Welcome to HDR

Last weekend the combination of Where the Wild Things Are, Paranormal Activity, Law Abiding Citizen and Couples Retreat set the box office on fire by racking up record receipts with its diverse offerings. This upcoming weekend sees a similar wave of new releases vie to topple Wild Things from its top spot perch.

Saw VI will explain why a deceased Jigsaw appears in promotional stills and aim to match the last chapter's huge $30 million opening while Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant hopes to feed off the Twilight frenzy and prove another successful tween book-to-screen adaptation. Astro Boy hopes to reach the stars as previous CGI-kids films have this year, while Amelia comes in the underdog with a dramatically lower screen count but plenty of star power on board.

The Weekend Box Office Prophet game lets you predict what five individual films will make in millions at the box office from Friday through Sunday. The average participant scores will be weighed against the Prophet's score and if the Prophet loses, as just happened last week, a prize or prizes will be issued. Weekly and cumulative scoring charts are available on the main game page.

Notice: Beginning with this round, the game will close a day earlier on Thursday evening rather than Friday evening as in the previous rounds. This should help alleviate any advantage last minute players may have had with digging up early ticket sales numbers on Friday.

There are currently 47 players up against the Prophet

The entry period for October 23- 25 has already ended. Follow the weekly results at the Weekend Box Office Prophet main page.

Amelia
Hilary Swank is a dead ringer for Amelia Earhart and will bring the long lost pilot's tale to life in this historical drama. Ewan McGregor and Richard Gere co-star to help attract more ladies to a showing, but a mere 800 screens will make it tough for Amelia to reach great heights at the box office.

All: $10.3 Me: n/a Prophet: $7.4 Actual: $3.9

Astro Boy
Astro Boy is being hailed as Iron Man meets Frankenstein for kids. CGI animated films for kids have fared extremely well all year though it is worth noting that Astro Boy is from a small distributor, Summit Entertainment, and does not have 3D showings. It will blast off on 3,000 screens which is not too shabby at all.

All: $16.2 Me: n/a Prophet: $23.6 Actual: $6.7

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Yes, another vampire movie for teenagers. Like Twilight, Cirque du Freak is based off a popular book series. It aims for a slightly younger demographic than Twilight and, by the looks of the ads, should draw in a decent male audience. 2,750 screens is the third lowest of the newcomers.

All: $15.8 Me: n/a Prophet: $16.5 Actual: $6.3

Saw VI
Saw VI is the latest annual entry in Lionsgate's flagship horror franchise that will open on approximately 3,000 screens. Last year Saw V opened on the same number of screens and enjoyed $30.1 million its first weekend in cinemas. Like last year there is no heavy new horror competition when Saw VI arrives.

All: $26.1 Me: n/a Prophet: $30.5 Actual: $14.1

Where The Wild Things Are
The Wild Things ran wild last weekend to the tune of $32.7 million giving Spike Jonze his first big hit and Warner Brothers a sigh of relief considering the $90 million plus budget. The Vampire's Assistant and Astro Boy should steal some of Wild Things' thunder heading into this upcoming weekend. How much remains to be seen.

All: $19.8 Me: n/a Prophet: $15.7 Actual: $14.0