''Red Dragon'' should set a new box office record

Anyone hungry for more Hannibal?

Moviegoers will get another helping of the popular villain this weekend as ”Red Dragon” enters multiplexes with no competing new wide releases.

Coming just a year and a half after ”Hannibal,” ”Dragon,” a loose remake of 1986’s ”Manhunter,” is a prequel to both ”Hannibal” and ”The Silence of the Lambs” and marks the third time Anthony Hopkins has played the snarky cannibal. He’s joined by a dream cast that includes Oscar nominees Edward Norton, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, and Ralph Fiennes.

Thanks to a 10-year lag after “Lambs,” “Hannibal” premiered with an astonishing $58 million. While “Dragon” may not match that figure, it’ll have no trouble breaking the record for best October opening ever, now held by 2000’s “Meet the Parents,” which opened with $28.6 million. Expect “Dragon” to devour the competition with $45 million.

That’ll push Reese Witherspoon’s “Sweet Home Alabama” back to second place. The romantic comedy debuted last weekend with a record-breaking $35.6 million, and has been holding steady in the days since. With audiences responding to the film better than critics, a moderate drop of 40 percent seems in order and would give the film a sweet $21 million take, bringing its 10-day total to about $65 million.

Third place will likely be a battle between Jackie Chan and “My Fat Greek Wedding.” Chan’s “The Tuxedo” opened last weekend with $15.1 million and could drop 45 percent to about $8 million. Meanwhile, “Greek Wedding” has been performing beautifully in the last few weeks, falling only three percent last weekend. A 10 percent slip would also mean another $8 million, bringing its total ever closer to $150 million. By the end of this weekend, “Wedding” will be the biggest independent film ever, topping “The Blair Witch Project.”

Rounding out the top 5 will be “Barbershop,” which could fall 30 percent to $7 million in its fourth week. Its total would then top $60 million, more than five times its $12-million budget. Looks like “Barbershop 2” will soon be open for business.