Weekend releases shouldn’t topple reign of ‘300’

A lack of major nationwide releases should make for a slow weekend at the box office, with just two major players heading off for the top spot. Between Need for Speed, the action-thriller adapted from the video game franchise, and Tyler Perry’s Single Moms Club, expect a slow weekend at the box office.

It seems obvious which of the two should come out on top this weekend. Need for Speed, with a strong marketing campaign that included a Super Bowl commercial, stars Aaron Paul, who has amassed a devoted following because of his critically acclaimed role in the television series Breaking Bad. The film seems full of action sequences and special effects, trademarks of many blockbusters, so some may brush it off as a weaker version of the Fast and Furious franchise. Weak critical reception likely won’t affect it too much over opening weekend, and it should do fairly well at the box office.

Tyler Perry is one of the most well-known names in the entertainment industry. His most popular films are the Madea films, although all of his other films tend to do well. The Single Moms Club stars Nia Long (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and Amy Smart (Crank) alongside Perry. The film should have a decent showing, but do not expect it to perform better than Need for Speed.

The weekend will also see three major limited release films. Veronica Mars, starring Kristen Bell, is the heavily publicized film notable for sparking up controversy over the website Kickstarter.  The project was funded by devoted fans of the television series, and will finally hit the big screen this weekend.  The second is Bad Words, which marks Jason Bateman’s directorial debut. The black comedy has received good critical reception thus far and looks to have a nationwide release later in the month. The third, Enemy, reunites Jake Gyllenhaal with his Prisoners director, Denis Villeneuve. Its current Rotten Tomatoes score is 81 percent, but no date has been set for a nationwide release.

300: Rise of an Empire has been making waves, and Need for Speed does not seem to have the type of momentum to break its stride. Expect the Spartan epic film to remain on top this weekend.