Rambo 4 leads crowd entering box-office fray

The domestic box office will feature a kind of mid-winter mayhem this weekend, as strong holdover films are joined in a competitive fray by four wide-release debutants and Oscar-rejuvenated titles.

There just might be blood. The domestic box office will feature a kind of mid-winter mayhem this weekend, as strong holdover films are joined in a competitive fray by four wide-release debutants and Oscar-rejuvenated titles.

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Paramount's monster film Cloverfield still holds considerable bite and should compete again for the top spot. But it will be interesting to see if its second-weekend drop exceeds 50 percent, a definite possibility amid the crush of film titles this weekend.

Fox's sophomore session with the wedding-themed romantic comedy 27 Dresses, a boxoffice bridesmaid last weekend, should considerably add to its earnings. Yet it remains to be seen if any males will show up for the film in subsequent outings; its maiden voyage skewed a whopping 75 percent female.

Last weekend's No 3 -- Warner Bros.' Jack Nicholson-Morgan Freeman starrer, The Bucket List -- is showing surprisingly sturdy legs. Another strong session would give its septuagenarian topliners grounds for thumbing their noses at critics who predicted a dismal run for the now-$45 million grosser.

Also this weekend, Miramax expands Oscar magnet No Country for Old Men to 1,500 playdates.

Warners' Michael Clayton -- another Oscar best picture nominee, along with holdovers Juno from Fox Searchlight, There Will be Blood from Paramount Vantage and Atonement from Focus -- expands to about 1,000 engagements.

In the meantime, the hefty holdovers will be joined by a bevy of wide openers, and more than a couple of titles could get caught in the competitive frame.

Lionsgate's Rambo -- the first installment of the Sylvester Stallone action franchise in 20 years -- is set for about 2,800 theaters, while Fox bows Meet the Spartans, a spoof of last year's 300 that's playing in about 2,600 locations. Sony also unspools serial-killer thriller Untraceable in about 2,300 sites, and Paramount Vantage trots out its urban step-dancing film How She Move in about 1,500 venues.

Rambo will draw heavily among older males. If it plays more broadly, it could challenge Cloverfield for the weekend crown.