Other Crap

Fantasy Moguls: EXCLUSIVE EARLY FRIDAY & 3-DAY BOX OFFICE ESTIMATES

"Universal's Evan Almighty is a huge disappointment. Despite its $200M+ budget, the presence of Steve Carell and an aggressive campaign aimed at Christians, it appears that this story of a modern day Noah generated only an estimated $12M on its opening day, which will likely translate to just $34M for the weekend. If that number holds, Evan Almighty will fall short of $100M domestic, making it a disaster of biblical proportions for NBC Universal."

"Meanwhile, MGM/Weinstein has a nice hit on its hands with 1408. This is a horror film, but not an R-rated torture film from the Hostel/Hills Have Eyes school. Instead, it's just a good scary movie about a haunted hotel room with a very good John Cusack performance. My sources tell me that it will likely finish 2nd on Friday with $7M or so and 3rd for the weekend with approximately $18.5M. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Fox) is experiencing a massive 2nd weekend drop of 65%. FF2 grabbed only $6.7M on Friday, but its kid appeal will lift it into 2nd place for the weekend with an estimated $20.5M weekend."

SCOOP's NOTES: I have no basis to dispute his facts, but he places an unusual spin on them (Evan=loser, 1408=winner). The Weekend Warrior predicted Evan Almighty to do just less than $36 million, and 1408 to do nearly $20 million. If the Moguls estimates prove accurate, both movies will come in just a hair lower than expected.