Dinner for Schmucks marks Steve Carell’s third starring role in less than four months and will more than likely be his third hit of the year behind April’s Date Night and animated hit Despicable Me, which will likely still be in the top 5 this weekend. Schmucks reteams Carell with frequent co-star Paul Rudd (Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin) and is directed by heavyweight comedy director Jay Roach (the Austin Powers movies, Meet the Parents). The early reviews for the film have been positive and Carell is a proven leading man these days (as is Rudd to a lesser degree), so the film should have no trouble finding an audience. It doesn’t hurt that the film co-stars Zack Galifianakis, white-hot after last summer’s smash hit, The Hangover. The marketplace is flooded at the moment (not one film in the top 10 this weekend will collect less than $4M) but comedy competition is fairly light. The only other comedy currently playing is Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups, which is headed into its final legs at the box office. Look for Dinner for Schmucks to eat up about $24M this weekend and experience good legs in the weeks ahead.

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore wins the prize this year for most unnecessary sequel, but will likely do pretty well at the box office. Family movies have reigned supreme this summer season, with Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After, Despicable Me and The Karate Kid all raking in the dollars. In fact, only Marmaduke failed to generate any excitement. I don’t expect Cats and Dogs to be a huge hit like the films mentioned above, but it will certainly outperform Marmaduke. The best comparison for this film would be last summer’s surprise hit, G-Force. The films have a similar look, similar release date, animal spies and bigger ticket prices for 3-D showings. G-Force managed to open to a respectable $31.7M and went on to collect $119.4M. Cats and Dogs won’t do as well for a couple of reasons. The film has way more competition than G-Force did, with both Despicable Me and Toy Story 3 both still performing well, not to mention Ramona and Beezus. If it’s even possible, Cats and Dogs looks stupider than G-Force (my kids don’t even want to see it) and spy hamsters or gerbils (or whatever they are) are far cuter than spy dogs and cats. That being said, expect Cats and Dogs to make about $14M this weekend. 

The final new release for the weekend is Charlie St. Cloud starring Zac Efron. The film is based on the best-selling novel The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood. Efron has taken great steps to prove himself to be an actor of merit and not just another pretty face and the early reviews of the film seem to support that. The film itself isn’t receiving great notices, but most critics agree that Efron is an actor worth watching. Efron has only starred in one wide release since High School Musical, last year’s 17 Again, and his fans followed him. 17 opened with a solid $23.7M and proved that Efron has box office strength outside of HSM. 17 Again was a comedy that definitely served Efron’s audience better than the sad story of Charlie St. Cloud, but nonetheless, I believe his biggest fans will happily buy tickets. Look for Charlie St. Cloud to collect about $13M this weekend and make it to about $45M by the end of its run.

To see the rest of my predictions, check out the chart below. 

Be sure and come back Monday for the results and follow me on Twitter for box office updates throughout the weekend.