NOTE: Mega Markets are designed to generate long-range forecasts and close one month before the currently scheduled opening weekend. All participants still in the market at the close of trading will immediately receive $200 in fantasy money for their participation.
THE MARKET: “The Day the Earth Stood Still” goes into wide release on Friday, December 12, 2008. How much will it gross in its opening weekend as first reported by Variety on December 15? Each dollar of the share price represents millions of dollars in sales. Shares bought at $45, for example, would be worth $78 if the movie grosses $78 million. Trading closes on November 13th at 11:59 p.m. PT.

THE DATA: “The Day the Earth Stood Still” is a rare holiday disaster movie (we typically battle aliens, nature, etc., in the summer). “War of the Worlds” ($64.9 million), “Independence Day” ($50.2 million), and “Armageddon” ($36.1 million) set the bar high for “Day.”

OUR TAKE: FOX aired a 7-minute preview of the Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly vehicle during the premiere of “Fringe.” Jenna Wortham at Wired praised the “creepy interrogation sequence” with Reeves but found the “CGI-heavy special effects” unconvincing. “Day” will dominate its weekend, and no other sci-fi blockbusters are on the holiday calendar. But we find the Dec. 12 release date a little early – the earth may stand still, but stressed shoppers may not.


LEARN MORE:

See the trailer at the “The Day the Earth Stood Still” home page.