HARRY POTTER - SOMETHING FOR EVERY TASTE AT THE BOX OFFICE

SOMETHING FOR EVERY TASTE AT THE BOX OFFICE

Moviegoers will have a wide-ranging choice at the box office this weekend -- ranging from a broad menu of family movies to R-rated comedy fare. The general consensus is that the family movies, which include the holdovers G-Force, Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs , and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, have already had their day and that Judd Apatow's R-Rated Funny People will emerge at the top of the box office. But several analysts are hedging their bets. The Hollywood Reporte r has suggested that another family-focused fantasy film, Aliens in the Attic, may surprise in its debut. "So far this summer, parents have shown boundless enthusiasm for rounding up the tots for a couple hours of air-conditioned diversion," it commented. But no movie is expected to rake in big bucks. Several forecasters predict that the top of the box office will be dominated by a mixture of movies earning in the neighborhood of $15-25 million. They also suggest that the latest Harry Potter sequel could become a significant challenger again as it moves into the IMAX theaters being vacated by Transformers. Some moviegoers, they note, may have been waiting to see the film on the giant screen, while other Potter fans, who have already seen it on conventional screens may return to see it in the IMAX format. The movie is also expected to dominate the foreign box office for a third straight week. It has already taken in $443.3 million overseas.

31/07/2009