Week in review: 3/31 - 4/4

The power of the princess movie has asserted itself in Disney's Frozen, which officially became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time earlier this week, displacing previous record-holder Toy Story 3.

Incidentally, if you take the number three and double it, you will find you have just calculated the number of years director Kenneth Lonergan's "masterpiece" (in the view of some critics) Margaret remained mired in legal woes. On Monday, film financier Gary Gilbert moved to dismiss the lawsuits that have accrued against the fraught production.

Lonergan and company must be feeling very happy at the prospect of a future free of litigation, but it's unlikely their optimism -- or anyone's, for that matter -- can match that of Marvel Studio, which has reportedly mapped out a plan for its Marvel cinematic universe through 2028. Apparently, no one is a sidekick in the world of the modern superhero: Spinoffs for all and sundry.

And a writing platform, too! Entertainment Weekly set off a media firestorm on Wednesday when A). it laid off renowned film critic Owen Gleiberman, and then B). announced it was effectively replacing Gleiberman with its new vertical of film bloggers culled from social media and journalism schools. Right now, the publication has about 40 aspiring critics raring to go, though EW hopes to expand its corp of film scribes to roughly 1,000. If you think this sounds like an expensive venture, you would be right only if EW intended to pay for the labor of all of its writers. But it doesn't, at least not in dollars, cents, bitcoins, or anything a landlord would accept as payment, a pretty good gauge of value. Instead, most bloggers will be paid in prestige.

As The Week's Scott Meslow points out, "How much is all that 'prestige' going to be worth when there are 999 other writers vying for space on the landing page?"

There seem to be just as many opinions on Lars von Trier -- below, we've included two.

What do you think of this week's stories, viewpoints and developments?

 'Frozen' is Officially the Highest-Grossing Animated Film Ever, The Huffington Post

Six-Year Legal Battle Over Kenneth Lonergan's 'Margaret' Finally Ends, The Hollywood Reporter

Kevin Feige: Marvel has Plotted Films Through 2028, The Hollywood Reporter

Entertainment Weekly Lays Off Movie Critic Owen Gleiberman After 24 Years, Indiewire

Entertainment Weekly wants you to write for free. Don't do it., The Week

Music Ruined by Movies, The New Yorker

Working with the enigmatic Lars von Trier, LA Times

Viewers inundate theatres for ‘Noah’

Darren Aronofosky’s Noah has proven itself an unqualified success. Having bowed to $44 million domestically, Noah has already grossed more than Aronofsky’s first four films combined. It marks the most successful debut ever for a film in which Russell Crowe plays the lead role.

Noah’s audience was evenly split along gender lines, and skewed older: About 74 percent was over the age of 25. Though they showed up in droves, viewers did not leave feeling overly impressed with what they saw, awarding the film a fairly weak C CinemaScore grade. However, recent success The Wolf of Wall Street also earned the middling C and yet managed to hold well. Noah, of course, doesn’t have the advantage of that movie’s Oscar buzz, but it still has a good chance of reaping $110 million in total.

Last weekend’s champ Divergent clocked in at No. 2. The YA actioner dipped 52 percent, which is an impressive hold, considering The Hunger Games suffered a downturn of 62 percent its second weekend in theatres. Divergent added another $26.5 million to its cume that now stands at over $95 million.

Third and fourth place went to current family offerings Muppets Most Wanted and Mr. Peabody & Sherman, respectively. The former may have failed to match the debut of its predecessor when it opened last weekend, but it made up for that disappointment (somewhat) by out-earning The Muppets its second weekend out of the gate. Most Wanted grossed $11.4 million, while The Muppets earned a weaker $11.1 million over its sophomore outing in 2011. For its part, Mr. Peabody & Sherman wasn’t too far behind Kermit and company with a $9.4 million haul. The animated flick now stands at $94.9 million and is on track to cross $100 million within the next several days.

Surprise hit God’s Not Dead continued to chart a successful box-office course. The faith-based film earned $9.1 million to land the weekend’s No. 5 slot. The movie can now boast $22 million after 10 days in theatres.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is officially the highest-grossing movie ever for director Wes Anderson.  The film finally expanded wide this past weekend and earned $8.8 million. Hotel’s cume stands at an impressive $24.4 million, with more on the way following this weekend’s continued expansion.

In dismal seventh place, Sabotage bombed with just $5.3 million. That is the worst haul for a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in almost 30 years and is the actor’s third disappointment in a row. In other words, it might be time for Arnold to holster that gun.

Cesar Chavez raked in $3 million, which, although solid, yet fell short of expectation. The film will likely perform well on Monday, however, which is Cesar Chavez Day.

Finally, the weekend concluded on a considerable high note when Disney’s Frozen became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The princess movie wrested the title from former record-holder Toy Story 3 when it opened strong in its final market, Japan. Where Toy Story 3 grossed $1.063 billion worldwide, Frozen has now earned $1.072 billion. Can it go on to beat The Dark Knight Rises ($1.084 billion)?

‘The Lego Movie’ enjoys awesome debut

The Lego Movie successfully built upon the popularity of the Lego toy brand to earn $69 million over the weekend, a stellar debut, and notable for this time of year. The film’s haul is the second highest for the month of February, just behind The Passion of the Christ, which raked in $83.8 million in 2004. The comedy from the team behind the acclaimed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs stacks up favorably against other animated original movies – those that are neither prequels nor sequels – as well. Fellow fiscal over-achievers include Up ($68.1 million), The Incredibles ($70.5 million) and reigning champion The Simpsons Movie ($74 million). In terms of a demographic breakdown, the kids flick found broad appeal among older viewers: 59% of attendees were over the age of 18 and were, unsurprisingly, majority male (55%). With strong reviews fueling positive word-of-mouth, The Lego Movie will likely enjoy a healthy theatrical life, one which may boast a cume of around $200 million by the time it has run its course.

As expected, The Monuments Men clocked in at No. 2 this weekend, with returns that were a little higher than predicted. George Clooney in fact enjoyed his most successful opening yet as a director: The Monuments Men earned $22.7 million. That’s even better than Oscar-winner Argo’s debut ($19.5 million) and places the film in good company alongside contemporary Captain Phillips ($25.7 million). However, the movie’s viewers – most of who were over the age of 35 (75%) – only gave Men a B+ Cinemascore grade, and reviews continue to be unfavorable, with the movie tracking 33% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. Both these factors portend a steep dropoff this coming weekend, though it’s just as likely the movie’s megawatt cast will continue to draw a steady stream of curious viewers for a little while longer.

Ride Along’s comedic chops have and continue to lure audiences week after week. The film dropped just 22 percent to land the No. 3 spot at the box office, grossing $9.4 million. This weekend’s earnings have bumped Ride Along’s cume to $105.2 million, making it the first 2014 release to pass the $100 million mark.

Experiencing a similar slight downturn of only 23%, Frozen added another $6.9 million to its ridiculous total that now stands at $368.7 million. There’s really not much else to say about the animated hit, other than to reiterate widespread delight that the power of the Disney princess has been reinvigorated.

Female audiences were less enthused by the latest vampire offering, Vampire Academy, a disappointing showing from the once dependable director Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday). As predicted, amid poor reviews, a weak marketing campaign and general blood-sucker fatigue, Academy bombed with $4.1 million. Although a new release, the film did not manage to crack the weekend’s top 5. Instead, the No. 5 slot went to That Awkward Moment, which surprised some pundits with its steady hold. The Zac Efron vehicle eased 37% to gross $5.5 million. Both films target young women, though only one, it seems, is appealing enough for the demographic to really sink its teeth into.

‘The Lego Movie’ to tower over ‘Monuments Men’

Remember when people thought The Lego Movie was a bad idea? All the sniping and Internet eye-rolling that accompanied Warner Bros.’ decision to release a film based on the popular kids toy brand has been all but forgotten today, as positive reviews for the animated flick continue to pour in. Opening wide in 3,775 locations, The Lego Movie is poised to enjoy a boffo opening.  According to Fandango, Lego is on track to rake in the highest pre-sales figures since Toy Story 3, a feat that would place it ahead of blockbusters Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, and box-office darling Frozen.  Each of the aforementioned films debuted to $67 million or more, which certainly bodes well for Emmet, Wyldstyle, and the rest of Lego’s funny, earnest and “special” cast.

The Monuments Men’s box-office performance, on the other hand, is more uncertain. Writer-director-producer George Clooney’s WWII dramedy could also be called funny and earnest, but critics are seeing something much less special in the combination. An old-fashioned war movie, which our critic Kevin Lally called “A film set in the 1940s that feels like it was made in the 1960s,” and to which NY Mag critic David Edelstein suggested the alternate title The Tasteful Dozen, The Monuments Men has received underwhelming reviews.  The draw of such a stellar, A-list cast (Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman) will still likely help Men land at No. 2 this weekend, but expectations are tempered. Some pundits predict returns around $25 million. Others, like Sony, have less faith in the pedigreed caper: The film’s distributor believes receipts will tally out in the high teens.

The third and final new film opening today, Vampire Academy, is expected to fall behind Ride Along and possibly even Frozen to clock in at No. 4 or 5.  There hasn’t been much of a marketing push behind this new(ish) spin on the tired blood-sucker trope, although it does have Mean Girls and Freaky Friday director Mark Waters to recommend it. The teen romp will probably be funny enough – which, in all likelihood, will still not be enough to make an impact at the box office. Expect Academy to earn $6 or $7 million.

‘Ride Along’ eases ahead of ‘Awkward’

As expected, the domestic box office turned in a series of soft numbers over this past, Super Bowl weekend. The top 12 films earned a combined $72.4 million – which, however, is still a small improvement over this same weekend last year. Clocking in at No. 1 yet again, Ride Along experienced a slight downturn of 42% to earn $12.3 million. The cop comedy has now raked in a little under $93 million in total, and has officially pulled up ahead of Kevin Hart’s last hit film, Think Like a Man, which grossed $91.5 million in 2012. This is the third weekend in a row Ride Along finished the weekend ahead of its competitors. Such a distinction has earned it a place among lucrative company: Gravity and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug also reigned as kings of the box office for three or more consecutive weekends.

Speaking of royalty, the princess protagonists of Disney’s Frozen have yet to lose their appeal. The Mouse House released a sing-along version of its tenacious hit film, and the gambit paid off. Frozen climbed right back up the box-office charts to land at No. 2 this weekend, adding another $9.3 million to its staggering cume of $360+ million. It’s on track to out-gross Despicable Me 2 ($368.1 million) by mid-month.

That Awkward Moment will likely be on its way out by the time Frozen reaches the aforementioned benchmark. Moment marks the worst opening yet for a Zac Efron vehicle: The film debuted to $9 million. With an underwhelming Cinemascore rating of a “B” and less than laudatory reviews from the critics, That Awkward Moment will probably flame out to $20 million or so by the time it finishes up its theatrical run.

At No. 4, The Nut Job earned $7.6 million and crossed the $50 million mark on Sunday (we should have opted for a lively kids’ film over yesterday’s ho-hum football game, too). Lone Survivor just missed besting the animated caper, grossing $7.2 million and enjoying a box-office milestone of its own: The film has now earned $100 million. In fact, Survivor is the last 2013 release to do so, making it the 35^th movie in the past year to earn $100 million or more – a new box-office record.  The last year to have seen so many $100 million successes was 2009, when 32 movies earned the distinction.

Unfortunately, Labor Day’s distinction is not nearly so positive. The Jason Reitman romance had the worst opening of the weekend. Day bombed with $5.4 million. Technically speaking, the film’s debut is better than previous Reitman efforts Young Adult ($3.4 million) and Thank You for Smoking ($4.5 million), however, those films both had much smaller releases, opening in roughly half the number of theaters than Labor Day. Reitman’s contemporary David O. Russell, on the other hand, is in the midst of a career upswing. American Hustle is now the director’s most successful movie, beating Silver Linings Playbook with its current standing of $133.6 million.

Finally, Gravity added $2 million to its domestic cume of $264 million. Over half its earnings stemmed from IMAX screenings.

New buddy comedy could make things ‘Awkward’ for ‘Ride Along’

Super Bowl weekend is a notoriously slow period at the box office, and expectations for each of the two films opening wide today – That Awkward Moment and Labor Day – are muted.  Both movies target a female audience, with the one following a trio of Manhattan pals as they individually succumb to the women they had sworn off, and the other being an unapologetic and seemingly old-fashioned weepie romance. Distributors are surely figuring women are more likely than their male counterparts to go to the movies this weekend, though it remains to be seen whether either of the aforementioned conceits will prove appealing enough to lure even the most disinterested of female sports fans away from her TV and, really, Sunday’s main attraction: the commercials.

That Awkward Moment, opening in 2,809 theatres, is poised to do the better business of the two. As of this morning the comedy was tracking around $10-$15 million, which means it could finally displace Ride Along as king of the box office – or, just as plausibly, fall in line behind Ice Cube and Kevin Hart’s likable flick. It’ll be a tight race between the two bro-centric offerings.

With a slightly smaller release platform of 2,584 locations, Labor Day will likely land at the lower end of the fiscal spectrum. The film has failed to impress critics, whose accumulated pans have earned Jason Reitman’s latest offering a poor 32% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Pundits foresee a total weekend haul of around $6 million.

That leaves The Nut Job, Frozen and Lone Survivor to fall somewhere in between That Awkward Moment and Ride Along at the top, and Labor Day at the bottom of the list of the weekend’s highest-grossing films. The Nut Job managed to beat out b.o. darling Frozen last weekend, but Disney is going all-out diva – or rather, encouraging that mindset in its fan base – as of today: The studio is releasing a sing-along version of their animated hit. Considering Frozen’s soundtrack is the first since High School Musical 2 to spend at least three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, we’d call that a pretty savvy move. In which case, look for Lone Survivor to comfortably occupy the weekend box office’s No. 5 spot.

‘I, Frankenstein,’ takes up the rear far behind ‘Ride Along’

Fantasy/action retread I, Frankenstein suffered through its own version of a horror story this past weekend. The movie failed to crack the weekend’s Top 5, let alone claim the No. 2 or 3 slot as befits a big-budget wide release. Instead, I, Frankenstein bombed with $8.3 million. Even worse than The Legend of Hercules’ opening figure ($8.9 million), and roughly half of last year’s comparable title Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters’ debut, Frankenstein’s haul landed the film at No. 6. Expect the DOA would-be franchise to flame out very soon, most likely to less than $20 million.

On the other hand, expect Ride Along to cruise past an overall gross of $100 million by the end of its theatrical run – and potentially towards a sequel. For the second weekend in a row the cop comedy earned the No. 1 spot at the box office. Along raked in $21.2 million, bumping its 10-day cume to $75.4 million.

Another Universal film, Lone Survivor, took second place with $12.6 million. This is the second consecutive weekend the top two spots have been occupied by movies distributed by Universal  – the last time a distributor achieved this feat was back in 1994, when Warner Bros. titles On Deadly Ground and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective both ruled the box office. Having earned $93.6 million so far, Lone Survivor will likely out-gross Zero Dark Thirty, which earned $95.7 million, by the end of the week.

The Nut Job continues to hold well, having accumulated $12.3 million and thus securing the weekend’s No. 3 position.  That figure marks a drop of 37% from last week, and has boosted the film’s domestic earnings to $40.3 million in total.

Continuing to afford pundits and journalists ample opportunity to play off the title of its hit song, “Let It Go,” Frozen refuses to do just that when it comes to its hold on the box office. The animated success moved up a bit this weekend to the No. 4 position, enjoying $9.04 million in sales. It is now officially the highest-grossing original animated movie of all time. Yet another boost may be imminent, as Disney plans to release a sing-along version nationwide this coming weekend.

This same nation has more or less opted to take a pass on the new Jack Ryan reboot. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit rounds out the weekend’s Top 5 with its $8.8 million gross. The movie’s overall cume to date is less than that which the last Jack Ryan attempt, The Sum of All Fears, managed to earn at this same point in its theatrical run a decade ago. Shadow Recruit now stands at $30.2 million.

When it comes to specialty features and, as is the case with the following films, awards contenders, Dallas Buyers Club enjoyed the benefits of a wider release (earning $2.05 million from $1,110 locations) while Nebraska took in $1.44 million from 968 theatres. Right now Nebraska has earned the least of amount of money of the nine Best Picture Academy Awards nominees, while as of this morning Club's  total domestic gross clocked in at $20.4 million.

‘Ride Along’ finishes first

Exceeding what were already high expectations, Ride Along not only earned the No. 1 spot at the box office this past weekend, but managed to set a new January record. The comedy grossed $41.6 million over the three-day holiday, or $48.1 million for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in total. The film’s weekend opening bests that of previous January record-holder Cloverfield, which bowed to $40.1 million in 2008. With a strong “A” CinemaScore rating, Ride Along will likely hold well over the coming weeks. An ultimate return of over $100 million isn’t out of the question.

Well-regarded Lone Survivor was the weekend’s No. 2 earner, easing just 42% to rake in $22.1 million. As of this morning, the war drama’s domestic cume stands at a great $77.2 million.

“Great” could also describe The Nut Job’s opening weekend performance. The animated comedy feature grossed a stronger-than-expected $19.4 million for the three days. While that figure is roughly on track with those predictions made on Friday (pundits did say the film would open to less than $20 million) the real surprise lay in The Nut Job’s ability to beat its direct family-friendly competition. Frozen is still doing banner business – especially when you consider the film has been screening for eight weeks now – but the musical failed to out-earn upstart Job. Still, with its $11.9 million haul, a drop-off of only 20% from the previous week, Frozen yet enjoyed a fiscally friendly weekend.

Frozen’s take places it at No. 5, with the weekend’s No. 4 slot going to the rather disappointing Jack Ryan reboot, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. The fourth attempt at adapting the Tom Clancy-penned series, Recruit earned $15.4 million. Along with its soft opening, the film’s troubles were compounded by its older-skewing audience. Eighty-five percent of Jack Ryan viewers were over the age of 25, meaning the filmmakers’ decision to cast young, 33-year-old Chris Pine in the lead role, an attempt to lure a young fan base – one that would hopefully grow with the series – failed to pay off. The franchise’s future remains murky, though one can assume executives aren’t chomping at the bit to finance a sequel.

However, those behind the Jack Ryan production can rest easy knowing they were not involved in Devil’s Due, the weekend’s bomb. The horror flick earned $8.4 million, making it the seventh film from distributor 20^th Century Fox to open below $15 million, an unenviable streak that extends back to Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

American Hustle, on the other hand, continues its hot streak. The film saw an uptick of 19% from last weekend with its $9.9. million gross, which places it at the top of the pack, at least in terms of earning potential, of this year’s Oscar nominees. Other awards contenders August: Osage County and The Wolf of Wall Street earned $7.4 and $7.1 million, respectively, with the latter crossing the $90 million mark on Monday.

Gravity earned $1.87 from its first weekend in re-release. 12 Years a Slave benefitted as well from a second run: The harrowing Steve McQueen drama has now grossed over $40 million.

‘Lone Survivor’ stands tall at no. 1

Looks like audiences agree with Lone Survivor’s marketing team, which has been heralding the Afghanistan combat drama as the best war film since Saving Private Ryan.  It certainly made one of the strongest debuts among its genre cohorts, pulling in higher opening-weekend numbers than both Zero Dark Thirty ($24.4 million) and Black Hawk Down ($28.6 million). Survivor’s weekend haul of $38.5 million also far exceeded Universal’s conservative estimates – the studio had the movie tracking somewhere in the high teens – and, most impressively, has earned the film the title of second-most impressive January bow. The only other movie to have had a stronger January opening was Cloverfield, which grossed $40.1 million in 2008.

Many pundits are attributing the film’s success to a savvy promotional campaign that highlights the real-life heroism of its protagonist SEALs, while downplaying the fraught political implications that still surround the American invasion abroad. Whatever the initial appeal, critics and audiences alike are standing firm behind the movie, which has earned a rare A+ CinemaScore rating. The Mark Wahlberg-starrer should continue to hold strong in the weeks ahead.

It was an older crowd that helped lead Lone Survivor to victory over the weekend (the film’s demographic breakdown was 57% over the age of 30, as well as 57% male), while younger, and one would assume many repeat, viewers were (still) lining up for Frozen. The animated box-office behemoth has earned $317.7 million to date, and can now boast a Golden Globe win for the year’s Best Animated Feature to boot.

It’s unlikely the aforementioned honor will surprise anyone who’s leant an attentive ear to industry buzz of late, but the continued ascent of Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street might. After getting off to an OK start at the box office, the comedy/drama has steadily risen among the weekend’s rankings. Likely benefitting from continued controversy surrounding its debauched subjects, Wolf earned $9 this weekend to bump its overall gross to $78.6 million. Star Leonardo DiCaprio’s Golden Globe win last night may give the movie an additional boost this coming weekend. Estimates surrounding the film’s eventual total cume continue to expand: As of this morning, general consensus has Wolf topping out at well over $100 million by the time it leaves theatres.

David O. Russell’s crowd-pleaser American Hustle has already reached that milestone, officially crossing the $100-million mark as of yesterday. Another big Golden Globe winner (stars Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence both took home statuettes last night, and the film as a whole won for Best Musical or Comedy), Hustle grossed $8.6 million this weekend. The film tied with The Legend of Hercules for fourth place. That amounts to another strong showing for Hustle, but an underwhelming debut for the latest sword-and-sandal epic. Hopefully, The Rock’s take on the oft-adapted Greek legend will fare better this summer.

In fifth place, August: Osage County reaped $7.3 million from 905 locations. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones performed as expected, slipping roughly 66% to earn $6.3 million. It remains on track to become the franchise’s least successful offering yet.

Unfortunately for specialty enthusiasts, two critically favored films also underperformed. Her earned $5.4 million, which, while in itself not a terrible figure, is nonetheless fairly weak considering the number of theatres in which the film screened (1,729). And although Inside Llewyn Davis seemed to connect with coastal audiences, averaging about $100,000 per theatre when it opened in NY and LA, it struggled to find a wider viewership. From 729 locations, Davis grossed just over $1 million. Let’s see if the continued onward march of awards season can do anything for these two struggling originals.

‘Frozen’ fells latest from ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise

It might be time for the guys behind Paranormal Activity to switch off the camera and call it a day. The Marked Ones, the fifth installment in the found-footage horror series, had the franchise’s softest opening this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The weekend’s only new release grossed $18.2 million, which is over $10 million less than its predecessor, Paranormal Activity 4 (itself a disappointment when compared with its predecessor, Paranormal Activity 3, and that film’s $52.7 million opening). With a low Cinemascore rating of a “C-,” The Marked Ones isn’t expected to remain in theatres for long and will most likely top out at around $35 million. Luckily for Paramount, however, the film cost just $5 million to make.  Even with a weak box-office performance, the movie should still turn a small profit.

There’s nothing small about the kind of numbers Disney’s Frozen continues to pull in. Once again, the princess musical earned the weekend’s highest gross. Frozen is the first movie since Avatar to take the No. 1 slot its sixth weekend in theatres. It raked in $20.7 million domestically and officially crossed the $600 million mark internationally. But how does the movie’s theatrical endurance compare with other, past offerings from The Mouse House? It is now Disney Animation Studio’s second most successful film of all time, just behind The Lion King, and the fourth most successful original animated film. In other words, like its two female leads, Frozen holds its own.

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug failed to hold onto its standing as one of the weekend’s top two earners. The second Lord of the Rings prequel grossed $16.3 million to clock in at No. 3, just behind Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. So far, Smaug has taken in almost $229.6 million domestically and over $500 million internationally, boasting a total worldwide cume of $756.6 million.

Surprising several pundits, and to the great dismay of those who believe the film glorifies the excesses of its frat-boy financiers, The Wolf of Wall Street took the No. 4 spot, earning $13.4 million. Wolf’s domestic finances now stand at $63.3 million. If the 3-hour movie continues to reap the benefits of the press attention lavished on its detractors, and if it does manage to pull in a few Oscar nominations, the film is looking at a total gross of $100 million by the time it leaves theatres.

 

One ‘70's-themed ensemble edged out another for the weekend’s No. 5 spot, with American Hustle taking the prize. The David O. Russell dramedy out-grossed Anchorman 2 to earn $13.2 million, bumping its domestic total to a figure just shy of $90 million. Ron Burgundy and his comedic cohorts drew enough viewers to earn $11.1 million. The successful sequel has now earned a (would you expect anything less?) classy $109.2 million.

‘Paranormal Activity’ to scare up weekend business

Though 2013 ended on a high note earlier this week – domestic sales tallied out at almost $11 billion for the year – the first weekend of 2014 will likely be a quiet one.  The Marked Ones, the fifth installment in the popular Paranormal Activity horror franchise, is the only new release opening today. The first PA film was a surprise hit and a testament to the power of word-of-mouth buzz. The micro-budgeted flick, released in 2007, earned $107.9 million and is still the series’ most successful movie. Paranormal Activity 2 grossed $84.8 million in 2010, while Paranormal 3 has come the closest yet to matching the first film’s haul, raking in $104 million in 2011. Paranormal Activity 4, however, which opened in 2012, took in roughly half its predecessor’s total, earning just $53.9 million.

This time around, the filmmakers are hoping to utilize the power of demographics. The lead actors in The Marked Ones are Latino, perhaps a direct casting nod to the series’ fans: Latinos tend to make up a large percentage of horror-movie audiences. Not to mention, with the success of recent films targeted toward Latino viewers, such as Instructions Not Included, Hollywood in general seems to be wising up to the power (i.e. the willingness to spend) of this previously underserved group. Besides a shift in players, though, it’s supernatural business as usual, with previews emphasizing unsettling video footage, the franchise’s hallmark.

Pundits are predicting a haul of just under $25 million for Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. Expectations have been softened by the weekend’s Northeastern snowstorm, which many believe will keep viewers inside, where their VOD, DVDs and Netflix are more readily accessible.

A good portion of those who are brave enough to weather the elements in search of off-the-couch entertainment, though, will in all likelihood opt for Disney’s grand success story, Frozen. This weekend will mark the animated musical’s sixth in theatres, and it’s still going strong. Strong enough to win the No. 2 slot just beneath The Marked Ones, according to those in the know. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will probably clock in at No. 3, followed by Oscar and fan favorite American Hustle, with Anchorman 2 rounding out the top 5. Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street may be able to leverage recent controversy and prurient interest in its subject matter to sneak its way into the No. 5 slot, just ahead of Burgundy and his much more harmless coterie of buffoons, but given Street’s low Cinemascore rating  of a “C”, that seems unlikely.

 

‘Hobbit’ leads holiday charge, contributes to record b.o.

Five new films may have opened on Christmas day, but it seems audiences preferred to seek out known successes, rather than take a chance on novel fare. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug won the weekend for the third week in a row with its $29.9 million haul, while Disney’s hit Frozen, now in its fifth week, skated past last weekend’s tough competitor American Hustle as well as Anchorman 2 to earn the second highest gross ($28.8 million). Though Smaug continues to track behind last year’s Hobbit prequel, it nonetheless joins Gravity as the only two films this year to have retained their No. 1 standing for three consecutive weekends. As for Frozen, which has surpassed even the most optimistic expectations, it boasted the third highest  fifth-weekend gross ever, just behind the $30 million Titanic earned its fifth weekend in theatres, and Avatar’s $42.8 million.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues chuckled its way to the No. 3 slot with $20.2 million. So far, the comedy has earned $83.7 million domestically. Will Ferrell’s long-gestating sequel should easily surpass the first Anchorman’s $85.7 million cume within the next few days.

In fourth place, David O. Russell’s American Hustle made like stars Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper and danced its way to a cool $19.6 million. The film has so far enjoyed (almost) universal critical acclaim and positive word-of-mouth. More awards nominations seem imminent, which should significantly boost its already impressive $60 million cume. Pundits believe an overall take of $100 million is likely.

The only new release to have landed within the weekend’s Top 5 – and then just barely – was Martin Scorsese’s much hyped The Wolf of Wall Street. The Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer earned $18.5 million, or $34.3 million for the five-day holiday spread. There are those who believe the film’s low Cinemascore rating of a “C” bodes poorly for its continued box office success, predicting a quick flameout within the next week or two. Others, however, think Street’s controversial depiction of stunted adolescence/hubristic debauchery will continue to draw viewers, especially if the rumors prove true and the film earns an Oscar nod or several.

Saving Mr. Banks, which has struggled to find its audience these past few weeks, finally clicked with holiday moviegoers. The true story of how Walt Disney successfully won the film rights to Mary Poppins from persnickety author P.L. Travers earned $14 million, a great uptick of 50%.

Unfortunately, with the exception of The Wolf of Wall Street, the full story of the holiday’s new releases isn’t as uplifting. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty did OK business with its $13 million weekend gross and $25.6 million five-day haul. Those figures are respectable, though they pale in comparison with past Ben Stiller hits Night at the Museum and the Meet the Parents movies. Still, at least Stiller and his collaborators weren’t part of the very, very expensive 47 Ronin, directed by and starring Keanu Reeves, which tanked with $9.9 million ($20.6 million over the five days).  They also had nothing to do with Grudge Match, a flop with $7.3 million ($13.4 million five-day), nor, thankfully, with Justin Bieber’s docu-bomb, Believe ($2 million/$4.3 million). As Mitty himself is well aware, it’s all about perspective.

Even given the aforementioned string of less-than-boffo bows, though, the day’s big news is all about 2013’s box-office success. Final numbers have yet to be tallied, but as of yesterday the domestic box office was just $1.6 million shy of the $10.837 billion record set in 2012. With today and tomorrow still to go, it’s safe to assume 2013 will be another one for the books.

Burgundy falls in the battle of the sequels

In hindsight, all those commercial spots may have been (a tad) overkill. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues earned a solid, though not stellar, $40 million its first five days in theatres, this past Wednesday-Sunday. It grossed $26.8 million from the weekend alone, a figure that falls just shy of the first Anchorman’s $28.4 million bow. These numbers are more or less on par with what Paramount had predicted, though given the trumpeting fanfare building up to the movie’s release, many pundits are still calling it an underwhelming debut.

Their sense of disappointment may have something to do with the fact that Anchorman 2 failed to win the weekend. Instead, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug once again took home the treasure, or title of the weekend’s top earner. Like its predecessor, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Smaug fell 57% its second weekend in theatres. The fantasy flick took in $31.4 million to bump its overall cume to $127.5 million. Look for second-place Anchorman to gain a little more steam this coming weekend, however. As noted on Friday, the weekend before Christmas is a notoriously slow period, while business tends to pick up considerably over the holiday. Anchorman shouldn’t slip too much over its sophomore outing, and could even tally out with as much as $120 million by the time it closes.

Frozen and American Hustle jockeyed neck-and-neck for the third-place slot for much of the weekend. The latest numbers, however, have Frozen barely eking out the lead. Disney’s bid for a return to the glories of its princess-movie heyday earned $19.5 million to Hustle’s $19.1 million. The latter is a great haul for a specialty release, and trumps David O. Russell’s The Fighter, which grossed $12.1 million when it expanded over this same weekend in 2010. If Oscar predictions prove true, Hustle will also likely benefit from an upcoming awards-season boost. The film is on track to earn roughly $100 million in total.

Saving Mr. Banks rounds out the weekend’s top 5 with $9.3 million. While the true story of how beloved children’s story Mary Poppins came to the big screen has been underperforming (Stateside, that is; author P.L. Travers’ fellow Brits have been loving the film), Banks isn’t the domestic bomb that kids’ movie Walking with Dinosaurs proved to be. The CG feature grossed just $7.3 million. As with Anchorman, business will probably pick up over the holiday, though it’s unlikely Dinosaurs will drum up more than $50 million by the end of its run.

Finally, Bollywood offering Dhoom 3 set a new record with its $3.3 million North American debut. That’s the highest opening gross ever for a Bollywood release in the United States.

Happy holidays!

 

‘Smaug’ smolders at weekend b.o.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug performed as expected this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday, even with weather conditions that were once again less than conducive to venturing outside. The Lord of the Rings prequel didn’t match the boffo opening of its predecessor, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and that movie’s $84.6 million haul, though it was still the weekend’s top earner by a Middle-earth mile. Journey raked in $73.7 million domestically, which is more or less on target with last Friday’s predictions.  Although its gross also fell short of previous December blockbusters I Am Legend, which opened to $77.2 million, and Avatar ($77 million), Smaug is tracking very strong overseas. In fact, it’s out-performing the first Hobbit territory by territory, having reaped $131.2 from 49 markets.

In second place, Disney’s Frozen continues to skate along as an unqualified success for the Mouse House. The tale of two princesses dipped 32% to earn $22.2 million, upping its domestic gross to $164.4 overall.

Many had expected Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas to earn that No. 2 slot, which Frozen continues to keep warm. Unfortunately, this latest outing for Perry’s wisecracking granny was a disappointment, even more so when held against the director’s other films. Madea bowed to $16 million, Perry’s third-lowest opening yet. It's the lowest opening of any film to feature Madea. Yet even with such a soft bow and those poor reviews, Perry/Madea should still have a fairly merry $50 million Christmas on his hands.

Out of the Furnace will have most likely seen its way out of theatres by then. The weekend’s No. 4 earner took in just $2.3 million after free-falling 56% from last week. So far, the film has earned an anemic $9.5 million.

Luckily, the movie’s star, Christian Bale, has another lauded project to distract him. His other, more high-profile film, American Hustle, is just beginning a successful theatrical run. Having opened in six locations, Hustle scored a great $690,000 for a per-theatre average of $115,000. Fellow awards contender Saving Mr. Banks didn’t fare quite as well, though its $421,000 haul from 15 theatres is nothing to turn up a finicky nose at. It’ll likely play better once it opens wide this Friday.

‘Frozen’ ices weekend competition

Undeterred by the weekend’s frigid temperatures and, in many areas, first major snowstorm of the year, audiences showed they were all about that ice by lining up for Disney’s Frozen. The animated hit grossed $31.6 million, enough to bypass The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (which took in $27 million) for the weekend’s top slot. Frozen dropped just 53% to earn the best post-Thanksgiving haul ever. Previous record-holder, Toy Story 2, took in $27.8 million in 1999, while three years ago, Frozen’s Mouse-House sister Tangled grossed $21.6 million over this same weekend. In total, Disney’s latest success story will likely earn around $250 million domestically.

Frozen’s worthy competitor Catching Fire continues to do spectacular business, on track to leave with upwards of $400 million by the time its theatrical run has come to an end, although many pundits were surprised by the film’s steep downturn this weekend. The Hunger Games sequel dipped 64%, which is worse than both of the last two Twilight movies.  No need to cry for Katniss, though: The action flick has, so far, earned a total of $336.7 million domestically, with another few weeks of solid earning potential ahead of it.

The same can’t be said of the weekend’s No. 3 slot and only new major release. While no one was particularly surprised Out of the Furnace failed to prove itself a hit, the extent of its failure was greater than expected. With a dismal $5.3 million bow, the revenge thriller is an unqualified bomb. Those who had compared it to last year’s Killing Them Softly, which earned $6.8 million and was also a disappointment, were expecting Furnace to fare a little better and gross about $10 million or so. Audiences, however, may have felt there was enough bleakness to be viewed outside their windows, and decided to opt for something lighter.

Something like Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, which inched past the $100 million mark to become the 6th R-rated comedy to reach the milestone this year. The Coen Bros. Inside Llewyn Davis also did banner specialty business, debuting to $401,000 from just four locations, two in New York and two in LA. Its per-theatre average of $100,250 is the 18th best ever, or 8th best for a live-action film. The movie will next expand on the 20th, although its wide release isn't slated until some time in January. 

‘Furnace’ to fall behind ‘Frozen’ & ‘Fire’

The weekend after Thanksgiving is typically a quiet one for the nation’s box office, and this year, only one new release is opening wide. That would be Out of the Furnace, a gritty, bleak revenge drama starring the gritty, bleak Batman, Christian Bale, as well as Casey Affleck, Zoe Saldana, and Woody Harrelson. Expectations aren’t quite as dour as the film’s subject matter, location and production stills, but they’re not overly hopeful. To compare, Killing Them Softly was in the same position this time last year, as a new release bowing after the holiday weekend. It boasted a big movie star, Brad Pitt, but failed to leverage the actor’s perceived wide appeal. Softly opened to $6.8 million. Furnace isn’t tracking great with critics, either, (52% rotten on infallible taste barometer Rotten Tomatoes), though it’ll likely fare better than Brad’s failed bet. Screening in 2,101 theatres, odds are, it’ll earn around $10 million.

That kind of haul would likely place it at No. 3, behind last weekend’s reigning champions Frozen and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. General consensus has Games finally slipping from the top slot, to the gain of family friendly Frozen. This will be the action flick's third weekend in theatres, while Frozen, now in its sophomore outing, has youth and a bit more novelty on its side. Comparable franchise series Twilight and Harry Potter both experienced a significant downturn in sales over this same weekend, on average dropping about 60%. Games, however, has consistently done better business than either of its blockbuster peers, meaning its dip shouldn’t be quite as severe - probably about 50%. Both the princess and the provocateur (there’s a college term paper for you) should earn figures in the mid-to-high $30 million range, with Frozen gaining the edge.

Art-house aficionados have been edge-of-their-seats with anticipation over the new Coen brothers’ film, Inside Llewyn Davis, opening in four locations in LA and New York today.  The film, allegedly inspired by the experiences of folk singer Dave Van Ronk in 1960’s Greenwich Village, has been earning rave reviews (95% fresh on RT). Not to mention, its hooky, ridiculous protest song “Please Mr. Kennedy” has steadily been making its viral way into the hearts, and that part of your brain that’s like fly paper to a catchy tune, for a few days now. It doesn’t have the foot-tapping appeal of a “Man of Constant Sorrow,” from the brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? But it does have “Girls” actor Adam Driver as a real-life space cowboy.  Between the siblings’ cachet, the film’s positive buzz, and the below clip, Davis should significantly out-earn its predecessor, A Serious Man, which opened to $41,890 in 2009.

 

Girl power propels Thanksgiving box office

Thanks to popular heroine Katniss Everdeen and a pair of sparring sisters, this year’s Thanksgiving weekend was the most lucrative on record. Hunger Games: Catching Fire continued to feed viewers’ appetite for action fare, love triangles, and watching Jennifer Lawrence drive both, earning an incredible $110 million over the five-day (Wednesday-Sunday) spread. Flying past Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which took in $82.4 million over the same period in 2001, Catching Fire is now the most successful film to have ever screened over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Frozen, Catching Fire’s worthy challenger, set a record of its own these past several days. The Disney princess movie had the highest Thanksgiving opening of all time. It earned $93 million over Wednesday-Sunday night. Toy Story 2 previously held the record for most successful Thanksgiving debut, having opened to $80.1 million in 1999. Very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale The Snow Queen (they both involve siblings and chilly Nordic weather), Frozen is now the top earner for Disney Animation Studios, way ahead of Tangled and that title’s 2010 Thanksgiving haul of $68.7 million.

It was mostly due to the efforts of the aforementioned, female-driven offerings that the holiday box office tallied out at $294 million, an uptick of 3 percent from last year’s $291 million. No other films came close to the weekend’s top two earners. In third place, Thor: The Dark World continued to do steady, if no longer stellar, business, drumming up $11 million in sales, a drop of 22 percent from last weekend. The Best Man Holiday took in $8.5 million, boosting its overall cume, after two-and-a-half weeks in theatres, to $63.4 million.

And then there are the rest of those films that had hoped to score big with a Turkey Day debut. None of them managed to lure audiences away from their tables and subsequent leftovers – or rather, from Catching Fire and Frozen. Homefront earned $9.8 million over the five-day period; Black Nativity, which was expected to lead the charge of smaller new releases, earned just $5 million; and Oldboy bombed with $1.25 million.

The Book Thief did fine business, clocking in at $4.85 million, though it’s unclear how successful the Nazi-era family film will continue to be in the weeks ahead. Philomena, which opened in 835 theatres, earned $4.6 million, with high expectations for further steady sales.

Can ‘Frozen’ cool ‘Fire’s’ streak?

This year’s Thanksgiving weekend is serving up a battle of the elements, as Frozen goes head-to-head with reigning champion, Catching Fire. (Which reminds us of these classic antagonists.) The Disney animated musical and latest princess movie opens wide in 3,742 theatres today. The film’s tracking strong on Rotten Tomatoes at 88% fresh, and boasts a megawatt cast of Broadway stars, including Wicked’s Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad, as well as Kristen Bell as spunky and motormouthed protagonist Anna. Already, Frozen is out-selling 2010’s Tangled in advance ticket sales. Expectations, as they generally are for Disney family fare, are high, with pundits seeing receipts in the $70 million range.

Odds are, however, Catching Fire will continue to light up the box office. The successful Hunger Games sequel and Lionsgate’s early Christmas present (to themselves) had earned $170 million domestically as of Monday. It’ll likely hold strong through the weekend. Where previous November blockbuster Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II fell 69% over the holiday weekend, Catching Fire’s inevitable sophomore dip shouldn’t be more than 50, 55%.

Also hoping to wrangle a large slice of the holiday b.o. pie – or what’s left of it, anyway – Black Nativity, starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, and Angela Bassett; Homefront, with Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, and Kate Bosworth; and Oldboy, Spike Lee’s Korean cult-movie remake starring Josh Brolin, are all bowing today. Nativity, targeted toward an African American audience and opening just as the Christmas season begins in earnest, should perform the best of the bunch with around $10 million. Neither Homefront nor Oldboy have garnered particularly favorable reviews, but they can both count on built-in audiences (Statham fans, original Oldboy fanboys) to show up, regardless of a grousing peanut gallery. With Homefront opening in 2,572 theatres, it’s expected to gross in the high single digits. At just 583 locations, Oldboy will likely reap around $3 million.

There aren’t any specialty releases opening today, but Philomena and The Book Thief will both expand. Judi Dench and Steve Coogan’s odd-couple drama will broaden its audience base as it goes from screening in four to 835 theatres. Thief will open in 1,234 locations across the country and, most likely, gross between $5 and $9 million.

Happy Thanksgiving!