The studio lords are expecting big business in the month of May. We hear whispers of these prophecies thanks to the fabled caves of yahoo:
Even without titan franchises “Spider-Man,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Shrek,” the May box office has a shot at matching or outperforming May ’07. This May, there are four event films: Paramount’s “Iron Man” (May 2), Warner Bros.’ “Speed Racer” (May 9), Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (May 16) and Paramount’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (May 22).
May has become increasingly important for studios. It is the “launch pad for summer,” one distribution topper said. “Without great openings in May, the rest of the summer is typically softer. The more people who see trailers in May for movies that open in June, July and August, the better off the summer is.” “There’s a lot of business that could happen at the box office,” Universal prexy of distribution Nikki Rocco said. “It’s always good when there’s high anticipation for something new and inventive. It’s what keeps moviegoers coming back.”
Amen Nikki Rocco, Amen.
This May is going to be a juggernaut of a month. Of all the heavy hitters – I am most skeptical about Speed Racer, although I must admit; I recently saw the trailer on a digital screen and it was a different animal altogether. The colors looked incredibly vibrant, the characters looked stylized like human cartoons and there is a possibility I may have to eat my words if this production ends up being good.
I am delighted that Iron Man is drawing such fantastic buzz. It looks like it is going to be incredible and I welcome another excellent comic book film franchise to the fold. Robert Downey Jr. looks like he was born to play the role of Tony Stark. I suspect this film will entertain fans of the comic book, and strangers to the character all at the same time.
Indy 4 is the odds on favorite to win the month, and who knows how much money this project will rake in. I am not sure if we will have people waiting in line for a few hours to see the film opening day …but you never know. This iconic character leads a pack of heavyweights and with luck, this summer will make up for the titanic let downs of last year.
