Box Office: Mutant Powers Revealed!
Monday, June 6, 2011 at 6:05PM It's "Mutant Week" -- I'm into weekly themes this summer (any requests?) so deal with it! -- so this post will be illustrated by the previously unrevealed superpowers of famous people.
Like...
The Box Office (Actuals)
Class was in session for select homosuperiors and their homosapien fans this weekend in Westchester New York as Charles Xavier finally opened his School For Gifted Youngsters. But what people were talking about as they left the theater was Michael Fassbender as Magneto. And/or his chemistry with James McAvoy which is quite something. We'll call them "Double Thespian" Their mutant power --wonder twins activate -- is to make you believe that the movie you're watching is twice as good as it actually is!
We're feeling a bit stingy about having to share Fassy with the world now but happy for his success. It will all be worth it if this means he can make as many Fish Tanks and Hungers and Jane Eyres as he wants to, and maybe a few more people will show up to them, now.
01 X-MEN FIRST CLASS new $55.1 [review]
02 THE HANGOVER PT. 2 $31.3 (cumulative $185.8)
03 KUNG FU PANDA 2 $23.8 (cumulative $100)
04 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES $17.9 (cumulative $190.2) [review]
05 BRIDESMAIDS $12 (cumulative $107.1)
06 THOR $4.2 (cumulative $169.1) [review]
07 FAST FIVE $3.1 (cumulative $201.9)
08 MIDNIGHT IN PARIS $2.7 (cumulative $6.7)
other new(ish) stuff
13 TREE OF LIFE $618,000 (on 20 screens cumulative $1.2 million)
27 BEGINNERS $135,000 (on 5 screens) [review]
-- SUBMARINE $41,800 (on 4 screens)
-- BEAUTIFUL BOY $16,100 (on 4 screens)
The Talking Points: Woody Allen and Terrence Malick continue to have high per screen averages courtesy of their devoted fanbases and the critically-driven curiousity factor; Bridesmaids, which just crossed the magic $100 million mark, continues to hold steady, while the movies around it plummet 50% or more in attendance each week; Fast Five will lose its #1 movie of '11 bragging rights this week when Pirates surpasses it; Thor recently surpassed the original X-Men (2000) in grosses but it's no longer mighty (losing theaters now) which might leave it stranded ignobly on the Marvel superhero charts as "less" popular than a movie almost everyone hates (X-Men Origins: Wolverine).
What did YOU see over the weekend? Which mutant powers do you think the movie stars currently in theaters have?
Reader Comments (20)
I saw Midnight in Paris without knowing a single detail about the plot beyond what the title told me. I don't think my goofy grin left my face until long after the movie ended. It's like someone combined everything I love about Modernism and comedy and made a film just for me. I geeked out for the whole running time. I think I'll even see it again this week just for fun.
THE TREE OF LIFE....Still trying to digest it all. Definitely preferred the first half to the second. Kinda wished I'd been stoned.
sneak peak of LARRY CROWNE...Not sure I'd gone if it wasn't free, but it's agreeable fluff, I'm not mad at it. George Takei got the most laughs as an ECON professor.
You get these compliments so often that I'm worried they don't sink in anymore, but listen to what I'm about to say: YOUR ILLUSTRATIONS ARE SO GOOD! Love love love.
I've only seen Bridesmaids and Fast Five, but will definitely see The Tree of Life when it comes to Columbus this weekend.
Bryan -- since i am a a compliment whore i will gladly let it sink in. The truth is that I've just really missed drawing and so i'm doing it mostly for myself but i'm glad you're enjoying.
Tree of Life-cannot stop thinking about it.
Bridesmaids, which was a nice pallet cleanser between The Beaver and Tree of Life. D for delicious!
I saw and really enjoyed Midnight in Paris. I was a little dubious because I didn't have faith in Owen Wilson, but thought he was great and the whole thing was really fun. I'm curious who you would pick as Best in Show, with all the available options?
I really like the way June is shaping up, with Tree of Life and Beginners both coming out. Counterprogramming is my friend.
I caught several early 2011 releases this weekend...The Dilemma, The Roommate, and I Am Number Four...The Roommate was well-cast but forgettable (it's no SWF)....The Dilemma's improvisational humor fell flat; also slow and dull for a film that appeared to be a snappy comedy in the trailer...I Am Number Four was a nice surprise, a throwback to 1980's teen sci-fi....I've heard so many bad things about him, but Alex Pettyfer was a pretty strong leading man.
And I rewatched Moulin Rouge (totally inspired by TFE's 10th anniversary coverage and it's streaming in HD on Netflix!)...I hadn't seen it since I saw it in theaters a decade ago...it was incredibly moving, but I wish Baz had slowed down the hyperkinetic editing just a little bit more (especially in that first hour).
You know, this is probably my favourite place to read box office coverage.
Admittedly, that's not saying all that much, but I do mean it as a sincere compliment.
Who else covers numbers only to get excited about Woody Allen's comeback and Kristen Wiig's career prospects
goran -- i'm hoping people enjoy for that reason. I figure i should cover the boring things that are NEWS by why cover them in rote fashion? (other than for speed... but i've never been good at that. I sometimes envy the blogs that can keep such high viewer numbers merely by posting trailers without commentary.)
I saw Midnight in Paris yesterday -- I liked that actress who ends up with Owen Wilson at the end...French actress, need to look her up. She was very magnetic.
Some of it (okay, A LOT) was pretentious,but that's Woody Allen. I just hate that all his lead actors always have to impersonate him.
Kung Fu Panda 2. Loved the first movie (Dreamworks' best in my opinion), the second one had good moments and amazing action, but overall not as strong as the first film. And of course it sets up for KFP3. I'm kind of worried by the 3rd one we'll be as sick of Po as we are of the other overweight Dreamworks star.
Bia -- i think that's Lea Seydoux? i forget.
Sawyer -- i liked the first one a lot too but i have had zero desire to see this one. Some (okay, most) movies just don't need sequels.
I saw First Class and The Tree of Life... interesting weekend.
Is it weird that I enjoyed the former more than the latter?
Tree of Life was uber-interesting, but I don't know if I'd consider it an enjoyable experience. I disliked the beginning but settled into it by the end. I loved Brad Pitt and the contemplative, effects-driven bits. Didn't care for the voiceover.
First Class was certainly a mixed bag, too, but I consider it a winner overall. McAvoy and Fassbender were A+ level perfect, and nothing else was so terrible as to drag it too far down.
I saw "Mordant Callar". what a pleasant surprise. highly recommneded. i can't wait to see her next film now in the making...
Great illustrations again, Nathaniel!
I had quite an awesome moviegoing weekend! I saw The Tree of Life on Friday with two friends and we all quite loved the movie, although other people didn't: three people walked out in the middle of the movie right in front of us, while one person yelled, "I WANT MY MONEY BACK!" at the end of the movie during the credits. *Sigh*
Besides that and a few problems with the film here and there (like the length and towards the end when it just completely abandons all sense of continuity and comprehension), I loooooved it and was glad to see it didn't disappoint, at least for me =D
Anywho, today I saw X-Men: First Class and Bridesmaids: X-Men was great and definitely a nice return to form, so I'd say it's right smack in the middle in terms of quality within the X-Men series for me: better than Wolverine and Last Stand by a long shot, but slightly shy of the original X-Men and my all-time favorite, X2. And Bridesmaids was also great, very funny, creative, and brave compared to Hangover Part II, after seeing that last weekend.
Ryan -- yikes. i guess people don't wanna be challenged.
byu -- Morvern Callar is pretty spectacular yes. I'm so looking forward to "We need to talk about kevin"
Where's the Bridesmaids review?
Saw Midnight in Paris.
Was ultimately charmed by the end but I LOVED Allison Pill as Zelda Fitzgerald. The crush continues! Also, Michael Sheen was looking GOOD. The beard suits him amazingly well.
Did not care for Owen Wilson. As far as I'm concerned, his expiration date came and went YEARS ago. I just didn't laugh once. Rachel McAdams was more vanilla but I suddenly had a realization that maybe Mean Girls was just a one-time deal with her and the early peaks of her talent. Sorta like Naomi Watts + Mulholland Drive, you know? I just don't find her all that interesting. Maybe it was the heavily filtered Allen dialogue. Still, I wish Allen and the casting director would've had as much fun casting the contemporary players as they did casting that wonderful hall of supporting characters. Lea Seydoux was luminous! She reminded me of Vanessa Paradis, Kate Moss and Lara Stone all rolled into one. Win-win-win.
mark -- rachel and her parents are definitely the weakest part of "Midnight"... and to think that i was almost MOST excited to see it because of them (i loved whatshername in "in the loop" so much... but Woody gave her nothing funny and they were all one-note shallow/evil/republican)