Things start to pick up for the winter this week with another family adventure film sequel and a seductive-looking thriller starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Although no film has been hyped more than usual, it should be enough to kickstart the box office heading into the bigger releases of the next couple weeks.

—

New This Week

—

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Directed by Michael Apted
Written by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and Michael Petroni, C.S. Lewis (novel)
Starring: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Will Poult

The Word: Things looked bleak for this franchise when Disney dropped them after “Prince Caspian” made substantially less than the original. Now, under Fox’s banner, the Dawn Treader sets sail with the youngest Pevensies and their cousin Eustace. They help King Caspian with his adventure to find the lost kings of Narnia.

Rotten Tomatoes: 48% (not good)

My Thoughts: This was one of my favorite books in the series, but after being mildly disappointed by “Caspian,” I’m likely to sit back and wait for the DVD again.

Recommendation: If your family didn’t get to make a group outing of “Harry Potter” because of the dark content, expect something much more magical from “Dawn Treader.”

—

The Tourist

Directed Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Written by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Christopher McQuarrie and Julian Fellows, Jérôme Salle (film “Anthony Zimmer”)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany

The Word: Talk about all kinds of sexy. It’s hard to ignore the appeal of the tourist. Depp plays an American tourist lured by Miss Jolie into what turns out to be more than romance as some folks with guns end up going after him.

Rotten Tomatoes: 15% (horrible)

My Thoughts: Considering the talents of its leads, it’s disheartening that the film has only managed 15% so far. Sure, the plot looked completely uninteresting, but you had to figure the antics of Depp or something would allow the film to rise above it. Perhaps not.

Recommendation: There aren’t many good action films left for 2010, but it doesn’t seem that this one is worth more than a rental.

—

Box Office Predictions

—

Coming off a lull last week, this weekend favors the new releases heavily. The “Narnia” series has a good following and it should probably be enough to put The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in first place. “Caspian” made $55 million, but I have a feeling we’re looking at something more along the lines of $40 million given all that’s happened in the series. I have little confidence in thinking it could pick up right where it left off, but it’s not impossible.

Although The Tourist won’t be releasing in all that many theaters, I think $20 million is possible given the star power. It should beat out Tangled, but it might be closer than you think. I think Disney’s hot animated film should be good for $14 million-ish. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 shouldn’t be far behind with $9-10 million.

But we’ve still got one holdover that will make the top five from the crop of movies projected to finish in the $3-4 million range. “Burlesque” was the film to top the group last week, but I’m going with Unstoppable, a film that has proven just that in jumping everything close to it.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2. The Tourist
3. Tangled
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1
5. Unstoppable