Victory for "Vantage" at Oscar weekend box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A week after four wide releases opened in theaters, another quartet will hit screens on Friday, although moviegoers will largely ignore them.

Of the four new arrivals, the heavily marketed action thriller "Vantage Point" should easily take the No. 1 slot with sales of as much as $20 million. The Sony release, revolving around a presidential assassination, stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox and Forest Whitaker.

The comedies "Be Kind Rewind," "Witless Protection" and "Charlie Bartlett" each might struggle to gross more than single-digit millions.

Many moviegoers will likely be distracted by the Academy Awards, which take place on Sunday. Indeed, one would have to look long and hard to find a true hit that opened on Oscar weekend. Last year's rookies were led by "The Number 23" and "Reno 911!: Miami."

Holds of 50% each for last weekend's top three films would see "Jumper" do $16 million, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" $12 million and "Step Up 2 the Streets" $11 million during their respective sophomore sessions.

The Jack Black comedy "Be Kind Rewind" could potentially come in at No. 5, despite bowing in just 808 locations -- vs. about 3,000 for "Vantage Point."

Directed by Michel Gondry and co-starring Mos Def, "Rewind" should skew younger than "Witless Protection." The Larry the Cable Guy comedy targets older males and might be limited to about $5 million for the weekend. "Charlie Bartlett," a "Ferris Bueller"-type comedy starring Anton Yelchin as an entrepreneurial high school kid, will open with similar sales, albeit driven by young women.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter