'The Green Hornet' and 'The Dilemma' shake up the box office

By Sarah Sluis

It's been three weeks since the Christmas weekend crush of wide releases, and audiences will finally have a chance to sample something new.

The Green Hornet (3,584 theatres) was originally going to release during the holiday season, but it now will have a wide-open chance at bringing in audiences, especially school-age ones, during the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. The comic-book adaptation was helmed by Michael Gondry, known for more arty, visually playful fare like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Even with a bigger budget to work with, "Gondry keeps the movie grounded in a convincing, if ever-so-slightly skewed, reality by prizing practical effects and props over CGI and actual locations over studio soundstages," critic Ethan Alter praises. Seth Rogen, true to his comedic background, plays a "clumsy" un-hero, and the movie is "at its best when it just lets this dynamic duo [Rogen and co-star Jay Chou] blunder through their new vocation, bickering, screwing up and catching bad guys almost by accident."

Vince Vaughn plays a guy who finds out his best friend's wife (Winona Ryder) is cheating on him in The Dilemma (2,941 theatres). Critic Doris Toumarkine enjoyed director Ron Howard's "zippy journey into late yuppiedom" and the comedy's "often smart and downright funny take on issues that aging moviegoers might find familiar."

On the specialty front, many of the award-bait films are expanding in advance of the Golden Globes presentation this Sunday. Blue Valentine will move into 230 theatres. Rabbit Hole, which has been drawing raves for Nicole Kidman's performance, will increase its run to 100 theatres. The King's Speech, which has been in the top ten with under 1,000 theatres, will finally go over that mark, spreading into 1,543 theatres. Finally, Black Swan will spread its wings into 2,328 theatres, 800 more theatres than its current run.

On Tuesday, I'll tabulate the results of the long weekend, which should be especially favorable to The Green Hornet because of its young-skewing subject matter.