Box Office Report: June 26-28, 2009

•  1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $108.9M ($200.1M)
•  2. The Proposal $18.6M ($69.2M)
•  3. The Hangover $17.0M ($183.1M)
•  4. Up $13.1M ($250.2M)
•  5. My Sister's Keeper $12.4M ($12.4M)
•  6. Year One $6.0M ($32.5M)
•  7. The Taking of Pelham 123 $5.5M ($53.5M)
•  8. Star Trek $3.7M ($246.3M)
•  9. Night at the Museum 2 $3.6M ($163.4M)
•  10. Away We Go $1.7M ($4.1M)

I don't think anyone is shocked that Transformers 2 topped the box office and while its 5-day cume is the second best in history, its weekend total is a bit weaker than expected largely because its Wednesday totals were front-loading the overall total. My Sister's Keeper did ok business, but wasn't a sleeper opening.

-Wesley Lovell (June 30, 2009)

New Reviews Posted

I have two new reviews to post today (though you may have noticed them uloaded already). Pixar's latest computer animated classic, Up, and the pleasant time wasting super power flick Push. You can find them posted in the 2009 section.

-Wesley Lovell (June 27, 2009)

Box Office Report: June 19-21, 2009

•  1. The Proposal $33.6M ($33.6M)
•  2. The Hangover $26.8M ($152.8M)
•  3. Up $23.5M ($226.3M)
•  4. Year One $19.6M ($19.6M)
•  5. The Taking of Pelham 123 $12.0M ($44.1M)
•  6. Night at the Museum 2 $7.8M ($156.5M)
•  7. Star Trek $5.5M ($240.3M)
•  8. Land of the Lost $4.4M ($44.1M)
•  9. Imagine That $3.3M ($11.5M)
•  10. Terminator Salvation $3.3M ($119.7M)

Some were saying that The Proposal would fail, but it not only succeeded, it did so with high marks. But was it Sandra Bullock selling tickets or Ryan Reynolds' abs? The world may never know. Mean while, Year One, although doing better than Eddie Murphy's latest, still didn't stand up well failing to topple either Bullock/Reynolds or the fourth-week holdover Up or the third week of The Hangover. That's not particularly good news.

-Wesley Lovell (June 23, 2009)

Box Office Report: June 12-14, 2009

•  1. The Hangover $32.8M ($104.8M)
•  2. Up $30.8M ($187.4M)
•  3. The Taking of Pelham 123 $23.4M ($23.4M)
•  4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $9.6M ($143.5M)
•  5. Land of the Lost $34.8M ($34.8M)
•  6. Imagine That $5.5M ($5.5M)
•  7. Star Trek $5.5M ($231.9M)
•  8. Terminator Salvation $4.8M ($113.9M)
•  9. Angels & Demons $4.1M ($123.2M)
•  10. Drag Me to Hell $3.9M ($35.2M)

Hanging on for a second week at the top, The Hangover showed strong staying power dropping just over 27%. The same could be said for Up, which only fell another 30%, and with its current totals, it's possible that, if Transformers 2 doesn't perform as well as the original and Up stays on its current trajectory and becomes Pixar's biggest film ever (topping Finding Nemo), Up could not only be the top film of the year at the box office, but it could be Pixar's first number 1 finish since Toy Story. Meanwhile, the week's two biggest releases each failed to impress with Pelham 123 opening at a subservient 3rd and Imagine That virtually destroying Eddie Murphy's career as a box office draw coming in a distant sixth.

-Wesley Lovell (June 16, 2009)

Box Office Report: June 5-7, 2009

•  1. The Hangover $44.9M ($44.9M)
•  2. Up $44.1M ($137.2M)
•  3. Land of the Lost $18.8M ($18.8M)
•  4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $14.6M ($127.3M)
•  5. Star Trek $8.3M ($222.7M)
•  6. Terminator Salvation $8.2M ($105.6M)
•  7. Drag Me to Hell $7.0M ($28.2M)
•  8. Angels & Demons $6.6M ($116.2M)
•  9. My Life in Ruins $3.2M ($3.2M)
•  10. Dance Flick $1.9M ($22.6M)

And here I thought Land of the Lost would perform well. It didn't. It came in far below the top two films to land in third place. The real fight over the weekend was beween Hangover and Up with the former barely squeaking out a victory.

-Wesley Lovell (June 9, 2009)

Box Office Report: May 29-31, 2009

•  1. Up $68.1M ($68.1M)
•  2. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $24.4M ($104.2M)
•  3. Terminator Salvation $16.4M ($90.9M)
•  4. Drag Me to Hell $15.8M ($15.8M)
•  5. Star Trek $12.6M ($209.3M)
•  6. Angels & Demons $11.4M ($104.9M)
•  7. Dance Flick $4.7M ($19.1)
•  8. X-Men Origins: Wolverine $3.9M ($170.8M)
•  9. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past $1.9M ($50.0M)
•  10. Obsessed $.7M ($67.5M)

As expected, Pixar's latest sailed Up up up to the top of the chart. It was a strong debut, the third largest in Pixar's history.

-Wesley Lovell (June 2, 2009)

Box Office Report: May 22-24, 2009

•  1. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $54.2M ($54.2M)
•  2. Terminator Salvation $42.6M ($55.9M)
•  3. Star Trek $22.9M ($184.5M)
•  4. Angels & Demons $21.7M ($81.8M)
•  5. Dance Flick $10.6M ($10.6M)
•  6. X-Men Origins: Wolverine $8.1M ($163.3M)
•  7. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past $3.8M ($45.9M)
•  8. Obsessed $1.9M ($65.9M)
•  9. Monsters vs. Aliens $1.5M ($193.1M)
•  10. 17 Again $1.0M ($60.3M)

In a surprise twist, the battle of the built-in audiences resolved with Night at the Museum 2 topping Terminator Salvation by more than $10 M. It's a significant result despite the perception that Terminator would easily win the day based on its history as a strong-performing franchise. No such luck.

-Wesley Lovell (May 26, 2009)

Box Office Report: May 15-17, 2009

•  1. Angels & Demons $46.2M ($46.2M)
•  2. Star Trek $43.0M ($147.6M)
•  3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine $14.7M ($150.9M)
•  4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past $6.7M ($39.9M)
•  5. Obsessed $4.6M ($62.6M)
•  6. 17 Again $3.4M ($58.4M)
•  7. Monsters vs. Aliens $3.2M ($190.7M)
•  8. The Soloist $2.4M ($27.5M)
•  9. Next Day Air $2.2M ($7.6M)
•  10. Earth $1.7M ($29.1M)

Well, Angels & Demons topped the box office, but only barely, keeping bove Star Trek's strong second-week holdover by a mere $3 M. With no other new releases there isn't much else to say about this week's chart.

-Wesley Lovell (May 19, 2009)

New Reviews Posted

Today, I have posted five new reviews, all of films I've seen so far this year. You can find reviews of Angels & Demons, Earth, Monster vs. Aliens, Star Trek and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. You can find them posted in the 2009 section.

-Wesley Lovell (May 25, 2009)

Box Office Report: May 8-10, 2009

•  1. Star Trek $75.2M ($79.2M)
•  2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine $26.4M ($129.0M)
•  3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past $10.3M ($30.1M)
•  4. Obsessed $6.6M ($56.2M)
•  5. 17 Again $4.2M ($53.9M)
•  6. Next Day Air $4.1M ($4.1M)
•  7. The Soloist $3.9M ($23.8M)
•  8. Monsters vs. Aliens $3.3M ($186.8M)
•  9. Earth $2.7M ($26.3M)
•  10. Hannah Montana: The Movie $2.2M ($73.9M)

Star Trek opened at the top, roughly $10 M below last week's Wolverine debut. Meanwhile, Wolverine fell a deadly 69% in its second week. Next Day Air was a near-flop opening outside of the top 5.

-Wesley Lovell (May 12, 2009)

Box Office Report: May 1-3, 2009

•  1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine $85.1M ($85.1M)
•  2. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past $15.4M ($15.4M)
•  3. Obsessed $12.1M ($46.9M)
•  4. 17 Again $6.4M ($48.5M)
•  5. Monsters vs. Aliens $5.8M ($182.4M)
•  6. The Soloist $5.7M ($18.2M)
•  7. Earth $4.3M ($22.0M)
•  8. Hannah Montana: The Movie $4.2M ($70.9M)
•  9. Fighting $4.0M ($17.3M)
•  10. State of Play $3.7M ($30.9M)

The big news is not that Wolverine opened at #1, but that it didn't open that close to $100M, opening even under my conservative estimates. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past did better than I thought it would, but overall, the weekend seemed a bit disappointing.

-Wesley Lovell (May 5, 2009)

Box Office Report: April 24-26, 2009

•  1. Obsessed $28.6M ($28.6M)
•  2. 17 Again $11.5M ($39.8M)
•  3. Fighting $11.0M ($11.0M)
•  4. The Soloist $9.7M ($9.7M)
•  5. Earth $8.8M ($14.5M)
•  6. Monsters vs. Aliens $8.5M ($174.8M)
•  7. State of Play $6.8M ($25.1M)
•  8. Hannah Montana: The Movie $6.4M ($65.7M)
•  9. Fast and Furious $6.2M ($145.4M)
•  10. Crank: High Voltage $2.6M ($11.7M)

I was entirely surprised that Obsessed opened so well. It performed better than 17 Again did last week. Fighting came in on the low end at 3rd and inspirational The Soloist, which has been advertised to death, didn't perform that well opening at #4. Earth held its own as documentaries seldom do against regular release fare to come in at #5.

-Wesley Lovell (April 28, 2009)

Box Office Report: April 17-19, 2009

•  1. 17 Again $23.7M ($23.7M)
•  2. State of Play $14.1M ($14.1M)
•  3. Hannah Montana: The Movie $13.4M ($56.9M)
•  4. Monsters vs. Aliens $13.2M ($163.1M)
•  5. Fast and Furious $11.8M ($136.2M)
•  6. Crank: High Voltage $6.9M ($6.9M)
•  7. Observe and Report $4.2M ($18.8M)
•  8. Knowing >$3.6M ($73.8M)
•  9. I Love You, Man $3.3M ($64.6M)
•  10. The Haunting in Connecticut $3.1M ($51.9)

While 17 Again topped the box office with little effort, State of Play managed to beat out the second week of Hannah Montana with a solid $14 M. Crank opened poorly in 6th place, hopefully putting an end to yet another Jason Statham film series.

-Wesley Lovell (April 21, 2009)

Box Office Report: April 10-12, 2009

•  1. Hannah Montana: The Movie $32.3M ($32.3M)
•  2. Fast and Furious $27.2M ($116.5M)
•  3. Monsters vs. Aliens $21.8M ($140.2M)
•  4. Observe and Report $11.0M ($11.0M)
•  5. Knowing $6.4M ($67.8M)
•  6. I Love You, Man $6.3M ($58.9M)
•  7. The Haunting in Connecticut $5.9M ($46.5)
•  8. Dragonball Evolution $4.8M ($4.8M)
•  9. Adventureland $3.4M ($11.4M)
•  10. Duplicity $2.9M ($36.8M)

And Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana still have some clout opening with a strong $32.3 M weekend while Fast and Furious had nowhere to go down and fast, dropping more than 60% from last weekend. Monsters vs. Aliens held steady while many other films continued their traditional drops.

-Wesley Lovell (April 14, 2009)

New Review Posted

I have one new review posting this week (largely because I have not written anything else due to site updates), so all you get this week is Watchmen in the 2009 section.

-Wesley Lovell (April 12, 2009)

Box Office Report: April 3-5, 2009

•  1. Fast and Furious $70.9M ($70.9M)
•  2. Monsters vs. Aliens $32.6M ($104.8M)
•  3. The Haunting in Connecticut $9.5M ($37.2M)
•  4. Knowing $8.1M ($58.2)
•  5. I Love You, Man $7.7M ($49.2M)
•  6. Adventureland $5.7M ($5.7M)
•  7. Duplicity $4.2M ($32.3M)
•  8. Race to Witch Mountain $3.2M ($58.2M)
•  9. 12 Rounds $2.3M ($8.9M)
•  10. Sunshine Cleaning $1.8M ($4.7M)

So Watchmen debuted at the top of the box office. Like no one saw that coming. But what wasn't as expected, though rumblings emerged as critics trashed the film and fans weren't that impressed, was that the opening was going to be much lower than estimated. While $55 M is nothing to shake a stick at, the free publicity, the legendary source material, the director of the unnecessarily popular 300 and the effects-laden preview should have earned a bigger take, but it didn't.

-Wesley Lovell (April 7, 2009)

March 27-29, 2009

•  1. Monsters vs. Aliens - $59.3 M (Total: $59.3 M)
•  2. The Haunting in Connecticut - $23.0 M (Total: $23.0 M)
•  3. Knowing - $14.7 M (Total: $46.2 M)
•  4. I Love You, Man - $12.7 M (Total: $37.1 M)
•  5. Duplicity - $7.7 M (Total: $25.8 M)
•  6. Race to Witch Mountain - $5.8 M (Total: $53.5 M)
•  7. 12 Rounds - $5.3 M (Total: $5.3 M)
•  8. Watchmen - $2.7 M (Total: $103.3 M)
•  9. Taken - $2.7 M (Total: $137.1 M)
•  10. The Last House on the Left - $2.6 M (Total: $28.5 M)

Dreamworks handily took the top 2009 opening spot from Watchmen with Monsters vs. Aliens which opened strong at $59.3 M. The Haunting in Connecticut also did well pulling in about $23 M, which is sizeable for a non-franchise horror flick. Meanwhile John Cena's 12 Rounds bombed with $5.3 M landing at number 7.

-Wesley Lovell (March 31, 2009)

March 20-22, 2009

•  1. Knowing - $24.6 M (Total: $24.6 M)
•  2. I Love You, Man - $17.8 M (Total: $17.8 M)
•  3. Duplicity - $13.9 M (Total: $13.9 M)
•  4. Race to Witch Mountain - $12.8 M (Total: $44.5 M)
•  5. Watchmen - $6.8 M (Total: $98.1 M)
•  6. The Last House on the Left - $5.8 M (Total: $23.9 M)
•  7. Taken - $4.1 M (Total: $133.1 M)
•  8. Slumdog Millionaire - $2.7 M (Total: $137.2 M)
•  9. Madea Goes to Jail - $2.6 M (Total: $87.3 M)
•  10. Coraline - $2.1 M (Total: $72.8 M)

Taking a surprise opening at the top of the box office, Knowing defied Nicolas Cage's recent dreadful opening streak and took in $24.6 M. I Love You, Man opened far lower than I expectd, but still took a efficient $17.8 M.

-Wesley Lovell (March 24, 2009)

March 13-15, 2009

•  1. Race to Witch Mountain - $24.4 M (Total: $24.4 M)
•  2. Watchmen - $17.8 M (Total: $85.8 M)
•  3. The Last House on the Left - $14.1 M (Total: $14.1 M)
•  4. Taken - $6.6 M (Total: $126.8 M)
•  5. Madea Goes to Jail - $5.1 M (Total: $83.2 M)
•  6. Slumdog Millionaire - $5.0 M (Total: $132.6 M)
•  7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $3.1 M (Total: $137.8 M)
•  8. He's Just Not That Into You - $2.9 M (Total: $89.0 M)
•  9. Coraline - $2.7 M (Total: $69.2 M)
•  10. Miss March - $2.4 M (Total: $2.4 M)

As expected, Watchmen took a fatal blow this weekend plummeting more than 67%. It's not the steepest drop ever, but it's not a good sign for the long term solvency of the film. This should also put to rest rumors of a sequel and hopefully will make studio bosses question ever giving Zack Snyder money again. Race to Witch Mountain had a solid #1 opening, though certainly not as powerful as Disney would have liked, I'm sure.

-Wesley Lovell (March 17, 2009)

March 6-8, 2009

•  1. Watchmen - $55.2 M (Total: $55.2 M)
•  2. Madea Goes to Jail - $8.5 M (Total: $76.2 M)
•  3. Taken - $7.3 M (Total: $117.9 M)
•  4. Slumdog Millionaire - $6.8 M (Total: $125.3 M)
•  5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $4.1 M (Total: $133.6 M)
•  6. He's Just Not That Into You - $4.0 M (Total: $84.6 M)
•  7. Coraline - $3.3 M (Total: $65.6 M)
•  8. Confessions of a Shopaholic - $3.1 M (Total: $38.3 M)
•  9. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience - $2.8 M (Total: $16.8 M)
•  10. Fired Up - $2.5 M (Total: $13.2 M)

So Watchmen debuted at the top of the box office. Like no one saw that coming. But what wasn't as expected, though rumblings emerged as critics trashed the film and fans weren't that impressed, was that the opening was going to be much lower than estimated. While $55 M is nothing to shake a stick at, the free publicity, the legendary source material, the director of the unnecessarily popular 300 and the effects-laden preview should have earned a bigger take, but it didn't.

-Wesley Lovell (March 10, 2009)

February 27-March 1, 2009

•  1. Madea Goes to Jail - $16.2 M (Total: $64.5 M)
•  2. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience - $12.5 M (Total: $12.5 M)
•  3. Slumdog Millionaire - $12.0 M (Total: $115.0 M)
•  4. Taken - $9.9 M (Total: $107.8 M)
•  5. He's Just Not That Into You - $6.0 M (Total: $78.7 M)
•  6. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $5.6 M (Total: $128.1 M)
•  7. Coraline - $5.3 M (Total: $61.1 M)
•  8. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li - $4.7 M (Total: $4.7 M)
•  9. Confessions of a Shopaholic - $4.6 M (Total: $33.8 M)
•  10. Fired Up - $3.7 M (Total: $10.0 M)

The shocker this week is that the Jonas Brothers weren't able to replicate the success of Hannah Montana whose 3D concert sold like gangbusters. However, these are different times. The economy may have played an effect or it could just be that we're seeing confirmation that there is a reason why the were "fade" contains the word "fad". Chun-Li also opened with poor showings, but advertising wasn't as strong as one would expect for a video game-adapted movie. These types of films have performed consistently poorly, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise, though perhaps this will signal to studios to stop.

-Wesley Lovell (March 3, 2009)

New Reviews, March 1, 2009

Now that the Oscars are done and I've had some spare time, I'm updating my reviews for 2008, including the below 11 films and my full 2008 Year in Review article

• Reviews: Reviews by Year
• Reviews: 2008 Year in Review
• Reviews: Changeling
• Reviews: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Reviews: The Day the Earth Stood Still
• Reviews: Doubt
• Reviews: Happy-Go-Lucky
• Reviews: Let the Right One In
• Reviews: Milk
• Reviews: Revolutionary Road
• Reviews: Valkyrie
• Reviews: The Visitor
• Reviews: Wendy and Lucy

-Wesley Lovell (March 1, 2009)

February 20-22, 2009

•  1. Madea Goes to Jail - $41.0 M (Total: $41.0 M)
•  2. Coraline - $11.4 M (Total: $53.8 M)
•  3. Taken - $11.3 M (Total: $95.0 M)
•  4. He's Just Not That Into You - $8.6 M (Total: $70.1 M)
•  5. Slumdog Millionaire - $8.4 M (Total: $98.4 M)
•  6. Friday the 13th - $7.9 M (Total: $55.1 M)
•  7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $6.8 M (Total: $121.2 M)
•  8. Confessions of a Shopaholic - $6.7 M (Total: $27.4 M)
•  9. Fired Up - $5.5 M (Total: $5.5 M)
•  10. The International - $4.5 M (Total: $17.0 M)

Well, I was partially right. Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail did top the box office a second weekend, but Friday the 13th wasn't anywhere close. Matter of fact, it fell so dramatically (more than 80% off last week's opening numbers), that it now has one of the highest second-week drops in history. Meanwhile, Madea ended up with the year's biggest opening so far.

-Wesley Lovell (February 24, 2009)

February 13-15, 2009

•  1. Friday the 13th - $40.6 M (Total: $40.6 M)
•  2. He's Just Not That Into You - $19.5 M (Total: $54.9 M)
•  3. Taken - $18.9 M (Total: $77.7 M)
•  4. Confessions of a Shopaholic - $15.1 M (Total: $15.1 M)
•  5. Coraline - $14.8 M (Total: $35.0 M)
•  6. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $10.9 M (Total: $109.8 M)
•  7. The International - $9.3 M (Total: $9.3 M)
•  8. Pink Panther 2 - $8.5 M (Total: $21.8 M)
•  9. Slumdog Millionaire - $7.3 M (Total: $86.7 M)
•  10. Push - $6.9 M (Total: $19.3 M)

Not only did horror roar on the big scren once again, it did so with such force that it may have taken the industry by surprise. The Franchise is nearly three decades old, yet the reboot managed one of the big Valentine's Day/President's Day openings in history. Unfortunately, it's success also signals to production companies that they can further destroy the great iconic films of horror history over and over with box office success.

-Wesley Lovell (February 17, 2009)

February 6-8, 2009

•  1. He's Just Not That Into You - $27.8 M (Total: $27.8 M)
•  2. Taken - $20.5 M (Total: $53.6 M)
•  3. Coraline - $16.8 M (Total: $16.8 M)
•  4. Pink Panther 2 - $11.6 M (Total: $11.6 M)
•  5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $10.9 M (Total: $96.9 M)
•  6. Push - $10.1 M (Total: $10.1 M)
•  7. Slumdog Millionaire - $7.2 M (Total: $77.2 M)
•  8. Gran Torino - $7.2 M (Total: $120.2 M)
•  9. The Uninvited - $6.3 M (Total: $18.2 M)
•  10. Hotel for Dogs - $5.7 M (Total: $55.1 M)

Great rewards come in small packages. Pink Panther 2's opening is bomb-worthy. Expecting that the success of the original would carry over into the sequel, audiences showed great restraint in avoiding the film, obviously not enthused about the prospects of a sequel. Teen boys were not ready to head to the cineplex this week as Push also opened poorly. Even the kiddies weren't out in force as Coraline came in an unsatsifying third, leaving the romantic comedy that seemed most likely to bomb the weekend's big success. He's Just Not That Into You took in a staggering $27.8 M to top this week's box office.

-Wesley Lovell (February 10, 2009)

January 30, 2008-February 1, 2009

•  1. Taken - $24.7 M (Total: $24.7 M)
•  2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $13.9 M (Total: $83.2 M)
•  3. The Uninvited - $10.3 M (Total: $10.3 M)
•  4. Hotel for Dogs - $8.6 M (Total: $48.2 M)
•  5. Gran Torino - $8.2 M (Total: $110.2 M)
•  6. Slumdog Millionaire - $7.6 M (Total: $67.2 M)
•  7. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - $7.6 M (Total: $33.2 M)
•  8. New in Town - $6.7 M (Total: $6.7 M)
•  9. My Bloody Valentine 3-D - $4.5 M (Total: $44.8 M)
•  10. Inkheart - $3.7 M (Total: $12.8 M)

The most unexpected occurrence this weekend is that a film like Taken, poorly advertised and on a subject that might not seem that appealing to most audiences, could take the top of the box office with a rather hefty $24.7 M. The Uninvited performed as most critic-supported horror films and failed to open spectacularly. Apparently, audiences perfer their horror to be generic, insipid and reviled. Also surprising is that New In Town was such a bomb despite frequent advertising and an interesting, if relocated, topic.

-Wesley Lovell (February 3, 2009)