If people were actually going to see the new Patrick Wilson movie to see Patrick Wilson he'd be a bankable star instantly! But we know they're going to The Conjuring -- just like they went to Insidious -- because the audience for cheaply produced horror flicks is enormous and insatiable. But at least Our Mr Wilson has found a cash-cow niche since Hollywood proper couldn't figure out what to do with him despite a) talent, b) a stellar singing voice, and c) matinee idol looks.
Patrick Wilson recording reactions to Vera Farmiga's Emmy nomination
TOP O' THE CHARTS
01 THE CONJURING $41.5 *NEW*
02 DESPICABLE ME 2 $25 (cum. $276.1)...about to become the 2nd biggest hit of 2013
03 TURBO $21.5 *NEW* (cum. $31.2)
04 GROWN UPS 2 $10 (cum. $79.5)
05 RED 2 $18.5 *NEW*
It was a rough weekend for The Lone Ranger (reviewed) which lost a huge swath of screens and fell out of the top ten in only its third weekend. Things weren't much rosier for the crowded field of newbies apart from the documentary Act of Killing which had the best per screen average and excitable reviews and The Conjuring. The latter has already doubled its budget where other newbies like the snail-racing cartoon Turbo and the CGI action comedy RIPD (Ryan Reynolds just can't open movies but Hollywood keeps trying to fix that) with budgets well over $100 million struggle to find an immediate audience. I hope that the disappointing totals for Red 2, which opened weaker than its predecessor though sequels usually build these days, and RIPD which looked like a plagiaristic reboot of Men in Black (at least in trailer form) with aliens swapped out for dead people, give Hollywood cold feet about greenlighting sequels or reboots of EVERYTHING ...but that's hoping for a miracle, I know.
In limited release The Way Way Back is still building an audience and Fruitvale Station (reviewed) did well in its second weekend passing the million dollar mark. It goes wide next weekend and is surely hoping to win enough box office attention to seal its status as a talking point Oscar contender.
Last Chance! If you can find Frances Ha and The Bling Ring, two of the most unique and discussable 2013 movies, in a theater near you, do it. They'll vanish from theaters any second now and you won't see them on DVD for awhile and good movies are better in theaters anyway!. Only Bling Ring has a date (September 17th) announced.
What did you see this weekend?
Monday, July 22, 2013 at 3:33PM 
As you may recall I was out of the country this year when the Tony Awards happened and thus out of the theatrical loop. I didn't even realize until leaving the theater recently that the 'playsical' I'd just seen had been a multiple winner: Sound Design, Scenic Design, Costume Design (the great Ann Roth), and Original Music. Like one of those Oscar winners everyone thinks is exceedingly handsome but no one quite rapturously loves enough in the marquee categories. 
