Cinematical

Clint Eastwood proved to one and all that he's still got it, with his Gran Torino earning the strongest opening of his career. Personally I had expected a stronger showing for Bedtime Stories in its second week, but it placed sixth. Here's the top five:

1. Gran Torino: $29.4 million
2. Bride Wars: $21 million
3. The Unborn: $19.8 million
4. Marley and Me: $11.3 million
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: $9.2 million

Four more new ones this week:

Hotel For Dogs
What's It All About: Two kids living in foster care have to find a new home for their dog. After they find an abandoned hotel they are soon housing scads of homeless canines.
Why It Might Do Well: Recent flicks like Marley and Me and Bolt show there's always room for a shaggy dog story.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Looks like a cute premise for kids, but lacks that cross-over appeal for grownups.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $14 million

My Bloody Valentine 3-D
What's It All About: Yes, it's another horror remake, and this time it's a slasher film from 1981 that's being recycled. A young man returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of a series of brutal killings and finds himself suspected of committing the atrocity.
Why It Might Do Well: Although it's not being used in all theaters, the 3-D effect should bring in a lot of folks who might have otherwise passed on this one.
Why It Might Not Do Well: One of the reasons remakes are so common is they allow a studio to capitalize on an existing brand. In this case, however, unless you're an old school horror fan the title won't be all that recognizable.
Number of Theaters: 2,300
Prediction: $26 million


Notorious
What's It All About: The hotly anticipated biopic of rapper Notorious B.I.G.
Why It Might Do Well: Rottentomatoes.com is giving this one an impressive 80% fresh.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Despite critical acclaim, will non-rap fans be interested?
Number of Theaters: 1,600
Prediction: $10 million

Paul Blart: Mall Cop
What's It All About: King of Queens star Kevin James plays the title role in this comedy about a mall cop who takes his job very seriously even though no one else does.
Why It Might Do Well: King of Queens ran for nine seasons, so James must have some fans.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Alas, the more I see the trailer the dopier it seems.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $12 million

Here's how I think next week's top five will go:
1. My Bloody Valentine 3-D
2. Gran Torino
3. Hotel for Dogs
4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
5. Bride Wars


This was a tough week to call with no perfect scores and a lower than average overall score (should I be grading on a curve?), but congrats to Lostinafog for bringing in the top score. Here's how we all did:
1. LostinaFog: 11
2. Vera: 8
3. Alex Farquharson: 7
3. Ray: 7
3. I Eat Robots: 7
4. Coburn: 6
4. Gabe: 6
5. zach: 4
5. Matt: 4
5. Greg: 4
5. AJ Wiley: 4
5. greatone: 4
5. Romel: 4

Post your predictions for the top five movies in the comments section below before 5:00PM Eastern Time on Friday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.