‘Despicable Me 2’ to crush ‘Lone Ranger’; Robinov rumors continue

After the coffee. Before figuring out how early to sneak out today.

The Skinny: Isn’t it so nice when Wednesday feels like Friday? Most of this town already seems to have headed out the door. Wednesday’s headlines include the July 4 box office preview, reviews of “The Lone Ranger” and “Despicable Me 2” and the latest Jeff Robinov rumors. The Morning Fix will be off on the Fourth of July and Friday. Have a safe holiday and see you back here Monday.

Daily Dose: Lost in all the talk about potential mergers among cable operators is what this might mean for consumers. Analysts note that if a Charter combines witih Time Warner Cable or if Time Warner Cable gets together with Cablevision, it could lead to lower programming costs. After all, Comcast and DirecTV are able to use their size to cut better deals with content providers. But that doesn’t necessarily translate to cheaper bills for consumers, just bigger profits for the distributors.

Box office fireworks. “Despicable Me 2” will ride off with the July 4 weekend box office crown. The sequel to the 2010 animated hit is projected to take in $110 million by the time Sunday night rolls around. That will be more than enough to keep “The Lone Ranger” in check. The big budget movie version of the radio and TV classic has disappointment written all over it and is expected to make $70 million at most this weekend. While that doesn’t sound so bad, keep in mind that “The Lone Ranger,” which stars Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp, cost over $225 million. Box office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments

Prime move. Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, the popular daytime host of “America Live,” will get a shot at prime time after she returns from maternity leave, which will likely be either late this year or early next year. What Fox didn’t say is where Kelly’s show would go. There has been speculation that she may take over the 10 p.m. slot currently held by Greta Van Susteren. More from the New York Times, TV Newser and the Los Angeles Times.

Robinov rumors. Jeff Robinov has only been out of his job as head of Warner Bros.’ movie unit for a week or so but some Hollywood insiders are already speculating where he’ll land next. The Hollywood Reporter continues to push that Robinov will end up with 20th Century Fox.

Time to go back to Time? Michael Klingensmith, a former chief financial officer of Time Inc., has emerged as the leading candidate to become chief executive of the publishing giant when it is spun off from parent Time Warner, according to the Wall Street Journal. Klingensmith left Time Inc. five years ago and is currently chief executive of Star Tribune Media Co., which owns the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Kenneth Turan on “The Lone Ranger.” Betsy Sharkey on “Despicable Me 2.”

Follow me on Twitter and stay away from the illegal fireworks. @JBFlint.