‘Non-Stop’ tops ‘Son of God’

The question on everyone’s lips, “Who would win in a fight between Liam Neeson and Jesus?” has been settled. The country’s favorite action star KO’ed the iconic religious figure $30 million to $26.5 million at the box office this weekend. Non-Stop’s impressive opening haul exceeded the debuts of Neeson’s last two movies, Unknown (which bowed to $21.9 million in 2011) and 2011’s The Grey ($19.7 million). The airborne thriller is Universal’s third movie to open at No. 1 this year, after Lone Survivor and Ride Along. A few more women than men purchased tickets to the film (the audience breakdown was 51 percent female) and were mostly part of an older crowd (65 percent of attendees were over the age of 25). They generally liked what they saw, awarding Non-Stop an A- CinemaScore rating, which means the movie should hold well over the next few weeks. It will likely top out at around $80 million.

Son of God impressed with its second-place standing. The movie about the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, a repurposing of The History Channel’s “The Bible” mini-series, far out-performed other recent religious films, including The Nativity Story (2006) and Kirk Cameron’s Fireproof (2008), which opened to $7.8 million and $6.8 million, respectively. Of course, it didn’t attain the fiscal heights of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster The Passion of The Christ – which earned $26 million on its first day – but, lacking that film’s controversy and star power, this was to be expected. Attendees were 62 percent female and 82 percent over the age of 25 and also awarded the move an A- CinemaScore grade. Such a favorable audience reaction portends continued steady, if not stellar, success, however, many pundits are unsure how well Son of God will hold through the rest of its theatrical run, as well as for how long that run will last.

As expected, The Lego Movie clocked in at No. 3. The awesomely successful animated hit raked in another $21 million and, on Saturday, became the first movie released in 2014 to cross the $200 million mark.

In fourth place, The Monuments Men continues to defy the critics and do great business. George Clooney’s labor of art love earned $5 million, which has boosted the movie’s overall cume to $65.7 million.

The two new releases that opened wide last weekend, 3 Days to Kill and Pompeii, both suffered steep drops their second weekend out of the gate. Kevin Costner-starrer Kill dropped 60 percent to gross $4.9 million, earning it the weekend’s No. 5 spot. Pompeii eased 58 percent to take in $4.3 million.

Smaller and specialty releases did their part to contribute to the weekend’s BO earnings as well. The Wind Rises fared the best, grossing $1.6 million from 496 locations, followed by the extended cut of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which earned $1.34 million. Repentance, starring Forest Whitaker and Anthony Mackie, made $530,000 from 152 locations, while Russian 3D war film Stalingrad tallied out to $500,000, having screened in 308 theatres.

Finally, Oscar contenders, led by American Hustle, continued to draw audiences right up until the big telecast on Sunday night. Combined, the nine nominees for Best Picture earned around $7.4 million, with American Hustle raking in the largest haul with its $1.9 million weekend gross.

‘Lego’ leaves the competition far behind

Everything is indeed awesome for the makers of The Lego Movie, whose popular animated flick earned the top spot at the domestic box office for the third consecutive weekend. Easing just 37 percent, Lego grossed $31.5 million. Its overall cume now stands at $183.2 million. Unsurprisingly, Warner Bros. has already greenlit a sequel. The Lego Movie 2 is slated to hit theatres on Memorial Day 2017.

Don’t count on a follow-up to the McG-directed 3 Days to Kill, however. The actioner starring Kevin Costner took second place with an unremarkable $12.3 million. The film’s weekend gross is a little less than that which The Family, the last collaboration between writer-producer Luc Besson and Relativity Media, earned over its opening weekend this past September. Kill’s audience was an older crowd, 80 percent over the age of 25, who collectively awarded the film a B CinemaScore grade. Expectations for the movie’s total haul are pretty low: Pundits are predicting the film will earn around $30 million overall.

However, with a budget of only $28 million, at least 3 Days to Kill isn’t as large – or should we say as volcanic? – a bomb as Pompeii. It’s true, most pundits weren’t expecting much from the poorly reviewed disaster film, but Pompeii managed to underperform nonetheless.  The movie earned $10 million this weekend, a dismal debut considering its production costs topped $100 million. Pompeii’s opening weekend figure was less than half of fellow big-budget movie and box-office failure Poseidon’s debut haul, although it is slightly better than those openings enjoyed by The Legend of Hercules ($8.9 million) and I, Frankenstein ($8.6 million), both of which films were also heavily CGI-dependent. Maybe sensory overload fatigue has finally begun to set in?

Clocking in at No. 4, RoboCop earned $9.4 million, which represents a drop of 57 percent from last weekend. So far, the reboot has grossed $43.6 million.

It may not be the critics’ cup of tea, but George Clooney’s The Monuments Men continues to satisfy a sizable portion of the movie-going public. The WWII caper took in another $8.1 million this weekend, earning it the No. 5 spot and bumping its overall cume to $58 million.

The weekend after Valentine’s Day was a tough one for those releases that opened wide on the national chocolate-and-flowers holiday. About Last Night fared the best, though it still suffered a drop of 71 percent to gross $7.4 million – its total earnings currently stand at $38.2 million. Endless Love took a hit of 68 percent and has now grossed $20.1 million. Poor, misguided Winter’s Tale dipped 71 percent; its total clocks in at a little over $11 million.

Finally, the weekend’s specialty division saw a solid limited opening for Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises. The nominee for Best Animated Feature took in $306,000 from 21 locations. It should continue to chart a successful course once it expands to 450 theatres this coming weekend.

'The Lego Movie' assembles boffo weekend figures

The Lego Movie enjoyed a stellar four days this President’s Day weekend. The animated film that’s a hit with both kids and adults earned a pretty darn awesome $63.5 million Friday-Monday. It grossed $50 million from the weekend alone, which tallies out to a slight 28 percent drop from last weekend. To compare, similar title The Lorax dipped 45 percent its second weekend in theatres.  The Lego Movie has earned $143.8 million to date.

The rest of the weekend’s titles more or less stacked up as expected.  About Last Night landed just behind Lego with $25.7 million. This second consecutive hit (after Ride Along) for comedian Kevin Hart had the best opening for a rom-com since another Hart title, Think Like a Man, debuted to $33.6 million in 2012. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the film’s viewers were female (63 percent) and skewed older (57 percent were over the age of 30).

RoboCop failed to meet Sony’s initial projection of $35 million for the four-day spread. Instead, the sci-fi remake earned a slightly disappointing if still solid $21.7 million. Audiences were 62 percent male and 64 percent over the age of 25, and awarded the movie a CinemaScore rating of a B+. Odds are RoboCop will eventually bow out to the tune of $60 or $70 million.

The Monuments Men made the Top 5 as predicted, though it took the No. 4 and not the No. 5 slot as many had expected. Men is now George Clooney’s most successful outing as a director, and it grossed $15.5 million over the past four days. The weekend’s earnings have bumped The Monuments Men’s cume to $44.2 million.

It was Endless Love that took the weekend’s No. 5 spot, earning $13.2 million. The vast majority of that four-day gross – over 56 percent of it – came from Valentine’s Day ticket sales, which means Love can now boast one of the most front-loaded openings over. Eighty percent of viewers who paid good money to watch pretty young things love, lust and, well, look pretty, were female, and 76 percent were under the age of 25. They generally liked what they saw, awarding the movie an A- CinemaScore grade. Endless Love’s heavily front-loaded debut, however, portends a steep drop in the weeks ahead.

But at least Love can say it enjoyed one good weekend, which is one more than fellow romance Winter’s Tale. The adaptation of Mark Helprin’s beloved and perhaps too sprawling novel was a categorical bomb with its $7.3 million debut. That figure landed Tale at No. 7, plunking it down behind enduring success Ride Along. Writer-producer-director Akiva Goldsman’s misfire will likely fade out within the next few weeks or so.

LGBT films & WWII footage among final Berlinale highlights

Our correspondent at the Berlin Film Festival and France 24 writer, Jon Frosch, recently spoke with the director of standout LGBT film Test, Chris Mason Johnson. Test is set in 1987 and follows a young gay dancer as he agonizes over whether or not to take the new HIV test. Johnson shared his views on the state of queer cinema today: “I think after an initial phase of amazing queer cinema in the ‘90s, we entered a phase that was less adventurous. And now I think we’re coming out of that into a more artful, realistic representation.”

Frosch’s final dispatch from the international film showcase includes his thoughts on the harrowing 1945 documentary, German Concentration Camps Factual Survey. The work was filmed by British, American and Russian cameramen with the intent of eventually screening their finished product before a German audience, forcing the German people to face the horrors begot by their support or indifference. The filmmakers soon determined, however, that the film (overseen by a prominent Hollywood director) would work to counteract the Allies’ goal of German reconciliation. The Berlin premiere marked the first time the documentary screened in full feature-length form. Factual Survey stands in stark contrast to the “Hollywood cheese” of George Clooney’s WWII yarn, The Monuments Men.

‘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.