Box Office Update: "Vow" for "Safe" "Journey", Despite "Menace"

I didn't really hold strong hopes for this box office weekend, but it has fared about as well as the year for the whole part has so far. Last year was a long and drawn-out nightmare of a year in terms of the box office. There was simply nothing of real spectacle happening, so despite the mildly disappointing films the money's headed towards, it's still satisfying to see an invigoration towards the theatrical experience. I had worried that this weekend would pale in comparison to last year, when that Justin Bieber movie and "Just Go With It" ruled the box office. I guess I underestimated the Valentine's Day weekend draw of Channing Tatum, Denzel Washington, and... 3D, apparently.

"The Vow" clearly played to the right demographic this weekend, and as such reaped the majority of the weekend's winning. "Safe House" played more to the date-night-action-flick crowd, falling just a tad short of its competition. Both are likely to be frontloaded openings likely to fall immensely come next weekend. "Journey 2" and "Star Wars" managed to split the 3D winnings this weekend, so clearly the problem of not having enough 3D screens that we dealt with just two years ago isn't anything to worry about now. The weekend ended up a 31% increase upon last year, so this year is proving to be a pretty strong bounce-back from last year.

For Your Anticipation: Creepy Dancing Monkey

Daniel Radcliffe, I'd like to ask you an honest and concerned question. What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm speaking not of your decision to do a typical Victorian scare flick. I'm not speaking of your characters' inexplicable obsession with winding up creepy dolls. I'm speaking of you. What are you doing? I thought you were going to start challenging yourself with... things. When is that going to start? I mean, you got naked on stage, and that was cool. But I want to see you prove your talent as far away from "Harry Potter" as you possibly can. Like... do something... good? That'd be fantastic!

Films to See in 2012: February

How did we get slammed with practically nothing for two months in a row? I mean, I'm sure that the media glut is going to be happy with the films coming out in February, and those of us who ask for something more will probably be busy indulging in the films heading for Oscar. Myself, I'm very easily bored and I kind of expected that the world would finally be able to keep me entertained. Not so. Second month in a row where I can't satisfy you with three films I'd suggest. First weekend, you get a movie about whales, as if we didn't have enough of those already. I was fine after "The Cove", which actually meant something. "Big Miracle" does not, beyond the inexplicable drive for audiences to see a movie about nature.

There's also the mockumentary superhero film, "Chronicle", which is just another mark crossed off on the we-haven't-done-a-found-footage-film-about-this list. Cap it off with "The Woman in Black", which is only mildly relevant as it's Daniel Radcliffe's first role outside "Harry Potter". Let's see how quickly he fades. Heading into the following week, we have the action-nothing "Safe House", the pointless romance "The Vow", 3D jizz-fest "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island", and the 3D re-release of "The Phantom Menace". Is anybody else already deeply pissed off that we're given a trilogy of some of the worst films ever made before we get to the original trilogy?

Radcliffe confirmed for "Woman in Black"

Daniel Radcliffe's taken on a tortured wizard, a horse fanatic, a soldier, and soon, another soldier. Now it seems he's going to play a lawyer who discovers a dark secret. As Shocktillyoudrop.com reports:

"The Woman in Black
follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who is ordered to travel to a
remote corner of the UK and sort out a recently deceased client's papers. As he
works alone in an old and isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover its tragic
secrets, and his unease grows when he discovers that the local village is held
hostage by the ghost of a scorned woman set on vengeance."

With production set to begin in the fall, Radcliffe may have scheduling conflicts with his alleged role in the remake of All Quiet on the Western Front.