Box Office Update: Calculated Retreat

This weekend wasn't really a victory, but certainly not a defeat. We're on a course towards revival at the box office, and it wasn't going to come right away. We're still going through the dullest of material to get to the real gold, if it even exists. I personally am pretty excited about the films coming out this Friday, which may not exactly be great, but are still probably good. As for this weekend, there was no bright side to be seen in terms of movies, and you could tell by the nonsensical defenses people gave for Battle: Los Angeles. I have no problem saying that I had a ridiculously fun time with the film, but it didn't really have anything to do with the film. The film was abysmal, but in a way that you could so enjoyably poke fun at.

So it comes as little surprise to me that a film I compare to the works of Michael Bay came on top of the weekend. It wasn't terribly high, and doesn't exceed what Rango turned in last week, but it was above the norm. It's just unusual that films aren't opening above $50 million so far this year. I would've pegged this weekend to do much better than it did, but it turns out the quality kind of mattered to audiences. Red Riding Hood came in third with an opening figure that doesn't even fill up a third of what any of the Twilight films have made opening weekend. Mars Needs Moms, a 3D animated kids flick, came in fifth with a truly sad figure below $10 million.

Rango fell to #2, and I suspect that the lack of 3D caused that dip to be a little lower. It held on more than you would've expected it to, but it was still a bit disappointing. The Adjustment Bureau fell 45.8% to fourth place, and I think audiences have gotten about as much mileage as they're going to get from it. The King's Speech spends what is likely to be its last weekend in the top ten, making it to nearly $130 million. In the limited circuit, Jane Eyre recieved $182,317 at four theaters, which makes for the highest per theater average of this weekend. I wish I was in a position to see it. This weekend was down only 13% from last year, when Alice in Wonderland held on to to #1 for its second weekend.

1. Battle: Los Angeles (First Weekend; $36 million)
2. Rango (Second Weekend; $23.1 million)
3. Red Riding Hood (First Weekend; $14.1 million)
4. The Adjustment Bureau (Second Weekend; $11.5 million)
5. Mars Needs Moms (First Weekend; $6.8 million)
6. Hall Pass (Third Weekend; $5.1 million)
7. Beastly (Second Weekend; $5.1 million)
8. Just Go With It (Fifth Weekend; $4 million)
9. The King's Speech (Sixteenth Weekend; $3.6 million)
10. Gnomeo and Juliet (Fifth Weekend; $3.5 million)