“The Hobbit” Fights off Some Disappointing Newbies at the Box Office

Peter Jackson‘s holiday behemoth The Hobbit held onto the top spot at the pre-Christmas box office in its second week with a good $36. 7 million bringing its total come to $149 million and much more to come. The Hobbit easily fended off a quartet of new releases that all proved disappointing. Opening best was the Tom Cruise action flick Jack Reacher with a lackluster $15.6 million. We’ll see if it can hold up well as audiences were generally pleased with the film despite the miscasting of Cruise. (Hello, the character of Reacher in the book is 6’5 and blonde~ two things Cruise aint, but I digress.)… Arriving with a thud in third was the atrocious new Judd Apatow ”comedy” This is 40 with $12 million. The audience response was poor as well which does not bode well for its future. I gave this heaping piece of unfunny crap a “D” grade… it did beat out the surprisingly funny road trip comedy The Guilt Trip with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan which only took in $5.3 million. Trip (which I gave a “B” grade to) will have to work real hard after Christmas to even approach breaking even… The final new film to implode upon arrival was the 3D release of Monsters Inc with just $5 million. It was outpaced by the long running Rise of the Guardians which has had the best legs of all films this season after a wonky start…. For more on all the new releases and big grosses for the limited debuts of the brilliant Oscar contenders The Impossible and Zero Dark Thirty, head to Box Office Mojo here. Then, 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	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	WB	$36,705,000	-56.6%	4,100	+55	$8,952	$149,858,000	-	2
2	N	Jack Reacher	Par.	$15,600,000	-	3,352	-	$4,654	$15,600,000	$60	1
3	N	This Is 40	Uni.	$12,031,000	-	2,912	-	$4,132	$12,031,000	$35	1
4	2	Rise of the Guardians	P/DW	$5,900,000	-17.4%	3,031	-356	$1,947	$79,694,000	$145	5
5	3	Lincoln	BV	$5,633,000	-19.9%	2,293	+8	$2,457	$116,781,000	$65	7
6	N	The Guilt Trip	Par.	$5,390,000	-	2,431	-	$2,217	$7,421,000	$40	1
7	N	Monsters, Inc. (3D)	BV	$5,040,000	-	2,618	-	$1,925	$6,525,000	-	1
8	4	Skyfall	Sony	$4,700,000	-28.3%	2,365	-559	$1,987	$279,972,000	$200	7
9	5	Life of Pi	Fox	$3,800,000	-29.8%	1,750	-798	$2,171	$76,156,000	$120	5
10	6	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2	Sum.	$2,600,000	-49.4%	2,000	-1,042	$1,300	$281,606,000	$120	6

 

A Dolphin swims past the newbies at the Box Office

Last week, it was a lion on top and this week a dolphin swims past the competition as the animals continue to rule the box office. Rising to the top in its second week, the family film A Dolphin Tale took in $14.2 million edging out as similarly strong second week for Brad Pitt’s Moneyball which landed $12.5 million. Both films are headed for nice runs in the weeks ahead. The pushed the Lion King re-release into third with $11.1 million and a total of $79.7 million (and over $400 million including its original release in 1994)… All the good news for those holdovers meant the newbies struggled in their first frames. Faring best was the well reviewed cancer dramedy 50/50 with Joseph Gordon Levitt (who will merit strong awards consideration with this perf) and Seth Rogan which pulled in $8.9 million. Hopefully good reviews and audience reaction will benefit it’s run in theatres. Opening in fifth was a film I never saw one ad or commercial for, the faith-based drama Courageous which took in $8.8 million just ahead of the debuting bombs Dream House and What’s Your Number?  Take a look at all of the numbers below and for more info, head to Box Office Mojo here.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 3 Dolphin Tale WB $14,245,000 -25.6% 3,515 +8 $4,053 $37,516,000 $37 2
2 2 Moneyball Sony $12,500,000 -35.9% 2,993 – $4,176 $38,469,000 $50 2
3 1 The Lion King (in 3D) BV $11,057,000 -49.6% 2,340 +10 $4,725 $79,652,000 – 3
4 N 50/50 Sum. $8,858,000 – 2,458 – $3,604 $8,858,000 $8 1
5 N Courageous TriS $8,800,000 – 1,161 – $7,580 $8,800,000 $2 1
6 N Dream House Uni. $8,209,000 – 2,661 – $3,085 $8,209,000 – 1
7 4 Abduction LGF $5,650,000 -48.3% 3,118 – $1,812 $19,139,000 $35 2
8 N What’s Your Number? Fox $5,600,000 – 3,002 – $1,865 $5,600,000 – 1
9 6 Contagion WB $5,040,000 -40.4% 2,744 -392 $1,837 $64,702,000 $60 4
10 5 Killer Elite ORF $4,855,000 -48.1% 2,986 – $1,626 $17,439,000 $70 2

Seth Rogan, the Super Hero?

Seth Rogan has been called a lot of things~ funny guy, schlub, slacker, the guy next door~ but he’s about to add a rather surprising moniker to that list… super hero. Yes, Seth Rogan is about to take on the comic book legend in the new film, The Green Hornet. The slimmed down actor will star in the action comedy alongside Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson, recent Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as the big villain, newcomer Jay Chou as Kato, and Cameron Diaz as his love interest. It all sounds interesting on paper, but will it translate. Given the somewhat strange release date of Jan 14 next year, I’m not sure. Apparently, it’s not going to be a tent pole for its studio, Sony, but it could be fun. See for yourself as you watch the trailer below.

The Green Hornet trailer: