'Taken 2' sweeps box office with $50 million

Three years after his daughter was stolen in Taken, Liam Neeson was captured in Taken 2.  With an astonishing $50 million, Taken 2 doubled the opening of the predecessor and drew audiences across all demographics. Abroad, the thriller is also a hit, with totals already exceeding the domestic
opening total. I'm sure there are movie executives out there right now trying to figure out how to make a Taken 3. What's next--kidnapping the family dog? Neeson starts a kidnapping consulting firm? Although critics had mainly unkind things to say about the follow-up, audiences graded the Liam Neeson vehicle a solid "B+."

Frankenweenie floundered compared to the second weekend of Hotel Transylvania. The Tim Burton-directed animated feature, which ended up with $11.5 million, suffered in part due to Hotel Transylvania's positive momentum. The black-and-white movie drew couples, who made up 32% of the audience, and another 52% of attendees were families. Frankenweenie
may have appealed to adults at the expense of the children. Hotel Transylvania, which included the vocal talents of Adam Sandler and his style of broader humor, placed second with $26.3 million, a mere 38% fall from the previous week.

Female moviegoers turned out in force for Pitch Perfect, which reeled in $14.7 million as it expanded nationwide after a successful limited release last weekend. 80% of ticketbuyers were female. The college a capella comedy drew viewers from roughly the same demographic as the cast, with 60% of attendees under the age of 30. The skewed demographics indicate this is a movie for a very specific demographic, which could limit its box office total, Still, the audience that turned out will likely become huge advocates of the comedy: they gave it an "A" CinemaScore in exit polls.

This week was a lackluster one in the specialty sector. Director Lee Daniels' The Paperboy averaged $10,000 per screen at 11 locations, the best opening of any specialty film. Poor reviews should dampen the release, though its racy subject matter will draw some viewers, especially those who want to see grown-up teen idol Zac Efron semi-naked. The second-highest per-screen average of a new release went to The House I Live In, a documentary criticizing America's drug laws. The Eugene Jarecki-directed movie averaged $9,850 per screen at two locations.

This Friday, director/star Ben Affleck's Oscar hopeful Argo will open. Kevin James will appeal to the the heartland with Here Comes the Boom, Atlas Shrugged: Part II will try to keep up the momentum of conservative-aimed movies. Horror fans will have Sinister, and those in need of a funny crime film can check out Seven Psychopaths.

Trailer for 'The Paperboy' chock-full of Southern sizzle

Coming out of the Cannes Film Festival, the talk of director Lee Daniels' The Paperboy seemed to be this: It's no Precious. I took that to be an indictment on the quality of the pulpy, sex- and crime-infused adaptation of a novel by Pete Dexter, but it actually may have been a reaction purely to the fact that it's "pulpy." Although the Southern-set drama, which is set to release October 24, has just a 54% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from sixteen reviewers, the recently released trailer looks intriguing. It even includes a quote from Film Journal contributor Jon Frosch (writing for the Atlantic blog), who came out in favor of the film.

 

The plot of The Paperboy involves a woman (Nicole Kidman) who wants to get her man (John Cusack) out of prison. She ends up romantically involved with one of two brothers and writers (Zac Efron) who is trying to help her free the imprisoned man. The other is played by Matthew McConaughey. Once known mainly for tabloid shots of his abs on the beach and leading man roles opposite Kate Hudson, McConaughey has been branching out. He is currently starring in Killer Joe, which our critic Rex Roberts also described as a pulpy tale that "exults in its in-your-face nudity, perverse sexuality and graphic violence." McConaughey also has a role in this summer's indie breakout hit Bernie. Last year, he made quite an impression as an independent-minded, flexible lawyer in The Lincoln Lawyer. He's also starring in director Jeff Nichols' (Take Shelter) follow-up project Mud, opposite Reese Witherspoon. And let's not forget Magic Mike, which successfully riffs on his sexy image. I would have written McConaughey off a few years ago, but his role in The Paperboy is part of a powerful redirection of his star image. Not many actors can pull that off. Plus, the Texas-born star is the only one that can pull off a Southern accent, mainly because he doesn't try to overdo it like everyone else. Even Frosch, who praises the bleached-blonde Kidman's performance, says she sports an "accent that samples every twang from Southern-fried to Australian outback." The Paperboy sounds like that summer beach read you just can't put down. The trailer is putting the October release back into my must-see queue, because I may just need a little summer sizzle this fall.