There’s something for everyone in theaters the weekend of February 10, so take your pick: updated nostalgia, sappy romance, predictable action, or kids’ adventure?
Everybody knows what to expect from “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D,” but that was also true of “Lion King 3D,” which opened to a remarkable $30 million in September. Despite its age (and Jar-Jar Binks in 3D), “Menace” seems like the clear frontrunner for an otherwise so-so weekend. Valentine’s warm-up “The Vow,” starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, is your typical tearjerker – couple falls in love, gets married, wife loses memory. Can he make her fall in love all over again?! (Spoiler alert: probably.) “Safe House” is just as predictable, but in a different genre – Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds play a fugitive and a CIA agent who have to go on the run, and they don’t know who to trust! (Spoiler alert: they will distrust each other at several points, but ultimately learn that someone else has betrayed them.) Finally, we have “Journey 2 The Mysterious Island,” starring Vanessa Hudgens, Josh Hutcherson, Michael Caine, and Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a The Rock – we haven’t forgotten, Dwayne). Inspired by Jules Verne’s novel “The Mysterious Island,” it’s one of the only kids’ movies opening in February, so will probably find a decently-sized audience.  Look for over $30 million for weekend winner “Star Wars,” and a low-teens debut for “Journey.” Meanwhile “House” and “Vow” will stumble with single-digit debuts.