Weekend box office preview: 'Carrie' finally hits theaters

Is this the weekend that Gravity is finally dethroned from its number one box office spot? It could happen, with a strong challenge from the highly anticipated release of Carrie, the remake of the classic 70's horror film. I'm still not sure anything can knock Gravity from its perch, but horror fans are a notoriously loyal lot, and I'm certain they'll turn out in droves to see Chloe Grace Moretz serve up a prom night bloodbath of epic proportions.

I expect that Kimberly Pierce's remake of Brian DePalma's classic Carrie will perform quite well in theaters, despite only garnering lukewarm reviews (at best) from most major movie critics. When it comes to horror films, reviews usually don't matter all that much anyway. I haven't decided if I'm going to see this one in the theater yet. I wasn't particularly crazy about the original if I'm telling the truth. Sissy Spacek's performance in 1976's Carrie was outstanding, but that and Piper Laurie were the best thing about the whole movie. Well, that and the aforementioned prom night bloodbath, of course. And also? I love Julianne Moore. I am curious to see what she brings to the role of Margaret White, Carrie's right-wing nutso mom.

As for the weekend's other major openings, the biggest are the sci-fi action film Escape Plan, starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the docudrama The Fifth Estate, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Of those two, I'm far more likely to see The Fifth Estate, though the reviews for that one are pretty dismal as well.

If you are lucky, you might be able to catch one of the year's most talked about and best reviewed films, 12 Years a Slave, in the theater this weekend. This drama has major Oscar buzz, and it's opening in just a handful of theaters nationwide. I expect a slow rollout though, so if you can't see it this weekend, hang tight, you'll be able to soon enough.

Photo courtesy of RopeofSilicon.com