Box Office Column

This weekend is the calm before the holiday storm. Traditionally, this is when the box office takes a precipitous drop. The studios know this too. 1996's Daylight was the last time they went wide on this weekend. It bombed.

Can Universal, who has been in a funk for a long time with bombs like Meet Joe Black and Babe: Pig in the City, overcome history and breakthrough with the Psycho remake? I don't think so. The main reason being that the original is one of the most famous movies ever, and remakes, in general, don't perform well unless they disguise their origins and have significant star power. On the other hand, Psycho should appeal to the slasher flick crowd and film buffs curious to see just how closely it recreated the original.