Weekend Box Office Estimate --"Nativity" Soft

They'll make their money back on DVD and -- given decent word of mouth -- presumably a heathly stay in theaters through Christmas. But "The Nativity Story" is a disappointment however you slice it, per Box Office Prophets, with a take of $7.2 million estimated for the weekend based on Friday figures. No stars of course (except for Jesus and a best-selling book), but still. Studios might say, oh "Passion" was a fluke and people don't really care about religious-themed films. Which would be idiotic, since the history of Hollywood is FILLED with blockbusters pulled from the Bible. "Turistas" (which had an original trailer so laughable I almost wanted to see it) and "Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj" both flopped hard -- aking in less than $4 million. Everyone is still predicting "Happy Feet" (taking in $17.5 million) will be #1 over "Casino Royale" again (with $15.1 million), but the margin is still closer than many predicted so I'm still holding out a slim but fading hope Bond will rise to the top. If he doesn't do it this weekend, he never will.