Dirty Teddy Bears and Strippers Rule the Box Office

Hollywood can finally breathe a little sight of relief as the summer box office got a much-needed jolt from some dirty strippers, a naughty teddy bear and a grumpy granny this weekend. Way over performing and landing a big $54 million opening was Universal’s raunchy Mark Wahlberg/Teddy bear comedy Ted. The movie held off the hottest cast  ever seen in film from a top spot debut as Magic Mike opened to a strong $39 million. That’s already a big profit for the $7 million picture starring It boy Channing Tatum and his hottie friends Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer, Adam Rodriguez and a delightfully devilish Matthew McConaughy. We’ll see how the latter film holds up in the weeks ahead as it was a very front-loaded box office weekend. (I, for one, was rather disappointed by the film which was like 4 different movies in one that never gelled. Mike wasn’t really funny or all that sexy and the dramatic indie feel to the second half of the movie didn’t work at all. Grade: C+) … But curiosity could keep it going strong thru the 5th of July holiday… Also opening well was Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection which took in his usual $26 million and Brave weathered the newcomers well with another $34 million… The big loser this weekend was the new Chris Pine/Elizabeth Banks dramedy  People Like Us (which I gave a “B” grade to) which tanked with only $4.3 million… For more on these numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Ted Uni. $54,100,000 – 3,239 – $16,703 $54,100,000 $50 1
2 N Magic Mike WB $39,155,000 – 2,930 – $13,363 $39,155,000 $7 1
3 1 Brave BV $34,011,000 -48.7% 4,164 – $8,168 $131,685,000 $185 2
4 N Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection LGF $26,350,000 – 2,161 – $12,193 $26,350,000 $20 1
5 2 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted P/DW $11,815,000 -40.1% 3,715 -205 $3,180 $180,012,000 $145 4
6 3 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Fox $6,000,000 -63.2% 3,109 +1 $1,930 $29,034,000 $69 2
7 4 Prometheus Fox $4,925,000 -50.3% 1,951 -911 $2,524 $118,262,000 $130 4
8 11 Moonrise Kingdom Focus $4,873,000 +43.6% 854 +459 $5,706 $18,406,000 $16 6
9 5 Snow White and the Huntsman Uni. $4,405,000 -45.5% 2,337 -582 $1,885 $145,591,000 $170 5
10 N People Like Us BV $4,306,000 – 2,055 – $2,095 $4,306,000 $16 1

“Pitch Perfect” could be the Perfect Movie!

I’ve been waiting for the next hilarious girl comedy following last year’s brilliant Oscar nominated Bridesmaids. Lots of pundits and bloggers and studio execs have been looking for the next one too. However, all they had to do was check out the trailer for this fall’s musical comedy Pitch Perfect and the search would’ve been over. Check out the trailer for the film below. It looks like a riot and it stars Bridesmaids own scene stealer Rebel Wilson plus Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick (who also sang up a storm in the wonderful indie Camp), Hairspray‘s Brittany Snow, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Anna Camp (The Good Wife), and the amazing duo of Elizabeth Banks (who’s also a producer on the film) and John Michael Higgins (who I had the pleasure of working with on Kath & Kim). The comedy revolves around the rivalry between a capella singing groups in college and follows a wave a music films hitting theaters this year including this weekend’s Rock of Ages, August’s Sparkle with Jordin Sparks and the late great Whitney Houston and the sure-fire Oscar contender Les Miserables with Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman out at Christmas… So, get out your pitch-pipe and get ready to giggle when Pitch Perfect hits theaters on October 5th.

Pitch Perfect trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2UFx3UIEgA&feature=related

Audiences Take a Big Bite out of “The Hunger Games”

The first massive movie smash of 2012 opened this weekend and boy did it bow big. Lionsgate’s film adaptation of the massively successful young adult book trilogy, The Hunger Games, opened to a huge $155 million making it the third biggest debut in history (behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 and The Dark Knight). It set the record for the biggest opening for a non-sequel film and a March debut. The film is wowing audiences with great exit polls (I gave this very entertaining and surprisingly intense film an “A-” grade) and is likely to have long legs ahead as there is no big competition for franchise films until May. Hunger also benefitted from strong reviews and an attractive and very talented cast including Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland, Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks, SAG Award Nominee Josh Hutcherson, SAG Award winner Wes Bentley, Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz and Aussie breakout Liam Hemsworth. (Take that you Twilight crap!). In fact, the movie seems to have single-handedly tuned around Lionsgate’s financial troubles with their shares rocketing over the past week… No other films made much noise this weekend, but 21 Jump Street and The Lorax held well despite the big Games onslaught. Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Box Office Mojo for more on all the numbers.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N The Hunger Games LGF $155,000,000 – 4,137 – $37,467 $155,000,000 $78 1
2 1 21 Jump Street Sony $21,300,000 -41.3% 3,121 – $6,825 $71,051,000 $42 2
3 2 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Uni. $13,100,000 -42.5% 3,677 -92 $3,563 $177,300,000 $70 4
4 3 John Carter BV $5,014,000 -63.1% 3,212 -537 $1,561 $62,347,000 $250 3
5 5 Act of Valor Rela. $2,062,000 -44.8% 2,216 -549 $931 $65,942,000 $12 5
6 4 Project X WB $1,950,000 -51.8% 2,065 -857 $944 $51,752,000 – 4
7 6 A Thousand Words P/DW $1,925,000 -47.0% 1,787 -108 $1,077 $14,926,000 $40 3
8 N October Baby (2012) Gold. $1,718,000 – 390 – $4,405 $1,718,000 – 1
9 7 Safe House Uni. $1,400,000 -48.5% 1,330 -590 $1,053 $122,600,000 $85 7
10 8 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island WB $1,373,000 -42.5% 1,340 -595 $1,025 $97,155,000 $79 7

The Hunger Games~ Please let this be better than that Twilight crap!

The latest film in the crapfest Twilight film series hits theatres this weekend and you can’t pay me to see it. However, there’s a new teen literary to film phenomena coming our way that I may just have to check out. It’s the adaptation of the popular Hunger Games series. These books follow a young boy and girl from 12 different districts that are forced to fight to the death by their capital in a future society. Unlike Twitard which features atrocious acting (ahem Kristen Stewart and the lovely but boring Taylor Launter, to name a few), these Games feature an awesome cast lead by Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones),  SAG Award nominee Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are Alright), Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks (30 Rock), Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz, plus Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) and two-time Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (The Messenger, The People V. Larry Flint). The action packed drama hits theatres in March and I’m cautiously optimistic. Take a look at the trailer below and let me know if you think this one will be worth your while.

The Hunger Games trailer

Will being an Idiot finally put Paul Rudd in the Winners Circle?

Paul Rudd has been turning out hilarious and well rounded comedic turns in films for ages going all the way back to Clueless in 1995. However, he really started to make his mark on the film comedy landscape with movies like Anchorman, Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Unfortunately, he has never been recognized for his hilarity on the Awards front~ not even the Golden Globes who sadly ignored his fantastic multi-faceted and incredibly funny work in I Love You Man. (That one did get an MTV Award nomination for Best Kiss though. Alas, it lost)… Well, Paul may finally get his due with the upcoming indie comedy Our Idiot Brother that looks like the perfect showcase for Rudd’s lovable baffoonery. In the movie, Rudd plays the ne’er-do-well idealist who always barges into his three sisters’ lives with disastrous results. Playing the sisters are Emily Moritmer (Shutter Island), Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer) and the hilarious Elizabeth Banks (30 Rock, W). The film opens August 26th, but the first trailer has already leaked and it looks pretty darn funny. I’m hoping Rudd will finally get a little notice for his comedy chops at this year’s Golden Globes with this one. What do you think? Check out the trailer below and let me know.

Our Idiot Brother