ENDER’S GAME WILL WIN, SAY BOX OFFICE PUNDITS

Sci-fi movies have generally had a rough go at the box office this year, unless you include Gravity in that genre. But analysts are generally predicting that Ender’s Game will be the weekend’s top draw with around $25-30 million in ticket sales. (An unknown factor could be the threat of boycotts by gay rights advocates, who are angered over recently publicized comments by Orson Scott Card, who wrote the book on which the film is based, on homosexuality and gay marriage.) Online ticket sellers Fandango has been reporting that the movie is outselling two other films opening wide this weekend, the animated Free Birds and the comedy Last Vegas. Analysts are saying that those two films should open in the $15-20 million range. Both films have been taking a drubbing from critics. In limited release, About Time, a romantic time-travel movie written and directed by Richard Curtis (Love Actually) will be opening in about 175 theaters, while Focus Features opens Dallas Buyers Club, starring Matthew McConaughey, in nine theaters. The latter film, which screened at the Toronto Film Festival in September drew strong critical praise for McConaughey’s performance.