Box Office Beat: Weekend of April 19

Danny Baldwin's Box Office BeatHello and welcome to the inaugural Box Office Beat column here at Critic Speak, a weekly post in which I will predict/analyze the monetary prospects for the upcoming weekend’s crop of new films. To those of you who have read variations of this column in the past at BucketReviews.com and on the Hollywood Stock Exchange forums, I’m glad we have been reunited here, where I plan to crunch the numbers for some time to come.

This weekend, three new films open in wide release, two of which have a strong shot of unseating The Hunger Games from the #1 slot, where it has dominated for a stunning four weekends straight. They are the Zac Efron tearjerker The Lucky One and the African-American targeted comedy Think Like a Man. Joining them on the marquee is Disney’s annual nature documentary, Chimpanzee, which is unlikely to be a real competitor.

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Francis Lawrence offered director’s chair for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Francis Lawrence is set to helm "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire".We posted earlier this week that Francis Lawrence, the director of such films as I Am Legend and Water for Elephants, was reportedly one of Lionsgate’s top choices to direct the sequel to the year’s biggest film so far, The Hunger Games. Well now, it’s official, as Lawrence has been extended (and will presumably accept) the offer today.

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Ruby Sparks trailer: Another dose of Sunshine

What would you do if your soul mate, exactly as you imagined them, sprang to life from your imagination? That’s one of the questions posed by Ruby Sparks, the upcoming film from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directors of Little Miss Sunshine.

The film stars Paul Dano as Calvin, a novelist who writes his dream girl (on a typewriter, which means he might be a poseur) and is justifiably shocked when she materializes in his house.

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Scorsese, DiCaprio ink deals, make The Wolf of Wall Street official

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprioFans of the Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio partnership need not wait much longer for another picture from the duo. After months of speculation, Scorsese and DiCaprio, who last worked together on 2010’s Shutter Island, today officially signed on to make The Wolf of Wall Street, marking their fifth collaboration. The New York production will begin shooting in August.

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Sin City 2: Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson return to the cesspool

At least two of Sin City’s most famous residents are returning to that dark, brutal, black and white metropolis.

Director Robert Rodriguez confirmed in an interview with MTV that Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson were both set to star in the sequel to 2005’s Sin City, tentatively titled Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

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Mel Gibson decides against crucifixion, sics lawyers on Joe Eszterhas

Mel GibsonMel Gibson, furious that Joe Eszterhas has released a tape confirming what pretty much everyone already knew (he’s a lunatic), is considering bringing in the lawyers. It could be worse; the man behind The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto can certainly think of worse things to do to his enemies.

Sources in the know have told TMZ that the actor is beyond livid that Eszterhas released a recording of him ranting and raving during at dinner party at his Costa Rican palace. Gibson’s minions are reportedly studying Costa Rican law to see if laws were violated, and even if not if the breach of privacy would constitute grounds for a lawsuit.

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Life after Twilight: Stephenie Meyer options Down a Dark Hall for big screen production

Stephanie MeyerAuthor Stephanie Meyer is preparing for cinematic immortality beyond her wildly popular Twilight films.

Meyer and Megan Hibbett’s Fickle Fish Films have optioned the young adult thriller Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan to be made into a feature film. The 1974 novel concerns a student sent to a boarding school haunted by evil ghosts. Wyck Godfrey, a producer on the Twilight films, is in talks to produce.

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