Dr. Seuss' The Lorax to charm families as Project X tries for teen at box office.
With only two wide releases finding their way into the box office, indie fans should rejoice as they have eleven new pics to sink their teeth into.
Universal Pictures' animated family fantasy The Lorax unspools into 3,728 theaters, looking for a hefty debut weekend. Pic features the voice talents of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift and Ed Helms. Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda direct from the script by Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul based on the book by Dr. Seuss.
Warner Bros. Pictures makes use of The Hangover guy Todd Phillips to try snag teenage viewers keen for a massive, out-of-control party in Project X. Relatively unknown cast is led by Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Nichole Bloom and Oliver Cooper star in the Nima Nourizadeh-directed comedy scripted by Matt Drake and Michael Bacall. Pic debuts in 3,055 theaters.
Focus Features releases their comedy drama Being Flynn into 4 locations, with a cast including Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Olivia Thirlby, Lili Taylor, Julianne Moore and Victor Rasuk. Talented Paul Weitz (About a Boy) directs and scripts, based on the book based on the memoir "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City" by Nick Flynn.
Magnet Releasing's comedy Tim and Eric'$ Billion Dollar Movie starring Eric Wareheim, Tim Heidecker, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Will Forte, Robert Loggia, Mark Cuban and Will Atherton, opens in 24 theatres and should pull in a decent per-location average.
IFC Films releases two films this weekend. The first is The Snowtown Murders (a.k.a. Snowtown) starring Lucas Pittaway, Daniel Henshall and Louise Harris, finds 1 theatre in New York. Justin Kurzel directs the film based on true events, which won multiple awards from the Australian Film Institute, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize (Special Mention) at last year's Cannes Film Festival.
The other IFC offering is the Don Argott and Demian Fenton-directed documentary Last Days Here, which follows Bobby Liebling, lead singer of the hard rock/heavy metal band Pentagram.
Variance's Let the Bullets Fly actioner, also known as Rang zidan fei, opens in 4 theaters exclusive to Los Angeles and New York. Jiang Wen (The Founding of a Republic, Letter from an Unknown Woman) directs, as well as starring in the film alongside Chow Yun-fat and Ge You.
Tribeca Films' Black Butterflies teams veteran Rutger Hauer with Carice van Houten, Liam Cunningham and Grant Swanby in the Paula van der Oest drama.
Paladin sends out their New Zealand-made Boy dramedy into a single New York venue, with Taika Waititi (Eagle vs. Shark) helming and writing.
From Palisades Tartan comes the This is not a Film (in film nist) Iranian documentary. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi direct the pic which opens in 3 theaters.
Zeitgeist Films' comedy The Salt of Life (gianni e le donne) directed by Gianni De Gregorio, who scripts with Valerio Attanasio, gets one theater in New York and Paan Singh Tomar from UTV makes its way into 24 theatres, with a cast including Mahoe Gill, Imran Hasnee, Irrfan Khan and Vipin Sharma.