As Speed Racer (Warner Bros) wraps its 2nd weekend at the box office with a less-than-stellar $8.1M, it continues to deal with a crush of negative press. After a disappointing 10-day total of just less than $32M, it will be difficult for this film adaptation from the Wachowskis to survive the box office onslaught of Indiana Jones starting Thursday. Critics have given mixed-to-negative reviews (35% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes), but there is a segment of moviegoers who are especially satisfied with the movie: anime fans.
Just spoke to a studio numbers-cruncher who says that Speed Racer (Warner Bros) is a lock to finish No. 2 for the weekend, although its final 3-day opening weekend will be a real disappointment.
Iron Man (Paramount) is the almost certain winner at America’s multiplexes this weekend, and it has been well-reported that Speed Racer (Warner Bros.) will have an uphill drive. This should probably not come as a surprise, and it may have less to do with the movie than its release date.
Iron Man (Paramount) will almost certainly comfortably win a 2nd consecutive weekend at the box office as Speed Racer (Warner Bros) struggles to reach $30M. I have not been able to find a studio exec who believes that the Wachowski Brothers' adaptation of the late '60s anime cartoon classic will be able to outrun its bad industry tracking and generally negative reviews (only 29% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes as of Wednesday night).
What is wrong with Speed Racer? A studio exec just filled me in on the latest industry tracking for the Wachowski brothers’ update of the late 1960s anime cartoon classic, and this picture has real problems in the marketplace.