I'm not breaking any news by writing that Sony's Spider-Man 3 will win the upcoming weekend, but the real question is how big can Spidey's third chapter be?

Greetings and salutations! Nicodemus here, once again mining the dusky depths of potential, assaying the cavernous chambers of the possible and marking the variable veins of probable box-office gold. Hail, fellow cinematic speculator and prospector, and I bid you welcome to ONE MONTH OUT, my weekly examination of theatrical releases still several weeks down the proverbial shaft. In today's installment, we'll be sifting through the slate of films opening May 18 -- including the second of summer's likely über-blockbusters, Shrek the Third. Here, put on this hard hat, turn your carbide lamp on and remember to keep your head low. Step inside the elevator, that's right; don't worry about the bumps and rattles, they're normal. The smoking lamp is OUT, people -- don't make me tell you twice!

SATURDAY P.M.: Just completed our Exclusive FantasyMoguls.com Early Saturday and Updated 3-Day Estimates. Unfortunately, it's still an awful weekend for Hollywood, but Spider-Man 3 (Sony) is only five days away.

SATURDAY AM: Spider-Man 3 (Sony) can’t get here fast enough. With 4 new films opening this weekend, it was fair to expect that one of them might top $10 million. Instead, the expected winner, Next (Paramount), has become one of the biggest bombs of 2007.

The last weekend of April is traditionally a dismal box office weekend, but no one anticipated that business would be this bad. The new Nicolas Cage sci-fi thriller Next (Paramount) has tanked allowing holdover Disturbia (Paramount/Dreamworks) to win a third consecutive weekend box office crown. The Shia LaBeouf hit scored an estimated $3.15 million on Friday, which should translate to a 3-day of $9 million, and that is enough to hold off Disney’s The Invisible for the win.

Each week, we round up the weekend box-office predictions of the so-called experts, including yours truly. The old show-business adage, "Nobody knows anything," is in full effect. We study and pore over the tracking figures, release plans, screen counts and reviews, and sometimes even see the films, but the moviegoing public is still too fickle and unpredictable for this to be a science rather than an art.

Greetings, Moguls! Thanks for all of your great feedback on the new design and the new games. I just wanted to check in and let you know what's coming up, and also tell you about some new stuff we've just launched.

Next Friday, Spider-Man 3 (Sony) arrives and signals the start of Hollywood's lucrative summer season. This weekend (April 27-29), moviegoers will need to settle for a sub-par Phillip K. Dick adaptation, a generic-looking teen horror flick, the latest movie from wrestling magnate Vince McMahon and a half-baked comedy not being screened for critics.

This past weekend (April 20-22) moviegoers stayed away from the multiplexes in droves, and there won't be many tickets sold this coming weekend, either, as the world awaits the release of Spider-Man 3 (Sony) next Friday (May 4). There are four new films opening this week, and each of them has real limitations.

Greetings, moguls! Mr. Informative here, returning after a few weeks' hiatus (my apologies; making the world safe for fantasy movies can be pretty time-consuming) with a column on PTA for our Ultimate players. Before I get started, I want to give credit where credit is due. A superhero is nothing without a good team to work with, and I do discuss my columns from time to time with a few of my heroic cohorts in order to provide you Moguls with the best possible advice. So, to those who've given me column ideas, or suggested examples to use to illustrate my points, thanks.