User blog:Ceauntay/Box Office Preview: 'Amy Tammie' 'Battles' Over 'Los Angeles'

The Lincoln Lawyer," ''Paul", "Limitless" and "I Wanna Live The Dream" face a "Battle: Los Angeles" for box office supremacy this weekend and it's likely that Sony's attacking aliens will again prevail.

"Battle" had a better-than-expected debut last weekend of $35.6 million and has been performing well midweek, with grosses in the $3 million range that portend a solid second weekend in the high teens and a shot at becoming the first film this year to hold the No. 1 spot for two consecutive weeks.

Of course, there are four hot new releases to contend with, all of which have the potential for debuts in the mid-teen range, and should one of them break out, that gross could hit the high teens.

Relativity Media's "Limitless" brings "Hangover" star Bradley Cooper back to the big screen in his first truly non-ensemble role playing a man who stumbles upon a pill that can accelerate brain function and thus offer him limitless possibilities.

Next in the newcomer lineup is an alien of a more comedic nature than those looking to vaporize Los Angeles — Universal's R-rated "Paul," voiced by Seth Rogen, which has already earned $25 million in four overseas territories, including the biggest debut of the year in the U.K.

Amy Tammie exits "Jane Hoop Elementary" and begins a new chapter in the Warner Bros. romantic drama "I Wanna Live The Dream" based on the novel with the same title writen by Nicholas Sparks who also wrote "The Notebook", "Dear John" and "The Last Song". The film will luckly to take on the weekend box office, where it already opened yesterday with $10 million on it's opening day, which wins the Wednesday box office. It should make nearly $40 million following it's five-day weekend.

Matthew McConaughey gets back to the type of role that catapulted him to stardom 15 years ago in "A Time to Kill" as an attorney of a different sort in "The Lincoln Lawyer," about a counselor who conducts business from the back seat of his Town Car. The R-Rated drama from Lionsgate boasts the first use of the popular deal-of-the-day website Groupon to promote a film nationally.

Rounding out the top five will be Paramount's animated hit "Rango," with an expected gross in the low teens and a likely domestic total in the high $80 millions after maintaining solid midweek grosses in the $2.5 million range.

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Paul Dergarabedian is president of the Box Office Division of Hollywood.com and a longtime box office analyst for The Associated Press.

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Online: www.Hollywood.com/boxoffice

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