Movie season ends on an 'Invincible' note

Welcome to a special Labor Day edition of the Recap. Does the fact that it's being released on a Monday mean that there will be more treats? More Easter eggs? More features? Nope! In fact, you get even less than usual in this edition! After all, why bog down memories of Labor Day with financial statistics? It is towards that end that we give you the box office scoreboard and the Fact or Fiction? column, right. now.

Proving that sport films can be Invincible even in their second weekend at the box office, the Mark Wahlberg movie took top honors this weekend, pulling in a measly $12.1 million. In total, the box office grossed under $71 million for the top ten films, helping to close out this year's summer cinema with a whimper, not a bang. With X-Men: United and Pirates 2 being the only real clear box office hits of the summer, studios were mostly disappointed with their returns this summer. Was it the lack of originality? Was it the lack of big marquee names? Was it the lack of good scriptwriters? We can only guess. We now enter the fall period, where movie studios quietly release some not-too-great films under the radar while college students - the main movie demographic - hit the books once again.

(Source: BoxOfficeMojo)

Every mid-week, we bring you the Preview, your first look at the movies opening up at the cineplex that upcoming weekend. We also make our own predictions on how well the films will do (financially, that is) that weekend. Will our predictions have a ring of truth to it, or it be poor man's fiction? Let's find out right now.

We Said: 1. The Wicker Man, $15-$20 million. It's smart, it's scary looking, and it's got a built-in fanbase from the original film. It'll get the top honors easily.
The Truth: Invincible, $12.1 million.

We Said: 2. Crank, $10-$15 million. Personally, I think this movie looks stupid. But I thought that about Beefest and that film still pulled in a lot of money.
The Truth: Crank, $10.3 million.

We Said: 3. Invincible, $10-15 million. It's a feel-good movie. Those stick around for a while on the top charts.
The Truth: The Wicker Man, $9.6 million.

We Said: 4. Talladega Nights, $8-$13 million. This is the film that just. won't. go. away. Ever.
The Truth: Little Miss Sunshine, $7.6 million.

We Said: 5. Little Miss Sunshine, $8-$13 million. It's the little-independent--film-that-could. Kind of. It'll still be popular enough to get on the top five. Probably.
The Truth: The Illusionist, $6.4 million.

Conclusion: We were right on the money about Crank. And that makes us want to cry. Seriously, does nobody else get headaches watching the commercials for that film? Even people with ADD must get dizzy watching advertisements for this thriller.

And that's it for this abridged version of the Recap. Stay tuned to TDIN for more news, information and special features. Until then, stay safe and remember: friends don't let friends punish hedgehogs for their own afflictions.