Box Office: The Tree of Hungover Pandas in Paris
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 12:30PM I know I said I was taking today off but I ended up drawing instead. I am not a summer person. (I am the opposite of bears, my form of hibernation involving air conditioning in summertime and avoiding bright light.) But moving on to more pressing movie matters...
Memorial Day Weekend at the Box Office proves that it's a repetitive world with tons of franchise action (Bridesmaids 2 already has a greenlight, right? If not, it can't be far off.) It all blends together for me.
Pandas are total lightweights.
The Box Office (4 Day Weekend Actuals!)
01 THE HANGOVER PART II new $103.4
02 KUNG FU PANDA 2 new $60.8
03 PIRATES 4 $50 (cumulative 163.6)
04 BRIDESMAIDS 1 $20.7 (cumulative $89.3)
05 AVENGERS PREQUEL #2 $12 (cumulative $162.4)
06 THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, 5TH EDITION $7.8 (cumulative $197.3)
and leaving the world o' franchises behind...
07 MIDNIGHT IN PARIS $2.5 (cumulative $3.4)
08 RIO $2.4 (cumulative $135.4)
09 JUMPING THE BROOM $2.3 (cumulative $34.6)
10 SOMETHING BORROWED $2.2 (cumulative $35.1)
The success stories of the week -- honestly everyone and their dog monkey knew that the Hangover and Panda sequels would sell tickets -- were in limited release: Midnight in Paris and The Tree of Life had, by a significant margin, fuller houses than any other films.
If Woody's annual offering continues to generate this kind of interest he may be looking at a Match Point / Vicky Cristina Barcelona level success. Both of those films had real legs at the box office topping out at about $23 million domestically and nearing $100 million globally and both went on to a bit of Oscar play. For those who are curious about how he has such free reign despite never having "hits" in the traditional sense, it comes down to low budgets and a global fanbase which has been far more loyal to him than American audiences. Nearly all of his movies are much more successful overseas which is definitely not the norm... for American comedies especially.
Though it's sort of off topic, I still maintain that had Dreamworks done a better job with Match Point's release -- it was a sleeper waiting to happen but they held back and held back losing all of its Critics/Cannes/"Comeback!" steam before that lame weekend-after-Christmas Oscar glut strategy -- it would have been even bigger. Midnight hasn't even gone wide yet so things are looking very good IF they keep expanding. As for The Tree of Life... the latest augmentation of the Malick Mystique could have conceivably landed in the top ten had it been less timid about revealing itself; the theaters were packed but they numbered only four.
Oscar Predictions Updates Coming Wednesday. (Working on them now.) My reflections on The Tree of Life coming later. I'm mystified that so many web critics can write huge pieces on complicated movies without time to reflect or edit their words mere moments after they see them... but that's the way film criticism is going. It's an instantaneous world. Alas. (I know I need to speed up, shut up!)
What did you see this holiday weekend?
If it wasn't a holiday for you, did you still have time for a movie or three?
Reader Comments (26)
That's an oddly pretty illustration.
I stayed in and watched 'All That Jazz'.
Caught "Kung Fu Panda 2" this weekend. Could not see myself shoehorning myself into either of the theaters showing "Tree of Life", much as I wanted to see it this weekend. Half a million dollars on four screens this weekend - that's a lot of pent-up demand to see a Malick movie. I guess you get that when you make only five other movies in 38 years.
I love it though, why has Pacman turned his back on us? ;)
Nathaniel, that illustration is really good. What tools/program did you use? Nice job.
In theaters, I saw Midnight in Paris and Thor. Both films were highly enjoyable and thus pleasantly surprised me.
In Netflix, I finally checked out Fish Tank in prep to see Michael Fassbender in X-Men next weekend. Fantastic film esp. since I knew nothing about it going into it.
Nice/hilarious illustration Nathaniel...I wish I could draw. So, so, so, so much. *Angry fist*
Anywho, I reluctantly saw Hangover II: The Search for More Money with friends...and it disappointed like I thought I would. A few fun laughs and moments here and there, but all the nasty criticism and reviews were pretty justified, it was really just pale compared to the first film, which I really did enjoy quite a lot. *Sadface*
I'm DYYYYYYING to see The Tree of Life, alas I didn't want the hassle of going into the city to see it (also, I'm short on $$$ and need to stretch my dollars). Luckily, it's opening in Montclair near me this weekend, so I'll finally get the chance to see it, and I couldn't be more eager =)
I also might be seeing Bridesmaids this week, too!
a lot of people are waiting on THE TREE OF LIFE i see. i get that with only 4 theaters. I hope they keep expanding that and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS quickly.
Ryan T -- now you know why it was on the Film Experience top ten list!
andrew -- thank you
filmturtle -- i just draw them iin photoshop but i have a wacom tablet... which helps A LOT ... because it's more like (though not exactly like) just drawing how you would at home with a pencil and paper. I'm still trying to get the hang of it so that my lines feel far more natural and less photoshopped. Sometimes I wanna just draw and scan it in but my scanner is busted. And like...
ryan m-- ...said. TRYING TO SAVE MONEY! it's going around.
Saw Tree Of Life on Friday. The opening and closing fifteen to twenty minutes left me cold but the domestic drama aspect of the film was effective. Overall, I thought it was visually beautiful but merely decent.
Agreed, Nathaniel...money, I wish I had more of it. *Le sigh*
There are actually quite a few movies I've been meaning to see lately (Tree of Life, X-Men: First Class, and Super 8 are on the Upcoming agenda, while Hesher and Bridesmaids I'm trying to play catch-up on).
But for now, I'm just trying to trim down my unending Netflix queue and appease my movie-going desires, as I am actually working on my own documentary project this summer for my senior thesis project at school, so I've been on a documentary binge for the next few weeks or so. As of now, I've seen Super Size Me (a rewatch for me), Monster Camp, Roger & Me, Young@Heart, Confessions of a Superhero, and Exit Through the Gift Shop, for preparation for the project with many more on the way.
But yeah...hopefully seeing The Tree of Life on Friday, and I can't wait. Although, it only reminds me I still need to see Badlands and Days of Heaven to complete my Malick collection =/
I opted for the Wedding Madness Double Feature with "The Hangover Part 2" on Friday night (we really wanted to see "Thor," but it wasn't playing anywhere close by) and "Bridesmaids" on Saturday afternoon. The sheer lack of effort it took to put a grossly underwhelming effort like "THP2" on the big screen makes me annoyed that I shelled out any money, let alone $11, to see it. They didn't even try, and the sad part about it is that they knew they didn't have to. I thoroughly enjoyed "Bridesmaids" on the other hand because I could definitely relate to Kristen Wiig's character. Every time one of my friends announces his/her pending nuptials I take this existential journey whose destination is almost always self-pity. Hahaha. Plus it's just plain funny.
A Woody Allen movie in the Top 10? Totally bizarre.
Sam C -- and not just "in the top ten" but #7 on a holiday weekend on less than 100 screens!
I had a terrible date that ended with a screening of the even worse "The Hangover: Part 2". The date was so bad that it made me wish the movie lasted longer just so I wouldn't have to talk to the guy later.
I finally saw Tron Legacy...what a gorgeous film....surprised this didn't have more of a presence iin the technical/ craft categories at the Oscars - costumes, cinematography, production design, make-up & visual effects. Stun-ning!
Went back to 2009 and watched The Road and State of Play. Solid films. Viggo was spectacular...shocked he wasn't nominated. State of Play....great story, pacing, although the acting in some scenes seemed to be a little unrehearsed. Robin Wright Penn in SOP is hot!
I remember seeing Match Point in a crowded theater and people actually gasped when Scarlett Johansson first appeared on screen in that ping-pong reveal where all you heart is her voice at first -- she looked incredibly beautiful in that film. I would've given her an Oscar nomination for it. She had that great scene in the bar with Jonathan Rys...and then she had some terrible scenes where she was wooden. But she hit the mark more often than not.
I watched Hamlet 2 for the first time, and I remember anticipating it highly in 2008... such a major let down. The only worthwhile aspects were Elisabeth Shue and the actual Hamlet 2 show they put on.
Then my friends and I indulged in some "so bad they're good" movies that included The Sitter... which was actually terrible. And Thug Love. GENIUS. I suggest everyone see this brilliant piece of cinema.
And then I also watched Down with Love yesterday (does that count as the weekend)? Regardless, I enjoyed it for what it was. And I adored the costume design here (snubbed much?), but it was mostly hit or miss, but I respect what it was going for.
In theaters, I finally saw Thor, which I thought effective and entertaining relative to its modest ambitions, and Tree of Life, which is... well... the TREE OF MUTHA EFFIN' LIFE.
At home, I watched Marwencol, Serial Mom, and spent Memorial Day evening enjoying the Nazi ass kicking stylings of Mr. Richard Burton in the altogether awesome Where Eagles Dare.
I saw Kung Fu Panda 2.
Then on Friday I went on a marathon: Tree of Life (A-) then Midnight in Paris (B+) then Carey Mulligan in Through A Glass Darkly (B-). Happy ending.
*can’t wait to read your pure reflection on Tree Of Life*
I guess most people who went to see it were those who only read the hypes from Cannes or told by their movie geek friends or even people who blinded by the perfect edited trailer, and most importantly never saw at least one of Malick’s movies to get used to his style. Because during the last 20 minutes people are already feel their asses sore and when it ended they didn’t even clap or stay to relax, they were all hurrying to go outside to have lunch.
Alien, Aliens, Salt the unrated directors cut, Braveheart new edition and The Social Network.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo teaser trailer made my day for SURE
Manuel -- love the alien double feature. I've been meaning to do that for years and years back-to-back and haven't.
I watched Gypsy 83, Philadelphia, Bright Star, Shakespeare In Love, and The Hours.
I saw Tree of Life and thought it was a total dog. And I do mean PRETENTIOUS! I've seen all of Malick's films, so I'm no a neophyte. The first half-hour was a psychedelic slide show (with whispered narration), followed by dinosaurs and then the story finally kicks in. Though not really. You have to see it yourself. My ass was twitching long before the last half-hour. And I would like to know how Sean Penn earns a co-starring role when he only mutters about a half-dozen lines in the pic.
ooh Meghan -- what did you think of Gypsy 83. I'm one of about 40 people i think who saw that in movie theaters. I never meet anyone who has seen it.
Gypsy 83!
Oh and Rebecca, worthy choice!