''Chicken'' should have a not-so-''Little'' opening weekend

The sky may be falling, but thanks to Chicken Little, the box office will be rising this weekend.

Disney premieres its first in-house computer animated film with Little, featuring the voices of Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, and Steve Zahn. (Smash hits like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles were, of couse, produced by Pixar.) And with the strong voice cast, famous storyline, and built-in audience that the Disney name will attract, this Chicken should open fairly big. Don’t expect a $70 million debut along the lines of Nemo, but a $35 million opening should be in order.

Speaking of orders, the military drama Jarhead, directed by American Beauty‘s Sam Mendes and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx, also reports for duty in multiplexes this weekend, and will ride its decent buzz to a $17 million debut.

That’ll push last week’s top film, Saw II, back to third place, with a 60 percent drop to $12 million. Meanwhile, The Legend of Zorro and Prime will round out the top five with $10 million and $4 million, respectively.