By Chris Kavan - 08/26/11 at 10:46 AM CT
After last week's less-than-stellar premieres, can the box office recover with three new offerings?
1) I was hoping that Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, especially with Guillermo del Toro writing and producing, would be a cut above most horror films, but, alas, it seems it is not. I had it on my must-watch list, but I think I'm going to downgrade it to rental-ready instead. It still looks good, but from the early word I think I'll wait until Contagion hits theaters before I decide to pony up cash for the really big screen.
2) While Zoe Saldana looks like she's going to be a woman on a mission in Colombiana, from all I've seen it doesn't look like much more than a standard action film. Plus the PG-13 rating means it can't really push the envelope in terms of violence or story. Another one I'd be willing to watch - just not necessarily in theaters.
3) Finally, while I think Paul Rudd is one of my favorite low-key comedians, I have a feeling Our Idiot Brother won't make too many waves. I mean, you can be laid back, but this looks like it takes things to extreme levels of mellow - I mean, even The Dude had bowling. From what I've seen Rudd comes across as the most trusting, mellow man in the world almost like a super-hippie version of Forrest Gump. I'm not sure how audiences will react, but it probably won't reach too high on the box office charts.
We'll see on Sunday whether The Help can retain the top spot or if any of these newcomers can manage to take the spotlight.
