New Releases: ‘Jack and Jill,’ ‘Immortals’ and ‘J. Edgar’

The three new releases out in theaters this weekend couldn’t be more different: there’s ‘J. Edgar,’ a bit of prestige Oscar bait from Clint Eastwood and Leonardo DiCaprio; ‘Immortals,’ the violent swords and sandals 3D epic; and ‘Jack and Jill’ … the most important movie ever made. Which film will emerge from this weekend as box-office victor? To the preview!

NATIONWIDE RELEASES

‘Jack and Jill’
What’s the story: Adam Sandler is Jack. Adam Sandler is Jill. Al Pacino is … Al Pacino? Yep, this is happening.

Box-office projection: Take away his dramedies (‘Funny People,’ ‘Punch-Drunk Love’ ‘Reign Over,’ ‘Spanglish’) and voice work (‘Eight Crazy Nights’ and ‘Zookeeper’), and Adam Sandler hasn’t had a film open with less than $ 30 million since ‘Little Nicky’ in 2000. Over that time period, ten of Sandler’s films earned over $ 100 million in ticket sales. Which is another way of saying: dude is Telfon, and one of the few reliable box-office stars remaining. You might think ‘Jack and Jill’ looks bad, but even with some stiff competition, the safe bet is to assume Sand-man will reach $ 30 million once again — unless, this is the next ‘Little Nicky.’ Here’s hoping. $ 30.7 million

[Showtimes & Tickets | Mr. Moviefone’s Six-Second Review]

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‘Immortals’
What’s the story: Titans! Will! Murder! Each! Other! Violently! The heavily violent ‘Immortals’ centers on the gods teaming with a common man (Henry Cavill) to defeat the evil King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke).

Box-office projection: If ‘300’ and ‘Clash of the Titans’ proved anything, it’s that audiences love shirtless gladiators. As such: hello ‘Immortals’! (Not that director Tarsem Singh would like that comparison.) The hard-R actioner should get a bump from being in 3D, as well as being the only choice for action meatheads, but don’t expect major box office. After all, ‘Conan the Barbarian’ was similarly R-rated and swords-y, and it stumbled badly in August. $ 14 million

[Showtimes & Tickets | Mr. Moviefone’s Six-Second Review]

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‘J. Edgar’
What’s the story: Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J. Edgar Hoover, the controversial director of the FBI, in Clint Eastwood’s biopic. Armie Hammer plays Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s long-time companion.

Box-office projection: Nothing says, “run out to the theater!” like a 150-minute drama about one of the more reviled characters in American history. But! Eastwood and DiCaprio are name brands, and general audiences are used to forking over hard-earned money to see their wares. ‘J. Edgar’ had a successful launch on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean much for the overall picture — the film earned $ 53,000 from 4 theaters in New York and Los Angeles; still, on only 1900 screens, ‘J. Edgar’ could easily pull down double-digits, and if ‘Immortals’ stumbles, could be the second-biggest new release of the weekend. $ 10.6 million

[Showtimes & Tickets | Mr. Moviefone’s Six-Second Review]

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LIMITED RELEASES

Out via on demand for over a month, the Lars Von Trier drama ‘Melancholia‘ finally arrives in limited release; check out Moviefone’s interviews with stars Kirsten Dunst and Alexander Skarsgard. Also in limited theaters, the horror thriller ‘11-11’11‘ and Werner Herzog’s well-reviewed documentary ‘Into the Abyss.’

[Photo: Warner Bros.]

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