MOVIE-GOERS GIVEN TOO MANY CHOICES THIS WEEKEND - THE EXPENDABLES DECIDEDLY ON-TOP AGAIN

Vampires Suck 

Movie-goers scratched their heads over what to see this weekend with five films opening domestically. But one can never under-estimate the power of Testosterone as Lionsgate's The Expendables makes it two weeks on-top with $16.5 million, earning $64.9 million.

The Twilight Saga-parodying Vampires Suck from Fox has created a new market of fans in the same vein as the Scary Movie franchise. Opening on Wednesday, the film pulled in a surprising $12.2 million, placing it in second.

Eat Pray Love continues to perform consistently well in third spot with $12 million, earning $47.1 million. The film was made for $60 million and has yet to open overseas, where it is expected to perform well also as Julia Roberts does her promotional rounds.


Lottery Ticket, which I enjoyed, landed in third sport above all expectations, with $11.1 million. The film opened only in 1,973 theatres.

Piranha 3D, which was absolutely amazing, marks yet another weak opening for fumbling The Weinstein Co., which in recent memory had another major studio loss with the musical NINE. The horror-comedy debuts in sixth spot with $10 million. Luckily though, this one was made for $24 million and should earn it back in its Box Office run.

LOTTERY TICKET MOVIE REVIEW

The premise of Lottery Ticket is the stuff of dreams. Boy has mundane life and job. Boy buys Lottery Ticket. Boy wins Lottery. Boy realizes it's July 4th Weekend and can't cash his Ticket until the next business day. Boy gets hounded by friends and neighbours for their share of the Jackpot. Boy gets approached by Mafia for protection. Boy must fend off Bully for money. Boy falls in love along the way with girl-next-door. Boy's Lottery Ticket is stolen by Bully. Boy gets help from unexpectedly from a man who hasn't seen the light of day in 20 years. Wait a minute, I never dreamed-up this crap!

Let's be real here, this plot completely is absurd and although it is loaded with clichés (see previous paragraph), Director Erik White manages to pull the wool over our eyes and before we know it, we're hoping for dear life that this Lottery Ticket in question gets cashed by its rightful owner Brian (Rapper/Actor Bow Wow), not towering arch-nemesis Lorenzo (Gbenga Akinnagbe) in this David vs. Goliath-esque battle. And isn't this why we go to the movies? To be taken on a bit of a ride?  To root for a Hero?