Weekend Box Office #140

So TRANSFORMERS 2 is already jaw-droppingly huge; it did some $60 million on Wednesday (best Wednesday ever; second best day ever for a movie) and another $28 million yesterday.

Imagine if it had gotten good reviews?

Ironically, Michael Jackson died yesterday, and something similar happened -- suddenly he was viewed as this tragic icon, the king of pop cut down in his prime. But imagine the reaction if he hadn't been a weird little pervert.

Even pop culture successes are never quite as big as they could have/should've been.

Opening wide today:

TRANSFORMERS 2 (4234 theaters). I didn't see the first one, but apparently it has something to do with robot cars and a sexy Megan Fox. The sequel will probably add another $95 million this weekend. Yay, the economy is coming back.

MY SISTER'S KEEPER (2606 theaters). Oy. I guess there's room for a weepy movie geared toward women, and they have been advertising the heck out of this. But it's not exactly escapsim. $11.2 million for the weekend.

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THE PROPOSAL did a very strong $33.6 million for the weekend, Sandra Bullock's best opening ever, and a jolt of life for star-driven romcoms.

YEAR ONE did a pretty good $19.6 million, but word of mouth doesn't seem very solid, and it'll probably drop fast.

Weekend Box Office #139

I'm swamped this week, which is great -- I'm not complaining. Not sure if I'll have time to go to the movies this weekend, though, and I'm starting to fall behind.

Not that this week's offerings are all that thrilling:

THE PROPOSAL (3056 theaters). Though it's nice to see Sandra Bullock out in a movie that's getting some decent reviews, at the same time I've seen the trailer and I feel like I've seen the whole movie, and don't want to see it again. Call it $13.4 million for the weekend.

YEAR ONE (3022 theaters). It looks like dumb fun, and it could click with audiences, though then again audiences could just yawn and stay in to watch NASCAR. Prediction: $14.4 million.

WHATEVER WORKS (limited release). Remember when the release of a new Woody Allen movie was an event? Neither do I. None of the reviews that I've seen have been very enthusiastic.

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Last weekend, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 made $23.3, which isn't terrible but is less than I thought.

IMAGINE THAT made $5.5 million, so I was dead on in my underwhelmedness.

Weekend Box Office #138

One interesting, one not:

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 (3074 theaters). I haven't seen the original in a while; it's one of those classic 70s movies that never seems to be on TV much. But you can't beat the cast here, they are making it seem exciting, and the reviews I've seen have been solid. Let's call it $34.5 million for the weekend.

IMAGINE THAT (3008 theaters). Oy. It's hard to believe that anyone would want to see this, except maybe little girls, but even then not really. But they are advertising the heck out of it. I smell a big flop. $5.5 million for the weekend.

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Last weekend, THE HANGOVER roared out and gobbled up almost $45 million to edge UP for the top slot. Pretty amazing for an R-rated comedy with no stars, and it's holding up very well over the past 4 days as well.

LAND OF THE LOST tanked, with only $18.8 million for the weekend and the promise of a steep tumble this weekend. I bet Will Ferrell is wishing he'd stuck with Hangover director Todd Phillips, who directed Ferrell in OLD SCHOOL.

Weekend Box Office #137

Yuck, it's raining. It's not supposed to rain in Los Angeles in June.

Opening this weekend:

LAND OF THE LOST (3521 theaters). It's a good time for a movie that looks like dumb fun, and it it should grab the family audience. I'm going to take a wild guess and say $46.5 million for the weekend, though I could be way off.

THE HANGOVER (3269 theaters). I gave the makers of this some notes along the way, and though I'd like to take credit for making it the funny movie it apparently is, it's likely I really had little to do with that. Still, see it, so they can keep paying me to read other things. Prediction: $18.7 million for the weekend, but it should hold well.

MY LIFE IN RUINS (1164 theaters). I haven't seen any commercials for this film, which stars Nia Vardelos from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". I'm not sure she has enough of a real following to make this a big hit through. $3.6 million for the weekend.

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Last weekend, UP made $68.1 million, and DRAG ME TO HELL made $15.8 million.

STAR TREK became the first movie this year to crash over the $200 million mark, though it likely won't make it to $300 million.