Weekend box office preview: Another potential Oscar contender opens

Not long ago, I mentioned that I believed Captain Phillips would be a likely Best Picture Oscar contender. I also suspect Tom Hanks will be in the mix, along with Captain Phillips' director, Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93). At long last, this highly touted drama is opening this weekend and yes, I've already got my ticket to see it.

It's not a stretch to say that I believe Captain Phillips could open in the number one slot. For the most part, any film starring Tom Hanks is going to be a huge draw, and combine that with some absolutely stellar reviews from movie critics and a strong word of mouth? Yeah, this movie is going to be a huge winner. The only thing that's giving me pause is Gravity: I've already told you that I believe it's the best movie of the year so far. Gravity is the very definition of a blockbuster film, and it's showing no signs of slowing down. It'll be Gravity vs. Captain Phillips for all the marbles this weekend, no doubt.

The only other major movie opening this weekend is the action film Machete Kills. I'll tell you right now that I am not a huge fan of exploitation action movies, so I'm almost certain I'll never see this film. However, if you love writer-director Robert Rodriguez and you loved Machete, I'd say there's a pretty darn good chance you'll love Machete Kills, too. And if anyone wants to try and convince me to see Machete, Machete Kills, Grindhouse or whatever, feel free to have at it via the comments. If I'm really missing out, I truly do want to know about it.

What say you, movie fans? Will you make the trek to the theater for Gravity this weekend (I highly recommend it), or do you prefer the Somali pirates biopic Captain Phillips?

Photo courtesy of EW.com