Stallone has assembled an impressive cast of past and present ass kickers including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren and various others for The Expendables. Stallone acts as writer and director for the film and based on the trailers, he’s delivering an old school, testosterone laced, action flick. Stallone was one of the biggest box office stars in the world in the 80’s and  early 90’s but had a string of bombs that started with 1995’s Judge Dredd that all but killed his career at the box office. Back in the 80’s when it was difficult to achieve, Stallone released film after film that grossed $100M+ culminating with 1985’s Rocky IV. The only film that he starred in over the past 25 years to make north of $100M was Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and I’m sorry, but this doesn’t qualify as a Stallone flick. He’s made quite an impressive comeback recently with his terrific Rocky Balboa and his hyper-violent Rambo. Neither of those films were huge hits at the box office, but they did well enough to resuscitate Sly’s career. Here’s a look at Stallone’s 10 biggest hits.

 

Has any actor in history had a bigger year at the box office than Stallone did in 1985? I highly doubt it and for that, the man is owed some overdue respect. I don’t see The Expendables making it the $100M mark (it’ll probably top out at about $70M) but nonetheless, this could very well be Stallone’s biggest opening weekend take ever. His biggest right now is Spy Kid 3D’s opening of $33.7M. The marketplace is ripe for an action flick right now, with really no competition to speak of, so the opening weekend should be strong. Look for The Expendables to make about $34M this weekend. 

Another huge box office star from the past is making a resurgence this weekend; Julia Roberts returns to the big screen with Eat Pray Love. Roberts was the biggest female box office star of the 90’s (and perhaps of all time) but has largely taken supporting roles over the last few years so she could concentrate on raising a family. Does the Pretty Woman still have what it takes at the box office? That remains to be seen. Here’s a look at her top 10 box office hits. 

 

Eat Pray Love does have quite a few things going for it. It is based on a best-selling novel, which always helps and of course having Roberts as the star could never hurt. The marketplace is also devoid of any films catered to women right now, leaving a big empty hole for Eat Pray Love to fill. Look for it to make about $22M this weekend and experience strong legs in the weeks ahead.

The last new film this weekend is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World starring Michael Cera. The film is based on a mildly popular comic series and will have a difficult time pulling in a mainstream audience. Eventually, Hollywood will learn the lesson that just because a film is based on a comic book, it doesn’t guarantee success at the box office. The only comic based properties that have been substantial hits are based on characters that have been popular for decades such as Spider-Man, Batman etc. Just look at this year’s Kick-Ass. The buzz for this film was deafening (deservedly so as the film really does kick ass) but it didn’t translate into a big hit at the box office. Kick-Ass opened with $19.8M and ended its run with $48M. Another comic book adaption from this year, The Losers, suffered a similar fate and opened with only $9.4M. The film is directed by highly respected director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) but his films are more cult hits than box office hits and star Michael Cera hasn’t proven himself as a bona-fide box office star yet either. Look for Scott Pilgrim to make about $10M this weekend.

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.