Box Office Update: Super Eight Figures

I didn't think I'd be saying this at the start of this weekend, but what an astounding weekend it was. It should probably be a bit more clear why once I make my next post much later this evening, but I had a genuinely wonderful experience at the movies this weekend. That's what I've been complaining so much about this year lacking concerning the films released. None of them have seemed like real events, or moments when the world stops its nonsense and gives you its focus. Out of context, this must be rather confusing and strange, so here's hoping it lures you back to find out why I'm so smitten.

On to the matter at hand, this weekend had a great deal going against it, and it was clear that it wasn't going to match up with last year when The Karate Kid and The A-Team brought in their own massive heap. Well what better way to combat vintage 80's cash grab than late 70's nostalgia? Super 8 was able to put up a truly admirable figure of $37 million, which is exceptional because the film has a cast of unknowns and cost only $50 million to make. My hat's off to Abrams, who barely made the film's budget evident. It looked much better than any of the blockbusters ripping people off right now.

X-Men: First Class held on moderately well, not dipping further than 54.6%, but that may be due to the lesser impact of Super 8 as opposed to more gargantuan blockbusters. The prequel should clear the $100 million mark by Tuesday at the latest. Hangover 2 and Pirates 4 both joined the ranks of Fast Five in passing the $200 million mark, yet undeservedly so. The reason for Pirates should be obvious, but Hangover 2 is en route to be considered an equal success as the first film. What made the first one so outstanding in box office terms was how it held on over the course of the summer, despite humble beginnings. It never completely left memory at the box office. I think we just want to forget Part II.

Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer met an inglorious seventh place opening, which makes me glad that people didn't waste quite as much time with it as I worried they would. One of the real standouts this weekend was Midnight in Paris, which expanded to 944 theaters and added to its exceptional total given the indie nature of the film. In summation, the film was only a 4.1% decrease from last year, which is totally understandable and nothing to scoff at.

1. Super 8 (First Weekend; $37 million)

2. X-Men: First Class (Second Weekend; $25 million)

3. The Hangover: Part II (Third Weekend; $18.5 million)

4. Kung Fu Panda 2 (Third Weekend; $16.6 million)

5. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (Fourth Weekend; $10.8 million)

6. Bridesmaids (Fifth Weekend; $10.2 million)

7. Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer (First Weekend; $6.2 million)

8. Midnight in Paris (Fourth Weekend; $6.1 million)

9. Thor (Sixth Weekend; $2.4 million)

10. Fast Five (Seventh Weekend; $1.7 million)

Box Office Update: Second Class Treatment

My personal prejudice aside, it makes perfectly good sense why X-Men: First Class performed the way it did this weekend. I understand why people liked it as much as they did, even though I feel like they shouldn't have. It makes sense that the film would thrive off of the male audience, because they are the core demographic of people who would like it. The film didn't open as massively as some believed because of the negative energy after X-Men Origins: Wolverine failed so badly. It picked up from positive word of mouth, and is likely to survive over the coming weeks. All things considered, this is a solid opening for the reboot/prequel.

As for second week holdovers, Hangover: Part II fell to second with a massive drop of 62.2%, as one could have expected of an opening as massive as it had and a reception as mild as it received. Kung Fu Panda 2 fell just under 50%, proving to be the better holdover of the two. The fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film continued its descent with a 54.8% drop, and Bridesmaids continued to perform exceptionally well with another small drop of 26.7%. In summation, the weekend was a vast improvement from last year, when Get Him to the Greek and Killers were the top new releases. It's that comparison that almost makes me think we're doing pretty well this year.

1. X-Men: First Class (First Weekend; $56 million)

2. The Hangover: Part II (Second Weekend; $32.4 million)

3. Kung Fu Panda 2 (Second Weekend; $24.3 million)

4. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (Third Weekendl $18 million)

5. Bridesmaids (Fourth Weekend; $12.1 million)

6. Thor (Fifth Weekend; $4.2 million)

7. Fast Five (Sixth Weekend; $3.2 million)

8. Midnight in Paris (Third Weekend; $2.9 million)

9. Jumping the Broom (Fifth Weekend; $0.8 million)

10. Something Borrowed (Fifth Weekend; $0.8 million)

Box Office Update: Bad Decisions Till Monday Night

I guess it was a bit much to expect people to behave rationally this weekend, which was a massive success, despite the pit in my gut. It set a record for the highest Top 10 box office results for Memorial Day weekend, pulled out the second highest grossing R-Rated release, and gained us a fair bit of traction towards catching up with where we were at the box office last year. It's not hard to beat out last year, which brought the disappointing openings of Sex and the City 2 and Prince of Persia. So why am I not as happy as I'd like to be.

Starting from the top, The Hangover: Part II ruled the box office this weekend, aiming at the unbelievably available demographic of college kids just out of school for the summer, not to mention the fans of the first film. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that people will shell out their money based solely on hype for a film as redundant as this. I guess I was hoping for some degree of intelligence. If there had been such, perhaps Kung Fu Panda 2 wouldn't have performed as it did. The first film opened just north of $60 million, and the sequel came in just south of $50 million. Hopefully it will pick up in the coming weeks, but I'm still slightly downtrodden by this outcome.

Other than that, I honestly don't see what's to be upset about. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides fell substantially enough, as we knew it would. Thor remains the only blockbuster film this summer that didn't take so massive a fall after the first weekend. Bridesmaids continued to hold on well, despite the competition of The Hangover: Part II, or perhaps because of it. It stands to reason that they would make a compatible double feature. The last piece of modestly relevant news is that Midnight in Paris made the top ten, expanding to a mere 58 theaters, so bravo Woody Allen. We'll do a followup tomorrow when the numbers for Monday come in.

1. The Hangover: Part II (First Weekend; $86.5 million)

2. Kung Fu Panda 2 (First Weekend; $48 million)

3. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (Second Weekend; $39.3 million)

4. Bridesmaids (Third Weekend; $16.4 million)

5. Thor (Fourth Weekend; $9.4 million)

6. Fast Five (Fifth Weekend; $6.6 million)

7. Midnight in Paris (Second Weekend; $1.9 million)

8. Jumping the Broom (Fourth Weekend; $1.9 million)

9. Something Borrowed (Fourth Weekend; $1.8 million)

10. Rio (Seventh Weekend; $1.8 million)

Box Office Update: At World's End? Not So Much.

The weekend box office estimates would surely look a tad bit different if the world had ended at 6:00 on May 21. Thankfully, that silliness is now past us, and we can worry about real problems in the world. The summer box office marathon continued with great, yet somehow middling success, as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides took the top spot with about $90 million. It's not as high as the openings of the last two films, but there was bound to be some fourth flick backlash, not to mention negative word of mouth. Yet audiences still took to this film rather positively, as I kind of knew they would. Flash and pretension are two of the most powerful hooks for the gullible audience.

Ruling the holdovers with pink gloved fist was Bridesmaids, which fell only 20% from last weekend's more than modest debut. It has been proving to be something of what The Hangover was two years ago. I fear it will drop when The Hangover: Part II arrives next weekend, but probably not by much. Thor took a more substantial fall of 55%, which is understandable as the big blockbuster slot has now been filled by another. Fast Five fell another 48% as it moves ever so slightly closer to $200 million. All in all, this weekend was an 11% increase from the same weekend last year, when Shrek Forever After opened in first.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (First Weekend; $90.1 million)

2. Bridesmaids (Second Weekend; $21.1 million)

3. Thor (Third Weekend; $15.5 million)

4. Fast Five (Fourth Weekend; $10.6 million)

5. Rio (Sixth Weekend; $4.6 million)

6. Priest (Second Weekend; $4.6 million)

7. Jumping the Broom (Third Weekend; $3.7 million)

8. Something Borrowed (Third Weekend; $3.4 million)

9. Water for Elephants (Fifth Weekend; $2.2 million)

10. Soul Surfer (Seventh Weekend; $1 million)

Box Office Update: Always a "Bridesmaids"

This weekend looked to be another substantial drop-off from the success we've been having for the past two weeks, as there weren't any major blockbusters opening. In some ways, that played to the advantage of this particular weekend, with Thor holding on to the top spot impressively with only a 47.5% decrease from last weekend. That's less of a drop than Fast Five had after its massive opening. It also proves to be the smallest drop of any film in Marvel's Avengers lineup thus far. The film looks to be headed past the $200 million mark sometime within the next three weeks.

Meanwhile, in the land of the new releases, Bridesmaids proved to play a lot better than expectations believed it would. Coming in at just $10 less than Thor, the film could turn out to be a big player in the coming weeks, assuming it maintains its audience well enough. Priest didn't even break $15 million this weekend, but still earned more than it deserved. Fast Five landed in third, leveling out at a steady decrease of 39.8%. Rio rounded out the top five, dropping a minuscule 6% from last weekend. The film should do fine for the next two weeks until Kung Fu Panda 2 takes up its target audience. The weekend was still  4.6% lower than the same last year, but that's still impressive given last year's debut of Robin Hood and the holdover of Iron Man 2.

1. Thor (Second Weekend; $34.5 million)

2. Bridesmaids (First Weekend; $24.4 million)

3. Fast Five (Third Weekend; $19.5 million)

4. Priest (First Weekend; $14.5 million)

5. Rio (Fifth Weekend; $8 million)

6. Jumping the Broom (Second Weekend; $7.3 million)

7. Something Borrowed (Second Weekend; $7 million)

8. Water for Elephants (Fourth Weekend; $4.1 million)

9. Madea's Big Happy Family (Fourth Weekend; $2.2 million)

10. Soul Surfer (Sixth Weekend; $1.8 million)

Box Office Update: Mostly Refreshing

After last weekend gave us the lightning charge we needed after a long period of box office disappointment, this weekend continued the upward trend as best it could given the circumstances. This same weekend last year gave us the gigantic opening of Iron Man 2 which, despite being something of a disappointment, managed to be the highest opening of the year. Heading into this weekend, I was sure that the top ten this weekend wouldn't be able to surpass that. That being said, things were still pretty positive this weekend. Thor opened up to an impressive $66 million, confronting the public cynicism that has been surrounding it for months. Needless to say, it was the big winner this weekend.

It obviously didn't beat out Fast Five, which had franchise power going for it, along with the action crowd that's usually drawn in by Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. However, I'd say Thor has a better chance at maintaining its crowds in the coming weeks, seeing as Fast Five dropped 62.3% from its opening. I'm not exactly surprised by this, but it was surprising after so many were clearly fans of the film. As for the other new releases, do I really have to comment on them? Jumping the Broom and Something Borrowed both landed around the same $13 million territory. Rounding out the top five was Rio, which fell a considerable 44.5% seeing as it had some 3D screens taken from it. That's not as major a factor as it was two years ago, as there are more 3D screens now than there were before. This weekend was only 10% down from the same weekend last year, which is still something of a victory.

1. Thor (First Weekend; $66 million)
2. Fast Five (Second Weekend; $32.5 million)
3. Jumping the Broom (First Weekend; $13.7 million)
4. Something Borrowed (First Weekend; $13.1 million)
5. Rio (Fourth Weekend; $8.2 million)
6. Water for Elephants (Third Weekend; $5.6 million)
7. Madea's Big Happy Family (Third Weekend; $3.9 million)
8. Prom (Second Weekend; $2.4 million)
9. Soul Surfer (Fifth Weekend; $2.1 million)
10. Hoodwinked Too! (Second Weekend; $1.9 million)

Box Office Update: "Fast" Times in "Rio"

There were some pretty massive failures at the box office this weekend. Disney's new aim at the young demographic, Prom, proved largely unsuccessful, landing in fifth place with only $5 million. Even more pathetically was Hoodwinked Too, which holds the absolute lowest debut for a 3D film opening in wide release. We would have good reason to be greatly depressed by this weekend if it weren't for the gargantuan opening tally of Fast Five. Expectations were set pretty high already, with many estimating a take of around $70 million, much like the previous film in the series. I was preparing for an upset, but Fast Five ended up posting a new record for the franchise and for the month of May.

With a tally that high, all other films this weekend seem very much irrelevant, but there were some other achievements worth talking about. Rio took a controlled fall of 45.3%, which is understandable considering the competition. Water for Elephants fell a similar amount and landed up in fourth place. Between the two was Madea's Big Happy Family, which fell an estimated 60% from last week's moderate debut. The biggest drop came from Hop, which hit it big on Easter weekend, only to fall again this weekend by 79%. The film is currently standing at $105.3 million, and isn't looking to go much higher than that. Overall, it should come as no surprise that this weekend demolished the same weekend last year, which played host to the $32.9 million debut of the Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

1. Fast Five (First Weekend; $83.6 million)

2. Rio (Third Weekend; $14.4 million)

3. Madea's Big Happy Family (Second Weekend; $10.1 million)

4. Water For Elephants (Second Weekend; $9.1 million)

5. Prom (First Weekend; $5 million)

6. Hoodwinked Too (First Weekend; $4.1 million)

7. Soul Surfer (Fourth Weekend; $3.3 million)

8. Insidious (Fifth Weekend; $2.7 million)

9. Hop (Fifth Weekend; $2.6 million)

10. Source Code (Fifth Weekend; $2.5 million)

The Weekend Report: Controlled Demolition

As optimistic as I often attempt to be, I just don't have much faith in such franchises that keep blowing up the balloon to no end. In many ways, that's an overarching theme for this particular Summer, with the release of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, the fifth X-Men film, and the eighth Harry Potter film. On the one hand, I don't like to think of Fast Five as the official start of this Summer. The series has gone on longer than it deserves to without offering us anything of value. The fact that this latest film is getting moderately positive reviews proves about as encouraging as the positive reviews for Unstoppable. Both are mindless action films that are heralded as embracing the insanity of it. It just never really worked for me. Then again, I submit that this will rake in a ton of cash at the box office this weekend, so in that sense many will assume that it's the start of the season.

The rest of the new releases are irrelevant, yet they'll probably draw in their undeserved winnings in ignorant viewers. Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil might do well from the younger demographic, but I'd sooner expect Rio to hold on to that audience. Prom also seems to be drilling from that well, as much as it is from the teen audiences. I'm not talking about people in high school as much as I'm talking about people headed for high school. In other words, people who don't have any sense of what the experience will actually be like. That's the optimist in me talking, but realistically both of these films will die on arrival. So my suggestion for you this weekend, if you are to head out to the theaters, is that you go out and see Scre4m. It has been taking an undeserved bashing at the box office, and it's an amazingly fun time. Plus, I'd like to see Wes Craven go on to make 5cream and Wes Craven's Final Scream.

For Your Anticipation: We Got Spikes!

I am a huge advocate for the end of a franchise, especially one that long since lost its steam. I don't remember when the first Fast and the Furious film came out, and I honestly do not care. I only became familiar with it after the fourth film came out, made $70 million in one weekend, and I was forced to watch a pirated copy by my high school chemistry teacher. I honestly cannot tell you the logic behind his decision. Suffice it to say that he wasn't hired back. In all seriousness, most of my anger at Fast Five derives from angst towards the series and the cliche nature of it. It looks like a decent action film that will get a lot of people to see it, and the second film this month to showcase Rio De Janeiro.

Dread Locks: April 2011

As always, it's proving a tad bit more difficult to see these awful films than I anticipated. Apparently it's hard to find a time when I actually want to see Red Riding Hood, but it's something that still has to be done. The drive to see this film is much like the drive for me to see each film in The Twilight Saga. I never enjoy the experience, but it's an experience nonetheless. That and the fact that I love writing reviews for films that I hate. In any case, we're approaching April just as rapidly as always, and that of course brings up a whole crop of films for me to potentially review. It's a bit duller than usual, but I think that's a good thing. Now people know just how dull these films are before they see them.

I had a lot of films that I could have put in this poll, such as Hop, Insidious, Mother's Day, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, Hoodwinked Too, and Prom. I was close to putting Water for Elephants up here, but then we got a slew of trailers that embellished the more favorable aspects of the film. So the assortment I have for you starts out with Soul Surfer, the true story of Bethany Hamilton, otherwise known as the girl who got her arm bitten off by a shark. I know that it sounds like it could be a truly inspirational story, but Anna Sophia-Robb has not grown into a sexy charismatic teen, and I can't believe in the acting capabilities of Dennis Quaid or Carrie Underwood. This looks hilariously idiotic.

Through directing nine features, Tyler Perry has tried to break out of the name he's been given in the comedy industry, but ultimately failed. I can't believe that we could expect anything but a failure this time around, but people are still going to see his films. He has an eager crowd that likes his brand of filmmaking, but I'm just not part of that crowd. His next film is Madea's Big Happy Family, and it looks like he's headed back into comedic territory again, sadly. Coming just a week later is Fast Five, which I have on here for obvious reasons. Oddly enough, I'm kind of hoping this one wins out. The last film grossed nearly $70 million opening weekend. This year could really use that sort of a face lift. Those are your choices, you can follow the links provided to see trailers, and you can place your vote in the sidebar.

Theatrical Trailer: Fast Five

This year has been, and continues to be, a massive pile of failure. To punctuate my point, two films this past week have received moderately good reviews, yet didn't quite satisfy me. I've lightened up on Rango enough for a solid B. It's fantastic entertainment at times, even if it's a predictable slog through most of it. This weekend I'm set to see Battle: Los Angeles and Red Riding Hood, neither of which are at all promising, and neither of which will deliver. That brings me full circle to Fast Five, a trailer that lays everything simply. I can't honestly say why this series has gone on this long, but I'm quite honestly sick of it. There's no longer any logic in this franchise. There's one line by Vin Diesel in this trailer that sums everything wrong with this series. "Chances are, sooner or later, we're gonna end up behind bars or buried in a ditch somewhere. But not today." Until then, the pain goes on.