Quentin Tarantino picks favorite World War II film

After more than five years, writer-director Quentin Tarantino ­returns to full-length features today with the World War II adventure drama "Inglourious Basterds." The deliberately misspelled title refers to a team of Jewish soldiers — led by a Kentucky fried colonel (Brad Pitt) with a rope burn around his neck — on a "Nazi hunting" mission in 1944 France. Their paths cross with a young movie theater owner (Melanie Laurent) who has her own plans to bring down the Third Reich and, especially, a vicious Nazi colonel (Christoph Waltz).

Photo: Quentin Tarantino picks favorite World War II film

Like "Reservoir Dogs" (1992), "Pulp Fiction" (1994), "Jackie Brown" (1997) and the two "Kill Bill" films (2003, 2004), "Basterds" is marked by Tarantino's own brand of tension: specifically, set pieces in which characters sit and talk for long stretches as the threat of violence looms. But the real-world setting allows the 46-year-old filmmaker to fill his movie with juicy ideas while playing with the facts of World War II — a combo that could put the fast-talking, pop-culture-riffing Tarantino in the cross hairs once again, reports NYDailyNews.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Quentin Tarantino's World War II film could top $30 million this weekend. According to people with access to pre-release audience polling, "Basterds" should sell more than $25 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada this weekend and could very well top $30 million.

The movie cost about $70 million to produce. Weinstein Co. split that cost with Universal Pictures, which is handling overseas distribution. "Basterds" is opening in 22 foreign countries this weekend, including most of Europe. Weinstein Co. and Universal will split the movie's worldwide proceeds equally.

It's likely to be the biggest opening of Tarantino's career, not accounting for ticket price inflation. His highest domestic launch so far is $25.1 million from "Kill Bill: Vol. 2," which Bob and Harvey Weinstein's old studio Miramax released in 2004.

Tarantino's best opening was 2004's "Kill Bill: Vol. 2," which unspooled with $25.1 million en oute to a domestic total of $66.2 million. Начало формы

"Basterds" follows a team of Jewish-American soldiers in Nazi-occupied France, with French actress Melanie Laurent and filmmaker/actor Eli Roth among the co-stars.

Universal is distributing the film internationally and will split all costs and proceeds evenly with the Weinsteins. The film's production costs totaled about $70 million, according to reports ABC News.