MOVIEGOERS LIKELY TO PACK THEATERS AGAIN THIS WEEKEND

Once again there will be something akin to de facto segregation of the sexes at theaters this Presidents Day weekend. For females, there’ll be Fox’s romantic comedy/thriller This Means War, starring Reese Witherspoon Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. For males, there’ll be the 3D Nicolas Cage starrer Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. The latter film is expected to take the top spot with around $25-30 million for the four-day holiday. (It was not screened in advance for critics.) War will likely settle for around $20 million, according to forecasts. A third film, the animated family flick Secret World of Arietty from Disney and Studio Ghibli, is expected to gross around $16 million. Combined with a strong slate of holdovers, the overall box office is likely to exceed last weekend’s results.