It’s a cruel fact of box office life that actresses have a much shorter window to make a mark, become a “name” and ensure themselves an enduring career in Hollywood.
But any fretting over Margot Robbie clearing that hurdle with a star vehicle — preferably a romance — all on her own, without a “Barbie” or Harley Quinn to get the credit ends now.
That Colin Farrel romance that failed last fall — Who can remember the title? (“Big, Bold,” etc. my arse) — the underwhelming “hit” that was the lurid and oversexed “Babylon” are in the rear view mirror now.
Because a new, sexy and flashy “Wuthering Heights” closes the deal for Robbie, a $40 million+ President’s Day/Valentine’s Day weekend smash. That’s what Deadline.com is projecting, and that’s in line with pre-release/Valentine’s Day “date” presales.
Robbie’s the biggest name in the production — aside from Bronte. Reviews haven’t been over the moon, but a hit is a hit is a hit. Sexed-up pre-release hype didn’t hurt, a lot of it coming from pop starlet Charli xcx, who did the non-period music score.
I’m making V-Day date time for this one. You might want to as well.
The animated hoops movie “GOAT” is finally offering competition to “Zootopia 2,” but will open with a low-for-animated-fare $24 million take on a long holiday weekend, with kids out of school and all of that.
Chris Hemsworth‘s star vehicle — with a healthy dose of Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan and Monica Barbaro — “Crime 101” isn’t setting the world on fire. But paying the players pays off for this one, which is opening over $14 million. That’s not great, but hardly a flop and it should enjoy a decent run, thanks to good reviews.
Small distributor Briarcliff’s dalliance with Gore Verbinski and Sam Rockwell, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” is a winner that deserves to crack the top five, but won’t.
“Send Help” is heading for fourth, a nice career bump (it’s closing in on $50 milllion) for Rachel McAdams and Sam Raimi. And “Solo Mio” (which will clear $15-18 before losing its screens) is looking like a fifth place picture this weekend.
As always, I’ll update these figures as the weekend progresses and we see if “Mercy,””Melania” and “The Moment” drop out of the top ten this week.
