BOX OFFICE BUZZ THREESOME A SURE LOCK AT THEATERS.

Byline: Greg Hernandez

George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon in the same a movie. Enough said.

Sure, Clooney, Pitt and Damon are superstars who occasionally tank at the box office on their own.

Need proof? Think Pitt in "Babel," Clooney in "Good Night, and Good Luck," and Damon in "The Good Shepherd" in the past year and a half alone.

But together, they are a potent box office punch and their "Ocean's Thirteen" is a lock to push "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" right off the plank and out of first place.

I just saw the third movie in the "Ocean's" franchise and it's a crowd pleaser, with Al Pacino terrific fun as the villainous casino owner. I see this flick opening bigger than 2001's "Ocean's Eleven" ($38.1 million) and 2004's "Ocean's Twelve" ($39.2 million), with a three-day debut of at least $45 million.

Helping matters: The stars have been on a worldwide publicity blitz that began at Cannes and included splashy premieres in Hollywood and Las Vegas.

CATCHING A WAVE: The biggest rival for box office bragging rights comes from the weekend's other wide release "Surf's Up." The animated feature from Sony has a wide playing field as far as kids go with "Shrek the Third" on a rapid decline. But this movie doesn't have the pedigree of a Pixar or DreamWorks Animation title so it will likely open in the $30 million range.

HOSTEL TAKEOVER? No way. But Lionsgate should enjoy a decent bow for its horror flick "Hostel 2," which opens in 2,300-plus locations. There's a target audience for this R-rated sequel, and it will buy plenty of tickets before the film does a big nose dive in week two. The first "Hostel" enjoyed a $19.6 million debut in January 2006.

BLOCKBUSTER SLIDES: Sure, they all had gangbuster opening weekends but holdovers "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Shrek the Third," and "Spider-Man 3" are quickly losing box office steam in the U.S. They will be overshadowed by the trio of new releases and the second weekend of "Knocked Up," a smash comedy that actually took over the top spot from "Pirates" in weekday grosses.

UPSWING: Remember how the movie industry's obit was being written a few years back? Well, never mind. Year-to-date, ticket revenue is at $3.76 billion as of Sunday -- a 5.7 percent increase from the same period last year, says box office tracker Media By Numbers. Of course, helping matters is an increase in the average ticket price from $6.55 to $6.79 (yep, that's a national average). Actual admissions are up almost 2 percent from a year ago. In L.A. a movie ticket can cost up to $14. I think we are contributing far more than our share in keeping movie theaters afloat.

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