STALLONE LIKELY TO WHIP FIVE NEW CHALLENGERS

Five new films — count ’em, five! — are scheduled to debut in wide release this weekend, but many box-office forecasters are predicting that last week’s winner, The Expendables, starring Sylvester Stallone, will retain its crown. They figure that the film should bring in $15-18 million in its second weekend, down from $34.8 million for its opening. All of the newscomers are expected to do much worse, with Universal’s family film Nanny McPhee Returns likely to take the runner-up award. Still, the original film opened with just $14.5 million in January 2006, and the sequel is not expected to do much better. Fox’s horror comedy, Vampires Suck, might have topped that figure, but the studio decided to open it at most venues last Wednesday, depleting the potential audience for the film during the weekend. Warner Bros.’ Lottery Ticket, Dimension’s Piranha 3D, and Miramax’s The Switch will be lucky to open in the double digits, some forecasters observe. Commented today’s (Friday) Los Angeles Times: “Hollywood’s summer blockbuster season is now officially over, and studios are now releasing movies with lower commercial potential in the dog days of August.”