'Princess and the Frog' reigns over the box office

By Sarah Sluis

Opening precisely in line with expectations, The Princess and the Frog earned $25 million in its first week in wide release. The movie skewed towards females and those under 25. Although this is Disney's first movie with a black princess, the studio said they didn't track ethnicity in its polls, perhaps because they didn't want this film's performance to be gauged according to its appeal among black audiences.

The Blind Side had another stellar weekend, dropping a slim 22% to earn another $15.4 million. The modestly budgeted movie has brought in over $150 million, making it an end-of-year success story.

The other movie trying to marry sports to a more weighty subject, Invictus, opened to just $9 million. Two of Clint Eastwood's recent directorial projects, Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby, used long platform releases, making comparison difficult. Changeling, however, opened in a small number of theatres before expanding to a $9 million weekend. Its cumulative gross? $35 million. A similar fate may be in store for Invictus, but its superior reviews to Changeling (77% on Rotten Tomatoes to Changeling's 61%) could push it above the 2008 film's total.

Weinstein Co.'s A Single Man debuted in 9 theatres to a per-screen average of $24,000. The Lovely Bones, on four screens, had a per-screen average of $38,600, but its cumulative gross was $116,000 to A Single Man's $216,000. Each came from a different corner of the film marketplace. A Single Man is a recent festival acquisition that went straight from its September premiere in Toronto to theatres this December. It's a quiet film that has generated substantial praise from critics. The Lovely Bones was a big-budget adaptation, but the movie's most expensive parts--the CGI sequences--have been greeted with noses wrinkled in disgust. Rolling Stone compared Jackson's heaven to a Claritin commercial. This movie ranks among my biggest disappointments this year, but its solid opening bodes well for its box office.

Up in the Air nudged closer to the top ten this weekend, adding 57 theatres for a 72-theatre run. It earned $2.4 million and an impressive $34,000 per screen. The layoff-centered comedy has been accruing a sizable amount of nominations and awards. From my perspective, it's a shoo-in for one of the ten Best Picture nods.

This Friday, all eyes will be on Avatar's premiere, with romantic comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? providing some counter-programming. Nine and Crazy Heart will also make their debut on select screens.

'The Princess and the Frog' to charm its way to box-office crown

By Sarah Sluis

South Africa and the Bayou will take center stage this weekend, as Invictus and The Princess and the Frog roll out in wide release.

The Princess and the Frog (3,434 theatres) is the Disney machine at its nostalgic finest--which includes incredible attention to detail, especially when it comes to possible revenue streams. For the past two and a half weeks, the movie has racked up $2.7 million by creating a full-fledged event involving character meet-and-greets, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and the opportunity to stock up on Princess-related merchandising--all for $50 per head. Only Disney could pull together its filmmaking, theme park, and merchandising experience so well. The movie itself should make a killing, especially since many of those who grew up on Beauty and the Beast are now parents themselves. It's expected to open around $25 million, but the strength of its reviews, including an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, could give families that extra push to see it in theatres.

Invictus (2,125 theatres) is expected to open modestly but keep up its pace for many weeks ahead. Positive reviews, along with a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, should reward the historical drama at the box office as well as the Oscars, though the first category, in this case, is a little more tricky. Our critic Daniel Eagan praised the film as "one of the most mature and satisfying releases of the year," but cautioned that its "challenging subject matter and a crowded holiday marketplace" could see it end up more like Million Dollar Baby than Gran Torino.

The Lovely Bones will roll out in three theatres before expanding over Christmas and then again in mid-January. I posted my scathing assessment of the film yesterday, joining the critical chorus of dissent. According to executive editor Kevin Lally, director Peter Jackson's "expensive production and dazzling visual effects aren't the ideal fit for [author Alice] Sebold's delicate, poignant tale," and the "admittedly impressive but overdone fantasy panoramas" take away the "heart and soul" of the novel. While many of those who read the book will turn out for the movie, they will rank among the most disappointed. By delaying a wide open until early January, however, the movie may be able to take advantage of being a film of its relative quality amidst the January slush.

Fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford makes his debut with A Single Man, a quiet, expressive film about mourning. Colin Firth plays a closeted gay professor left alone when his partner dies in a car accident. With no one to mourn with, and few understanding the depth of his despair, he goes through a defining day of odd encounters and personal evaluation. Ford's presence is seen in the attentive costuming, changing color palette, and set design, which manages to add something new to the way most movies portray the 1960s (a glimpse of some black-wearing 60s college-age Goths, for example). The movie opens in nine theatres and should set audiences abuzz.

On Monday, The Princess and the Frog will know the expanse of her reign, Invictus will battle for opening weekend dollars, and holdovers The Blind Side and New Moon will prepare for a dip after three weeks at the top.