New Movies October 28: 'Inferno' Goes It Alone

Last weekend, the box office was overrun with new movies, but this weekend will be relatively quiet. Only one new wide release comes to theaters this week, and it should have no problem keeping the top spot all to itself.

The sole new wide release is Inferno, the third installment in the thriller franchise that began with 2006's The DaVinci Code. The movies are based on best-selling novels by Dan Brown and star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, a code-breaking art historian who must get to the bottom of global conspiracies.

Inferno will almost certainly take the number-one slot at the box office this weekend. Most predictions have it earning between $20 and $25 million, and given that last week's number one, Boo! A Madea Halloween, earned just $24.7 million, Inferno should have no real competition.

The question is whether Inferno could break bigger than experts predict. With no other fresh options, moviegoers may be willing to give the thriller a try. Hanks is also on a crest in his popularity as his previous film, Sully, has dominated the fall box office. The franchise is aging, though, and it's been seven years since it's been on the minds of audiences.

In any case, Inferno will have only one week at the top. Next week, Marvel's Doctor Strange promises to be the first real hit since the summer movie season.