Box Office Update: Not With A Fizzle, But With A Bang

Just a reminder, our countdown of the top ten films of 2010 is still going on until 8 p.m. tonight, so don't you forget about it. Alright, now let's face the facts. This year was a pretty big year at the box office, but still an overall disappointment. It seems like a bit of paradox, but with the drastic boost in ticket prices, I can't say it's surprising. On top of that, there wasn't really too much incentive to go out to the theaters this year, with more than our deserved helping of disappointment. However, I say confidently that this year went out much better than I expected it to. Little Fockers took the largest drop of the weekend. True Grit almost took the top spot. Six out of the ten biggest films at the box office were genuinely enjoyable experiences. Consider me contented, and I hope this next year provides an improvement.

1. Little Fockers (Second Weekend; $26.3 million)
2. True Grit (Second Weekend; $24.5 million)
3. TRON Legacy (Third Weekend; $18. 3 million)
4. Yogi Bear (Third Weekend; $13 million)
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Fourth Weekend; $10.5 million)
6. Tangled (Sixth Weekend; $10 million)
7. The Fighter (Fourth Weekend; $10 million)
8. Gulliver's Travels (Second Weekend; $9.1 million)
9. Black Swan (Fifth Weekend; $8.5 million)
10. The King's Speech (Fifth Weekend; $7.6 million)

Box-Office Update: You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

I don't get how people can continuously make extremely stupid decisions, but once in a while do something that makes logical sense. That's what I've been thinking across this weekend's box office results, because audiences obviously go with the typical decision of going to see Little Fockers. Anyone could've guessed that, because people are stupid with their choices. One the other hand, True Grit was the surprise hit of this weekend, not taking the top spot, but certainly outperforming any expectations it had. Gulliver's Travels was practically canceled out by Little Fockers, so it hitting the seventh slot isn't all the confusing or surprising.

Adding on to the typical confusion is Yogi Bear, which is doing far better than it should be doing. The animated whatever took a drop of 46.4% this weekend, while TRON: Legacy took a heftier drop of 54.3%. I knew that it wouldn't do well with repeat viewings, but I never thought once in hell that Yogi Bear would keep more audiences. We'll have to wait to see how it fully pans out, but it's understandable how this wasn't as truly magnificent a weekend at the movies as last year. Christmas Eve landed on a Friday, which is usually the top day for people to head out to the theaters, but most were instead stuck at church. At the same time, last year had Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, so the fact that this weekend was 50% down from that one makes complete sense.

1. Little Fockers (First Weekend; $34 million)
2. True Grit (First Weekend; $25.6 million)
3. TRON: Legacy (Second Weekend; $20.1 million)
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Third Weekend; $10.8 million)
5. Yogi Bear (Second Weekend; $8.8 million)
6. The Fighter (Third Weekend; $8.5 million)
7. Gulliver's Travels (First Weekend; $7.2 million)
8. Black Swan (Fourth Weekend; $6.6 million)
9. Tangled (Fifth Weekend; $6.5 million)
10. The Tourist (Third Weekend; $5.7 million)

The Weekend Report: A Very Psychotic Holiday

We've finally reached the Christmas weekend, which worked out rather well for most films last year. Then again, they had the special boost of singing chipmunks, Robert Downey Jr., and the highest grossing film ever made. So it's needless to say that this weekend won't be as successful, but there are some advantages. We've got the wide expansion of Black Swan, which should be the main ticket for the intellectually driven audiences this weekend. On top of that, The King's Speech is moving in 600 theaters this weekend, which means that I'll finally get to see it that second time that I wanted to see months ago.

The Coen Brothers have probably got the best new release this weekend, with their western remake of True Grit starring the already relevant Jeff Bridges. I still haven't got around to seeing that one, and I may end up hauling out to see it tonight if I get the chance. It's not a likely possibility, but it kills me that I've been waiting this long. Most people are, unfortunately, going to see Little Fockers this weekend, because people don't care about being entertained anymore it seems. Same goes for Gulliver's Travels. You have plenty of real opportunities to have a good time at the movies this weekend. Don't waste it.

Theatrical Trailer: Gulliver's Travels

Does anybody honestly like Jack Black? I'm not talking about little kids. I'm talking about actual people, and as an actual human being, I do not like Jack Black. On top of that, I just don't like this trailer. It looks like the same sort of large-scale animated flop that Evan Almighty turned out to be. On top of that, the entire plot is spoiled away in this trailer, as if you weren't already familiar with each and every plot turn. In short, you just should not see Gulliver's Travels. Take a look at the trailer, and let me know what you thought of it.