Analysts Unsure of How Well "Fantastic Four" Will Perform

Most people who know anything about how the world works agree that Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will dominate the box-office this weekend. But the extent of its domination is unsure. The other major studio release of the week, Nancy Drew, is unlikely to put up serious competition, but Knocked Up is retaining its place in the top 5. Analysts are also worried that the already huge amount of studio blockbusters that have been released this summer, most of them sequels and remakes, might have already exhausted the movie-going public. (On the whole, though, box-office revenues are up more than 5 percent from last summer). It's a funny thing about Hollywood: they never vary their summer formula of endless sequels and remakes, and then they can't figure out what to do when their formula begins to wear thin. Bombarded with the same trashy movies every summer, it's no surprise that people are looking for amusement elsewhere.