Ticket sales have been on a hot streak so far in 2009 and been continually  beating the 2008 box office, but ticket sales this time may have a tough job keeping the streak alive. Looking to knock the superheroes of Watchmen out of the top spot is the wrestler formerly known as The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, who headlines the new Disney live-action film Race to Witch Mountain opening on Friday.

In Race to Witch Mountain finds Disney attempting to resurrect a franchise that delivered some remarkable hits for the studio in the 1970s. However, critics claim the reboot is only sporadically successful, despite the best efforts of a talented cast. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as an ex-con cabbie that picks up two teens with supernatural powers; together, they attempt to elude government officials and ominous forces. The critics say the cast is just works, especially the Rock, who mixes toughness and good humor with some style. But the rest of the film is alternately too busy and not exciting or original enough to maintain interest throughout.

Dipping back into the Disney well after the successful hit The Game Plan grossed $90.6M; Johnson this time shows that he has a real flare for working with kids in Race to Witch Mountain. The PG-rated adventure is the latest in the studio’s long line of recycled films updated for a new generation of children. Kids and younger teens sick of seeing Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Coraline yet again, and who obviously were less than thrilled by the Jonas Brothers concert flick, make up the target audience here. Most of the major films in release right now target older moviegoers so Witch has a great opportunity to score.

The wrestler-turned-actor provides ample star power and has family-friendly credibility too. Game Plan bowed to $23M in 2007 during the normally slow month of September. Actors Anna-Sophia Robb and Ciaran Hinds give the film cross-gender appeal plus the title will be familiar to parents making it a safe choice for the whole family. Marketing hype has been about normal for this type of picture which should be good enough to shoot it to the top of the charts. Reviews have been fairly good which certainly can’t hurt.  Whatever the results, Johnson’s choice to leave the ring for the big screen seems to have been an excellent choice.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 8:43 am and is filed under Movie Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.