“The Croods” Animates the Box Office

Sorry for the belated weekly box office post, I was working on a fundraiser all weekend and got behind. But I have the numbers for you now and it looks like 2013 has another hit on its hands with the new animated family comedy The Croods. The film took in over $43 million in its first frame and should have a nice shelf life ahead with spring break on the way for families to hit the movies… Also opening well and way over expectations was the new action film Olympus Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler (who finally has a hit) which took in $30 million. That’s great news for the star and FilmDistrict which has its biggest hit ever… Unfortunately, everything wasn’t rosy at the turnstiles as the new Tina Fey/Paul Rudd comedy Admission underperformed with a middling $6 million. Luckily it didn’t cost too much to make… Holding up well were Oz the Great and Powerful and The Call which is now Halle Berry’s biggest movie in ages. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo and check out the top films below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N The Croods Fox $43,639,736 – 4,046 – $10,786 $43,639,736 $135 1
2 N Olympus Has Fallen FD $30,373,794 – 3,098 – $9,804 $30,373,794 $70 1
3 1 Oz The Great and Powerful BV $21,568,957 -47.7% 3,805 -107 $5,669 $177,097,090 $215 3
4 2 The Call TriS $8,900,935 -48.0% 2,507 – $3,550 $31,105,056 $13 2
5 N Admission Focus $6,154,984 – 2,160 – $2,850 $6,154,984 $13 1
6 27 Spring Breakers A24 $4,858,944 +1,747.5% 1,104 +1,101 $4,401 $5,265,802 $5 2
7 3 The Incredible Burt Wonderstone WB $4,321,388 -57.5% 3,160 – $1,368 $17,411,818 $30 2
8 4 Jack the Giant Slayer WB (NL) $2,949,101 -53.3% 2,560 -797 $1,152 $59,036,384 $195 4
9 5 Identity Thief Uni. $2,588,355 -41.4% 2,166 -676 $1,195 $127,770,300 $35 7

 

Moviegoers Hear the Call but Ignore the Magic

In another lackluster weekend at the box office, moviegoers said a big no thank you to a couple of comic superstars as the Steve Carrell/Jim Carrey comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone became the latest big bomb of 2013 debuting with only $10 million. That put the film in third place behind a decent hold for Oz the Great and Powerful with another $42 million (one of the few bright spots at the box office this year) and the new Halle Berry thriller The Call which netted $17 million. Berry’s film did much better than anticipated and with a low production budget could turn a nice little profit…. However as a whole, not much is exciting moviegoers this year, and as for me, the summer movies can’t get here fast enough…. For more on this week’s 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 1 Oz The Great and Powerful BV $41,252,704 -47.9% 3,912 – $10,545 $144,056,326 $215 2
2 N The Call TriS $17,118,745 – 2,507 – $6,828 $17,118,745 $13 1
3 N The Incredible Burt Wonderstone WB $10,177,257 – 3,160 – $3,221 $10,177,257 $30 1
4 2 Jack the Giant Slayer WB (NL) $6,315,262 -35.8% 3,357 -168 $1,881 $54,007,635 $195 3
5 3 Identity Thief Uni. $4,419,310 -30.2% 2,842 -160 $1,555 $123,606,175 $35 6
6 5 Snitch LG/S $3,504,618 -31.3% 2,353 +13 $1,489 $37,261,895 – 4
7 6 21 and Over Rela. $2,669,967 -47.6% 2,424 -347 $1,101 $21,918,740 $13 3
8 8 Silver Linings Playbook Wein. $2,525,603 -30.2% 1,602 -125 $1,577 $124,551,782 $21 18
9 7 Safe Haven Rela. $2,453,229 -34.6% 2,206 -335 $1,112 $66,911,039 $28 5
10 9 Escape From Planet Earth Wein. $2,339,419 -27.3% 2,211 -338 $1,058 $52,178,000 $40 5

Breaking Down the 2013 Best Actress Race

This Oscar season has been one of the most exciting and unpredictable races in recent history. While it seems that Argo, Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway now look like sure things in their respective categories, there are a few races that remain a serious horse race. The two biggest question marks are the Best Supporting Actor race where a different contender has won in each of the precursors (Tommy Lee Jones, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Christoph Waltz) and the Best Actress Race which has been a serious catfight between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence. Today, I will take a look at the latter race which could end up with a truly surprising winner.
When the race began in earnest last fall, the word was that Jennifer Lawrence would win hands down for her wonderful, emotionally naked work in Silver Linings Playbook. However, that was before the very secretive Zero Dark Thirty finally began screening and Jessica Chastain’s fierce, intelligent and controlled performance wowed critics and audiences. Both women have won a number of pre-cursors that have put them squarely in a duel for the Oscar win. Among the biggest wins, Lawrence took home the Golden Globe (Musical/Comedy), Critic’s Choice (Actress in a Comedy Film) and the all-important SAG Award while Chastain grabbed a Golden Globe (Drama) and the overall Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actress.
They are both up for the BAFTA Award this evening as well. I’d say Chastain has the edge there as her film received more nominations from the British Academy and they tend to honor more “important” films and performances. For example, last year Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) took home the Best Actress BAFTA over Viola Davis (The Help) after Davis had just won the SAG Award… I could see the same turnover happen here for Chastain. If that happens, then Chastain could follow Streep’s path to an Oscar victory.
Both Chastain and Lawrence have several factors working in their favor. Both women are attractive young actresses with a “babe factor” that the Academy loves, reaching a peak in their careers which has helped actresses like Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Kidman to take home the big prize in the past. Both are also previous nominees. Chastain was nominated last year for Supporting Actress for The Help while Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress two years ago for Winter’s Bone. Plus, both have worked the awards circuit like a pro this season.
Where they differ is in their “industry status”. While Lawrence is now a bona-fide box office star with The Hunger Games franchise, Chastain is seen as the more serious actress with a bigger body of lauded work. She could’ve received Oscar noms for practically all of her seven films released in 2011 and Chastain is also building box office clout with hits ZD30, The Help and Mama. It just seems like it may be too “early” in Lawrence’s career to give her Hollywood’s highest honor while Chastain seems to have “earned” it more. So, with all of that said, I’m going out on a limb and giving the edge to Chastain for the win.
However there remains one big obstacle in their way. They both will have to fend off another critical favorite, French icon Emmanuelle Riva for her harrowing and physically demanding work as a woman suffering from Dementia at the end of her life in Amour. This performance could be the real key to this Oscar race. Riva could easily usurp both of them at the BAFTAs and set the stage for a crazy three-way fight on Oscar night.
As for the final two nominees, Quevanzhane Wallis should be thrilled she got a nomination in the first place for her debut performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild over more deserving heavy weights like Marion Cotillard (Rust & Bone) and Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), and while she was amazing in The Impossible, and I’d love to see her win, Naomi Watts will probably be an also ran. (No worries though Naomi, you should be back in the race next year for playing Princess Diana!)
To sum up, it’s a serious race this year. Lawrence and Chastain are in the best position to win with Riva as a potential spoiler. And if there is crazy vote splitting, maybe Watts can sneak in. Yet, I’m still betting on Chastain. See if I’m right Sunday night February 24th when the Oscars air on ABC.

Oscar Front Runner Argo Rises to the Top of the Box Office as the Newbies Bomb

Ben Affleck’s crowd pleasing thriller Argo is not only a front-runner in this year’s Oscar race, but it’s also a big hit. The film finally hit the top of the box office in its third week pulling in another $12 million for a total of $60.5 million. It fended off four new films that all tanked in their debuts. Opening best was the big budget sic-fi mind bender Cloud Atlas with $9.6 million. Starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, Atlas has a long way to go towards profitability with a budget over $100 million. At least it did better than the horror sequel Silent Hill: Revelation 3D which barely managed $8 million, the new teen comedy Fun Size which only grossed $4 million or the new surfer pic Chasing Mavericks which practically didn’t even register with a tiny $2.2 million in 13th place…. For more on all 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 2 Argo WB $12,085,059 -26.5% 2,855 -392 $4,233 $60,510,347 $44.5 3
2 N Cloud Atlas WB $9,612,247 – 2,008 – $4,787 $9,612,247 – 1
3 4 Hotel Transylvania Sony $9,444,014 -27.4% 3,276 +262 $2,883 $130,380,355 $85 5
4 1 Paranormal Activity 4 Par. $8,510,186 -70.7% 3,412 – $2,494 $42,467,551 $5 2
5 N Silent Hill: Revelation 3D ORF $8,023,036 – 2,933 – $2,735 $8,023,036 $20 1
6 3 Taken 2 Fox $7,716,732 -41.8% 2,995 -494 $2,577 $117,105,577 $45 4
7 7 Here Comes the Boom Sony $5,210,024 -38.0% 2,491 -523 $2,092 $30,320,496 – 3
8 5 Alex Cross Sum. $5,133,486 -55.0% 2,541 +2 $2,020 $19,452,177 $35 2
9 6 Sinister Sum. $4,996,099 -43.3% 2,347 -195 $2,129 $39,441,054 $3 3
10 N Fun Size Par. $4,101,017 – 3,014 – $1,361 $4,101,017 $14 1

Halle Berry goes Crazy for Oscar

She won an Oscar for her dramatic and emotional work in Monster’s Ball and now, Halle Berry, is aiming for a bookend. In her new film, Frankie & Alice, which she co-produced, Berry plays a woman struggling with multiple personality disorder. Judging from the trailer for this psychological thriller, Berry looks like she will be a strong contender for this year’s race. Unfortunately, it’s perhaps the most crowded Best Actress race in history (or at least in the last few decades). You see you have front-runners Annette Bening (The Kids are Alright), Julianne Moore (The Kids Are Alright), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan) to contend with. Then comes another tier of deserving ladies including Lesley Manville (Another Year), Hilary Swank (Conviction), Diane Lane (Secretariat), Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs), Sally Hawkins (Made in Dagenham) along with wild cards Tilda Swinton (I Am Love), Naomi Watts (Fair Game), and Reese Witherspoon (How Do You Know?). We’ll see how Halle fairs in the weeks ahead as the film hits theatres in late December. I think she’s a lock for a Golden Globe Drama nom, but may slip through the cracks at Oscar time unless she does some serious campaigning (which she’s already doing). Take a look at Halle in the new trailer for Frankie & Alice below and let me know if you think she can break into the Best Actress race this year.

Frankie & Alice trailer