USA: Box office watchers look forward to holiday movies including "Sweeney Todd," "The Golden Compass," and "I Am Legend"

With Thanksgiving behind them, the North American movie marketers are now turning their attention to the holiday season. And there's a lot at stake: even with a few modest successes like "Fred Claus," the North American box office is stuck in a serious slump. Now, studio execs have their hopes pinned on a handful of diverse films that are looking to mix top-shelf talent with lush, big-budget moviemaking. Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracking firm Media By Numbers says he's keeping a close eye on what may be the next big movie musical. "For me, and I think for a lot of people, Sweeney Todd is a movie that is a must see for the holiday season. Johnny Depp, Tim Burton directing, Helena Bonham Carter, it's R-rated, it's going to be gory, I mean you already know up front. It's going to be a dark vision, no question about it." Burton's take on the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is said to be bloodier than any stage production so far. And with Depp showing off his vocal stylings for the first time, analysts say that viewer curiosity is sure to drive up attendance. Also on tap for the holidays, "The Golden Compass," starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The first installment in Philip Pullman's fantasy epic has been adapted for the big screen with no punches pulled in the visual effects department -- a critical factor, says Dergarabedian. "But if you just bring in the fans of the books, that's not going to make your movie into a blockbuster. You have to go beyond that, you have to grab the audience that is just interested in the movie by itself. There's a lot of people who probably don't even know it's based on a book. You have to wow those people too, to get them into the theater." The parade of A-list actors continues throughout December. "Atonement" features Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in an adaptation of the much-lauded British novel of the same name. Then mid-month, Will Smith joins the fray with the dystopic sci-fi thriller "I am Legend," in which he is cast as the last surviving resident of New York City. Finally, Christmas Day brings "Charlie Wilson's War," a comedic drama starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in the real-life story of a 1980s Congressman who single-handedly fast-tracked covert CIA operations in Afghanistan. "I think films like Charlie Wilson's War and these other films -- like The Golden Compass, I mean these are films that offer kind of Oscar quality with big stars, but hopefully they look fun to moviegoers. And I think the task now is for the marketing people to put together trailers that don't concentrate on the seriousness of these films but mainly the escapism of it, even if they are serious films."

ITN Source | November 29, 2007

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