I saw this awful comic book adaptation on a cross-country flight back in 2004, and it was every bit as bad as critics described it. Here are some of the choice quotes:

“A purr-fectly ridiculous and boring cat-astrophe.” --- Lou Lumenick, NEW YORK POST

“Over-the-top and mostly preposterous, CATWOMAN just might be the MOMMIE DEAREST of comic-book-based movies.” -- Robert Denerstein, DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

“The SHOWGIRLS of superhero movies.” -- Robert K. Elder, CHICAGO TRIBUNE “

SWORDFISH; GOTHIKA; this howler. Best Actress winner Halle Berry is getting dangerously close to exhausting her nine Hollywood lives.” -- Larry Carroll, FILMSTEW.COM

It was 104 minutes of cinematic weirdness unparalleled in recent film history, and as Larry Carroll accurately points out, it was on the heels of other badly-reviewed films like Gothika. Berry’s overall box office record has been spotty at best. She’s been fortunate to be part of the X-Men series, the James Bond franchise (Die Another Day), a major animated film (Robots) and a successful comic book adaptation (The Flintstones). Here are the Oscar winner’s all-time best openings and all-time top grosser.

All-Time Top Opening Weekends for Films Starring Halle Berry
1. X-Men: The Last Stand - $102.7 million
2. X2 - $85.5 million
3. X-Men - $54.4 million
4. Die Another Day - $47 million
5. Robots - $36 million
6. The Flintstones - $29.6 million
7. Gothika - $19.2 million
8. Swordfish - $18.1 million
9. Catwoman - $16.7 million
10. Boomerang - $13.6 million
11. Executive Decision - $12 million
12. The Last Boy Scout - $7.9 million
13. The Program - $6.8 million
14. Jungle Fever - $5.3 million
15. Why Do Fools Fall In Love? - $3.9 million

All-Time Top Box Office Hits for Films Starring Halle Berry
1. X-Men: The Last Stand - $234.3 million
2. X2 - $214.9 million
3. Die Another Day - $160.9 million
4. X-Men - $157.3 million
5. The Flintstones - $130.5 million
6. Robots - $128.2 million
7. Boomerang - $70 million
8. Swordfish - $69.7 million
9. The Last Boy Scout - $59.5 million
10. Gothika - $59.6 million
11. Executive Decision - $56.5 million
12. Catwoman - $40.2 million
13. Jungle Fever - $32.4 million
14. Monster’s Ball - $31.2 million
15. Bulworth - $26.5 million

As I reported early this week, Perfect Stranger (Sony), the new film starring Berry and Bruce Willis has solid solid industry tracking. Awareness, which measures how many people know about the film, is at 73%. That is much higher than Disturbia (54%) and the other 4 new major releases this weekend, but only 31% have Definite Interest in the Sony thriller set to open on 2,661 screens. It’s got great female appeal. In fact, it’s the First Choice of 15% of Females 25 Plus.

My studio sources, however, have serious concerns about Stranger. The Definite Interest number is an issue along with the fact that Females 25 Plus aren’t a very reliable demo. This crowd doesn’t always rush out to see a movie on its opening weekend. Plus, moviegoers that still feel “burned” by Catwoman may in fact hold it against her.

In the end, I’m placing my money on Perfect Stranger, but it’s not a big bet. I won’t be surprised if Paramount’s Disturbia wins the 3-day. The Hitchcock-style thriller is the First Choice of 10% of Males Under 25 and 13% of Females Under 25, plus Shia LaBeouf’s star is rapidly rising. He’s everywhere at the moment including a stint as host of Saturday Night Live this weekend. I’ll call for Stranger to do $14-$17 million and Disturbia to come in a notch lower at $13-$16 million.

The other 4 releases have major problems. They all have Total Aware numbers from 30%-35%. In the all important First Choice column, Aqua Teen Hunger Force (First Look) is at 3%, Pathfinder (Fox) is at 2% and both Slow Burn (Lionsgate) and Redline (Chicago) are at 1%. Fox should be able to muscle Pathfinder to $4-$7 million. The other 3 pictures will likely be under $5 million. One other potential surprise is a possibility. Blades of Glory (Paramount) has had a great mid-week, and it’s not impossible that the Ferrell/Heder comedy will pull off another weekend victory.

Here are my projections for the 3-day weekend:
1. Perfect Stranger (Sony) - $16.1 million
2. Disturbia (Paramount) - $14.9 million
3. Blades of Glory (Paramount) - $14.1 million
4. Meet the Robinsons (Buena Vista) - $12 million
5. Are We Done Yet? (Sony) - $9 million
6. Grindhouse (Weinstein) - $6.7 million
7. Pathfinder (Fox) - $5.1 million
8. 300 (Warner Bros) - $5 million
9. The Reaping (Warner Bros) - $4.8 million
10. Wild Hogs (Buena Vista) - $4.3 million
*Redline (Chicago) - $3.6 million
*SlowBurn (Lionsgate) - $2 million
*Aqua Teen Hunger Force (First Look) - $1.8 million