Box Office Report: "Expendables" tops summer weak-end

If you take this weekend's box office statistics at face value, they come off as rather abysmal. That's largely to blame on the lack of appealing options in theaters this weekend. I cautioned that this weekend would be an unfortunate grind through the remaining fodder of the summer. I didn't expect that not a single new release would make it into the top five slots. "The Expendables 2" safely won the weekend, though it didn't hold particularly well, as was the case with its predecessor. I'd place odds against it matching the $100 million take of the first film, and would be surprised if it struggled its way to $80 million.

"The Bourne Legacy" continues to hold second, which still disqualifies it from being a failure, but it pales heavily in comparison to previous installments in the franchise. "ParaNorman" didn't hold nearly as well as "Coraline", as was expected, but it maintained better than "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" did back in April. "The Dark Knight Rises" is still doing rather well on its way out of the summer, and seems likely to slowly eke its way to $450 million. Earlier dreams of breaking new box office ground were scattered away the morning of its release, but it's performed admirably given everything going against it.

Box Office Report: "Expendables" rules boys' weekend

Cleanly sliding in place as August-sized blockbuster of the week, "The Expendables 2" had little trouble landing top placement at the box office this weekend. The action extravaganza had more going against it than its predecessor, which had at least the spark of the (relatively) new, and took in nearly $6 million less in its first three days. That may not be such a negative sign for the second installment in the Stallone-led franchise, since audiences heading into the film knew very well what they were in for this time around. Considering the sequel got more positive opinions from critics, or at least more understanding, expect this film to hold well as the summer soldiers on.

The other three debuts fared less significantly, with the strongest of the batch being stop-motion children's horror "ParaNorman". Scoring nearly $3 million less than Laika's last stop-motion adventure, "Coraline", it did manage an impact greater than "The Pirates! Band of Misfits". I suspect "Frankenweenie" will end up the strongest of this year's three stop-motion projects at the box office, but "ParaNorman" could make a decent earnings if it holds up as well as "Coraline" did. I have certain doubts, given critics have more reservations against this one than they did with Henry Selick's 2009 film.

Box Office Report: "Bourne" starts a short legacy

The Summer box office season may be finding a kind of resurgence in itself, even if it comes at the cost of quality cinema. I'm speaking of course of the latest installment in the Jason Bourne franchise, which almost entirely disassociates itself from what made the first three films so thrilling. Tony Gilroy simply doesn't have Paul Greengrass' style, and the box office shows audiences aren't quite buying the franchise turnaround. Sure, "The Bourne Legacy" had a stronger-than-usual opening, but didn't bring at all the same numbers as its predecessors had. I imagine things only going more mildly from here on, much to my dismay.

Will Ferrell comedy "The Campaign", in the meantime, has been playing up the market elsewhere to similar effect. By that I mean the allure is more enticing than what people end up seeing, with many disappointed in how uninspired and not particularly entertaining it was. Once again, sight unseen, but the trailers paint a reliable enough picture of how dismissible this film is. "Hope Springs" is the only film this weekend that's even slightly rewarding viewers what they came to see, that being a light comedy with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. It's simple, unambitious, and maybe even a viable option. It's performing adequately as usual. Overall, this weekend didn't bring the box office back to where it was a year ago, with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "The Help" giving the market an optimistic boost.

Films to see in 2012: August

July brought the excitement of this summer to an odd climax with "The Dark Knight Rises", a film hampered by horrible publicity very close to its release. And so common knowledge tells us that the summer is now in for a drawn out and stalled conclusion, but there is something radically compelling about the films that make up the last month of the season. Obviously there are some hairs out of place here and there, but there are a lot of interesting films teeming not below the surface, but right out there for people to see. The month starts out silly and ridiculous with kiddie threequel "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" and much debated sci-fi action remake "Total Recall".

The following week continues that trend of lighthearted filmmaking (or not) via broad political comedy "The Campaign", honestly unregistered rom-com "Hope Springs", and Julie Delpy's comedic indie flick "2 Days in New York". Dead in the middle of the following week is "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", bringing further career work to Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton, who by the way deserve way more work than they've been getting. "The Expendables 2" lights up the broader end of box office for masculine crowds, and the late Whitney Houston's last film, "Sparkle", is likely to do the same for the female crowd.

"The Bourne Legacy" Trailer

I admit myself guilty. I watched it. I broke my rule so easily, and I watched the trailer for "The Bourne Legacy", but it wasn't for no reason. It's because this entry of the series is moored in trepidatious and uncertain waters. As somebody who thought the first three films absolutely kicked ass, the idea of somebody stepping on that territory with something "new" terrifies me. I really don't want to see them fuck this one up, and that's why I watched it. And you know what? I'm in. It looks pretty cool. I'm not sure how they'll make it necessary, but I'll bite.

No Bourne in "The Bourne Legacy"?

Rank this news somewhere in the category of "shocking, but true", because I got a little bit of an ache in my heart upon reading it. I must emphasize the little, because this isn't heart-wrenching bad news, but it's very different from what we've heard. Apparently, Tony Gilroy's The Bourne Legacy will be focusing on a new hero, while keeping the events of the first three intact. He does plan on opening up a story that will include the original lead character down the road, but that does mean that this won't be the last in the series. I remain highly suspect of this announcement, but it may turn out to be something good. What do you think of a Bourne-less Bourne? Comment below, and tell me what you think.

Tony Gilroy Directing "Bourne Legacy"

It's not over till it's over, or till they no longer have a word to end the title with. Somehow I think it'll be time to end this franchise when they release The Bourne Snuggie. All joking aside, The Bourne Legacy will likely be the last film in the Jason Bourne franchise, and I can't think of anyone better to bring it all the way to the screen than Tony Gilroy. After an ill-advised stint directing a certain Clive Owen/Julia Roberts film (Duplicity), Gilroy is back in familiar territory to direct the fourth installment in the highly successful franchise. Here's hoping he doesn't screw it up.