Box Office Update: Still Life

After a few nice weekends at the box office, we're back to the dull tedium that is the year 2010. This weekend only offered one new film, and it was The Warrior's Way. Sadly enough, it did not make much of a dent in the box office, and didn't even make it into the top five. The real race this weekend was between Tangled and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 for the top spot. Harry Potter has been holding on for two solid weeks, but it unfortunately suffers from the lack of the jacked up prices of 3D. Sometimes there is a cost to class. So Tangled took the top frame for its own, dropping merely 56%.

That's not to say that Deathly Hallows didn't do well for itself, seeing as it should pass $250 million by the start of next weekend. Still, don't expect the film to do as well as this year's Twilight: Eclipse. It's doing honorably for itself, given that it is only half a film. As we head towards the end of the year, focus shifts from the films at the top spots to the films with the highest per-theater averages. This weekend, Black Swan took $1.4 million in only 18 theaters, garnering a per theater average of $77,000. This weekend was down about 13% from the same weekend last year.

1. Tangled (Second Weekend; $21.5 million)
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Third Weekend; $16.7 million)
3. Burlesque (Second Weekend; $6.1 million)
4. Unstoppable (Fourth Weekend; $6.1 million)
5. Love and Other Drugs (Second Weekend; $5.7 million)
6. Megamind (Fifth Weekend; $5 million)
7. Due Date (Fifth Weekend; $4.2 million)
8. Faster (Second Weekend; $3.8 million)
9. The Warrior's Way (First Weekend; $3 million)
10. The Next Three Days (Third Weekend; $2.7 million)

The Weekend Report: Ninjas; DAMN!

The box office has been completely stalled this weekend, with little to no new blood in the market. Sure, Black Swan is playing in limited release, as is I Love You Phillip Morris, but do they really count? Does anything really count as a new release this weekend? Unfortunately, yes. The CGI-fueled not-actually-a-blockbuster The Warrior's Way is the only film that's in almost-wide release. The immediate reaction I got from the trailer that it had to be in 3D, and somehow it isn't. The second reaction I got from it was that I'll never in my life ever see it. Their legitimate tagline is "Ninjas; DAMN!" Clearly even the makers of the film know how stupid it is. So that decision is pretty much done for me. If I see a film this weekend, it will be Waiting for "Superman", which I finally have the opportunity to see. So I guess that's all the wisdom I can possibly instill onto you, other than for you to go out and see Tangled or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 if you haven't already. They're both among the best of the year and more than worth your time.