Mark Wahlberg’s new action flick, Max Payne got off to a decent start this weekend, grossing $18M, exactly as I predicted.  This should lead to a decent overall gross, probably in the $70M - $80M area. It’s overall domestic gross will not be enough to green light a sequel, but if it performs well overseas and on DVD, Mr. Wahlberg may be looking at his first franchise. Of other new releases, The Secret Life of Bees, opened better than I expected, grossing a healthy $11.1M. Although reviews of Bees were mixed, a strong fan base from the bestselling novel allowed for a great opening weekend. Voters…. I mean… moviegoers weren’t all that excited about Oliver Stone’s W., which opened in fourth place with an estimated $10.5M. As I said Thursday, this film has opened at the wrong time and should have been held off until Bush is out of office. If they had waited for the next administration, I believe audiences would have been more apt to rush to theatres to check out the life and times of George W. Bush. The last new release, the raunchy teen comedy, Sex Drive, opened poorly as expected with $3.6M. To see how the rest of my predictions fared, see the chart below.