The PGA Nominations honor the Usual Suspects but still offer a couple of Surprises

The Producers Guild of America is the latest industry heavyweight to announce its nominations for the best of the year. The PGA honors 10 films in the Best Picture category and the front-runners The Artist, War Horse and The Descendants were all included, but so was the hilarious comedy Bridesmaids. Could this be a sleeper Oscar Best Picture nominee? I, for one, hope so…. Take a look at the full list below and the animation and the TV Movie/Miniseries categories as well. Watch for the winners to be announced on Jan. 21st.

2012 Producers Guild Award Nominations:

Best Motion Picture:
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Animated Film:
The Adventures of Tin Tin
Cars 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best TV Movie/Miniseries:
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Kennedys
Mildred Pierce
Too Big To Fail

The Gods of Immortals Rule over Sandler at the Box Office

This weekend the fall box office finally perked up with three films taking in over $25 million. However, the three new releases didn’t hit blockbuster status and could end up money losers in the long run. The expensive action epic Immortals took in $32 million for first place but that was half what the similar picture 300 made a few years back. Grabbing one of his worst openings of late, Adam Sandler’s new crapfest Jack & Jill took in $26 million to narrowly edge out Puss In Boots which landed $25 million for a three-week take of $108 million. Opening in fifth was Clint Eastwood’s Oscar hopeful J. Edgar which took in $ 11.5 million, on par with his film Changeling from a few years back that landed Angelina Jolie an Oscar nom. (Similarly, J. Edgar’s best chance at a nomination is for its star Leonardo DiCaprio and I totally see that happening. He was fantastic in the film). We’ll see if it gets any awards traction in the weeks ahead and its box office picks up accordingly…. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Immortals Rela. $32,000,000 – 3,112 – $10,283 $32,000,000 $75 1
2 N Jack and Jill Sony $26,000,000 – 3,438 – $7,563 $26,000,000 – 1
3 1 Puss in Boots P/DW $25,500,000 -22.9% 3,903 -60 $6,533 $108,809,000 $130 3
4 2 Tower Heist Uni. $13,200,000 -45.1% 3,370 +3 $3,917 $43,900,000 $75 2
5 N J. Edgar WB $11,470,000 – 1,910 – $6,005 $11,569,000 – 1
6 3 A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas WB (NL) $5,900,000 -54.5% 2,875 – $2,052 $23,222,000 $19 2
7 5 In Time Fox $4,150,000 -44.5% 2,591 -536 $1,602 $30,667,000 $40 3
8 4 Paranormal Activity 3 Par. $3,625,000 -56.5% 2,776 -510 $1,306 $100,823,000 $5 4
9 6 Footloose (2011) Par. $2,735,000 -38.8% 2,215 -596 $1,235 $48,876,000 $24 5
10 7 Real Steel BV $2,000,000 -41.8% 1,758 -680 $1,138 $81,748,000 – 6

The Kitty Scratches Comedy at the Box Office

Don’t make a pretty kitty angry or he will claw you… That’s the message Puss In Boots sent to the new comedy competition at the box office as the animated hit dropped a scant 3% to hold at #1 for the second week in a row. Boots easily won the frame pulling in $ 33 million for a two-week take of $ 75.5 million. Opening in second with a somewhat disappointing $25 million was the star-studded action caper Tower Heist starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller far below expectations for the expensive film. (I’m not too surprised since the movie is pretty lackluster itself. I gave it a “C” grade). It fared better than the stoner comedy sequel A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas which nabbed just $ 13 million down a bit from the second film in the series. We’ll see if either film can hold up in the weeks ahead~ I’m betting not too likely… With more new films floundering, it was another overall down weekend at the turnstiles. Maybe this week’s release of Immortals or Jack & Jill (ugh) can turn things around. Stay tuned. For more on the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here: www.boxofficemojo.com  and take a look at 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 Puss in Boots P/DW $33,035,000 -3.1% 3,963 +11 $8,336 $75,508,000 $130 2
2 N Tower Heist Uni. $25,100,000 – 3,367 – $7,455 $25,100,000 $75 1
3 N A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas WB (NL) $13,065,000 – 2,875 – $4,544 $13,065,000 $19 1
4 2 Paranormal Activity 3 Par. $8,525,000 -53.0% 3,286 -43 $2,594 $95,308,000 $5 3
5 3 In Time Fox $7,700,000 -36.1% 3,127 +5 $2,462 $24,209,000 $40 2
6 4 Footloose (2011) Par. $4,550,000 -17.3% 2,811 -413 $1,619 $44,800,000 $24 4
7 6 Real Steel BV $3,407,000 -28.8% 2,438 -476 $1,397 $78,750,000 – 5
8 5 The Rum Diary FD $2,988,000 -41.8% 2,292 +19 $1,304 $10,423,000 $45 2
9 8 The Ides of March Sony $2,000,000 -28.7% 1,391 -181 $1,438 $36,800,000 – 5
10 9 Moneyball Sony $1,900,000 -20.4% 1,278 -353 $1,487 $70,327,000 $50 7

Quick Take~ Fall Movie Reviews

It’s fall and the Oscar movies are starting to hit the theatres. We’ve already seen some good ones (50/50 and The Ides of March), but along with the good comes the bad. So, what have I seen lately and how did I grade them? Take a look below at these quick take fall movie reviews.

50/50: In this dramedy about a young man diagnosed with cancer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a revelation. He’s hilarious and heartbreaking in a performance that should be considered at Oscar time. Along with great support from Anna Kendricks (as his bumbling new therapist) and Angelica Huston (as his over-protective mom) not to mention Seth Rogan (as slovenly womanizing best friend) in his best screen performance to date. Somehow this movie (based on the screenwriter’s own experience) blends comedy (even sex jokes) and beautiful honest drama seamlessly. I highly recommend it. Grade: A

Puss In Boots: in this formulaic yet rather entertaining animated caper, Antonio Banderas deftly reprises his role as the swashbuckling kitty from the Shrek franchise, Puss in Boots. He sets out on a caper to right an old wrong and we also get his character’s back story plus appearances by fairy tale faves Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty and more. It’s a funny film, if overly long and somewhat obvious. However kids and cat lovers should enjoy. Grade: B

The Ides of March: George Clooney writes, directs and costars in this political thriller that explores the machinations behind the campaign and the people who make them happen. It’s a sturdy and well executed film with vibrant performances from Ryan Gosling as the campaign expert torn between two warring camps, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (brilliant!) as Clooney’s campaign manager, Paul Giamatti as a rival manager, Marisa Tomei as a pushy journalist and a surprisingly fantastic Evan Rachel Wood as the compromised intern. While it may not be the Oscar front-runner, it certainly has a good shot in a number of categories. Grade: A-

In Time: well, this film is just ridiculous. Despite one of the most beautiful casts in film history (Alex Pettyfer, Olivia Wilde, Matthew Bomer, Justin Timberlake, and Amanda Seyfreid to name a few), this sci-fi yarn about people who stop aging at 25 and must steal time to survive is a waste of time. The dialogue is clunky. It’s predictable. The performances are just ok (except Bomer who’s wonderful as a conflicted man who’s living much much longer than the average person) and it doesn’t really make any sense. Grade: C-

Martha Marcy May Marlene: I already reviewed this one a few weeks back, but wanted to include it again because it’s that good. Elizabeth Olsen is an immediate Best Actress Oscar contender in this dark moody thriller playing a woman who escapes a cult. It follows the next few weeks in her life while flashing back to her experiences in the scary commune run by an incredibly effective and creepy John Hawkes (who should also merit Oscar attention). The film leaves you wanting more and is a must see. Grade: A

Tower Heist: with such a great cast and a fun premise, this film should’ve been much better. Alas, it’s just mildly entertaining and takes too long to get going. Eddie Murphy is the standout as crook who helps a bunch of regular joes (Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena, Casey Affleck and a rather funny Gabourey Sidibe) try to steal back their pensions that were lost by big money magnet criminal Alan Alda. Once the scheme gets under way, the film improves, but it still is a rather rote adventure. Grade: C

That’s it for now. Watch for more movie reviews in the coming weeks including George Clooney’s other Oscar hopeful The Descendants and the theatrical adaptation of Carnage.

Puss In Boots claws the Box Office Competition

With a strong, if not blockbuster, debut the new animated comedy Puss In Boots scratched out the competition taking in $33 million. Many pundits expected more but with Halloween activities and freak weather dampening some moviegoers plans, the numbers were a little lower. However, watch for this one to hold up very well with families in the weeks ahead. The same can’t be said for the other two newbies which should both disappear quickly. The Justin Timberlake/Amanda Seyfreid sci-fi film In Time took in a lackluster $12 million while Johnny Depp’s The Rum Diary tanked with just $ 5 million. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Movies (10/28 -10/30/11)
1. Puss In Boots (Dreamworks Animation/Paramount): $ 33 million (new)
2. Paranormal Activity 3 (Paramount): $ 19 million ($ 81.5 million)
3. In Time (Fox): $ 12 million (new)
4. Footloose (Paramount): $ 5.5 million ($ 38.5 million)
5. The Rum Diary (FilmDistrict): $ 5 million (new)
6. Real Steel (Dreamworks/Disney): $4.9 million ($ 74.1 million)
7. Three Musketeers (Summit): $ 3.5 million ($ 14.8 million)
8. The Ides of March (Sony): $ 2.7 million ($ 33.5 million)
9. Moneyball (Sony): $ 2.4 million (67.4 million)
10. Courageous (Sony): $ 1.8 million ($ 27.6 million)