entertainmentdissected

The late Michael Jackson takes a look at the “Man in the Mirror”- the track from 1987’s Bad album resonates with the public now, possibly more than ever.

Following wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson’s unexpected death last week, it’s no shock that the public is purchasing his music and videos in droves.

Retail outlets are running low on Jackson stock, and Jackson titles dominate online sales charts at amazon.com and iTunes.

Whereas most people would expect classics like “Billie Jean,” ”Thriller” or “Beat It” to top singles sales charts, its’ 1987’s “Man in the Mirror” that jumped to the top of many worldwide listings: Over the weekend, “Man” climbed to No. 1 on iTunes’ top 100 songs chart (where roughly half the digital chart were Jackson songs), and finished as Jackson’s highest-ranked title (No. 11) on the official UK singles chart. “Man”- which topped its original UK peak of No. 21- accomplished the latter on the strength of just two days of sales following his Thursday passing.

Jackson landed a record-breaking 20 singles in the UK’s top 75 this week, and also dominated the albums chart. His Number Ones compilation returned to the chart at No. 1, followed by Thriller at No. 7, the King of Pop compilation at No. 14, Off the Wall at 17, The Essential compilation at 20, Thriller 25 at 45 and Bad at 59.

“Mirror”- which Jackson did not have a hand in composing- tells us that if we want to make change for the better in our lives, in the world, we must start with ourselves. Despite all of Jackson’s personal and legal dramas, there’s no debating that his music impacted and influenced loads of artists, fans and worldwide citizens. In the wake of Jackson’s death, listeners apparently are relating even more to the song’s poignant lyrics.

Like a slew of Jackson titles, “Man” also has enjoyed huge gains in radio play compared to a week ago. According to U.S. airplay tracker Mediabase, “Man” registered 2,516 spins at radio over the last seven days; one week ago, it had just 27 spins over the course of a week. While a huge gain, six other titles are enjoying even bigger spikes: “Billie Jean” (+3,879 spins); “Thriller” (+3,228); “Rock with You” (+2,967); “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” (+2,767); and “P.Y.T.” (+2,661). Right behind “Man” is ”Beat It,” up 2,457 spins from last week.

Whereas Jackson’s musical catalog charted alongside current releases on the official UK albums and singles charts, they will not do so in the USA. Billboard does not allow older tracks on the Hot 100 singles chart, unless a record label actively promotes it, or if it’s an actual re-release (older titles appear on Hot 100 Recurrent Singles). However, any title is eligible for the Hot Digital Songs chart, and, judging by iTunes’ top 100, Jackson’s music should be ubiquitous this week.

Jackson’s albums, in turn, will not chart on the Billboard 200, but on Top Pop Catalog. In addition, they will be scattered all over Billboard’s Comprehensive Albums chart, which includes both catalog and current titles.

As longtime fans continue to mourn (and celebrate) the King of Pop, others may be giving he and his musical legacy a chance they did not give him while he was still living. It’s unfortunate that sometimes it takes death to make people appreciate what was in front of them all along.

The many faces of Michael Jackson, from 1971-1990. The 50-year-old pop icon and legendary recording artist passed away today after suffering cardiac arrest. (image courtesy of AP)

In the same day that television icon Farrah Fawcett passed away at age 62, yet another icon reportedly has died.

Fifty-year-old Michael Jackson- one of the biggest and most influential music superstars of all time- suffered cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home this afternoon. Neither family members or hospital spokespeople initially released an official statement, but news outlets- and a Los Angeles coroner, per CNN- report that Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Center but did not respond to attempts at resuscitation and passed away.

The Eternal Peter Pan (who never had much of a childhood himself) had been prepping for a number of concerts in London, and, recently, expressed discontent with having to put on 50-something shows, rather than the 10 for which he thought he signed on. Eerily, he reportedly said that doing that many shows would kill him.

A monumental loss to the entertainment and music industries, Jackson’s impact and influence- whether as a member of the Jackson 5 or as a solo artist- undoubtedly will carry on for generations to come. He broke down race barriers on MTV in the early 1980s, and while his continuously morphing face, personal hardships and scandals have overshadowed his music in the last 15 years or so, his best work stands among the best ever recorded: Off the Wall and Thriller remain definitive musical moments, with Thriller still holding the title as the world’s best-selling album of all time. And, despite recycling his renowned choreography time and time again, few rival his dazzling stage presence and performance capabilities- witness his groundbreaking Moonwalk.

While Jackson was frail and not the picture of perfect health (tabloid outlets speculated on a prescription drug addiction, and a Jackson family attorney flat-out acknowledged as much to CNN today), this sad news came out of nowhere. Music icon, pop culture phenomenon, humanitarian, father of three- R.I.P., King of Pop.

Seen here on the final Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carsonbroadcast in May 1992, Ed McMahon enjoyed perhaps the role as television’s most famous and longest-running sidekick. (picture courtesy of AP/Douglas C. Pizac)

Three weeks following the death of actor David Carradine, Hollywood lost two more icons this week, with the passing of Tonight Show second banana Ed McMahon and Charlie’s Angelsicon Farrah Fawcett.

McMahon, who died Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 86, had experienced various financial and health troubles over the last several years. A spokesman did not reveal exact cause of death, but some believe his bone cancer played a significant role in his passing. Fawcett died this morning in Santa Monica at the age of 62, after battling anal and liver cancer the last few years.

For 30 years, McMahon served as late-night king Johnny Carson’s announcer and sidekick on The Tonight Show; “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Johnny!” became one of the most iconic phrases uttered on television. Furthermore, McMahon became known for his hosting duties on the syndicated Star Search talent program, as well as TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes and the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

As if he did not have enough toes dipped into pop culture, McMahon ingrained himself further into the public consciousness during the 1980s and 1990s as a representative of American Family Publishers, the main sweepstakes rival to Publishers Clearing House. His image became so synonymous with sweepstakes that a lot of people actually thought he was with PCH rather than the company he actually represented.

Farrah Fawcett set many an adolescent (and adult) male’s hearts racing with her infamous swimsuit poster, which went on to become one of the biggest-selling posters in history. (image courtesy of Pro Arts Inc.)

Like McMahon during his 40-year-plus career, Fawcett also left her mark via various projects, but forever will be known for one, sex-symbol-making endeavor. From 1976-1977 (plus some guest appearances in later seasons), Fawcett (then married to The Six Million Dollar Man’s Lee Majors) starred alongside Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson on ABC’s Charlie’s Angels. She became an overnight sensation, with the series’ popularity and her role of Jill Munroe sending sales of her infamous one-piece red-swimsuit poster skyrocketing.

In addition, long before Jennifer Aniston’s tresses ruled in the 1990s, the “Farrah do”had women worldwide running to their hairdressers hoping to emulate the look. To this day, the retro style remains instantly recognizable on a worldwide level, anytime a woman opts for a  blond-feathered hairdo (though any color will suffice).

After leaving the jiggle of Charlie’s Angels, Fawcett had little luck in her quest for a successful film career. However, she later won praise for her turn in the off-Broadway production of Extremities (later starring as the almost-rape-victim in the film version, as well). She continued with dramatic roles, earning an Emmy nomination for her work as a battered wife who kills her abusive husband in NBC’s The Burning Bed.

Returning to her sex-kitten ways, Fawcett posed nude for Playboy twice during the 1990s (her first pictorial boosting the magazine to its highest single-issue sales of the decade). In recent years, Fawcett’s most memorable television outing came via a 1997  appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, during which she appeared distracted and incoherent. Just last month, NBC aired Farrah’s Story, a two-hour documentary chronicling her battle with cancer.

Fawcett’s longtime love Ryan O’Neal said that as soon as she could, they would finally marry. Alas, the couple- romantically involved since 1982 and parents to son Redmond- did not get the opportunity to wed, but no doubt they will do so in a cancer-free, better life.

Sandra Bullock gets to second base with Betty White in the No. 1 box office champ The Proposal. Here, White’s character, Grandma Annie, likens looking for Bullock’s breasts to an Easter Egg Hunt. (picture courtesy of Touchstone Pictures)

One of America’s favorite Golden Girls returned to the top of the domestic box office over the weekend.

No, not Sandra Bullock. Though the actress headlines The Proposal, her first No. 1 film at the box office in a decade, it’s Bullock’s co-star Betty White, who enjoyed time at No. 1 even more recently. As nosy bigot neighbor Mrs. Kline, she co-starred in 2003’s Steve Martin-Queen Latifah vehicle, Bringing Down the House, which earned more than $132 million in the USA and Canada.

The Proposal,which earned $33.6 million from play at 3,056 venues, stars Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a boss and her assistant engaging in one of Hollywood’s oldest and most overused plots- a marriage of convenience, to help someone avoid deportation. Though the film has received mixed notices from critics (a 48 out of 100 Metacritic average, based on 29 reviews), White is winning rave notices as Reynolds’ Grandma Annie.

While the 87-year-old actress has enjoyed a vast television career (most notably, appearances on all Password incarnations, and Emmy-winning roles as The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s Sue Ann Nivens and The Golden Girls’ Rose Nylund), she only claims a handful of feature films to her credit. After making her film debut in 1962’s Advise and Consent, she did not have a scripted feature film role until 1998’s Hard Rain, opposite Christian Slater and  Morgan Freeman. What she was thinking playing herself in 1998’s Eddie Murphy dud Holy Man, we will never know, but it’s not like she has not stumbled on the small screen during her 60-year career (The Golden Palace? Maybe This Time, anyone?)

Aside from Bringing Down the House, which by far remains her most successful big-screen endeavor, White starred opposite Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer in 1999’s underwhelming The Story of Us. One of her most memorable film appearances came via 1999’s hit comedy/horror Lake Placid,where she portrayed seemingly sweet, yet acid-tongued keeper of the killer crocodile, Delores Bickerman.

Audiences apparently enjoy seeing White in roles that contrast her real-life sugar-and-spice, animal-loving persona. Off screen, they want her to remain (for the most part) the Grandma Next Door, but as of late, they adore the on-screen antithesis; the racier and more F-bomb-dropping, the better, the cuter.

White’s next project reportedly comes via the animated Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, set for release in August. However, no matter how her big-screen career has flourished during her 80’s, she forever will remain one of television’s greatest comic actresses. But thanks to her newfound screen success, she can enjoy the best of both worlds- not just TV and film, but also dual reputations of naughty and nice.

Just don’t let Rose Nylund hear the potty-mouthed language coming from White in recent times. After all, she’s the woman who, on Golden Girls, once told Dorothy that she could go to h-e-double-hockey-sticks.

Three decades ago, Lynda Carter concluded her run as TV’s Wonder Woman. A live-action feature film chronicling the latest adventures of the Amazon Princess remains one of Hollywood’s all-time longest-in-development projects.

You’re a wonder, Wonder Woman- as is Lynda Carter.

In her satin tights, fighting for our rights and the old red, white and blue, Carter’s turn as Wonder Woman (and alter-ego Diana Prince) faded from the television airwaves 30 years ago this year.

ABC first brought the comic book icon Wonder Woman to life in 1975, with a two-hour movie set in the World War II era. A number of specials followed, airing sporadically throughout the next year-and-a-half. Oddly, ABC did not commit to a giving the show a regular time slot, thus allowing rival CBS to pick up the series for the 1977-78 season.

Upon leaving ABC, the series lost much of its charm. CBS did away with the 1940’s setting and propelled the amazon right into the modern age. After an initial transition that incuded several episodes linking Wonder Woman’s 1940’s adventures with those of the current time, the series began to resemble any number of interchangeable female-driven action series. It it were not for the star-spangled, crime-fighting suit, it may as well have been The Bionic Woman, Charlie’s Angels or Police Woman we were watching.

Nonetheless, thanks to the series, Carter became as much of an icon as the character she portrayed. Tall, brunette, buxom and beautiful (and 1972’s Miss World USA), she may not have been the greatest actress to grace the small screen, but she embodied Wonder Woman better than any other female could hope to. (What exactly was ABC thinking with its 1974 movie starring Cathy Lee Crosby?) Both she and Wonder Woman helped pave the way for strong, take-no-bull female females to follow- Xena the Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to name just a couple notables.

Since the series ended in 1979, the Wonder Woman character has remained visible in popular culture via animated series and a recent direct-to-DVD animated film. A much-discussed, much-planned live-action film adaptation has stalled on numerous occasions through the years; at one point Buffy creator-writer-director Joss Whedon was to script the film, but dropped out following creative differences with Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures. The film reportedly remains in “active development,” according to Warner Bros. representatives.

Perhaps one reason there’s been so much dragging of the feet in the film adaptation coming to fruition is Carter herself. Few superhero roles are so closely tied to one actor, after all- and, seriously, what female could fill Carter’s red and white boots, not to mention her ample red, white and blue bathing suit? 

Over the years, DC Comics’ other two most powerful and iconic heroes have seen smooth transitions from television to the big screen. George Reeves portrayed Superman in the TV series, but Christopher Reeves more than made the character his own in the Supermanmovies (and we had Brandon Routh put on the cape in 2006’s Superman Returns). Adam West was TV’s Batman, but Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale donned the Batsuit in the many Batman films- granted, some were stronger than others, but audiences had no trouble adapting to and accepting new blood.

If Wonder Woman’s Amazonian adventures should ever come to theaters, let’s hope that the actress who lands the plum role embodies the character half as well as Carter did. Those are some mighty fine boots to fill, and if we’re lucky, Carter (who turns 57 next month) will make a cameo appearance in the film. That way, she can remind audiences who helped shape our perceptions and ideals about Wonder Woman and her indomitable role as a historical figure in pop culture.

All smiles whenever she has new product to sell to her adoring fans (aka lambs), Mariah Carey released her new single to radio this week. (picture courtesy of Reuters/Lucas Jackson) 

Believe it or not, Mariah Carey’s new single “Obsessed” does not detail her fixation on dominating the music charts.Rather, the urban-tinged track- the first single from her upcoming Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel album (due August 25)- seemingly takes as a swap at rapper Eminem, who recently made more musical inferences about his supposed relationship with Carey on a track titled “Bagpipes From Baghdad.” In that track from his chart-topping album Relapse, Eminem warns Carey’s hubby, “Nick Cannon better back the f— up. “I’m not playin. I want her back, you punk.”Striking back and possibly alluding to Eminem’s admitted battle with drugs, “Obsessed” boasts lines like, “It must be the weed, it must be the E. ‘Cause you be poppin’, you get it poppin’.” Furthermore, while never naming Eminem, the track contains a line asking the real MC to stand up, referencing Em’s “The Real Slim Shady.”

Eddie Murphy- pictured with Yara Shahidi in Imagine That- is set to finish outside the box office top five this weekend. (picture courtesy of AP/Paramount/Bruce McBroom) 

Some hitmaking film veterans enter the box office sweepstakes this weekend, though none will overtake the one-two punch of The Hangover and Up.

Eddie Murphy’s Imagine That looks set to join the list of Murphy duds such as Vampire in Brooklyn, Holy Man, The Adventures of Pluto Nash and last year’s Meet Dave. Based on Friday’s lackluster $1.825 million opening, the Paramount kiddie flick- playing in 3,008 multiplexes- probably will earn roughly $6 million this weekend. Such a showing would give the comedian back-to-back flops, his worst showing since the 2002 triad of Showtime, Pluto Nash and I Spy.

Granted, Murphy has scored a load more hits than duds in his 25-year film career- but two consecutive duds at the level of Meet Dave (which grossed a meager $11.8 million) and Imagine That is a career first. Heck, Murphy’s projected opening makes Will Ferrell’s Land of the Lost film adaptation (which grossed $18.8 million last weekend) look like a mega-smash; expected to tumble more than 50 percent this weekend, Lost still is projected to outdo Murphy’s first weekend. Even the Night at the Museum sequel- in its fourth weekend- will outperform Murphy’s flick.

Murphy’s next film, A Thousand Words, does not sound like it has much promise to halt the dud streak, which means he must be anticipating Donkey’s return to the big screen next year more than the millions of Shrek fans around the globe.

Looking to fare much better than Murphy’s vehicle is the Denzel Washington-John Travolta hostage remake The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, which should place third for the weekend with around $25 million. That’s a solid opening from business at 3,000-plus theaters, but without promotion from Travolta (who still is mourning the death of his teenage son), the film possibly missed out on an even heftier debut. 

However, like Imagine That, Pelham has received mixed critical notices, which could impact its overall box office potential. With 32 reviews taken into account at www.metacritic.com, Pelham has an average score of 58 out of 100.

Last weekend’s startling success story, The Hangover,features no big-name marquee stars (the biggest being Heather Graham and Jeffrey Tambor), yet came out of nowhere to eclipse Disney/Pixar’s Up in a photo-finish race for the top spot. Warner Bros.’ Hangover grossed $44.98 million over its first three days, compared to Up’s $44.14 million; through close of business on Friday, Hangover’s cume stood at roughly $82.4 million, while Up stood at $165.5 million.

Box office pundits project Hangover and Up to finish the weekend at $32 million-$35 million and $28 million-$31 million, respectively. Incidentally, not only are both films commercial success stories, but both have fared well with critics. The Hangoverhas a Metacritic average of 73 (based on 30 reviews), while Up boasts an 88 average.

Such reception shows that every now and again, critical and commercial success do match up. However, as always, let’s not get accustomed to such a marvel- as has occurred plenty of times in the past, soon enough the critical darlings will be relinquishing the top spots of the box office charts to the next round of mixed-reviewed or critically maligned films…

Allison Iraheta- who missed out on American Idol’s top three this season- already has secured a record deal, joining winner Kris Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert at 19 Recordings. (picture courtesy of PR Newswire/Jive Records)

Season eight’s crop of American Idol finalists are wasting little time putting their musical futures into motion.

This week, 19 Recordings announced deals for winner Kris Allen, runner-up Adam Lambert and fourth-place finisher Allison Iraheta. Allen’s and Iraheta’s debut albums will be released via Jive Records, while RCA Records will issue Lambert’s. All three records are expected to be released in the fall, after the 50-city Idol tour has run its course.

Currently, third-place finisher Danny Gokey does not have a deal. Is that surprising, given that Idoljudge Paula Abdul had predicted (on more than one occasion) that he would join Lambert in the finals? Not really- Gokey demonstrated little in the way of excitement, and mostly came off as a talented karaoke warbler rather than a promising artist. That does not mean he will not ink a deal with 19- after all, plenty of less-than-grand Idol finalists went on to release albums in their post-Idol lives.

Landing a deal and releasing an album, however, does not ensure a successful career. Only a few Idol finalists have gone on to true superstar-level sales (at least 3 million copies scanned, according to Nielsen SoundScan): Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry. Clarkson’s debut sold more than 2.7 million, but it was her sophomore album Breakaway that sold more than twice that amount (6.1 million) and spawned five hit singles (her third album- All I Ever Wanted- recently produced a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart). Underwood’s debut album has sold more than 6.7 million, with her sophomore effort selling 2.9 million. Daughtry’s debut- still residing on the Billboard 200 albums chart- has sold more than 4.4 million; his band’s second album is due for release next month.

In regards to 17-year-old red-haired rocker Iraheta and enjoying a successful post-Idol career, fellow fourth-place finisher Daughtry should be the model she (as well as Allen and Lambert) looks to, rather than some who finish in the top or runner-up slots. For instance, Clarkson might have gone on to multi-platinum success, but first season runner-up Justin Guarini barely sold 100,000 of his debut album.

Season five’s one-two punch of Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee fared worse than anyone, with their debut albums combined selling less than 1.1 million units. Season six runner-up Blake Lewis saw his debut sell just 300,000- but, heck, that’s a smash compared to season three runner-up Diana Degarmo, whose first and only album sold a meager 166,000.

Idol winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia each sold 1.8 million of their debuts, but follow-up efforts have not been nearly as successful. Season two runner-up Clay Aiken actually has the third-highest album sales among Idols, but that’s over six releases- his best seller remains his debut, which sold 2.8 million. Among his other releases, only his 2004 holiday album cracked 1 million copies.

American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert- who has ended speculation about this sexuality in a new Rolling Stoneinterview- has signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/RCA Records . (picture courtesy of AP/Dan Steinberg)

Album sales in general have been dimishing at a consistent pace over the last few years, but winners of Idol’slast couple of seasons have fared respectably enough. Season six’s Jordin Sparks started with the lowest sales debut for an Idol winner, but enjoyed legs, selling more than 1 million to date, while last season’s champ David Cook has sold nearly 1.2 million copies of his debut album.

Going platinum in this day and age probably would be music to season eight’s Idol’s ears. And since Allen, Lambert and Iraheta rank among the strongest finalists in Idol’s history, strong commercial fortunes should await. The one everyone will be watching more than others, though, will be Lambert, who via a Rolling Stone interview, officially has stepped out of the closet (you may have heard a little something about that during this week’s showbiz gossip).

Now, anyone without a pair of blinders on knew the dude was gay, but will his quickie acknowledgment have any negative impact on his potential success? We sure hope not. After all, aside from the most important aspect that should dictate his career- his obvious and exciting talent- he didn’t waste much time talking about his sexuality once Idol was over, unlike a certain other contestant who denied he was gay for years and only confirmed the fact last year.

You may not have voted him this year’s Idol, but, America, give him major props for not being ashamed of who he is, and forging a daring path to what hopefully will be a bold, dramatic career.

The top 20 finalists of FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance begin competing Wednesday night. (picture courtesy of FOX/Mike Ruiz)

American Idol may have ended its eighth season a few weeks back, but another FOX talent competition has its top 20 lined up and prepared to dance for their lives this summer.

Currently in its fifth season, So You Think You Can Dance- created by Idol masterminds Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe- functions similarly to Idol. Dancers deemed good enough make it to the Vegas round (equivalent to Idol’s Hollywood round), and from there, judges narrow the pool down to a top 20 (10 males, 10 females).

However, unlike Idol, for the first half of the competition, viewers vote on couples rather than individuals. Once the competition reaches the top 10, dancers randomly choose both their partners and style of dance from a hat, in addition to performing a solo. For viewers, it then becomes about voting for the individual dancer, rather than a pair.

Filling the Ryan Seacrest role on SYTYCDis British model and radio and television personality Cat Deeley. Serving as regular judges are co-creator and executive producer Lythgoe and ballroom dance champ sand choreographer Mary Murphy. Thanks to her quirky personality, enthusiastic screaming with excitement and constant giggling, Murphy has become nearly as notorious a panelist as Idol’s Paula Abdul. Regular guest judges include choreographers Mia Michaels, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen and Lil’ C.

Airing during the lower viewership months of summer, SYTYCD’s audience understandably is nowhere near the level of American Idol. And while its audience isn’t as large as it initially was in its inaugural season in 2005, it continues to attract a loyal following- last week, the series finished at Nos. 9 and 17, with Wednesday’s installment luring 8.9 million viewers and Thursday’s top 20 reveal drawing 8.2 million. Even better, the series ranked fourth and fifth among viewers aged 18-49, with 4.5 million and 4.1 million, respectively.

SYTYCD will have a shot at garnering even higher ratings later in the year, as it takes a cue from ABC’s Dancing With the Stars: The series’ sixth season will commence in the fall, marking the first time it has had two seasons air in the same year.

Keeping to the present time, however, until NBC’s American’s Got Talent premieres June 23, it’s all about SYTYCD. AGT has ranked as summer’s most-watched original program the last three years, but unless there’s a U.S. equivalent of a Susan Boyle, maybe SYTYCD will challenge for the title it held in its first season. If not, Mary Murphy undoubtedly will have even more to squeal about.

A horror showdown- set to take place August 28 in U.S. and Canadian theaters- pics the second Rob Zombie-directed Halloween film  (H2) against the fourth (and supposedly last) Final Destination. (posters courtesy of MGM and New Line)

Looks like Michael Myers does not stand alone as the next big horror villain to invade theaters this summer. 

Rob Zombie’s H2- the sequel to his 2007 reimagining of John Carpenter’s classic Halloween- is set to hit theaters August 28. Challenging H2 for the box office crown that very weekend will be the fourth installment of New Line’s Final Destination series, titled, fittingly, The Final Destination. (Social networking site MySpace last week premiered The Final Destination trailer.)

All of this year’s major horror releases- The Unborn, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, The Uninvited, Friday the 13th, The Last House on the Left, The Haunting in Connecticut, Drag Me to Hell- all debuted independent of other horror flick openings, making the head-on H2/The Final Destination scuffle possibly one for the box office record books.

The Final Destination series revolves around a teen’s premonitions of Death that, first, result in cheating it, and, eventually, for those who escaped it the first time around, falling victim to it, in rather gruesome manners. The series’ three films have grossed more than $150 million in the USA and Canada, with the most recent- 2006’s Final Destination 3- earning $19.17 million in its opening weekend and $54.1 million lifetime gross.

Can the Grim Reaper defeat Mr. Myers in the battle for box office domination? Zombie’s Halloween opened to $26.36 million in 2007, on its way to a final gross of $58.27 million.

Clearly, fans of both series will be out in force on opening weekend, and judging by the box office results of the prior films, it may be too close to call at this point. In The Final Destination’s favor, however, is the 3-D factor- the film will play at many 3-D theaters, which boast higher ticket prices than the regular 2-D multiplexes. Such an disadvantage could cost MGM’s H2 box office bragging rights once the weekend concludes.

Nonetheless, the weekend of August 28 will be a win-win for horror fans, as well as both films. Thanks to some healthy competition, H2 and The Final Destination could feed off each other and potentially score even bigger business.

We’ve seen Alien V.s Predator, and Freddy Vs. Jason- it’s about time we get to see Michael Myers directly fight one of horror’s most formidable killers.