THE MARKET: “Hellboy II” goes into wide release on Friday, July 11, 2008. How much will it gross in its first thirty days as reported by Box Office Mojo? Each dollar of the share price represents millions of dollars in sales. Shares bought at $73, for example, would be worth $135 if the movie grosses $135 million. Trading closes the Wednesday after the film’s opening, July 16, at midnight, PT.
THE LOWDOWN: Guillermo Del Toro is back for round 2 of “Hellboy.” Last time around, in 2004, the comic book flick disappointed, pulling in a paltry $23 million in its opening weekend and less than $60 million overall. This time around, they’ll be playing up Hellboy’s…sensitive side. According to Hellboy himself (Ron Perlman), his relationship with Liz (Selma Blair) “gets tested, which is a story that runs parallel to the big ‘A’ story of the film. You get to see the guy you saw in the first film, who was filled with swagger and one-liners and arrogance, you get to see him completely at sea emotionally.” Will box office goers flock to the kinder, gentler “Hellboy II”?
THE PR: A straw poll of Hollywood insiders on the prospects of this summer’s blockbusters found at least one exec who thinks big things are on the horizon for the “Hellboy” sequel. The unnamed honcho tabbed “Hellboy II” as his sleeper of the summer and asked, “Is it one of those franchises where the question is: Does the first one do $60 million, and the second do $100 million?”

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