The Dark Knight Rises to the Top!

As expected the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, rose to the top of the box office charts over the weekend. The film starring Oscar winners Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cottillard and Michael Caine, Oscar nominees Anne Hathaway and Gary Oldman, SAG Award nominee Tom Hardy and Golden Globe nominee Joseph Gordon-Levitt set the record for the biggest 2D opening in history with a massive $160.8 million over its first three days. That also qualifies as the third biggest opening overall behind the 3D openers of The Avengers and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. The movie should hold up quite well in the weeks ahead as it has garnered great reviews (I give the fantastic film an “A” grade) and audiences who may have been nervous to see it after the tragic shootings in Colorado venture back to the theatre…. In The Dark Knight’s wake, the rest of the top ten took a hit with Spider-man and Savages both dropping over 60 %…. For more on all the box office numbers, the records broken by The Dark Knight Rises and more, 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 The Dark Knight Rises WB $160,887,295 – 4,404 – $36,532 $160,887,295 – 1
2 1 Ice Age: Continental Drift Fox $20,416,978 -56.2% 3,886 +5 $5,254 $88,840,284 – 2
3 2 The Amazing Spider-Man Sony $10,887,111 -68.6% 3,753 -565 $2,901 $228,611,425 $230 3
4 3 Ted Uni. $10,011,610 -55.3% 3,214 -89 $3,115 $180,431,425 $50 4
5 4 Brave BV $6,024,987 -46.0% 2,899 -493 $2,078 $208,774,173 $185 5
6 6 Magic Mike WB $4,291,432 -52.4% 2,606 -484 $1,647 $101,966,459 $7 4
7 5 Savages (2012) Uni. $3,398,880 -63.8% 2,336 -299 $1,455 $40,055,075 $45 3
8 7 Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection LGF $2,253,074 -59.7% 1,540 -464 $1,463 $60,289,622 $20 4
9 9 Moonrise Kingdom Focus $1,831,471 -50.6% 895 -29 $2,046 $36,087,959 $16 9
10 11 To Rome with Love SPC $1,420,891 -42.5% 552 -192 $2,574 $11,107,993 – 5

Harry Potter casts as Spell at the People’s Choice Awards

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was not only the biggest movie of 2011, but it’s also the People’s Choice Award winner for Best Film. In fact, the movie won 4 awards at last nights kudosfest hosted by The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco. It was a deserving winner and one of several that made me happy. Usually this show, voted on by the fans online, is a wash honoring several blah choices like Taylor Swift and Adam Sandler. However, this year, along with Potter, I was thrilled to see wins for Hot in Cleveland, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen Degeneres, Bridesmaids, Lea Michelle and Emma Stone. Check out all the winners below and for more on what the people love, head to their website here.

2012 People’s Choice Award Winners:
MOVIES
Favorite Movie: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
Favorite Drama Movie: “Water for Elephants”
Favorite Comedy Movie: “Bridesmaids”
Favorite Action Movie: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
Favorite Movie Actress: Emma Stone
Favorite Movie Actor: Johnny Depp
Favorite Comedic Movie Actress: Emma Stone
Favorite Comedic Movie Actor: Adam Sandler
Favorite Action Movie Star: Hugh Jackman
Favorite Movie Icon: Morgan Freeman
Favorite Movie Star Under 25: Chloe Grace Moretz
Favorite Ensemble Movie Cast: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
Favorite Book Adaptation: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
Favorite Movie Superhero: “The Green Lantern”
Favorite Animated Movie Voice: Johnny Depp, “Rango”

TELEVISION
Favorite Network TV Drama: “Supernatural”
Favorite Cable TV Drama: “Pretty Little Liars”
Favorite Network TV Comedy: “How I Met Your Mother”
Favorite Cable TV Comedy: “Hot in Cleveland”
Favorite TV Crime Drama: “Castle”
Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show: “Supernatural”
Favorite TV Competition Show: “American Idol”
Favorite New TV Drama: “Person of Interest”
Favorite New TV Comedy: “2 Broke Girls”
Favorite TV Comedy Actor: Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”
Favorite TV Comedy Actress: Lea Michele, “Glee”
Favorite TV Drama Actor: Nathan Fillion, “Castle”
Favorite TV Drama Actress: Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”
Favorite Daytime TV Host: Ellen DeGeneres
Favorite Late-Night TV Host: Jimmy Fallon
Favorite TV Guest Star: Katy Perry, “How I Met Your Mother”
Favorite Celebreality Star: Kim Kardashian

MUSIC
Favorite Album: “Born This Way,” Lady Gaga
Favorite Song of the Year: “E.T.,” Katy Perry featuring Kanye West
Favorite Music Video: Katy Perry, “Last Friday Night”
Favorite Tour Headliner: Katy Perry
Favorite Male Artist: Bruno Mars
Favorite Female Artist: Katy Perry
Favorite Pop Artist: Demi Lovato
Favorite Band: Maroon 5
Favorite R&B Artist: Rihanna
Favorite Hip-Hop Artist: Eminem
Favorite Country Artist: Taylor Swift

My Top 20 Movies of 2011

With box office grosses down and a ton of lackluster films in the marketplace, you’d think it might be hard to find 20 good movies from the past year. But I did. In fact, there were a lot of good movies released in 2011. They just tended to be smaller indie films like Martha Marcy May Marlene or Beginners. However, there were some big studio films that were hits with critics, audiences and me like The Help and the final Harry Potter. So, just what made my end of the year list? … Take a look below.

* First, I have to say there are a few that I haven’t seen yet. I know, bad me… Those films are:  Shame, Rango and We need to Talk About Kevin…
now, the list…

My Top 20 Movies of 2011:
1. The Help
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3. War Horse
4. 50/50
5. The Artist

6. Drive
7. Beginners
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
9. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
10. Bridesmaids
11. Crazy Stupid Love
12. Martha Marcy May Marlene
13. Albert Nobbs
14. The Iron Lady
15. The Muppets
16. My Week with Marilyn
17. We Were Here
18. Super 8
19. The Ides of March
20 TIE:  Margin Call  & Midnight in Paris

Honorable Mention: The Whistleblower, Jane Eyre, Gun Hill Road, Warrior, Moneyball

Best Acting Performance of 2011: Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Best Movie that I saw at Festival: The Green
Best Comedy: Bridesmaids
Best Family Film: The Muppets
Best Super Hero Movie: Thor

Worst 5 Movies I saw:
1. Paul
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
3. Cowboys & Aliens
4. Limitless
5. Larry Crowne

There is my list. I may be changing it as I catch up with a few more Oscar contenders, but heck it’s January 3rd. I had to post it already. What are your thoughts? What are your faves? Sound off below.

An Underperforming “Cowboys” eecks out a win over “The Smurfs”

So, I head out-of-town for a few days, and when I return, Hollywood has gone a little crazy. How else to explain The Smurfs almost overtaking the highly touted Cowboys & Aliens at the box office this weekend. Well, for one, audiences loved the Smurfs which surprisingly overperformed opening to $35.6 million.  And secondly, Cowboys couldn’t match expectations, got bad reviews and poor audience scores and just narrowly won the weekend with $36.4 million. (That was a full $10 million under most already low-balled projections). The road ahead for Cowboys looks very rough considering its ginormous price tag and will likely give Universal two stinkers in a row after Larry Crowne. At least they had the massive success of Bridesmaids and Fast Five earlier this summer. As for The Smurfs, watch for this family friendly film to hold up well in the weeks ahead. The same could be said for the other opening film this weekend, the lovely romantic comedy Crazy Stupid Love with Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone that opened to a good $19.1 million…. Elsewhere at the box office, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 officially became the highest grossing film in the series this weekend both domestically and internationally. Holy Harry! … For more numbers and info, 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 Cowboys & Aliens Uni. $36,431,290 – 3,750 – $9,715 $36,431,290 $163 1
2 N The Smurfs Sony $35,611,637 – 3,395 – $10,489 $35,611,637 – 1
3 1 Captain America: The First Avenger Par. $25,554,303 -60.7% 3,715 – $6,879 $117,421,571 $140 2
4 2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 WB $21,977,093 -53.7% 4,145 -230 $5,302 $318,511,602 – 3
5 N Crazy, Stupid, Love. WB $19,104,303 – 3,020 – $6,326 $19,104,303 – 1
6 3 Friends with Benefits SGem $9,275,692 -50.2% 2,926 – $3,170 $38,175,973 $35 2
7 5 Horrible Bosses WB (NL) $7,189,365 -39.5% 2,510 -594 $2,864 $96,290,917 $35 4
8 4 Transformers: Dark of the Moon P/DW $6,086,311 -49.5% 2,604 -771 $2,337 $338,007,725 $195 5
9 6 Zookeeper Sony $4,301,893 -50.6% 2,418 -797 $1,779 $68,832,733 $80 4
10 7 Cars 2 BV $2,349,142 -58.5% 1,763 -905 $1,332 $182,118,690 $200 6

Captain America knocks down Harry Potter

After breaking all kinds of box office records last week, it only took an American icon to end Harry Potter’s spell over the box office as the latest comic book movie of the summer Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans opened to a big $65 million. That was on par with Thor’s opening from earlier this summer, and the fact that the film is actually quite good (I gave massively entertaining film a “A-“ grade) should help it have legs in the weeks ahead. It also towered over the opening for X Men: First Class which has been a modest hit this summer and The Green Lantern which tanked…. Now, back to Harry. Despite falling into second, the last Potter film still took in a strong $47 million for a huge $273 million easily on its way to being the highest grossing film of the series…. The other news at the movies this weekend was the opening of the Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis comedy Friends with Benefits which took in a decent $18.6 million, just a hair behind the $19 mil that the similarly themed (and much less funny) No Strings Attached grossed in January when it opened. We’ll see how Friends holds up as the smart and hilarious romantic comedy Crazy Stupid Love hits theatres this weekend… For all your box office news, 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 Captain America: The First Avenger Par. $65,058,524 – 3,715 – $17,512 $65,058,524 $140 1
2 1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 WB $47,422,212 -72.0% 4,375 – $10,839 $273,539,281 – 2
3 N Friends with Benefits SGem $18,622,150 – 2,926 – $6,364 $18,622,150 $35 1
4 2 Transformers: Dark of the Moon P/DW $12,051,735 -43.5% 3,375 -542 $3,571 $325,841,185 $195 4
5 3 Horrible Bosses WB (NL) $11,884,319 -33.1% 3,104 -30 $3,829 $82,566,703 $35 3
6 4 Zookeeper Sony $8,702,055 -29.4% 3,215 -267 $2,707 $59,206,255 $80 3
7 5 Cars 2 BV $5,655,857 -32.7% 2,668 -581 $2,120 $176,375,295 $200 5
8 6 Winnie the Pooh BV $5,162,046 -34.3% 2,405 – $2,146 $17,594,297 $30 2
9 7 Bad Teacher Sony $2,610,925 -49.3% 2,034 -625 $1,284 $94,365,688 $20 5
10 10 Midnight in Paris SPC $1,804,662 -3.8% 621 -85 $2,906 $44,783,206 $30 10

Harry makes Historical Magic at the Box Office

Everyone knew it would be big, but did they know it would be this big? Well, I dare say I did when I say that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 would break all kinds of box office records. And it did. The film (which I gave a fantastic “A” grade too) cast its magical spell over the weekend to the tune of a huge $168.6 million giving it the best debut weekend ever besting The Dark Knight’s $158.4 million in 2008. It also broke the records for biggest midnight launch, biggest first day ($92 million), biggest international weekend and biggest worldwide weekend with a massive global take of $475.5 million in its first three days. Holy Harry! Now the question is how high will it go or how hard will it fall as the Potter films are notoriously front-loaded in terms of box office gross. I say the film will end up the highest grossing of the series in the U.S. and the world-beating the first Harry movie. Stay tuned… Faring well against the boy wizard were Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper which only slid 37% and 38% respectively in their second weekends and Midnight in Paris which slipped only 28% for a total of $41.7 million making it Woody Allen’s biggest grosser to date. (However it’s not it’s not the most attended Woody movie. That title still belongs to Annie Hall.) … Opening to poor results was the new Disney animated film, Winnie the Pooh, which was an afterthought for moviegoers taking in just $8 million. For more on the records and the box office, 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 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 WB $168,550,000 – 4,375 – $38,526 $168,550,000 – 1
2 1 Transformers: Dark of the Moon P/DW $21,250,000 -54.9% 3,917 -171 $5,425 $302,800,000 $195 3
3 2 Horrible Bosses WB (NL) $17,630,000 -37.7% 3,134 +94 $5,625 $60,002,000 $35 2
4 3 Zookeeper Sony $12,300,000 -38.7% 3,482 – $3,532 $42,352,000 $80 2
5 4 Cars 2 BV $8,344,000 -45.1% 3,249 -741 $2,568 $165,326,000 $200 4
6 N Winnie the Pooh BV $8,000,000 – 2,405 – $3,326 $8,000,000 $30 1
7 5 Bad Teacher Sony $5,200,000 -41.7% 2,659 -303 $1,956 $88,505,000 $20 4
8 6 Larry Crowne Uni. $2,573,000 -56.7% 2,287 -689 $1,125 $31,628,000 $30 3
9 7 Super 8 Par. $1,925,000 -60.2% 1,459 -833 $1,319 $122,242,000 $50 6
10 11 Midnight in Paris SPC $1,891,000 -28.2% 706 -113 $2,678 $41,793,000 $30 9

First Look~ Behind the Scenes of the Final Harry Potter!

Ok, July 15th can’t come soon enough! That’s the day that the final film in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, hits theatres. And now, I have a great preview for ya below. Check out this new “Behind the Scenes/trailer” package below.