'Pirates' Hollywood's Summer Savior

(CBS)  The last day of July is a perfect time for a mid-term report card on the summer movie season, and The Early Show entertainment contributor Jess Cagle was on hand Monday to discuss how the season's films are stacking up.

Overall, receipts are up 5 percent over the same span last year, and Cagle credits "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which he says, "saved Hollywood this summer. That movie was expected to be big, because the first one was very big. That is the big winner of this summer, though. It's going to make $400 million. (It's) very rare for a movie to cross that mark."

"Pirates" has taken in $358 million so far.

And that, says Cagle, is a pleasant surprise.

"They definitely expected big things," he explains, "but that's really enormous. And also, for a movie that's 2-1/2 hours long, I mean, you can't have that many showings in a day. It really is remarkable."

Another hit? "The Devil Wears Prada."

"That's another big winner," Cagle says. "It was an inexpensive movie that has made about $106 million so far. A 'chick flick' in the summer to make over $100 million … is really amazing. And, also, it could get an Oscar nomination for Meryl Streep. She's so great as this draconian magazine editor that this poor young girl has to work for.

"Actually, anyone who goes to see it, I think is gonna like it. It's really good."

Another winner? Pixar's "Cars."

"It's not going to make as much as the biggest Pixar movies (such as 'Toy Story'), but 'Cars' will definitely be the biggest animated movie of the summer, and will probably be the No. 2 movie of the summer, right after 'Pirates,' " predicts Cagle.

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