Cinematical

As expected, The Simpsons Movie ruled the box office with a yellow-tinted iron fist, taking in more than the rest of the top five combined, outdoing second place film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry by $55 million and exceeding my personal prediction by almost $7 million. I hadn't expected any of the other new movies to break the top five, but No Reservations pulled in a modestly surprising $11.7 million to grab the number five spot. Here's the final tally:

1. The Simpsons Movie: $71,850,000
2. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: $19,063,000
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: $17,065,000
4. Hairspray: $15,550,000
5. No Reservations: $11,755,000

This week's new movies involve a flying dog, talking dolls, a klutzy stunt man, a salsa king and Matt Damon. Here's what we've got:

The Bourne Ultimatum
What's It All About: Matt Damon returns in his third outing as rogue agent and amnesiac Jason Bourne, trying to learn his true identity once and for all.
Why It Might Do Well: The first two films in the franchise pulled in $27 million and $52 million respectively on their opening weekends, and since the Bourne Ultimatum is the obvious big gun this week, I suspect the trend will continue.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Could Jason Bourne's luck have finally run out? No, I didn't think so either.
Number of Theaters: 3,500
Prediction: $65 million.

Bratz
What's It All About: In this live action film based on a line of fashion dolls, four girls enter high school and discover the meaning of peer pressure and loyalty.
Why It Might Do Well: Teenage girls looking for more of what Mean Girls had to offer may like this one.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Target demo seems awfully small.
Number of Theaters: 1,700
Prediction: $5.5 million

El Cantante
What's It All About: Biopic of Hector Lavoe, the salsa king. Not a snack food magnate, but a singer of salsa music. Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez star.
Why It Might Do Well: Based as it is on true events, El Cantante offers a genuine alternative to what's out there.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The relatively small release combined with the 18% rating over at rottentomatoes.com suggests that this one will not be raking it in.
Number of Theaters: 600
Prediction: $3 million

Hot Rod
What's It All About: Comedy about a motorcycle stunt man wannabe played by Andy Samberg who plans to jump fifteen buses to raise money for an operation that will save the life of his abusive stepfather.
Why It Might Do Well: The adorable Isla Fisher (the crazy one from Wedding Crashers) for one thing, plus there are some genuine laughs in the trailer for those into broad physical comedy.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I believe there was a motorcycle stunt in The Simpsons Movie, so that quota may be filled for this year.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $11 million

Underdog
What's It All About: In this reinvention of the classic cartoon, a dog receives super powers and the ability to talk in a lab accident.
Why It Might Do Well: Jason Lee is the voice of Underdog and a funny guy. Nostalgia appeal will also work in the film's favor.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The aforementioned nostalgia may be tempered by the fact that this new version is pretty far removed from the cartoon's original concept.
Number of Theaters: 2,800
Prediction: $16 million

This week I'm piercing the veil of time by reading tea leaves, or at least that was the original plan. I tossed back several bottles of Snapple before I realized that kind of tea doesn't have leaves, so I just asked my cousin Frank how he thought this weekend's box office might go:
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. The Simpsons Movie
3. Underdog
4. Hot Rod
5. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Last Week's Prediction Rankings
1. Matt: 13
1. Evan: 13
1. Marc: 13
1. Gian1414: 13
1. Opp-Neg: 13
1. Anna07: 13
2. Bubba8193: 12
3. Jason: 10
4. Ness265: 9
4. ElBoracho: 9
4. Ray: 9
4. Josh: 9
4. JimRM: 9
4. Chris: 9
4. Mario: 9
5. Dustin: 7
5. Rufus: 7
5. Curt: 7
5. Lostpicks: 7
6. Gordy: 6

We had a pretty decent response to last week's box office prediction contest, but I'm hoping for more this time around. Come on, you know you want to. No prizes, of course, but I think that would sully the whole experience, don't you? Don't forget to post your prediction for the top five films in the comments section below. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.