Weekend Forecast: X-Men Marks the (Weak?) Spot

Well, then, this shouldn't take long: One new tentpole and one new tentpole only awaits moviegoers at the multiplex this weekend, while a generally strong crowd of indies sneaks into the art house in limited release. We've had a look at them all -- but will you? To the Forecast!

[Click the links below to read Movieline's reviews.]

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

· X-Men: First Class: I was arguing with someone today about whether Fox is rebooting (my word for it) or prequeling (his word) its 11-year-old, four-film deep X-Men franchise, but it's really all just semantics -- code for "reinvigorating," which is to ask and answer, "How did we ever get America's wallets open for comic-book mutants in the first place?" The great young cast doesn't hurt -- indie-film and TV alums James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne and the rest of the ensemble (plus director Matthew Vaughn) skew the demos older and cooler than the Bryan Singer-era Hollywood squad (apologies to Halle Berry). But let's not forget that the Hollywood squad was good for a $100+ million opening back back in 2006. Between leftover Memorial Day competition and comics fatigue (with plenty more to come this summer), this crew will be lucky to draw much more than half that much. Let's be generous, if only for the swell cast's sake, but your reinvigoration may vary. FORECAST: $56.6 million

REGIONAL OUTLOOK

A lovely little pool of new releases debut in New York and Los Angeles before working their ways across America. Of chief interest is likely the feature debut of British actor/comic/writer/director Richard Ayoade, Submarine, featuring a breakout performance by Craig Roberts as the rascally schoolboy dreamer and Yasmin Paige as the wounded (if fierce) bird who loves him. Sort of. The Weinsteins have pushed this hard since acquiring it last year at the Toronto Film Festival; Ben Stiller executive produced. I smell sleeper, especially in New York.

Also, find Beginners, directed by Thumbsucker filmmaker Mike Mills and starring Ewan McGregor as a man coming to grips with his father's late-life exit from the closet. Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent co-star. Michael Sheen and Maria Bello star as grieving parents on the downslope of a marriage in Beautiful Boy, and Rhys Ifans brings real-life drug lord Howard Marks to life in the biopic Mr. Nice, also featuring Chloë Sevigny.

What's your pick? Still have a Hangover to attend to? Or are you going First Class all the way?