Box Office: Family Fare Wins Again

Given the ease with which family fare always tops the charts whether animated or live action -- this time the story of a dolphin with a prosthetic tale (?) flipper (?) fin (?) I don't know these terms -- you'd think taking the family to the movies didn't cost as much as people always claim it costs when they complain about how much it costs (whew): parking, food, multiple tickets.

Also: Dolphins are cute and all but I'm only seeing Dolphin Tale if you can promise me that it contains a musical sequence in which Olivia Newton-John reprises her treacly "Promise (The Dolphin Song)" from the 80s.

With Morgan Freeman on back-up.

Anyway, don't mind me. I'm just bitter because I'd prefer it if adults went to movies for adults in droves. That way TV wouldn't be able to hog all the entertainment intended for adults. (Moneyball is doing well but people really should be queuing up in droves, you know?)

Box Office (U.S.) Baker's Dozen -estimates
01 DOLPHIN TALE  $14.2 (cum $37.5)
02 MONEYBALL [review] $12.5 (cum $38.4)
03 THE LION KING 3D [review] re-release $11 (cum $408.1)
04 50/50 [review] new $8.8 
05 COURAGEOUS new $8.8 
06 DREAMHOUSE new $8.2 
07 ABDUCTION [review] $5.6 (cum $19.1)
08 WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? new $5.6 
09 CONTAGION $5 (cum $64.7)
10 KILLER ELITE $4.8 (cum $17.4)
11 DRIVE [review] $3.3 (cum $27)
12 THE HELP [review] $3.0 (cum $159.3)

Michael Shannon Sees Storms ComingTalking Points
• In limited release land the apocalyptic visions of Michael Shannon in TAKE SHELTER had the best opening weekend at just 3 theaters but with a sturdy $18,000 per screen (in other words the houses were four times as full as those of the top films in wide release). The extremely well reviewed gay romance WEEKEND did a tiny expansion from 1 theater to 6. It also became available On Demand so one suspects it'll make a hefty percentage of its revenue there.

• The Help finally left the gold-lined interior of the top ten list in its 8th week, falling just short of Bridesmaids staying power (which fell the same distance in its 9th week). The sole advantage of The Help (#12 of the year right now) if it hopes to topple Bridesmaids (#10 of the year) for bragging rights of "Highest Grossing Non-Franchise Film of 2011" is that it's in more theaters than Bridesmaids was at this point. The Help is still $10 million behind. It might be a squeaker or it might be all over if Real Steel and The Ides of March rip most of its screens away next Friday.

•Somehow Dream House opened to $8.2 million even though you can see the whole movie from start to finish in the trailer. If people keep buying tickets to movies whose trailers reveal every detail, Hollywood will keep making trailers filled with more egregious spoilers than even the laziest and most bitter critics would dare type. Sigh. At least Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz found each other in the process. 

•I don't want to make too much of a point about what could merely be a coincidence but Contagion's numbers week to week are very similar to Crazy, Stupid, Love.'s numbers (to the point where they both hit $64 million on the 4th weekend!) Will their twin performance be the new standard for what happens when you just cram your movie full of multiple well-liked stars who aren't always bankable on their own?

What did you see over the weekend?
If it wasn't Dolphin Tale, what could convince you to see that movie?
If it wasn't Moneyball what are you waiting for?

Box Office: Brad vs. Simba. And Other Stories...

Brad on the greenThe lion is still the king of the jungle. Moneyball's opening was very respectable but a bit softer than Brad Pitt's usual opening weekend numbers. My guess is that too many people who are pushed toward ticket-purchases by perceptions of quality rather than celebrity or subject matter didn't expect it to be as good as it actually is. I'm guessing word of mouth is strong and Brad's very-real bid for Oscar (who'da thunk it?) finds its legs quickly. In baseball you have to do a lot of standing around and waiting for the excitement to accumulate. Or so I gather. 

Thus Disney's most popular picture roars again from its jutting cliff peak. 

Box Office (U.S.) Baker's Dozen -estimates
01 THE LION KING 3D [review] re-release $22.1 (cum $390.2)
02 MONEYBALL [review] new $20.6 
03 DOLPHIN TALE new $20.2 
04 ABDUCTION new $11.2 
05 KILLER ELITE  new $9.5 
06 CONTAGION [venice] $8.5 (cum $57.1)
07 DRIVE [review] $5.7 (cum $21.4)
08 THE HELP [review] $4.4 (cum $154.4)
09 STRAW DOGS  $2.1 (cum $8.8)
10 I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT  $2 (cum $8)

Talking Points: Weekend, the terrific gay romantic drama we've been raving about (read my interview with the director) had the nation's highest per sceen average which is promising for its expansion plans.

Chris New (foreground) offers an invitation to Tom Cullen in "Weekend"

We have always hoped it would expand quickly. You deserve to see it! According to Indiewire our hopes will become reality.

Sundance Selects said they’re “thrilled” with the opening numbers and will expand through the major markets in the next two weeks."

Dolphin Tale once again proves that family films don't need anything in the way of pre-release buzz to do well. I'm so weirded out that it almost equalled the gross of a really entertaining Brad Pitt movie! (I expect that Moneyball will have sturdy legs over the next month or two though.)

Uh... I did not throw that tomato!Will Abduction's super blah but not altogether embarassing opening and the terrible reviews be enough to put a stake through Taylor Lautner's career? My guess is no. Besides, stakes can't harm you if you're already made of wood. (Hardy-har-har). Nevertheless, unless his acting magically improves, he'll be given a headlining opportunity on a procedural on TV in ten years time on his name recognition alone. He'll be working his whole life on name recognition, actually. Such is the power of kicking things off in a blockbuster franchise. (See also: the inexplicably long career death rattle and similarly suspect acting of one Hayden Christensen.

What did you see this weekend?
If you saw Moneyball make sure to sound off over in the review. I'm a bit surprised that Brad Pitt didn't win the weekend since my theater was packed even early in the morning (which is not common in September in NYC).

Box Office: The Lion Roars Again

With the Emmys happening yesterday (live blog!) -- and thus TV ruling the internet's hive mind -- we thought it prudent to wait until today to discuss the weekend box office.

Box Office (U.S.) Baker's Dozen -actuals
01 THE LION KING 3D [review] re-release $30.1 (cum $369.9)
02 CONTAGION [venice capsule] $14.5 (cum $44.2)
03 DRIVE [review] new $11.3
04 THE HELP [review] $6.5 (cum $147.4)
05 STRAW DOGS new $5.1
06 I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT new $4.4
07 THE DEBT $2.9 (cum $26.5)
08 WARRIOR [review] $2.8 (cum $10)
09 RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES $2.6 (cumulative $171.6) 
10 COLOMBIANA $2.3 (cum $33.3)
11 SHARK NIGHT 3D  $1.8 (cum $17.3)
12 SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD $1.5 (cum $36.1)
13 CRAZY STUPID LOVE [review] $1.5 (cum $80.7)

Talking Points: Goddamnit. Just as 3-D was looking like a doomed prospect, Disney has to go and surpass all expectations of The Lion King's post-conversion release. Now obviously not any old movie would be able to obliterate its new competition but The Lion King has always been the king of its jungle, as one of the highest grossing and most beloved movies of the 90s. But just because this wouldn't work for every feature, does not mean this won't convince Hollywood otherwise. They've already invested a lot in 3D and they aren't going to give up with these results.

The Help continues its very slow decline down the charts. It's not going to top Bridesmaids as the year's biggest non-franchise hit (since it's still $20 million behind) but #2 in that arena and #12 for the year overall from all films released for what is essentially a period piece ensemble actress drama sure is bragging rights. (And Oscar fuel if Disney realizes it in time.) 

Crazy Stupid Love isn't a blockbuster so people aren't really talking about its success but it's had relatively strong legs at the box office and quietly tallied up an impressive $80 million... all of which is very good news for its fine cast who are generally uneven as box office takes go.

Flops: Warrior, designed to be a crowd pleaser, just can't pull in the crowds. No word of mouth resurgence. And tough break for Sarah Jessica Parker's bankability; She Didn't Do It.

What did you see over the weekend? If it's Drive, join the discussion over in my review -- I drew pictures and everything! If something else, what was it? Did you love?

Box Office "The Help" Still Gainfully Employed.

The stars of The Help are actually in France at the moment (Venice isn't the only festival happening as I type: Telluride and Deauville are also attracting celebrities). They've been posing with a champagne bottle. Corporate sponsorship sitch aside, they have every reason to break out the bubbly with the longest time lodged at #1 since... Inception (!!!) With a budget of only $25 million, The Help is going to prove hugely profitable for all involved. So congratulations to Tate Taylor and team.

The movie shows no signs of slowing down, dropping only 2% this week while most movies fell about 25% (everyone got a small holiday boost). It might end up outgrossing pre-sold brands like The Smurfs and god knows what other huge budgeted would-be blockbusters when it's done. Maybe that Best Picture nomination could actually happen after all. [Please note: I'll be updating all the charts on September 13th... to kick off our busy season. And given what's happening at Telluride and Venice, there's a lot of changes to be made.]

Box Office (U.S.) Baker's Dozen -actuals
01 THE HELP [review] $14.6 (cum $118.9)
02 THE DEBT new $9.9 
03 APOLLO 18 new $8.7 
04 SHARK NIGHT 3D new $8.3 
05 RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES [articles] $7.9 (cumulative $160.1) 
06 COLOMBIANA $7.4 (cum $22)
07 OUR IDIOT BROTHER [review] $5.4 (cum $15.7)
08 DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK $5.1 (cum $16.5)
09 SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD $4.8 (cum $29.2)
10 THE SMURFS $4.1 (cum $132)

11 CRAZY STUPID LOVE [thoughts] $3.3 (cum $74.5)
12 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART TWO $2.4 (cum $374.6)
13 CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER [review]  $1.9 (cum $171.6) 

What did you see over the weekend?
Did you love it?

A Good Weekend for Zoe Saldana

Though I mentioned yesterday that we'd probably skip the weekly box office report this Sunday, I had to note one major development. Despite it being a down weekend overall (thanks to hurricane stormy Irene), it's worth noting that the two top grossers were both headlined by actresses of color when it comes right down to it. Viola Davis and company remained on top with The Help (which will pass $100 million this week) and Zoe Saldana's first solo above-the-title gig Colombiana did pretty well despite overall attendance taking a hit. 

The plight of ethnic actresses and role opportunities has long been a pet topic of The Film Experience.  It's a far more important conversation than the lazy "the Academy is racist!" business you hear about every year. If the roles aren't there the Oscars simply cannot be; they can only react to what's placed before them.

I think it's worth noting and then watching what happens next with Zoe Saldana. Consider for a moment that she had the second billed role in the biggest hit of all time (Avatar), she was the only major female in another blockbuster (Star Trek) and now she has opened her own picture. Will she be "in demand" now in the way, say, Carey Mulligan already is without having to prove anything in the way of bankability? However distasteful and subjective "bankability" is, it is unarguably a factor in careers. So, isn't "Zoe Saldana?" a question you should be hearing Hollywood asking itself on a regular basis?

Do you think Hollywood will even notice this box office peculiarity or just go about their business as usual?