Paramount’s Iron Man proved its mettle last weekend as it successfully fended off challenger Speed Racer from Warner Bros. Now the Marvel superhero flick will likely bow to Prince Caspian as Disney and Walden Media release the second film in their vfx-driven Chronicles of Narnia saga in nearly 4,000 theaters nationwide. No other films are opening wide this weekend.
C.S. Lewis’ classic literary saga continues on the big screen with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which has the young Pevensie siblings return to Narnia a year later, only to find that 1,300 years have passed and the magical kingdom has fallen into ruin. With the help of a certain animated lion, they must battle an evil king and return the land’s rightful ruler, Prince Caspian, to the throne. The film is directed by Andrew Adamson, who helmed the first journey to Narnia as well as the blockbuster DreamWorks Animation feature Shrek.
Prince Caspian was pushed back half a year to avoid competition from other fantasy films hitting theaters over the holidays, and to allow more time for visual effects production. The CG animation and other digital elements were created by Weta Digital, The Moving Picture Company, Framestore CFC, Rising Sun Pictures, ScanlineVFX and CIS London.
Should Prince Caspian dethrone Iron Man at the box office, it will no doubt be a short-lived reign as next weekend sees the debut of Paramount Pictures’ highly anticipated Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Though advance buzz on the film is a bit weak, the prospect of seeing Indy back in action one last time should prove irresistible to most moviegoers.
