BAM’s top 10 movies of 2011
"The Artist"
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
BAM’s top 10 films of 2011
Movie attendance may have been down, but a diverse array of great films were released in the year just past.
Don’t let the numbers fool you: Movie attendance may have sunk to a 16-year low in 2011, but that doesn’t mean worthy films weren’t in the cineplexes.
Sure, Hollywood churned out mass quantities of its usual bombastic action flicks and insipid romantic comedies, but the year just past also brought an electric new version of Charlotte Bronte’s often-adapted Gothic novel “Jane Eyre,” a particularly smart and well-written underdog sports drama with “Moneyball” and a joyfully entertaining and tuneful comeback for the playful puppets known as “The Muppets.” And those were just the honorable mentions on my list of the best cinematic offerings of last year.
My top 10 picks of 2011 were even more diverse:
1. “The Artist”: Numerous critics lauded French writer-director Michel Hazanavicius’ powerfully charming tribute to cinema’s silent era as a love letter to moviemaking, and the name of the main character, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is surely no accident. But the black-and-white, largely soundless story of a silent film star coping with the emergence of talkies even as he falls for a vivacious ingenue (Bérénice Bejo) eagerly embracing the new format will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever faced or glimpsed the obsolescence of their livelihood.
"Drive"
2. “Drive”: Nicolas Winding Refn casts an unshakeable pall of dread over his sun-soaked slice of Los Angeles neo-noir, which was breathlessly adapted from crime writer James Sallis’ book. Ryan Gosling adds to his rapidly burgeoning leading man resume with his can’t-take-your-eyes-off-him turn as an enigmatic Hollywood stunt driver/getaway wheelman whose tentative friendship with his lovely neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son entangles him with ruthless gangsters.
3. “War Horse”: Nobody does a war epic like Steve Spielberg (“Saving Private Ryan”), and the three-time Oscar winner latest literally takes viewers into the trenches of World War I with his unabashedly old-fashioned horse story. Again partnering with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg creates a visually stunning rendition of Michael Morpurgo’s acclaimed youth novel that balances horrifying battle sequences with earnest emotional payoffs.
"Buck"
4. “Buck”: Another heartfelt horse story, first-time filmmaker Cindy Meehl’s affecting documentary chronicles the life and work of celebrated horseman Buck Brannaman, the real-life inspiration of the best-selling book and movie “The Horse Whisperer.” Even folks who have never laid hands or eyes on actual horseflesh will be fascinated, moved and ultimately fulfilled by Brannaman’s soul-stirring story, gorgeously framed by Meehl and cinematographers Guy Mossman and Luke Geissbuhler.
5. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”: Director David Fincher followed up his lauded 2010 Facebook origin tale “The Social Network” with a big-budget Hollywood adaptation of the late Stieg Larsson’s international best-selling crime thriller, which already had been made into a stellar blockbuster in Larsson’s native Sweden, thanks to Nordic actress Noomi Rapace’s scorching, star-making turn as fierce cyberpunk Lisbeth Salander. Fincher brings his darkly stylish sensibility to the harrowing story, Academy Award-winning scribe Steven Zaillian streamlines Larrson’s twisty mystery and Oscar-honored composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provide just the right sonic punctuation. But with her feral performance as the damaged and brilliant anti-heroine, Rooney Mara, who stole the show in her small part in “The Social Network,” is the force that ignites the American “Dragon Tattoo.”
"Project Nim"
6. “Project Nim”: Director James Marsh delves into a human story just as compelling as his Oscar-winning 2008 documentary, “Man on Wire,” even though the subject of his latest film happens to be chimpanzee whose complicated life began in Norman. Starting with his birth in 1973, the ape known as Nim Chimpsky endured quite a bit of monkey business ostensibly in the name of science, and Marsh uses his sharply honed interviewing and storytelling skills to turn Nim’s winding saga into a thought-provoking cautionary tale about the inherent folly of man trying to remake his fellow creatures in his own image.
7. “Hanna”: British helmer Joe Wright reunited with talented starlet Saoirse Ronan, whom he directed in her breakout in 2007’s “Atonement,” for an intelligent and visually arresting revenge thriller that has both adrenaline and emotion to spare.
"Hugo"
8. “Hugo”: Between Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and Steven Spielberg’s entertaining motion-capture rendition of “The Adventures of Tintin,” this past holiday season offered up two stellar opportunities to expand my 5-year-old son’s cinematic horizons as well as the two best 3-D films I had seen since “Avatar” two years earlier. Based on Brian Selznick’s much-admired 2007 junior novel “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” Scorsese’s first PG film in nearly two decades may run a trifle long for little ones, but children and adults alike will be captivated by the adventures of the resourceful orphan (Asa Butterfield) who lives in the walls of a Paris train station.
9. “Shame”: If there was any justice in Hollywood — no guarantees there — Michael Fassbender would win every major acting award this season for his daring star turn in director/co-writer Steve McQueen’s unforgettable and unflinching drama about Brandon Sullivan, an upper-class sex addict whose well-ordered life, which has become devoted to feeding his addiction, is disrupted when his equally damaged sister (Carey Mulligan in another incredible supporting performance) pays him a surprise visit. While the film’s NC-17 rating garnered much of the attention, “Shame” isn’t a sexy film, nor does it turn sexual addiction into a punch line. As Brandon, Fassbender exudes a palpable sense of desperation and danger, and Mulligan’s despairingly sad crooning of “New York, New York” became one of the most memorable cinematic moments of the year.
10. “The Way”: Respected star Martin Sheen and his writer/director/actor son Emilio Estevez take a visually lovely, spiritually satisfying and uplifting yet understated journey with this road movie about a disaffected L.A. eye doctor (Sheen) who travels to France to collect the remains of his grown son (Estevez), who died in an accident on his first day of attempting the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage also known as the Way of St. James. The grief-stricken father impulsively decides to make the arduous 500-mile pilgrimage in his son’s stead, and the people, places and happenings he encounters along the trek change his life in profound and relatable ways.
“The Way” is showing at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive. For more information, go to www.okcmoa.com.
-BAM
Box office report for Dec. 12, 2011: “New Year’s Eve” tops worst weekend since 2008
“New Year’s Eve” was quiet at the box office, with director Gary Marshall’s star-studded romantic follow-up to his 2010 hit “Valentine’s Day” opening at No. 1 with a weak $13 million, according to the Associated Press.
The tepid opening for “New Year’s Eve,” which stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Lea Michele, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Hilary Swank and Seth Meyers, reflected the overall revenues for the weekend, the worst for Hollywood in three years.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, overall box revenues for the weekend totaled an estimated $78 million, the lowest number since early September 2008, when revenues only reached $68 million over the Sept. 5-7 weekend. This weekend was down 15 percent from the same frame a year ago and 4 percent from last weekend.
Although early and mid-December are often slow times at the box office because everyone is busy with holiday shopping and events, the sluggish results this weekend were in keeping with the downward box-office trend that has persisted through most of 2011. Pundits predicted “New Year’s Eve” to make $20 million or more in its opening weekend, but it fell far short.
Opening to No. 2 was 20th Century Fox’s comedy “The Sitter,” starring Jonah Hill in an R-rated gender-switched take on the 1987 box-office hit “Adventures in Babysitting.” The film debuted to $10 million, in line with pre-weekend tracking, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Thee Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ fell to No. 3 after holding on to the top spot the three consecutive weekends. The fourth and penultimate film based on Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular book series grossed $7.9 million for a domestic total of $259.6 million.
There’s hope left for Hollywood even as 2011 rushes to its end, starting with this weekend, when Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” Guy Ritchie’s sequel to his 2009 holiday blockbuster.
Her are the top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters last weekend, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, from the AP:
1. “New Year’s Eve,” Warner Bros., $13,019,180, 3,505 locations, $3,714 average, $13,019,180, one week.
2. “The Sitter,” Fox, $9,851,435, 2,750 locations, $3,582 average, $9,851,435, one week.
3. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” Summit, $7,819,402, 3,604 locations, $2,170 average, $259,402,669, four weeks.
4. “The Muppets,” Disney, $6,978,870, 3,328 locations, $2,097 average, $65,742,128, three weeks.
5. “Arthur Christmas,” Sony, $6,510,486, 3,272 locations, $1,990 average, $33,400,598, three weeks.
6. “Hugo,” Paramount, $6,050,309, 2,608 locations, $2,320 average, $33,414,719, three weeks.
7. “The Descendants,” Fox Searchlight, $4,380,138, 876 locations, $5,000 average, $23,630,561, four weeks.
8. “Happy Feet Two,” Warner Bros., $3,690,304, 2,840 locations, $1,299 average, $56,790,405, four weeks.
9. “Jack and Jill,” Sony, $3,085,098, 2,787 locations, $1,107 average, $68,527,385, five weeks.
10. “Immortals,” Relativity Media, $2,461,227, 2,299 locations, $1,071 average, $79,868,732, five weeks.
-BAM
Box office report for Dec. 5, 2011: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” stays No. 1 for third week
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” the fourth and penultimate movie in the blockbuster franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular book series, continued its rule of the domestic box office, bringing in another $16.9 million to stay in the No. 1 spot for the third straight weekend.
According to the Associated Press, the third No. 1 finish for “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ came during one of the year’s slowest weekends at the box office.
Domestic revenues totaled just $82 million, which barely put it ahead of Hollywood’s worst haul of the year, when revenues were $81.5 million over the second weekend in September, reported to the AP.
The first weekend of December often presents a lull in between big Thanksgiving releases and the onslaught of year-end blockbusters that arrive a bit later. But this big a slowdown is surprising because of the big crop of strong new films, particularly family fare such as “The Muppets,” ”Hugo” and “Arthur Christmas.”
Hollywood executives usually blame bad weekends on a weak crop of movies, but all three of the kid-friendly releases earned great reviews.
“It’s tough to blame it on the product when the product is pretty good and the films are solid,” Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian told the AP. “While the post-Thanksgiving weekend is typically slow, it’s not usually this slow.”
The dreary weekend comes after a relatively quiet Thanksgiving holiday at movie theaters, despite analysts’ predictions of potential holiday records because of a great lineup of films. But more fans might be thinking twice about heading out to theaters given the new entertainment options they have with Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle products and other gadgets, along with their big-screen home setups for movies and television.
Or it could be that Hollywood has temporarily neglected its mainstay audience of young males, according to the AP. Dergarabedian said there’s little out there now for guys looking for thrills and laughs.
That will change in the coming weeks as Jonah Hill’s comedy “The Sitter” opens Friday, followed by a rush of action tales: Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” Robert Downey Jr.’s “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin.”
Women and families continue to drive the dismal business at theaters now. Summit Entertainment’s female-driven blockbuster “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ raised its domestic haul to $247.3 million, reports the AP. “Breaking Dawn” added $40.2 million overseas, taking it to a tally of $341 million internationally and $588.3 million worldwide.
Coming in second again was Disney’s “The Muppets” with $11.2 million, lifting the family film’s domestic total to $56.1 million.
Paramount’s family adventure “Hugo,” an acclaimed saga directed by Martin Scorsese, finished third with $7.6 million, raising its domestic take to $25.2 million.
Sony’s animated holiday comedy “Arthur Christmas” was fourth with $7.4 million, pushing its total to $25.3 million.
Here are the top 10 movies from the weekend, according to the AP:
1. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” $16.9 million ($40.2 million international).
2. “The Muppets,” $11.2 million ($1.8 million international).
3. “Hugo,” $7.6 million.
4. “Arthur Christmas,” $7.4 million ($11.4 million international).
5. “Happy Feet Two,” $6 million ($16.3 million international).
6. “Jack and Jill,” $5.5 million ($3.2 million international).
7. “The Descendants,” $5.2 million.
8. “Immortals,” $4.4 million ($4 million international).
9. “Tower Heist,” $4.1 million ($4 million international).
10. “Puss in Boots,” $3.1 million ($23 million international).
-BAM
Box office report for Nov. 28, 2011: “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ holds top spot with “The Muppets” in second place
For the second straight week, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ maintained its supernatural hold on the domestic box office.
The fourth and penultimate film based on Stephenie Meyer’s paranormally popular books took in $42 million domestically over the three-day weekend and $62.3 million in the five-day Thanksgiving boom time from Wednesday to Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
It’s strong Thanksgiving showing raised the movie’s domestic total to $221.3 million, while the Summit Entertainment release added $71.5 million overseas to lift the international total to $268 million and the worldwide take to $489.3 million.
Debuting at No. 2 was the holiday comeback movie “The Muppets,” the first film for the pack of music-and-comedy-inclined puppets since 1999′s largely ignored “Muppets from Space.” The first Muppet movie under the Disney auspices took in $29.5 million for the three-day weekend and $42 million over the five-day holiday, according to the AP.
Three other family films rounded out the top-five: the Warner Bros. sequel “Happy Feet Two” at No. 3 with a three-day total of $13.4 million and $18.4 million for five days; Sony’s animated comedy “Arthur Christmas,” which debuted at No. 4 with $12.7 million for three days and $17 million for five days; and Paramount’s period adventure “Hugo,” which bowed at No. 5 with $11.4 million for three days and $15.4 million for five days.
Between “Breaking Dawn” and the blitz of family films, analysts thought Hollywood had a shot at record revenue over Thanksgiving, one of the year’s busiest weekends at movie theaters. But viewers did not come in anywhere close to record numbers, according to the AP.
“I was pretty surprised by this. I just thought this was the perfect combination of films in the marketplace,” Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com, told the AP. “Maybe there was just too much out there.”
Domestic revenue totaled $234 million from Wednesday to Sunday, well below the $273 million record set two years ago, when “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” led the Thanksgiving weekend. Receipts also fell short of last Thanksgiving’s $264 million haul, when “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ finished on top.
Studio executives concede it’s growing harder to lure fans into theaters given all the portable games, devices and other electronics people have to fill up their entertainment time. A so-so Thanksgiving on a weekend with such a good variety of movies could be a sign that Hollywood simply has to live with diminished expectations, the AP reports.
“I don’t know that choice is ever a bad thing, and in terms of a weekend for families, this is one of the best,” Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney, told the AP. “The challenge is breaking through and being relevant and meaningful and fresh enough to take the more finicky customers and have them choose you.”
According to the AP, “The Muppets” drew a good mix of families and couples without children who fondly remember Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang on “The Muppet Show.” The film stars Jason Segel (who also co-wrote and executive produced) and Amy Adams as fans helping to reunite the Muppets for a telethon to save their declining Muppet Studios from the scheming of an evil oil baron (Oscar winner Chris Cooper).
“The Muppets” also earned stellar reviews, including mine. Plus, look for my feature on Miss Piggy Wednesday.
“Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ was holding close to the pattern set by “New Moon” two years ago – “Eclipse,” the third chapter in the saga, opened last year in the summertime rather than in November – but domestic revenues were off slightly. Factoring in higher ticket prices since “New Moon,” the audience shrank for the first half of “Breaking Dawn,” with “Part 2″ set for November 2012 release.
“I think the audience has changed a bit. Everybody’s grown a little older, and I guess we lose a few of our patrons to age,” Richie Fay, head of distribution for Summit, told the AP.
With no big releases slated for this Friday, all the movies that entered the crowded Thanksgiving time frame will have a little bit of time to rack up ticket sales before a new spate of potential blockbusters arrive later in December.
“Happy Feet Two” has failed to live up to its Academy Award-winning predecessor, a blockbuster that took in nearly $200 million domestically. The sequel about singing and dancing penguins has madejust $43.8 million since opening Nov. 18, a 10-day total that barely matches the opening-weekend gross of the 2006 original, according to the AP.
“Arthur Christmas,” from the British animation unit Aardman that made “Chicken Run” and the “Wallace and Gromit” films, has long-haul potential because of its good reviews and holiday story line. The voice cast includes James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie and Jim Broadbent in a Christmas Eve romp about a child’s present that falls through the cracks in Santa Claus’ high-tech delivery operation.
Paramount has similar long-term hopes for Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” which also garnered great reviews. Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese makes his 3-D filmmaking debut with the film, based on Brian Selznick’s much-admired 2007 junior novel, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.” Set in the 1930s, the family-friendly mystery stars Asa Butterfield (“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”), along with Jude Law, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen and Chloe Moretz, in the tale of an orphan boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station.
Critics have rightly praised “Hugo” for Scorsese’s dazzling and immersive use of 3-D. Unlike 3-D fatigue that set in for some other recent movies, whose 3-D business dipped below half of total revenues, “Hugo” audiences have been willing to pay an extra few dollars to see it in three dimensions. About 75 percent of the film’s revenue came from 3-D screenings, according to the AP.
In narrower release, the Marilyn Monroe drama “My Week with Marilyn” opened solidly with a $1.8 million weekend and $2.1 million since opening Wednesday. The Weinstein Co. release stars Michelle Williams as Monroe during her tumultuous time filming Laurence Olivier’s “The Prince and the Showgirl.”
Playing in 244 theaters, “My Week with Marilyn” had a weekend average of $7,266 a cinema, compared with a $10,330 average in 4,066 locations for “Breaking Dawn,” according to the AP.
Here are the top 10 movies over Thanksgiving weekend, from the AP:
1. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” $42 million ($71.5 million international).
2. “The Muppets,” $29.5 million ($1.6 million international).
3. “Happy Feet Two,” $13.4 million ($10 million international).
4. “Arthur Christmas,” $12.7 million ($11.9 million international).
5. “Hugo,” $11.4 million.
6. “Jack and Jill,” $10.3 million.
7. “Immortals,” $8.8 million ($8 million international).
8. “Puss in Boots,” $7.5 million ($9 million international).
9. “Tower Heist,” $7.3 million ($7.3 million international).
10. “The Descendants,” $7.2 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Nov. 21, 2011: “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ lights up charts with huge debut
“The Twilight Saga” has taken another big bite out of the box office, with a $139.5 million first weekend domestically and a worldwide launch of $283.5 million.
The domestic total gives “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ the second-best debut weekend for the franchise, after the $142.8 million launch for 2009′s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” ”Breaking Dawn” did more than half of its business, $72 million, on opening day Friday, while the movie’s debut weekend was the fifth-best on record, according to the Associated Press.
Opening in 54 overseas markets, “Breaking Dawn” pulled in $144 million internationally, reports the AP.
In the fourth and penultimate film in the blockbuster franchised based on Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular book saga, human heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her courtly vampire fiance Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) finally get married, take their romantic honeymoon and find their new life forever altered when Bella gets pregnant. The impending birth not only threatens Bella’s life — an emergency vampire conversion will be her only hope for survival — it also endangers the Cullen clan’s pact with the local werewolves of the Quileute Tribe, including Bella’s best pal, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
The movie’s big start points to even better business for next year’s “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” the finale in the five-film series.
In an industry whose main audience is young males, “Twilight” is a rare blockbuster franchise driven by female viewers. Distributor Summit Entertainment reported that women and girls made up 80 percent of the audience for “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” according to the AP.
The AP also reports that “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ was a windfall for the movie business in general, as domestic revenues continue to trail 2010′s despite rosy projections last spring of a record box-office year. Domestic business totaled $222 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ led with $125 million.
In contrast to “The Twilight Saga’s” continued success, Warner Bros. song-and-dance animated penguin sequel “Happy Feet Two” stumbled in its debut, tapping to a $22 million opening weekend. According to the AP, that’s barely half what the first film in the animated franchise earned in its 2006 opening, and the original did not have the sequel’s price advantage for 3-D screenings, which cost a few dollars more than 2-D shows.
Plus, the first “Happy Feet” won widespread critical acclaim and an Oscar for best animated feature, while the follow-up earned mixed to poor reviews.
The prospects for the “Happy Feet” penguins don’t seem to get any better with the coming holiday: Competition for family audiences turns intense in the next few days with the musical comedy comeback movie “The Muppets” (look for my gushing review Wednesday), Martin Scorsese’s youthful adventure “Hugo,” and the animated holiday tale “Arthur Christmas” all opening Wednesday for the busy Thanksgiving weekend.
Also opening in Oklahoma City theaters Wednesday: the romantic drama romantic drama “Like Crazy,” starring hot young stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, and the comedic drama “The Descendants,” a George Clooney starring vehicle from director Alexander Payne of “Sideways” fame. “The Descendants,” which is earned lots of Oscar buzz, broke into the top 10 over the weekend despite playing in just 29 theaters.
The newcomers, combined with “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” could lift Hollywood above the Thanksgiving record set in 2009, when “New Moon” paced the industry to a $273 million domestic haul from Wednesday to Sunday, according to the AP.
Here are the top 10 movies from the weekend, according to the AP:
1. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” $139.5 million ($144 million international)
2. “Happy Feet 2,” $22 million ($2.6 million international).
3. “Immortals,” $12.3 million ($11.9 million international).
4. “Jack and Jill,” $12 million ($1.6 million international).
5. “Puss in Boots,” $10.7 million ($2.4 million international).
6. “Tower Heist,” $7 million ($4.5 million international).
7. “J. Edgar,” $5.9 million.
8. “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” $2.9 million.
9. “In Time,” $1.7 million ($4.2 million international).
10. “The Descendants,” $1.2 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Nov. 14, 2011: “Immortals” reign
It was a royally big weekend at the box office for visually inventive director Tarsem Singh and future Superman Henry Cavill.
Their new movie “Immortals” debuted at the top of the domestic box office with $32 million, according to the Associated Press. The action-packed retelling of Greek hero Theseus beat out Adam Sandler’s twin comedy “Jack and Jill,” which opened at No. 2 with $26 million.
The new movies bumped the animated hit “Puss in Boots” to the No. 3 spot after two weekends at the top. “Puss in Boots” earned $25.5 million, raising its domestic total to $108.8 million, according to the AP.
Director Clint Eastwood’s “J. Edgar,” the time-shifting biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio as longtime FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, played in narrower release and opened at No. 5 with $11.5 million.
Males made up 60 percent of the audience for “Immortals,” according to the AP. The film has a chance to corner much of the action market through Thanksgiving weekend and beyond, a time frame likely to be dominated by family movies such as “Happy Feet 2,” ”The Muppets,” ”Hugo” and “Arthur Christmas.”
Many female film fans will get their cinematic wish Friday when “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ opens in theaters.
“Immortals” added $36 million in 35 overseas markets, bringing its worldwide total to $68 million. The film’s star, Cavill, will next be seen on the big screen in 2013 in Zack Snyder’s Superman adventure “Man of Steel.” Tarsem’s next film will be “Mirror, Mirror,” a dark twist on the Snow White legend starring Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Sean Bean, Armie Hammer and Nathan Lane.
“Jack and Jill,” starring Sandler in dual roles, got off to a solid start but came in on the low end for the comedic actor, whose comedies usually open in the $30 million to $40 million range, according to the AP. Still, it continues Sandler’s virtually unbroken string of strong openings for his broad comedies dating back to the late 1990s.
“J. Edgar” played in 1,910 theaters, compared with more than 3,000 for the rest of the top-five movies. It was the weekend’s grown-up choice, with 66 percent of viewers older than 50, according to distributor Warner Bros, the AP reports.
The biopic is expected to be a contender during the upcoming awards season.
Like “Immortals” with action crowds, “J. Edgar” also has the prospect to dominate among older viewers through Thanksgiving weekend, one of the busiest times of the year for movie theaters, according to the AP.
The variety of films available meant strong receipts. Overall revenues came in at $137 million, up 13 percent from the same weekend last year, when “Megamind” led with $29.1 million, according to the AP.
Here are the top 10 movies over the weekend, from the AP:
1. “Immortals,” $32 million ($36 million international).
2. “Jack and Jill,” $26 million ($2.7 million international).
3. “Puss in Boots,” $25.5 million ($4.5 million international).
4. “Tower Heist,” $13.2 million ($7.6 million international).
5. “J. Edgar,” $11.5 million.
6. “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” $5.9 million.
7. “In Time,” $4.2 million ($8.5 million international).
8. “Paranormal Activity 3,” $3.6 million ($7.1 million international).
9. “Footloose,” $2.7 million.
10. “Real Steel,” $2 million ($12 million international).
-BAM
Box office report for Nov. 7, 2011: “Puss in Boots” kicks “Tower Heist,” Harold & Kumar to the curb
“Puss in Boots” walked all over new releases on “Tower Heist” and “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” at the weekend box office.
The DreamWorks 3-D animated film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, earned $33 million in its second weekend, according to the Associated Press. The PG-rated “Shrek” spinoff featuring the voice of Antonio Banderas from the “Shrek” surprised box-office analysts in kicking its competition aside, keeping the top spot for the second week in a row and boosting its total to $75 million.
Universal’s PG-13 revenge comedy “Tower Heist” starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy stole $25.1 million to reach the No. 2 spot. Warner Bros. R-rated sequel “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” the third film featuring John Cho and Kal Penn as stoner pals, scooped $13 million to drift into No. 3.
If you’re a parent with young children, the butt-kicking success of “Puss in Boots” shouldn’t come as a surprise. With the exception of the re-release of “The Lion King” and the inspirational family drama “Dolphin Tale,” there hasn’t been much in the way of family movies out at theaters since summer.
“Puss in Boots” experienced just a 3-percent drop, the smallest ever for a non-holiday film, ahead of the 10-percent dip for “Twister” during its second weekend of release in 1996, according to the AP.
But the swashbuckling cat will soon get stiff competition in the family film department: I’m currently in Los Angeles wrapping up a series of press days for four new films, including the reboot of “The Muppets” and the sequel “Happy Feet Two.” Look for my coverage of those movies in the coming days.
Here are the top 10 movies over the weekend, from the AP:
1. “Puss in Boots,” $33 million. ($15 million international.)
2. “Tower Heist,” $25.1 million. ($9.5 million international.)
3. “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” $13 million.
4. “Paranormal Activity 3,” $8.5 million. ($14.1 million international.)
5. “In Time,” $7.7 million. ($16.6 million international.)
6. “Footloose,” $4.5 million.
7. “Real Steel,” $3.4 million. ($10.7 million international.)
8. “The Rum Diary,” $2.9 million.
9. “The Ides of March,” $2 million.
10. “Moneyball,” $1.9 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Oct. 31, 2011: “Puss in Boots” made for walking to the top of the charts
The “Shrek” spinoff “Puss in Boots” clawed its way to the top of the domestic box office, opening with an estimated $34 million to the secure the No. 1 spot over the weekend.
The DreamWorks 3-D animated film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, proved the popular swashbuckling character voiced by Antonio Banderas was a big draw outside the “Shrek” franchise, according to the Associated Press.
The PG-rated “Puss in Boots” scored with family audiences on the weekend before Halloween and also drew a large Hispanic crowd, which made up 35 percent of its audience.
Though the box office for the top 12 movies was up 7.8 percent from the corresponding weekend last year, it was still affected by both the unseasonable winter storm on the East Coast and the appeal of the Game 7 broadcast of the World Series on Friday night. DreamWorks estimated the storm took off several million dollars from “Puss in Boots,” the AP reported.
The Justin Timberlake sci-fi thriller “In Time,” the new release over the weekend from 20th Century Fox, was down as much as 20 percent Saturday in markets like New York and Philadelphia, according to the AP.
But the largest estimated opening didn’t happen in North America. “The Adventures of Tintin,” which is being distributed overseas by Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures, opened in 19 international markets and hauled in $55.8 million.
The performance-capture 3-D animated film, directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from the beloved Belgian comic series, was especially popular in France, where its $21.5 million was the largest opening for a non-sequel Hollywood film. The film opens in the U.S. on Dec. 21.
Paramount also claimed the weekend’s second top performing movie with the low-budget horror flick “Paranormal Activity 3.” That film took in $18.5 million in its second week of release, bringing its cumulative total to $81.3 million. Paramount’s “Footloose” was the fourth film on the weekend, adding $5.4 million for a three-week total of $38.4 million.
“In Time” opened with $12 million domestically but took in $14.5 million more overseas.
The biggest disappointment was “The Rum Diary,” the Hunter S. Thompson adaption starring Johnny Depp. It earned just $5 million, a low figure for a film headlined by Depp that cost an estimated $50 million to make, according to the AP. To read my review of “The Rum Diary,” click here.
Here are the top movies in North America over the weekend, from the AP:
1. “Puss in Boots,” $34 million.
2. “Paranormal Activity 3,” $18.5 million.
3. “In Time,” $12 million.
4. “Footloose,” $5.4 million.
5. “The Rum Diary,” $5 million.
6. “Real Steel,” $4.7 million.
7. “The Three Musketeers,” $3.5 million.
8. “The Ides of March,” $2.7 million.
9. “Moneyball,” $2.4 million.
10. “Courageous,” $1.8 million.
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Box office report for Oct. 10, 2011: “Real Steel” battles to top of the charts
Hugh Jackman’s “Real Steel,” set in a near-future when robot fighters have replaced humans in the ring, debuted at No. 1 on the domestic box office charts with $27.3 million over the weekend, according to the Associated Press.
A DreamWorks release distributed by Disney, “Real Steel” added $22.1 million in 19 overseas markets for a worldwide total of $49.4 million. The movie casts Jackman as a former boxer who teams with his estranged young son (Dakota Goyo) as they turn a junkyard robot into a top-notch fighter.
“Real Steel” is partially based on the short story “Steel” by Richard Matheson, reports The Oklahoman Features Editor and Nerdage blogger Matt Price. Some readers may recall this premise from an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” To read more about the story’s history, click here.
George Clooney’s political saga “The Ides of March” was the weekend’s box office runner-up, opening at No. 2 with $10.4 million. The Sony release stars Ryan Gosling as an aide to a presidential candidate (Clooney) caught up in scandal. Clooney directed the thriller, which also stars Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei.
The previous No. 1 movie, the Warner Bros. family film “Dolphin Tale,” slipped to No. 3 with $9.2 million, raising its domestic total to $49.1 million, according to the AP.
Overall domestic revenues totaled $94 million, virtually identical to the same weekend a year ago, when “The Social Network” led with $15.5 million, the AP reports.
Here are the top 10 movies over the weekend, from the AP:
1. “Real Steel,” $27.3 million ($22.1 million international).
2. “The Ides of March,” $10.4 million.
3. “Dolphin Tale,” $9.2 million.
4. “Moneyball,” $7.5 million.
5. “50/50,” $5.5 million.
6. “Courageous,” $4.6 million.
7. “The Lion King,” $4.55 million ($7.3 million international).
8. “Dream House,” $4.5 million.
9. “What’s Your Number?”, $3.1 million ($2.8 million international).
10. “Abduction,” $2.9 million ($4 million international).
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Box office report for Oct. 3, 2011: “Dolphin Tale” leaps to No. 1
Fall is proving rather family friendly at the domestic box office this year.
The fact-based family drama “Dolphin Tale” floated to the top of the box office in its second weekend, earning $13.9 million to take over from “The Lion King,” whose 3-D reissue had led the previous two weekends, according to the Associated Press. The re-release of the 1994 Disney animated classic slipped to No. 3 over the weekend but took in an additional $10.6 million. “The Lion King” debuts on Diamond Edition Blu-ray Tuesday.
The baseball movie “Moneyball,” starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill and based on the best-selling book, came in at No. 2 with $12 million.
Three new films were next on the list: Sony’s Christian-themed police drama “Courageous” was No. 4 with $9.1 million; the Summit Entertainment’s well-reviewed cancer comedy “50/50″ was No. 5 with $8.6 million; and Universal’s “Dream House,” a fright flick starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts, was No. 6 with $8.2 million.
Here are the top 10 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, from the AP:
1. “Dolphin Tale,” Warner Bros., $13,912,419, 3,515 locations, $3,958 average, $37,183,796, two weeks.
2. “Moneyball,” Sony, $12,031,592, 2,993 locations, $4,020 average, $38,000,130, two weeks.
3. “The Lion King,” Disney, $10,615,645, 2,340 locations, $4,537 average, $79,209,794, three weeks.
4. “Courageous,” Sony, $9,063,147, 1,161 locations, $7,806 average, $9,063,147, one week.
5. “50/50,” Summit, $8,644,095, 2,458 locations, $3,517 average, $8,644,095, one week.
6. “Dream House,” Universal, $8,209,185, 2,661 locations, $3,085 average, $8,209,185, one week.
7. “Abduction,” Lionsgate, $5,608,053, 3,118 locations, $1,799 average, $19,097,241, two weeks.
8. “What’s Your Number?”, Fox, $5,421,669, 3,002 locations, $1,806 average, $5,421,669, one week.
9. “Killer Elite,” Open Road Films, $4,916,839, 2,986 locations, $1,647 average, $17,501,286, two weeks.
10. “Contagion,” Warner Bros., $4,907,154, 2,744 locations, $1,788 average, $64,569,619, four weeks.
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