Oh, the horrors! See the frightfully new No. 1 film

Are you ready to be scared? Now that Oct. 31st is less than 2 weeks away, Hollywood is going Halloween, with DreamWorks’ horror thriller ”The Ring” hitting theaters this weekend and looking to unseat the equally creepy ”Red Dragon” from the top of the box office charts.

”The Ring,” which stars ”Mulholland Drive” breakout Naomi Watts as a journalist exploring a mysterious videotape that kills anyone who watches it, is actually a remake of an extremely successful Japanese film from 1998. And while the American version might not become a blockbuster, smart advertisements and mostly positive reviews should help it open at No. 1. ”The Ring” could run circles around its competition with a $14 million debut.

Another promising opening this weekend is ”Abandon,” a thriller with ”Dawson’s Creek” star Katie Holmes and Benjamin Bratt. Holmes plays a college student whose boyfriend has disappeared, while Bratt is the detective investigating the case. The film is directed by Steven Gaghan, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for ”Traffic.” With the biggest opening of the weekend (approxmiately 2,300 theaters), ”Abandon” should abscond with about $11 million and the No. 2 spot this weekend.

Third place will likely be a fight between last week’s top two entries: ”Red Dragon” and ”Sweet Home Alabama” should each slip to about $9 million. And the fifth slot could go to something old or something new: ”My Big Fat Greek Wedding” or the new Samuel L. Jackson action thriller ”Formula 51,” which seems to have amassed close to zero buzz (it already flopped when it was released overseas). Both films should gross about $7 million this weekend.

If that’s the case, ”Greek Wedding” will rise ever higher on the all-time top grossers chart, surpassing the $170 million take of last year’s Best Picture winner, ”A Beautiful Mind,” which is currently No. 75. Now that’s something to celebrate.