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)

Box Office Update: Vacation Cut Short

At this point, I'm sick and tired of people making excuses for not heading out to the theaters this weekend. It's no longer a fitting excuse to say that there's nothing worth watching out there, because that's a lie. Hanna proved to be something brilliant, Source Code was an intriguing and emotional journey, and Scre4m is an enjoyable enough romp if you're not looking for brilliance. So how is it that these films are being criminally under-appreciated at the box office? It probably has to do with the unreasonable boost in ticket prices. It is getting to the point in which it is not a weekly escape so much as an occasional luxury.

I admit that I did not get around to seeing Rio this weekend, mostly because I didn't have such an urge to rush out to the theater. It appears I was the only one, as families flocked (no pun intended) to the 3D animated adventure. I hope I'll get around to it sometime this week, but it's not an immediate priority. Scre4m underperformed at the box office, falling back on Saturday and Sunday grosses after a somewhat promising Friday. It's highly characteristic of how Sucker Punch performed a few weeks ago. Hop fell just as much as expected, which isn't at all surprising. Hanna fell being Soul Surfer, dropping 40.8% and 30.2% respectively. The Conspirator fared about as well as Scre4m did, at least in terms of per theater averages. The box office this weekend was actually 4.5% higher than it was the same weekend last year, when Kick-Ass also disappointed at the opening spot. How to Train Your Dragon picked up the slack in hold overs.

1. Rio (First Weekend; $40 million)
2. Scre4m (First Weekend; $19.3 million)
3. Hop (Third Weekend; $11.2 million)
4. Soul Surfer (Second Weekend; $7.4 million)
5. Hanna (Second Weekend; $7.3 million)
6. Arthur (Second Weekend; $6.9 million)
7. Insidious (Third Weekend; $6.8 million)
8. Source Code (Third Weekend; $6.3 million)
9. The Conspirator (First Weekend; $3.9 million)
10. Your Highness (Second Weekend; $3.9 million)

Box Office Update: Branded on Both Ends

We're getting very close to actually being ahead of where we were in 2010, and I can't quite pick up why we have been failing so much this year. Audiences still aren't being intelligent with their choices, but they just aren't going to the theater as much as they used to. I admit that I visited the theater more often last year than I have this year, but I'd never wait for a film I'm truly excited to see to release on DVD. The theatrical experience is one of the things that makes this medium of art and entertainment so powerful. I do hope that this year's box office slump has more to do with the quality of the films playing, and less to do with people having grown tired of the big screen experience.

We can still expect films like Hop to succeed more than anything else, an immediate and sustainable draw for the child crowd. The Easter themed flick held onto the top spot, dropping 42.2% from its debut. Another strange draw for the kiddie crowd, Arthur, took second place with the highest of four relatively low openings. Hanna, the true spectacle of this weekend, was right behind it with a higher average per theater. Soul Surfer, which played surprisingly well with audiences this weekend, followed Hanna with an even higher average. Last weekend's horror film, Insidious, held on most impressively amongst last weekend's films, dropping only 26.6%. Your Highness skidded just below the $10 million mark, marking the lowest income of the new releases. Source Code dropped by a margin less than Hop, but greater than Insidious, falling 38.9%. Overall, this weekend was a 13.9% drop from 2010, when Date Night opened shortly behind the second weekend of Clash of the Titans.

1. Hop (Second Weekend; $21.7 million)
2. Arthur (First Weekend; $12.6 million)
3. Hanna (First Weekend; $12.3 million)
4. Soul Surfer (First Weekend; $11.1 million)
5. Insidious (Second Weekend; $9.7 million)
6. Your Highness (First Weekend; $9.5 million)
7. Source Code (Second Weekend; $9 million)
8. Limitless (Fourth Weekend; $5.7 million)
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Third Weekend; $4.9 million)
10. The Lincoln Lawyer (Fourth Weekend; $4.6 million)

For Your Anticipation: Living it up

By any indication, this should be a truly inspirational true story, but somehow the makers of these films always manage to screw up the endgame. Last year's Secretariat really didn't impress me that much, and the Oscar hype for it was just too ridiculous. The King's Speech ended up becoming more of the Blind Side of last year. Soul Surfer takes the same predictable formula, despite the real life source material, and applies it to surfing. It obscures real life more than it offers a look into real life. The Fighter had more going for it because it showed the ugliness of the situation. In this, the girl loses her arm, but you don't feel it.

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.