SPIDER-MAN ON TRACK TO END HOLIDAY WITH $140M

It probably won’t do as well as the first two Spider-Man movies but The Amazing Spider-Man now appears likely to catch at least $140 million in its web through Sunday and thereby extend the franchise for at least another two installments. That result would also validate Sony’s decision to revive the series after ostensibly shutting it down five years ago. At any rate, two new films hitting the multiplex this weekend hardly stand a chance against it. They are the 3D concert movie Katy Perry: A Part of Me, which arrived in theaters on Thursday, and Oliver Stone’s violent crime drama Savages. The former film is aimed at attracting female teens and tweens; the latter, older males. (Savages’ principal competition may not by Spider-Man but Ted, which also targets older males and which debuted well head of forecasts last weekend with $54.5 million.) Each is expected to sell around $10-15 million worth of tickets. Such a low figure for a debut would ordinarily appear disastrous, but the Perry movie only cost about that amount to make and Savages reportedly cost around $45 million, so it’s unlikely that either will wind up losing money. Targeting older females, the second week of Magic Mike is almost certain to wind up in third place behind Spider-Man and Ted, with around $15-20 million.