I've had a similar issue and have even come up with some suggestions myself[1], but really I think there is only one company in the right place to produce a serious PHP competitor. Facebook.
They have the man-power required to displace it, as well as the serious need... although the only potential solution they have come up with HipHop / HPHPi is really lacking in community support. Its open source but rather undocumented, and took an entire day to get set up.
If they could produce a viable alternative to PHP... something that fixes the clear fuckups but doesn't try to fix everything I think it would have a real shot.
They have the man-power required to displace it, as well as the serious need... although the only potential solution they have come up with HipHop / HPHPi is really lacking in community support. Its open source but rather undocumented, and took an entire day to get set up.
If they could produce a viable alternative to PHP... something that fixes the clear fuckups but doesn't try to fix everything I think it would have a real shot.
[1] http://davelang.github.com/