Eddie Murphy and the duo of Denzel Washington and John Travolta enter the box-office battle this week, tackling both the expected powerhouse of Up and the unexpectedly triumphant The Hangover.
Washington and Travolta debut their thriller The Taking of Pelham 123 at some 3,000 theaters. The Sony/Columbia release is directed by Tony Scott and a remake of a 1974 feature directed by Joseph Sargent. It was more recently remade in 1998 as a TV movie.
Eddie Murphy goes the family comedy route with Imagine That, playing a harried executive who finds the answers to his business dilemmas in daughter’s vivid imagination. The Paramount release opens in 2,800 theaters and is directed by veteran Disney and DreamWorks animation writer/director Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, Over the Hedge, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Charlotte’s Web).
Saturday will see a sneak preview of the romantic comedy The Proposal, starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, on some 800 screens.
And both Up and The Hangover could continue to crowd the top of the box office charts. Up has the benefit of being both a family film and a 3-D attraction, while The Hangover is enjoying strong word of mouth.
