Box-Office Update: You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

I don't get how people can continuously make extremely stupid decisions, but once in a while do something that makes logical sense. That's what I've been thinking across this weekend's box office results, because audiences obviously go with the typical decision of going to see Little Fockers. Anyone could've guessed that, because people are stupid with their choices. One the other hand, True Grit was the surprise hit of this weekend, not taking the top spot, but certainly outperforming any expectations it had. Gulliver's Travels was practically canceled out by Little Fockers, so it hitting the seventh slot isn't all the confusing or surprising.

Adding on to the typical confusion is Yogi Bear, which is doing far better than it should be doing. The animated whatever took a drop of 46.4% this weekend, while TRON: Legacy took a heftier drop of 54.3%. I knew that it wouldn't do well with repeat viewings, but I never thought once in hell that Yogi Bear would keep more audiences. We'll have to wait to see how it fully pans out, but it's understandable how this wasn't as truly magnificent a weekend at the movies as last year. Christmas Eve landed on a Friday, which is usually the top day for people to head out to the theaters, but most were instead stuck at church. At the same time, last year had Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, so the fact that this weekend was 50% down from that one makes complete sense.

1. Little Fockers (First Weekend; $34 million)
2. True Grit (First Weekend; $25.6 million)
3. TRON: Legacy (Second Weekend; $20.1 million)
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Third Weekend; $10.8 million)
5. Yogi Bear (Second Weekend; $8.8 million)
6. The Fighter (Third Weekend; $8.5 million)
7. Gulliver's Travels (First Weekend; $7.2 million)
8. Black Swan (Fourth Weekend; $6.6 million)
9. Tangled (Fifth Weekend; $6.5 million)
10. The Tourist (Third Weekend; $5.7 million)

Box Office Update: Spread the Joy

This weekend had very little real chances of conquering Avatar's opening weekend last year, and I'm still sure that this Christmas weekend will garner far fewer earnings than last year. Nevertheless, this weekend was a pretty successful one, because it managed to spread the wealth around to several different feature. TRON: Legacy came out on top, but didn't fare as spectacularly as anticipated. If it were a better film, I'd be a little less hesitant to say that it could make most of it's profits from repeat business. As it is, I'm surely not going to pay for a ticket to see the film again, but consider a pretty great experience.

Yogi Bear came in second, because people apparently bought tickets for the film, then went into see The Fighter or Black Swan. Talking of which, The Fighter managed a pretty good total this weekend on 2200 screens. Black Swan came in seventh, edging out the opening weekend of How Do You Know. Dawn Treader and The Tourist took less than 50% drops each. Ultimately, this weekend managed to be only a small fraction below the box office of the same weekend last year.

1. TRON: Legacy (First Weekend; $43.6 million)
2. Yogi Bear (First Weekend; $16.7 million)
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Second Weekend; $12.4 million)
4. The Fighter (Second Weekend; $12.2 million)
5. The Tourist (Second Weekend; $8.7 million)
6. Tangled (Fourth Weekend; $8.6 million)
7. Black Swan (Third Weekend; $8.3 million)
8. How Do You Know (First Weekend; $7.6 million)
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Fifth Weekend; $4.8 million)
10. Unstoppable (Sixth Weekend; $1.8 million)

Awards 2010: Golden Globe Nominations

Once again, as per usual, the Golden Globes prove that they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. It's impossible to ever predict what will be let in and left out, so lets start with those major surprises. The Motion Picture Comedy category let in plenty of undeserving films, but not Easy A, which probably deserved it more. Instead, what do they nominate? Obviously the newly released The Tourist. The film recently opened to mediocre reviews, so I don't understand what the Hollywood Foreign Press saw in it. For that matter, I don't get why they nominated Alice in Wonderland at all. I understand Burlesque, but only because it's a musical, and sometimes they just can't resist.

I don't think that Red really belonged in that category, but it's better than most of the films nominated. The Kids Are All Right got quite a few nominations, but Mark Ruffalo was shut out of Best Supporting Actor for some nonsensical reason. The Original Song category isn't even worthy of note, so go ahead and find it on your own. You're not getting any help from me in that case. One last thing to notice, True Grit was shut out completely. None of this really means anything in the grand scheme of things, because nobody should really care about the Golden Globes. Take a look at the nominations, and weigh in on your opinion in the comments section!

BEST MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
-Black Swan
-The Fighter
-Inception
-The King's Speech
-The Social Network

BEST MOTION PICTURE COMEDY
-Alice in Wonderland
-Burlesque
-The Kids Are All Right
-Red
-The Tourist

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
-Hally Berry (Frankie and Alice)
-Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
-Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
-Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
-Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
-Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
-Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs)
-Angelina Jolie (The Tourist)
-Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right)
-Emma Stone (Easy A)

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
-Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
-Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
-James Franco (127 Hours)
-Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
-Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
-Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
-Johnny Depp (The Tourist)
-Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version)
-Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)
-Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
-Despicable Me
-How to Train Your Dragon
-The Illusionist
-Tangled
-Toy Story 3

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE
-Biutiful
-The Concert
-The Edge
-I Am Love
-In a Better World

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
-Amy Adams (The Fighter)
-Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
-Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
-Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
-Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
-Christian Bale (The Fighter)
-Michael Douglass (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps)
-Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
-Jeremy Renner (The Town)
-Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

BEST DIRECTOR
- Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
- David Fincher (The Social Network)
- Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
- Christopher Nolan (Inception)
- David O. Russell (The Fighter)

BEST SCREENPLAY
- Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours)
- Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right)
- Christopher Nolan (Inception)
- David Seidler (The King's Speech)
- Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- The King's Speech
- Alice in Wonderland
- 127 Hours
- The Social Network
- Inception

Box Office Update: Adandon Ship

Several have shot unfriendly remarks at Disney's decision to pull out of the Chronicles of Narnia franchise, but it was ultimately a wise one. I was going to see the new film this weekend, but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth paying the price of 3D admission, because I didn't have the option of seeing it in 2D. Dawn Treader ultimately wasn't able to post numbers half as spectacular as the openings of the first two films. So in case it wasn't clear for anyone already, Narnia is pretty much done for, and 20th Century Fox has screwed themselves over once again. The same could be said of the action-thriller The Tourist, which similarly lacked a spark at the box office.

It wasn't necessarily a bad weekend, as it was slightly higher than the same weekend last year when The Princess and the Frog opened to #1 with roughly the same income as Narnia achieved this weekend. The really fantastic news to come from the box office this weekend was Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky's ballet thriller that has been gaining speed at an amazing rate. It garnered more than $3 million on the 90 screens it was playing on nation-wide. It definitely foreshadows great prospects when the film goes into wide release in a matter of two weeks.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (First Weekend; $25 million)
2. The Tourist (First Weekend; $17 million)
3. Tangled (Third Weekend; $14.6 million)
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Fourth Weekend; $8.5 million)
5. Unstoppable (Fifth Weekend; $3.8 million)
6. Black Swan (Second Weekend; $3.3 million)
7. Burlesque (Third Weekend; $3.2 million)
8. Love and Other Drugs (Third Weekend; $3 million)
9. Megamind (Sixth Weekend; $2.5 million)
10. Due Date (Sixth Weekend; $2.5 million)

The Weekend Report: Fantastic Voyages

We finally have some more new blood injected into the market this weekend. That is considering that you describe the third installment in a tedious fantasy franchise and an overly recycled action-thriller as "new". The top release to see this weekend is Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and if I go to see a film this weekend, it will be that film. I'm one of the few people who actually liked Prince Caspian more than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, so seeing as that didn't get a lot of appreciation, I doubt that this film will. I'm still pretty sure that this will end up being the last film in the Narnia series.

The other film releasing this weekend is The Tourist, starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. I actually had hopes that it would be as great as the director's last film, The Lives of Others. On the other hand, I haven't seen that film, and I probably won't see The Tourist either. I'd rather just watch Pan's Labyrinth and wonder why it didn't win Best Foreign Language Film in 2007. Ultimately, it's just another routine weekend, with only a few films that people will shell out money for, and then regret later. Next weekend has more chances to impress with TRON: Legacy, How Do You Know, the wide expansion of The Fighter, and... unfortunately, Yogi Bear.

3 To See In December

We're finally getting to the end of the year, and whatever hasn't been seen by the critical masses will soon be unveiled. It's definitely a worrying time of year, especially this year when we still could use more truly spectacular films to fill up the major slots in the Oscar competition. I'm still not sold on The Fighter, because I just can't shake my general dread that comes with the name of Mark Wahlberg. The actor does good whenever he's playing an edgy sort of character like the one he had in The Departed, but when he takes on a sympathetic character, he falls flat. On top of that, I'm just unsure that the premise will be something that's truly captivating.

Personally, I wish that the three films I'm most looking forward to were more commercial fare, but with most of the great limited release films still to be seen, I have to put my confidence in them. Still, I am going to be checking out some of the big budget films like TRON: Legacy, which looks like a success in terms of visuals and music, but could likely fail in most other areas. Voyage of the Dawn Treader doesn't look as bad as it did before, and I'll check it out on general principal. I'd like to see what they do with better visuals and a shorter runtime. The Tourist really doesn't look too interesting anymore, but depending on how critics react, I may see it for Johnny Depp's performance. For the record, I'm also highly anticipating Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and Jim Carrey in I Love You Phillip Morris, but you just can't fit everything into your list. For that reason I've decided that next year I'm going to be putting up an extended version of this list at the start of each trimester, showcasing everything I'm most anticipating in that given time period.

3. Another Year

In some ways, Mike Leigh's new drama is the first and last film out of the gate in terms of Oscar consideration. It debuted at Cannes to spectacular reviews and was the sole standout of the festival, whereas other films failed to captivate audiences. Another Year seems like your standard Mike Liegh drama, focusing on the everyday lives of slightly more than everyday people. A great handful of reviews have definitely caught my interest, but the film has recently been jumping in and out of the Best Picture race. The critical adoration has been almost universal, so I'm not sure why it's having so many problems. I think that once the film officially hits then people will take notice, but it doesn't hit until the last day of the year. So it's going to be a long wait.

2. True Grit

This is actually the only real contender in the Oscar race that has yet to be seen, and I'm not exactly sure why that is. It may be that the Coen brothers are simply trying to save the excitement until release, or it may be that the film isn't as good as what the famous duo usually bring out. I'm tempted to believe the latter, because the trailers pose this film as more mainstream and commercial than their films of the past, and that may work against them. It really depends on how well they convey the story and the emotion of it all. I personally don't believe it will do too well in the acting categories, but with some luck, it could do especially well in the Best Picture race. I don't think it will steal the spotlight, but it will get some attention.

1. Black Swan

I know that this won't be the film that takes home the top prize at the Academy Awards this year, and it's going to be an uphill battle for the film to even get nominated. It's very much a genre film, and that's the sort of picture that I take the most interest in. The film isn't going to get raves as big as The Social Network or The King's Speech, but I don't think anyone will be able to deny that they found it intriguing. The trailer for the film was so strange and captivating and when it came out, it was all anybody could talk about. It was disturbing and visionary, and it made me hope the film would be playing at Telluride by the Sea, which I consider something of a loss. Darren Aronofsky is one of the major contenders for a nomination in the director race for the same reason as Christopher Nolan. They both display distinct and powerful visions in front of their audiences. That and the amazing cast they've put together place Black Swan as the film I've been anticipating most this fall.

"The Tourist" Poster

Remember the good old days when this type of poster was called artistic and original? Neither do I, and I'm lamenting that people don't know how to make artistically beautiful and original posters anymore. My favorite posters released recently have been this one and this one (at the bottom of the article). Due to all the familiarity, I can't help but wonder if The Tourist is really worth my time.

Theatrical Trailer: The Tourist

We've finally gotten the trailer for the last minute entry into the fall season, The Tourist, and though it doesn't look like a film with much Oscar potential at all, I can see why they placed in the December arena. This looks like a spectacular end-of-year action film, and the fact that it has two actors as charismatic as Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp only adds more enjoyment onto it. This actually reminds me a bit of Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi, although a more updated, glossy, mainstream version of such. It looks like a great deal of fun. Check it out and let me know what you think.

"The Tourist" Opening in December

Just when you think we have all our bases covered for this year's Oscars, we have a last minute submission that has the potential to change everything. Sure, a political thriller starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp doesn't scream Best Picture, but the fact that it was unexpectedly shoved into December of this year must mean that the makers have confidence that it'll be a contender. It's the opposite equivalent to delaying a film like Shutter Island until February, so as to cut it out of awards season. So it seems that on December 10th, we'll be seeing The Tourist enter the playing field.

The film follows an American tourist (Depp) who is used by a woman (Jolie) in an attempt to flush out a criminal with whom she once had an affair. It's not exactly the sort of plot that the Academy usually goes for. However, given the two high profile actors, I'd say it has a decent stab at the acting races. We'll have to wait for the trailer to come out to be sure, but what do you think of this news?