Box Office Update: People Remembered About "Contraband"?

Well it doesn't quite look like "Beauty and the Beast 3D" put up the same numbers as "The Lion King 3D" did back in September. To its credit, the 3D Bluray for for "Beauty and the Beast" was already out, while "The Lion King" still had a few weeks to go. That's probably what stunted the income of it a bit, but it still managed to bring in quite a tasty sum. In number one, quite unexpectedly, was "Contraband". It's interesting, because I didn't think a lot of people really knew what "Contraband" was, but apparently they did. I suppose that's what happens when the dumb trailer plays at every single screening you go to. I wouldn't say to expect it to hold well in the future. You know how these things go. They're big on opening, and then they just evaporate.

"Joyful Noise" seemed to evaporate before it was even released, though now that it's out I can easily imagine family audiences returning to it for weeks to come. I hope not, but that's the way it's likely to occur. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" continue to surge towards their benchmarks of $200 million and $100 million, respectively. As a matter of fact, they should reach that point by this time next week. "Sherlock Holmes" may even take $200 million, if just barely. Overall, this weekend was about exactly in line with the same weekend last year, when "The Green Hornet" was the massive debut of the weekend.

1. "Contraband" (First Weekend; $28.8 million)

2. "Beauty and the Beast 3D" (First Weekend; $23.5 million)

3. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Fifth Weekend; $14.2 million)

4. "Joyful Noise" (First Weekend; $13.8 million)

5. "Sherlock Holmes" (Fifth Weekend; $10.5 million)

6. "The Devil Inside" (Second Weekend: $9.2 million)

7. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (Fourth Weekend; $8.1 million)

8. "Alvin and the Chipmunks 3" (Fifth Weekend; $7.8 million)

9. "War Horse" (Fourth Weekend; $7.2 million)

10. "We Bought A Zoo" (Fourth Weekend; $6.8 million)

Weekend Report: Tale as Old as Yesterday

It's kind of odd to have absolutely no horror films coming out on Friday the 13th, unless you count the few theaters "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is hitting up. Instead we have a fairly simple array of typicality, from action to faux-inspirational, but the film that's really going to make a hit this weekend is "Beauty and the Beast 3D". Disney made a massive mint on "The Lion King 3D", and they're in place to do it again with a similar margin of success. Keep in mind, this one does have a touch less adoration going its way than the last one, but the amount of people I've spoken to who plan to see it this weekend give me just as much reason to believe it'll be the top hit this weekend.

And then you have the side players, which are going to make their own share from their respective demographics. Mark Wahlberg is a steady enough draw for action-oriented viewers, and I wouldn't doubt "Contraband" hauling close to $20 million these next three days. "Joyful Noise" too, which consistently irritates me whenever the trailer plays in front of something I'm seeing, is still going to get its share of people looking for a good time with the family. No way in hell I'm suggesting it, and if there's a film that's liable to not meet expectations, I'd bet on this one.

Films to See in 2012: January

We're now straight out of 2011, and you know exactly what that means. It means we're stuck with a month of January, which is the most pathetic month of the year. People just stop trying to make good movies, and that's sad. I suppose they're making room for people to catch up with the Oscar films of this year, but for us film addicts, it's not a fun time for new releases. The first weekend of the year always provides us something in the way of awful horror thrillers, this year being in the form of "The Devil Inside". I'm worried that people might actually see it. This seems to have the exact same plot as "The Rite" from last year, except without Anthony Hopkins. I wouldn't know for sure, as I try to keep a general distance from either film.

Is it worth noting that one of the best films coming out this month is a 3D re-release of "Beauty and the Beast"? Not the Jean Cocteau film. The Disney version that was inexplicably nominated for Best Picture. Also releasing that week is Queen Latifah's "inspirational family film", as it's described in the trailers, "Joyful Noise", or more appropriately titled "Just Noise". Add to that a Mark Wahlberg action film called "Contraband" and you might be able to expect a half decent weekend at the box office this month. And I would be prone to saying it drops off from there, but it doesn't quite.