i can’t remember a thing about it.
this movie isn’t for you, u should stick to avatar, everyone liked this movie so since u seem to be feeble minded you should like it.
Is Sergio Italian for douchebag?
How can you say everyone liked this movie when it hasn’t even come out yet and has a terrible score on Rotten Tomatoes?
i think he was saying everyone liked avatar.
but its not my fault the studio made a crappy preview. and i think that the reviews have shown there is nothing unique about “the losers”.
you either have to be a lunatic or hate money to call an action movie “the losers”. This thing will bomb big time just based on the title. (And don’t tell me it’s the name of a comic… Nobody knows the comic… They could change the title)
I’m sorry, were there words in this article? I was distracted by the shirtless man………
LOL glad I wasn’t the only one
btw, the correct spelling of the title is apparently “Back-up Plan” instead of “Back-Up Plan”.
btw, the correct spelling is “uptight, stupid slag” instead of “Jul.” (Also, punctuation is always contained within quotations, even when it looks odd)
wow, nice people like you make this world such a better place.
I’m a big fan of RomComs but Back-up Plan looks terrible, not funny, not cute and not relatable = not good. (and J-Lo doesn’t help at all)
go see it its actually funny-
“…which I think would studio would cheering, if it could reach that goal.” Do EW writers even proof-read their articles??
I don’t think they do. EW’s blogs are filled with typos and grammar mistakes. It’s embarrassing.
Constant errors, as Ed pointed out. No proof-readers, no online editors. Truly embarrassing.
‘But that turned into a $58 million grosser, which I think would studio would cheering’
You guys really need to hire an editor.
This person does not know what she’s talking about Zoe Saldana not being a “relatively unknown”? she was in star trek, avatar and now the losers, yeah that’s “relatively unknown” the losers is an adaptation of a comic book, if you are expecting There Will Be blood then you are mistaken, enjoy what films are for, screw the #1 spot most films that have actual quality never reach the #1 spot. How To Train Your Dragon hitting the #1 spot just shows how stupid this article is.
And Center stage!! I love Zoe Saldana!
But I honestly didn’t even know that movie was coming out today…
Get up off Saldana’s ass. Yes, she was in two big movies, and her star has risen considerably, but she still isn’t a household name, and Avatar and Star Trek would have been success without her; in fact, they probably should have chosen a stronger actress in both cases.
I’m going to see Back-up Plan, the Alex O’Loughlin movie. Oh, is J-Lo in that too?
Zoe Saldana isn’t exactly an unknown after having starred in two box office smashes last year – the new “Star Trek”, and “Avatar”.
Yikes, if The Losers only opens to 10 million than that is a bomb, Zoe not a box office draw??? She was the biggest star of 2009, now 2 disappointments in 2 weeks, Ouch! Maybe she needs a new agent and prays for Avatar 2 and Sta Trek 12
Sorry, but she was not ‘the biggest star’ of 2009 or any year. Two of her movies were big, but anyone could have played those roles – she is not a draw and had nothing to do with the success of those movies. It’s what many call the ‘Cameron Diaz Effect’.
I will admit that I didn’t go see Avatar or Star Trek because of Zoe, but I think she really brings a lot to her movies. I love seeing a black woman in the lead female role for once. I’m a big supporter of hers and I hope “The Losers” does well.
Celia just for the record Zoe is not black she is Puerto Rican and also of Colombian decent.
She lived in Columbia for seven years.
Look up her bio its all there, she can play many roles due to her her skin tone, but in the Latin community we are proud that she is getting the attention she well deserves.
@Yep – Being black and being Latino aren’t mutually exclusive. People can be both. And for the record – she’s from the Dominican Republic, which is full of Black Dominicans, who are also considered Latino.
Idiot.
You all are so funny!! I have the most fun reading comments!!
@GGG, looks who is the idiot, for the record she is not from the DR is is actually born in New Jersey and raised in Queens NY. She moved to DR when she was 10 for seven years then went back to Queens when she was 17. So she is not from DR she is from New Jersey Raised in NY.
SO idiot I was not putting anything or anyone down, stupid I was just staying her ethnicity moron, so go screw yourself and be the little punk a$$ that you are.
So that’s the record, she isn’t from where you think know it all.
Well I’m still glad to see a woman of color getting so many leading roles, regardless of her ethnicity.
what the heck are you talking about biggest star of 2009? I know of no one who went to see Star Trek for her. And the ones who carry that movie were Pine even if I am not fan and Quinto, and Urban. Many people commented on how bad her acting was and the only thing that saved her was the S/U romance. Hollywood because she is Latino and thin ran off and pushed her like mad. After Avatar the reaction many places was she can’t act and she wasn’t important to why Avatar was a hit. So lets not get carried away. She is not a good actress and I would be happier with minority actresses who can act getting these roles
I saw The Losers in a preview showing last night. I really dug it. I hope it doesn’t bomb, because I had a great time.
I would like to note that the author of this article changed
“Still with the relatively unknown cast of Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chris Evans …”
(this is how it still looks on iMDB, where it is linked from)
to
“Still, with Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Chris Evans as its marquee names…”
incase anyone is wondering what some of the comments above are referring to. I’m not sure why EW would hire someone to write an article about movies and the box office if they don’t know anything about movie actors. Zoe is hardly an unknown – coming from Star Trek and Avatar. I think someone more knowledgeable on movies should write the movie articles. :/
That poor dude hasn’t had a carb since the 90s. But I am sure he gets plenty of tail.
The Back Up Plan will be number 1 with a little over $20 million. The losers will be a close number 2. How to Train Your Dragon cost way too much money. It hasn’t made what they spent in it back yet. It’s not considered a hit among insiders.
You obviously don’t know anything about the boxoffice.
Has Everyone forgotten that there are other countries out there again? THese movies do not have to make a profit in the states, and they are not meant to anymore. Dragons has made well over profit, along with percy Jackson with there over seas totals. Come people do I need to say this every week?
unknown? what the hell, chris evans was in fantastice 4, the perfect score and not another teen movie anyone under 25 will know who he is! Jeffery dean morgan hello?? played john winchester in supernatural hes awesome, not to mention he was in a little movie called Watchmen heard of it? Zoe Saldana as everyone else said was in 2 of the biggest movies of last year star trek and avatar. Unknown stars please, they are going up against a j-lo film (see gigli and monster in law for the sort of quality that produces). Has the preson who wrote this ever seen a movie or do they just get a list of titles they then make stuff up about?
would help if i spell checked before posting wouldn’t it?
it’s ok girl you were in the middle of a good rant so its all good, plus you don’t get paid to write. Take a deep breathe and then exhale, I too would like to know where these guys get there info since it seems that they really know nothing about movies, most of the time.
I laughed when I read unknown, maybe to him, but to true movie buffs and even the real casual movie goer they know who these people are, Zoe unknown please!!!!!!
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is far from being an unknown. Not everyone knows his real name, but we all know Denny. SOOOOB.
Predictions:
1. How To Train Your Dragon 15.3m
2. Back-up Plan 13.5m
3. The Losers 10.4m
4. Date Night 9.8m
5. Kick Ass 8m
There’s no way the Back-up Plan makes over 8 million.
I think The Losers will be number one with about 12 million.
Date Night will be number 2 with 9 million, then the Back-up Plan and then How to Train ur dragon.
I think Death at a Funeral will take the number 5 spot