THE SOCIAL NETWORK WANTS TO BE FRIENDS

Moviegoers are expected to friend The Social Network bigtime this weekend. Box-office gurus are predicting that the controversial movie about the founding of Facebook will likely take in $25-30 million, probably exceeding the combined take of three debuting competitors, Case 39, Let Me In, and Chain Letter. (On Saturday it will also be competing against preview screenings of Secretariat and Life As We Know It, which are due to be officially released next week.) Network is expected to benefit from a heavy marketing campaign, online controversy over the veracity of the plot, and generally excellent reviews. Let Me In, about a female vampire’s relationship with a lonely boy, may also benefit from favorable critical reviews, but it has not been strongly promoted by Relativity Media, which is releasing it. The other two films have not been screened for critics.
UPDATE:
The Social Network ran far ahead of the pack on Friday with $8 million, according to Daily Variety. A distant second was Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps with $3.3 million, edging out The Town with $3.1 million. Of the three other new films that debuted with Social Network on Friday, Let Me In ranked sixth with $1.9 million, just ahead of Case 39 with $1.8 million. Chain Letter failed to make the top ten list.