Box office preview: 'Wild Things' destined to be king
「野獸冒險樂園」目標冠軍
by Nicole Sperling
Categories: Box Office, Film, Movie Biz
Spike Jonze has adapted Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book Where the
Wild Things Are into a movie that isn’t for kids. Yes, its lead is a young
boy who goes on a mythical journey filled with lovable two-story-tall
monsters but make no mistake Wild Things isn’t for the under-10 set. How
that translates into box-office dollars will be very interesting. Tracking
suggests the movie opens to around $30 million with most of the money coming
from the young hipster crowd of 17-34 year olds. The numbers also suggest
that parents have gotten the message and are unlikely to bring their children
to the theater.
史派克瓊斯改編自莫里斯山達克經典童書的「野獸冒險樂園」，並不是一部
為兒童打造的電影，是的，雖然他的劇情是描述一位男孩在兩層樓高的可愛怪獸
陪伴下經歷一趟神奇的旅程，但本片其實並不適合10歲以下的兒童單獨收看，
而他的票房表現將會是本週的觀戰重點。目前的調查顯示，本片將會開出將近
3千萬美金的票房，主要的觀眾群會是17-34歲趕流行的年輕影迷；調查結果
也顯示家長們已經收到訊息，不太可能帶孩子進入戲院看本片。
Also opening this weekend is the Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler-vigilante themed
Law Abiding Citizen and The Stepfather, the remake of the 1987 thriller that
starred Lost’s Terry O’Quinn. Those movies unfortunately will have to
contend with the growing phenomenon of Paranormal Activity which gets its
first weekend of wide release after already making an astounding $7.9 million
in 160 theaters. It’s a very crowded weekend and Hollywood’s going to need
a lot of movie-going to make each of these films a winner.
本週其他上映的新片還包括傑米福克斯與傑洛德巴特勒合作的警匪片「怒法衝冠」、
與「Lost檔案」主角泰瑞歐昆1987年驚悚片的重拍「繼父疼死你」。很不幸的，
這些電影將要與越來越熱門的「靈動：鬼影實錄」相互競爭，靈片上周只有160家
戲院上映就開出將近8百萬美金的票房。
總之，本週將是很擁擠的週末，片場老闆們一定會希望觀眾多一點，這樣他們才會
成為贏家
1. Where the Wild Things Are: $30 million
Spike Jonze may have no children but he certainly remembers what it feels
like to be one. His meditation on childhood Where the Wild Things Are is a
movie worth seeing if its just for the visual spectacle and the great music.
He’s filmed a movie based on a book that people called unfilmable, rather
similar to Warner Bros. last big risk, Zack Synder’s adaptation of Watchmen,
which was also deemed unfilmable. Watchmen topped out at $107 million
domestically. How Wild Things ultimately performs is going to depend solidly
on the word-of-mouth from the 20-year-old crowd. If they dig Jonze’s unique
vision they could turn it into a hit. If they pass, the expensive adaptation
will be deemed a valiant failure. Let’s hope for the former
1.野獸冒險樂園－3千萬美金
史派克瓊斯可能還沒有小孩，不過他顯然還記得當初還是小孩時的感覺。
如果只看特效場面與完美配樂的話，這部兒童奇幻片算是值得一看。
瓊斯的新片改編自一本被認為無法拍出來（或拍好）的暢銷書，
這點跟華納兄弟先前投資，查克史奈德導演的「守護者」有異曲同工之妙，
而守片最後在美國賣出破億的票房。本片最後的命運決定在7年級觀眾的口碑，
假如他們能享受瓊斯獨特的視覺風格，這部耗資不斐的童書改編就能大賣，
否則就會被看作是一場慘敗，我希望本片能夠成為前者
2. Couples Retreat: $17 million
Last weekend, Vince Vaughn contradicted the latest theory flooding Hollywood
that movie stars don’t matter anymore. Well, they seem to matter in the case
of Vaughn. The movie got terrible reviews in the press and the trailers
showed the film’s only two jokes, yet Couples Retreat still outgrossed
expectations and that was due primarily to Vaughn. Audiences love his schtick
and he gave it them in boatloads in this film. My guess is the movie drops at
least 50% its second weekend when audiences get distracted by the sheer
number of other options in the marketplace.
2.伴侶度假村－1千7百萬美金
上週，文斯范恩公然挑戰最近影壇的「明星無用論」，而文哥看來是挑戰成功了。
本片儘管媒體的評分是恐怖的低，預告片也只有兩個比較好笑的笑點，
但是首週的票房還是超出影評預期，而這一切都要歸功於文哥；觀眾們對他的鋪梗
仍然相當買帳，他也帶給觀眾一部充滿樂趣的電影。不過我預測本片至少會在第二週
下跌一半，因為觀眾本週有太多選擇了
3. Paranormal Activity: $16 million
Not since The Blair Witch Project has a movie captivated fans with its
marketing alone. Such is the case with Paranormal, which will expand to 760
theaters this weekend thanks to millions of online fans demanding it. With
media attention at a fever pitch a high-teen gross could happen.
3.靈動：鬼影實錄－1千6百萬美金
自從「惡夜叢林」之後，影壇就沒有即使沒廣告也能讓影迷這麼著迷的電影了，
不過本週將會增廳至760家戲院的鬼影實錄將會複製這種現象，因為他已經引起了
數以萬計網路影迷的討論，隨著媒體的持續注意，本片也將引發年輕影迷的觀賞
熱潮
4. Law Abiding Citizen: $15 million
Something about those television ads is working. Men’s interest in this
movie has spiked in the last day, meaning the ultra-violent Gerard Butler,
Jamie Foxx two-hander could open impressively this weekend. It’s tracking a
bit older than Paranormal Activity and those movie-goers aren’t always first
out of the gate to see a film. Regardless, this revenge flick has some legs
and should open respectably this frame.
4.怒法衝冠－1千5百萬美金
本片的廣告效果還不錯，因為在最後幾天，男性觀眾對本片興趣的激發，
意味著這部由傑洛德巴特勒與傑米福克斯兩大卡斯掛帥的暴力片能夠在本週
開出不錯的票房。本片的潛在觀眾群年紀比「鬼影實錄」的來的大一點，
他們不一定會搶在首周買票看片，不過這部復仇電影不僅會開出值得尊敬的
票房，後勢也相當看好
5. The Stepfather: $13 million
Starring Nip/Tuck’s Dylan Walsh as the creepy stepfather (and Gossip Girl’s
Penn Badgley as the stepson), this $19 million remake should open strong
enough to please the suits at Sony. And Screen Gems, the unit releasing the
film, has a definite knack with opening genre films. The real thing standing
in its way is the surprise heat surrounding Paranormal. Unfortunately, that
may take a little wind out of its sails.
5.繼父疼死你－1千3百萬美金
「整形春秋」的迪倫華許飾演個性怪異的繼父，加上「花邊教主」的潘貝德利
飾演繼子，這部成本1千9百萬的重拍版本應該可以開出讓索尼影業滿意的成績。
然而儘管發行本片的銀幕寶石是一家對於驚悚片有獨特絕招的單位，但還是無法
抵擋目前火紅的「鬼影實錄」風潮
