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In fact, all the planets are aligning in such a way that Green Lantern might even have a shot at being the biggest box office hit of 2011. Here is my reasoning. Green Lantern is a big enough character in the comic book world that comic book fans are going to turn out in droves to see the opening regardless of the pre-release buzz. However, what could make Green Lantern the biggest movie of the year though is the possibility of reaching well beyond the comic book community.
With The Proposal, Ryan Reynolds won himself a lot of fans of the female persuasion. In other words, Green Lantern has the added potential to go from just a comic book buddy movie to also being an actual date movie. Women who have no interest in comic books will go just to see Ryan Reynolds in a big budget thriller.
But wait, the news gets even better for Green Lantern. While darker comic book movies have had some parents reluctant to take their kids, Green Lantern looks like a colorful space movie. The Green Lantern trailers will remind parents of the good clean fun of Star Wars. Green Lantern could achieve family movie status, as an adventure that everyone can enjoy.
Yes, Green Lantern could score the rare triple play of being a comic book buddy movie, a date movie, and a family movie, which could mean major box office bucks for Warner Bros. But even with all that going for it, can Green Lantern truly rack up the biggest box office of the year in light of all the other competition?
Yes, and here is why. The competition isn’t stacking up to be all that many might have thought it would be earlier in the year. So far,The Hangover Part II has been the biggest movie of the year, and while popular among adults, it could hardly be labeled as a family movie. Both Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Fast Five opened strong, but Hangover II has passed them both by. Thor has also done well, but it’s already out of the running.
Transformers 3 has a shot at being the biggest movie of the year, but the disappointing Transformers 2 will likely keep some away. Plus, Transformers 3 won’t have the date movie appeal of Green Lantern. Still, if any movie beats Green Lantern, Transformers 3 is probably the most likely contender, because early buzz is good on the latest installment.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 could wind up stealing the top box office position from Green Lantern. However, because its audience is limited to people who have seen the previous chapters, I don’t see it quite reaching top movie status. If Captain America is really good, it might have a chance, but it’s likely opening to late in the Summer to have a long run.
This all leads back to Green Lantern being the movie that could possible be the biggest hit of the year. Based on early interest, I predict it could reach $100 million in its first weekend. Of course, where it goes from there depends on the buzz from the initial audiences. If the Green Lantern movie has a decent story and comes anywhere close to capturing the visual magic of Avatar, then it could be on target for a $300 million to $400 million U.S. box office, which just might be enough to make it the top movie of 2011.
