'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2' set for clear box office win

The 3-D animated film will likely debut with around $45 million in ticket sales, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. That would be a robust start for the sequel, whose predecessor launched with $30.3 million in 2009. (Sony Pictures, which is distributing the film, is predicting a softer opening of around $33 million.) 

"Don Jon," actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut, and the romantic comedy "Baggage Claim" will probably open with $9 million apiece.

Sony Pictures Animation, the studio behind the picture, is coming off somewhat of a disappointment with "The Smurfs 2." Since its release in July, the picture has collected about $307 million globally -- far less than the $563 million the original generated.

"Cloudy 2," which has received less positive reviews than the first film, features the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris and Andy Samberg. The film, loosely inspired by a children's book series, is about genetically modified leftovers that evolve into “foodimals."

Directed by Ron Howard, the film is based on the rivalry between 1970s Formula One drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl). To help sell the picture before production, Howard attended the American Film Market and met with international distributors in an effort to persuade them to invest in his movie. Eventually, the picture was co-financed for $38 million by Cross Creek Pictures and Exclusive Media.

After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January, "Don Jon" was quickly acquired by Relativity Media for $4 million -- one of the bigger deals to come out of the festival. The $6-million production was written and directed by Gordon-Levitt, who stars as a New Jersey playboy whose porn addiction gets in the way of his burgeoning relationship with a head-turner (Scarlett Johansson).

At 32, Gordon-Levitt has become one of Hollywood's brightest young stars. In recent years, the actor has appeared in a number of respected indie successes like "(500) Days of Summer" and "50/50" while also drawing the attention of top-tier directors like Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg. 

The Fox Searchlight release, which is aimed at an African American audience, stars Paula Patton as a flight attendant so desperate to get married that she starts dating her ex-boyfriends again. The movie has earned the least-positive reviews of any of the weekend's debuts by far -- notching just a 6% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.