This weekend at the movies, there will be blood.
Lions Gate's "Rambo" -- with 61-year-old action hero Sylvester Stallone reprising one of his signature roles for the first time since the Reagan administration -- opens today with a shot to supplant Paramount Pictures' monster hit "Cloverfield" atop the box-office charts.
The fourth film in the action series already has set one franchise record: Its "body count" of 236 killings is the highest yet, said a professor of national security studies at Ohio State who watched an advance copy using the pause button a lot.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. has peppered TV shows such as "American Gladiators" and Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" lineup with commercials aimed at 17-to-24-year-old males. The R-rated movie has a built-in audience of over-35 guys eagerly awaiting the return of reluctant warrior John Rambo, last seen in 1988 helping Afghanistan's mujahadeen rebels fight the Soviet empire.
"Hopefully, what our advertising has done is introduce 'Rambo' to a whole new generation of younger males," said Steve Rothenberg, the studio's domestic distribution president.
Consumer tracking surveys point to a tussle for No. 1 among "Cloverfield," which is expected to drop 50% or more from its record-setting Martin Luther King Day weekend; "Rambo," which has the edge among older males; and 20th Century Fox's spoof "Meet the Spartans," whose interest among teens and young adults was snowballing late in the week. Each could take in $18 million to $20 million, Hollywood executives said.
Produced for about $50 million by Avi Lerner's Nu Image Inc. and its partners, "Rambo" could mark the latest successful return for a big-screen action star of a certain age.
Stallone was last seen resuscitating his other trademark franchise with 2006's "Rocky Balboa" (which he also wrote and directed). Fiftysomething Bruce Willis was a hit with the kids last summer in "Live Free or Die Hard." Senior citizen Harrison Ford, whose next "Indiana Jones" film comes in May, surely hopes the trend continues.
In "Rambo," the Vietnam veteran is chilling in northern Thailand, but trouble, as they say, has a way of finding him. When missionary workers go missing, Rambo gets caught up in the Karen-Burmese conflict at the Myanmar border.
"Rambo" is one of four major movies opening this weekend. The only comedy, "Meet the Spartans," could end up No. 1 if date crowds looking for lighter fare show up in force.
