Box Office Update: Kitty's Got Claws (sorry.)

This weekend was always on pace to be 25.9% lower than the same weekend last year, when "Megamind" opened to the top spot of $46 million. I still find quite a degree of guilty pleasure out of that one, but it's such a fun little charmer, despite those corny musical cues. "Puss in Boots" didn't exactly draw me out in the same fashion, and I doubt I'll see it at all. All the same, you've gotta hand it to the film for making the best out of an at first regrettable situation. The film opened to $34 million last weekend, which nobody was really that ecstatic about. However, the film turned it around this weekend with an astonishing drop of just 3%, and just $1 million less than last weekend.

So that certainly gave this weekend an extra boost. It didn't change the fact that "Puss" was $13 million below "Megamind", "Tower Heist" $7.5 million down from "Due Date", and "Harold and Kumar" $6 million away from "For Colored Girls". Though I will say that that last comparison is in no way appropriate the way the other two comparisons are. Suffice it to say that "Paranormal Activity 3" is holding much better than its predecessor, though still going by intermittent 50% drops here and there. It'll certainly be the first $100 million hit of the fall season, though "Puss in Boots" will so follow, not to mention the windfall of holiday blockbusters on the rise. So consider this weekend to be a mild, but not outstanding, success of sorts. Be thankful for what you have.

Box Office Update: "Puss" Wins the Weekend

This weekend has just been a complete barrage against the box office that nobody could have foreseen before two days ago. There was bound to be some slight weakness in the pot, as there most definitely will be on Halloween weekend. But the freak snowstorm combined with Game 7 of the World Series just set things back colossally. I'd say if you give these films about 10% interest, you'll get what they would have made this weekend. Instead, we have this, and it's not all that inspiring. All that said, it still was a welcome increase upon where we were in 2010, which was with "Saw 3D" reaping its meager opening earnings.

And that's meager in comparison to the films this weekend, the top spot going unsurprisingly to "Puss in Boots", which was pushed forward a week to get the kiddie market who was all jazzed up for Halloween. That idea clearly backfired a bit. All the same, the film opened well-ish. But it's still worth noting that "Paranormal Activity 3" dropped as much as we expected it to, so perhaps the weekend box office wasn't totally affected by the onslaught of outlying elements this weekend. All the same, that doesn't ring too well for "In Time" or "The Rum Diary", the first of which performed admirably in comparison to its counterpart. Sure, this weekend was a success compared to last year, but the films are still in a dicey situation as far as the box office goes.

1. "Puss in Boots" (First Weekend; $34 million)

2. "Paranormal Activity 3" (Second weekend; $18.5 million)

3. "In Time" (First Weekend; $12 million)

4. "Footloose" (Third Weekend; $5.4 million)

5. "The Rum Diary" (First Weekend; $5 million)

6. "Real Steel" (Fourth Weekend; $4.7 million)

7. "The Three Musketeers" (Second Weekend; $3.5 million)

8. "The Ides of March" (Fourth Weekend; $2.7 million)

9. "Moneyball" (Sixth weekend; $2.4 million)

10. "Courageous" (Fifth Weekend; $1.8 million)

For Your Anticipation: A Promise to You

Another year in which Johnny Depp crops himself up, the Golden Globes wait in the wings to praise him. If they can't get him, they'll settle for Robert Downey Jr. "The Rum Diary" looks more than a little strange, but not because of its subject matter. More than that, it looks rather straightforward and typical for a film that should have every inclination not to be so. There was a time in which I was considering it, but there's not a moment in trailers that's made me even giggle, let alone feel anything. I'm just wondering what they're doing at this point.