'Dream House,' '50/50' vie at weekend B.O.

Ernest Gordon-Levitt stars in '50/50.''Dream House''Courageous'Bizzers expect domestic box office to become rehash of last weekend -- though a smaller bar. Disney's two-week 3d champion "The Lion King" vies for Stateside boasting rights, again facing two key new records, Summit's "50/50" and Universal's "Dream House." Another wide release, last century Fox's "What's Your Number?," may not even acquire a double-digit opening. But soph-sesh holdovers "Moneyball" and "Dolphin Tale" will also be inside the running, for that way well the pair holds. The weekend's top-monitoring films won't score anywhere near $20 million rather, B.O. bloggers say it's much more likely that people photos will vary from $12 million and $14 million for your weekend. Overseas B.O. will have a familiar feel too. "The Smurfs," which joined $500 million in worldwide grosses last weekend, could continue its worldwide energy play, since handful of day-and-date releases appear broad enough to win overall. "Abduction" first demonstrated last weekend with $6.5 million from 28 areas and develops within the soph sesh to areas like France, Mexico as well as the U.K. Because the second notable overseas entry, Fox Intl.'s Indian pic "Pressure," bows in eight areas mostly within the center East, additionally to Australia and Blighty. Fox Intl. and Fox Searchlight are co-handling the pic's domestic debut, set to create today at 58 locations. Sony's belief-based pic "Courageous" could be interesting in your area. "Courageous," which launches within an aggressive 1,161 locations, acquired Wednesday's finest share of advanced ticket sales at 22%, and contains already collected $2 million in pre-sales. The studio is expecting the film, allotted for roughly $2 million, will land inside the $5 million-$6 000 0000 range through Sunday. "The Lion King," as well as Sony's "Moneyball" and Warner Bros.' "Dolphin Tale," are needed to help keep well, given heated aud interest. Last weekend, "Moneyball" bowed to $19.5 million, adopted carefully by "Dolphin Tale" with $19.2 million. A 30% drop a couple of days ago wouldn't be unthinkable for "The Lion King" -- pic, ultimately, dropped just 27% within the second outing -- while "Moneyball" frequently see the same soph-sesh drop as "The Social Media,Inch which fell 31%, putting "Moneyball" around $13 million for your weekend. Though Disney initially promoted "The Lion King" just like a two-week only engagement, a control button really elevated the pic's volume of domestic playdates, up 10 for just about any total 2,340. Between "50/50" and "Dream House," the first sort may have a small edge, considering it draws in a bigger demo ("Dream House," from Morgan Creek, appeals easier to femmes). "50/50," which cost $8 million, should draw fans of stars Ernest Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, getting a potentially significant Friday-Saturday pop based on strong reviews and word-of-mouth. "Dream House" will attract thriller fans but faces a larger target on its path to profitability, by getting an thought budget inside the low-$50 millions. Fox's "What's Your Number?", starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans, has limited interest, probably the most effective demo being over-25 women. In limited release, The brand new the new sony Pictures Classics' mental drama "Take Shelter" bows at three locations in NY and L.A., while Fox Searchlight's extended-postponed "Margaret," from helmer Kenneth Lonergan, opens at two. Relativity Media's "Machine Gun Preacher" develops to 33 playdates Sundance Selects' gay-designed drama "Weekend" increases to six. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com