It's truth that film critics accept early on in their careers: Bad reviews don't mean a damn thing when you've got a big star, big special effects, or a well-timed release date. That's why most of us had resigned ourselves to seeing Hancock walk away with a scrillion dollars this weekend, even though pretty much every critic (and particularly the ones at Cinema Blend) hated it.

But there might be hope after all! Based on Variety's estimates, yes, Hancock made nearly $7 million sneak previews on Tuesday night, and an estimated $17.3 million in its first day of release on Wednesday. But $17 million in Will Smith bucks isn't all that much, and may not even be enough to put the movie on track to earn $100 million over the five days. Remember, Iron Man managed over $100 million in just three days, and it took Indiana Jones four. Have they created a big league that Will Smith just can't compete in?

I went to the movies last night and barely found a seat for a 9 p.m. screening of Wall-E, walking past a ton of people lined up for Hancock in the process. So, yes, people are flocking to see the big Fourth of July movie they've been programmed to want to see, but they're also sticking around with older movies that are even better-- you know, the movie that tells you to break out of your programmed mold and do something more interesting. Maybe it's Wall-E who's convinced us to stay away from Hancock.