Is Robert Pattinson Really a Leading Man, Magic 8 Ball?

Determining whether the Twilight star will shine at the box office in his and Reese Witherspoon's Water for Elephants ain't easy, so we took our queries to the all-knowing toy

By Joal Ryan Apr 22, 2011 1:58 PMTags
Water for Elephants, Robert Pattinson20th Century Fox

Water for Elephants is out—and so is the jury on Robert Pattinson's career.

Since it's not certain that the box-office weekend will reveal at long last whether the Twilight star is bankable beyond the vampire franchise, we decided to take our queries to a Magic 8 ball.

Seriously.

Look, at this point, its guess is as good as anyone else's. So, here goes:

Question No. 1: Will Pattinson be the next Jude Law, as the British press predicted all those years ago?

Answer: "It is decidedly so."

Question No. 2: With due respect to Mr. Law, is that still a good box-office thing?

Answer: "Signs point to yes."

Question No. 3: Cool. So, Pattinson's gonna be headlining little movies with Judi Dench, and making big movies with Robert Downey Jr.?  

Answer: "Better to not tell you now."

Question No. 4: Oh, come on! The suspense is killing us. Isn't it enough that we don't know whether Zac Efron's going to pan out? By the way… Is Efron going to pan out?

Answer: "As I see it, yes."

Question No. 5: Outstanding! Now what about Pattinson?

Answer: "Concentrate and ask again."

Question No. 6: Is Pattinson going to be a leading man?!?

Answer: "Signs point to yes."

Question No. 7: Really?

Answer: "Don't count on it."

Question No. 7: ARGH!!! Look, let's just change subjects: Will Pattinson's and Reese Witherspoon's Water for Elephants stampede to No. 1 in the box-office standings?

Answer: Oh, skip it. We can't take the aggravation—plus, we don't need the opinion.

The consensus is that either the new Tyler Perry or the holdover Rio will lead the way this weekend. The $40 million Elephants is pencilled in for third place, with a respectable-enough $14-15 million debut.

If the romantic drama goes bigger, it could become the next Last Song, which would be a good thing. If it goes smaller, it could become the next Charlie St. Cloud.

Of course, according to the Magic 8 Ball, that wouldn't be a bad thing, either.