“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

 

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is the BEST film of 2012 So Far!

I have now seen two advanced screenings of the new coming of age film The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I’m still reeling. It’s hilarious, emotional, dramatic, cathartic, heartbreaking and simply the best film of 2012 so far. Stephen Chobsky adapts his own cherished novel with an assured and beautifully rendered film featuring a flawless cast and an astounding Oscar worthy performance from lead Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Jack & Bobby). Lerman plays, Charlie, an introverted freshman outcast in Suburban Philadelphia in the early 90’s dealing with personal hardships, his own mental illness and the horror that is high school. He comes out of his shell when he meets a new group of friends led by gay and proud Patrick (We Need To Talk About Kevin’s fantastic Ezra Miller) and the reformed bad girl Sam (a transcendent Emma Watson showing she has a huge career ahead of her outside of the Harry Potter films). The three form a tight bond as they navigate some tricky relationships and monumental events throughout a year. The rest of the cast is fabulous as well with Mae Whitman as the funny and fierce Mary Elizabeth, Nina Dobrev as Charlie’s sister, Kate Walsh and Dylan McDermott who are lovely, funny and subtle as Charlie’s parents, Johnny Simmons as a jock with a secret, Paul Rudd as his supportive and inspirational teacher and a wonderfully tortured Melanie Lynskey in the very difficult role of Charlie’s aunt. The soundtrack is also brilliant with some 80’s and 90’s gems. I highly recommend this film and hope you will see it when it hits select theaters on Sept 21st and expands across the country this fall. It has the potential to become this generation’s The Breakfast Club and deserves a ton of Awards consideration. I think it has a very strong shot for an Adapted Screenplay Oscar nod for writer/director Chbosky and a SAG ensemble nomination looks good too. However, I hope it gets noticed across the board for the wonderful direction, performances, cinematography, editing and especially Lerman’s breakout brilliant performance. He is gonna be a huge star people and a very well-respected actor to boot. The film is truly timeless and speaks to anyone who has ever felt alone or like an outcast… For more on the best film of the year thus far, head to the Perks website here and check out the trailer below.

Perks of Being a Wallflower movie grade: A

Perks of Being A Wallflower trailer:

“Homeland”, “Breaking Bad” and “Parks and Recreation” Rule the Critic’s Choice TV Awards

Last night, the critics really had their say as the 2nd Annual Critic’s Choice Television Awards named their winners for the past TV season. Winning two awards apiece were Homeland (which took Best Drama and Actress for Clare Danes), Breaking Bad, Sherlock, Parks & Recreation and Modern Family. Big surprises were found in Community‘s win for Best Comedy Series and The Voice winning Reality Competition show… I’m especially happy for the wins for Amy Poehler and Cat Deeley by the way…. Take a look at all the winners below.

2102 Critics Choice TV Award winners~

Best Drama Series
Homeland – Showtime

Best Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad – AMC

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Danes – Homeland – Showtime

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito – Breaking Bad – AMC

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Christina Hendricks – Mad Men – AMC

Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series
Lucy Liu – Southland – TNT

Best Reality Series
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations – Travel Channel

Best Reality Series – Competition
The Voice – NBC

Best Reality Show Host
Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars – ABC
Cat Deeley – So You Think You Can Dance – FOX

Best Talk Show
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon – NBC

Best Comedy Series
Community – NBC

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Louis C.K. – Louie – FX

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Zooey Deschanel – New Girl – FOX
Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation – NBC

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell – Modern Family – ABC

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Julie Bowen – Modern Family – ABC

Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series
Paul Rudd – Parks and Recreation – NBC

Best Animated Series
Archer – FX

Best Movie/Miniseries
Sherlock – PBS

Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock – PBS

Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries
Julianne Moore – Game Change – HBO

Most Exciting New Series
The Following (Fox/Warner Bros.)
The Mindy Project (Fox/Universal)
Nashville (ABC/Lionsgate)
The Newsroom (HBO)
Political Animals (USA/Warner Bros.)

“Act of Valor” storms the Box Office

Leave it to the marines to invade the box office… Yes, active duty marines are arguably the biggest stars at movie theaters this weekend as Act of Valor, the new critically maligned action pic starring the aforementioned active duty marines, easily hit # 1 with a bigger than expected $24.7 million. That was far more than Tyler Perry’s latest film, the dramedy Good Deeds, which opened to a decent $16 million. Both low-cost films are on their way to nice profits. The same can’t be said of the other two new pictures debuting this week as Wanderlust and Gone out right bombed. Wanderlust, the new comedy with Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston from the Universal stink factory, took in a paltry $6.6 million while the Amanda Seyfried thriller Gone barely made out with $5 million. 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 N Act of Valor Rela. $24,700,000 – 3,039 – $8,128 $24,700,000 $12 1
2 N Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds LGF $16,000,000 – 2,132 – $7,505 $16,000,000 – 1
3 4 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island WB $13,475,000 -32.1% 3,350 -150 $4,022 $76,731,000 $79 3
4 1 Safe House Uni. $11,400,000 -51.8% 3,052 -69 $3,735 $98,100,000 $85 3
5 2 The Vow SGem $10,000,000 -56.6% 3,038 +80 $3,292 $103,007,000 $30 3
6 3 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Sony $8,800,000 -60.2% 3,174 – $2,773 $37,832,000 $57 2
7 5 This Means War Fox $8,500,000 -51.2% 3,189 – $2,665 $33,571,000 $65 2
8 N Wanderlust Uni. $6,600,000 – 2,002 – $3,297 $6,600,000 – 1
9 N Gone Sum. $5,000,000 – 2,186 – $2,287 $5,000,000 – 1
10 9 The Secret World of Arrietty BV $4,503,000 -30.1% 1,522 – $2,959 $14,660,000 – 2

“The Help” Survives a Box Office Blow Out

In what was 2011’s second worst weekend at the box office due to crappy new films and the massive hurricane Irene assaulting the east coast, only one film was able to rise above. It’s no surprise that  this picture was the crowd pleaser and likely Oscar contender The Help which took in another $14.3 million for a big total of $96 million and lots more to come…. Faring best of the newcomers was the Zoe Saldana action pic Colombiana which took in $10.3 million. Tanking in third place was the third horror bomb in as many weekends, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark which limped to $8.6 million. At least that was better than the Paul Rudd comedy Our Idiot Brother, which despite decent reviews, landed in fifth with a poor $6.8 million. On the bright side, that film only cost $ 5 million, so after marketing expenses, etc, it should break even. 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 1 The Help BV $14,333,000 -28.4% 2,778 +88 $5,159 $96,630,000 $25 3
2 N Colombiana TriS $10,300,000 – 2,614 – $3,940 $10,300,000 $40 1
3 N Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark FD $8,689,000 – 2,760 – $3,148 $8,689,000 $25 1
4 2 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Fox $8,650,000 -46.3% 3,374 -97 $2,564 $148,456,000 $93 4
5 N Our Idiot Brother Wein. $6,588,000 – 2,555 – $2,578 $6,588,000 $5 1
6 3 Spy Kids: All the Time in the World W/Dim. $5,727,000 -50.8% 3,305 +10 $1,733 $21,710,000 $27 2
7 5 The Smurfs Sony $4,800,000 -38.5% 2,861 -196 $1,678 $125,993,000 $110 5
8 4 Conan the Barbarian (2011) LGF $3,100,000 -69.1% 3,015 – $1,028 $16,576,000 $90 2
9 6 Fright Night (2011) BV $3,029,000 -60.7% 3,114 – $973 $14,207,000 $30 2
10 10 Crazy, Stupid, Love. WB $2,905,000 -39.4% 1,577 -363 $1,842 $69,529,000 $50 5

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

Anne v. Reese~ the Battle between the Fall’s Leading Ladies

Two of Hollywood’s hottest and most in demand actresses are back on the big screen this fall with new romantic comedies that could garner them big box office and possible even awards bait. Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon and Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway will be vying for the public’s dollars with their latest releases How Do You Know? and Love and Other Drugs. Witherspoon seems more likely to top the box office with this latest comedy from Oscar winner James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News) co-starring funny guys Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd. However, Hathaway might get more awards attention for Love which costars her Brokeback Mountain husband Jake Gyllenhaal and is directed by Ed Zwick (Traffic, Shakespeare in Love). Take a look at the previews for each film below. Hathaway hits theatres first on Nov. 24 while the second highest paid female star in the biz (after Sandra Bullock), Witherspoon, debuts in theatres on Dec. 17. Who do you think will have the bigger hit? And will either be in the Awards derby at the end of the year? Sound off below.

Anne Hathaway in Love and Other Drugs

Reese Witherspoon in How Do You Know?