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?

The Adventures of Simba Across the Third Dimension

Michael C. here.

As a dyed-in-the-wool 3D non-believer I can’t say I was thrilled at the notion of Disney combing through the vault, “improving” titles with the latest technological gimmick as an excuse to wring more cash out of their back catalogue. The idea reeks of George Lucas style revisionism. Yet having seen Lion King 3D (opening today) I now have to reconcile this position with the fact that I thought the whole thing worked beautifully. Maybe enough time had passed for the story to feel fresh again. Maybe I was just in a great mood the morning of the screening. But whatever the reason I can’t deny Lion King 3D did what Lion King IMAX failed to do for me, which was to break through my deep familiarity with the material and hit me on a gut level.

Hey, why mince words: I had a blast.

Lion King may be the most technically polished use of 3D I’ve seen, miles ahead of any other after-the-fact 3D conversions, and right up there with Avatar and Up which I consider the gold standard. The Disney team has clearly taken incredible care with their prized title in this their inaugural attempt to access the potential gold mine of retrofitting classics. The level of detail impresses. The snouts of the lions protrude slightly in front of their faces and African plains that were formally flat paintings now stretch convincingly into the distance. Zazu becomes a breakout star since he gives the depth of field a work out every time he swoops by in the foreground high above the action. At the screening I saw there was no hint of dimness or the dreaded multi-plane effect that plagues cheaper 3D conversions.. I can honestly say I’ve never felt the urge to peek out from under the glasses, which is pretty much the highest compliment I can give to the technical job. 

Ultimately, a third dimension will never make a bad script better or make a boring movie exciting. Lion King 3D works so well because Lion King 2D did. But still, when the movie is already playing like gangbusters I can't deny the added depth can help turn things up to 11 from time to time. "The Circle of Life" wows as if it was conceived with 3D in mind from the start, and the wildebeest stampede is predictably stunning. More surprisingly the added dimension also lends increased grandeur to simple scenes like an early heartfelt talk between Mufasa and son in a vast open field. In other scenes where the newfound depth doesn’t do much– "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", for example, doesn’t exactly pop – it’s easy enough to ignore. 

How viable this will be for other Disney classics remains an open question. The group of titles that would really justify the conversion is probably slim. I can’t say a 3D version of The Jungle Book would have me clamoring for tickets. If, on the other hand, they ever give Fantasia the same deluxe treatment they have given Lion King then sign me up.