As you no doubt know by now, the WWE wrestling corporation owned by Vince McMahon is getting into the movie business with a subsidiary called WWE Films.

The intention of the company is to provide a platform for its stars to broaden their appeal and make money in the process by producing what appear to be low-budget, low-risk films (not one of their upcoming films cost more than $20 million). They no doubt hope to attract their devoted fanbase to the films. It's first release is this Friday's 'See No Evil' starring Kane. They did have a hand in producing The Rock's The Rundown and Walking Tall but they are seeing this as their first true test.

What do you think of a brand like the WWE trying to be successful in films? Do you think they will be successful?

Do you think the brand has enough pull to make certain their films always experience some level of success?

What do you see as far as the performance of their first release this weekend? Subsequent releases?

Upcoming Releases (after 'See No Evil'):

THE MARINE (2006) - A Marine returns from battle to find that his girlfriend is ensnared in a kidnapping plot.

Starring:
John Cena (called "The Prototype")
Kelly Carlson (TV's "Nip/Tuck")
Robert Patrick ('Firewall', 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day')

Directed by first-timer John Bonito from a script by Michelle Gallagher and Alan McElroy ('Wrong Turn', 'Spawn', 'Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever').

Release Date: 10/13/06
Distributor: Fox


THE CONDEMNED (2007) - An adrenalin-charged action thriller, "The Condemned" tells the story of Joe Conrad (Stone Cold Steve Austin), who is awaiting the death penalty in a corrupt Central American prison. He is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer and taken to a desolate island where he must fight to the death against nine other condemned killers from all corners of the world, with freedom going to the sole survivor.

Starring:

Steve Austin
Vinnie Jones ('X-Men: The Last Stand')
Rick Hoffman ('Hostel', 'Cellular')

Directed by: Scott Wiper
Written by: Wiper, Andy and Rob Hedden ('Clockstoppers')

Release Date: Something in 2007
Distributor: Lionsgate


JORNADA DEL MUERTE (2007) - A modern-day Western where gangs, drug trafficking and broken codes of honor rule.

Starring:

Paul Levesque ("Triple H")

Directed by: John Milius (1982's 'Conan the Barbarian' starring Arnold Schwarzenegger)

Written by: Milius and McElroy (same writer as 'The Marine' above)

Release Date: Something in 2007
No distibutor as of yet

Seriously, they shouldn't call themselves WWE films. It's turning people away, making them look like a joke. If See No Evil wasn't connected to the WWE itself, it would be getting much more respect even if it is terrible.

My only guess is that by doing so a level of recognition exists on the part of their fans from the get-go.

personally i hate it. wwe promotion is like a hammer to the head and vince is a moron since he can't promonte anything right since the attitude era of 1999. thank god the rock has got away from his grasp is all i'll say.

WWE should stick to wrestling...something they don't do well on anymore and concentrate on that...

I'm gonna level with ya: I grew up watching the WWF when it was known as that back then, even the WWWF before that and I thought the Wrestling was stellar and the thought of McMahon Producing movie's now with his WWE Brand is as laughable as it comes.. There's only been 1 wrestler who's actually had a damn good movie and that was Roddy Piper in John Carpenter's THEY LIVE.. I dig the HULKSTER but ONLY in the Ring, NOT in movie's.. With that having been said, I think Wrestlers should stick to what they do BEST: Act in the Ring, not in the movie's..

If See No Evil is a big flop I wouldn't be that surprised if, ala Alone in the Dark, Lionsgate backs out of distributing The Condemned like they did with Uwe Boll's BloodRayne.

Btw, how successful do you think the film will be?

Well it is tracking for a $3-$5 million debut, and I wouldn't be surprised if it actually hit $6 million similar to Cry_Wolf another film which was destined to "bomb" miserably. If it can hit $6 million it could be in store for a total of around $15 or so million which, given the tiny production budget will bring a profit in.

I was thinking around 6-7 million OW/14/16 million finish, enough to make a profit once DVD sales are figured in.