Audiences flock to 'The Lorax,' giving it a record weekend

Apparently, estimates that put The Lorax at $50 million this weekend were woefully inadequate. The CG-animated Dr. Seuss adaptation earned $70.7 million its opening weekend, the highest yet recorded in 2012. Since no big-budget animated titles have released since December, many families were eager to check out the picture, which comes with an environmental message. People in Hollywood seem to find a way to be number one in any way they can. In the case of The Lorax, it felled the record for "non-sequel animated title," unseating 2004's The Incredibles. The Dr. Seuss fable received an extra boost from 3D and IMAX, which contributed half of the weekend take. Although critics lambasted the movie, audiences gave it an "A" rating in exit polls. Since family movies tend to perform strongly for multiple weeks, The Lorax will likely cross the $100 million mark by next weekend and set its sights on a loftier goal--like $200 million.

The tale of a teen's party that spirals out of control, Project X performed on the high side of expectations, earning $20.7 million. Since the low-budget project cost just $12 million, Warner Bros. will be in the green with this picture. I give it points for innovation, since it adapted the found-footage technique to what is for adults a pretty familiar movie topic.

The recipient of the Best Picture Oscar, The Artist, ascended to tenth place post-win. Going up 34% from last week, it earned $3.9 million, its biggest weekend to date. Still, its $2,200 per-screen average indicates the critical darling didn't scale particularly well and is better suited for the arthouse crowd.

Being Flynn failed to ignite. The adaptation of Another Bull***t Night in Suck City, starring Robert De Niro, earned just $11,000 per screen in four locations. A figure three times that would have shown that the movie was generating strong interest.

The Oscar winner for Best Documentary, also a Weinstein Co. release, showed more traction after its win. Undefeated, an inspiring tale of football players in a poor town who are changed by their involvement in the sport, went up 337%. Moving from seven to twelve theatres, it averaged $7,000 per screen for a total of $84,000.

This Friday, sci-fi adventure John Carter will open, the indie-esque horror picture Silent House will introduce more audiences to the "third Olsen sister," and Eddie Murphy will appear in A Thousand Words.

'The Lorax' poised for a sensational weekend

After two months without a big-budget, 3D, CG-animated movie, The Lorax (3,728 theatres, including 269 IMAX screens) should be a sensation. Unlike The Adventures of Tintin, which featured a character better-known in Europe than the U.S., Dr. Seuss is a homegrown creation. The Lorax is expected to easily top the $38 million debut of last year's Rango, and some are predicting the animated feature could reach $50 million. While this movie looks poised to be a box-office success, critics have been less kind. New York Magainze's David Edelstein titles his review "The Badness of 'The Lorax' Is a Shock." He points out that the movie makes fun of the Seussisms instead of taking them seriously, which rang alarm bells with me. FJI critic Daniel Eagan felt the movie was "message-heavy" but also disingenuous regarding that same environmental message. Seventy product tie-ins are promoting the very story that would consider a lot of these things "thneeds," examples of wasteful consumerism.

The found-footage format started out in horror, but Fox's superhero tale Chronicle and now Warner Bros.' party comedy Project X (3,055 theatres) have adopted the same style to tell their stories. Featuring unknown actors, Project X centers on a birthday party that becomes out-of-control thanks to an invite that's spread on social networks. Apparently this isn't one of those parties where the night ends with drunkenness, puking, and sexual advances. Instead, a flame thrower is involved, and the night turns into a "veritable orgy of destruction and explosions," according to critic David Noh. He saw it with a young audience that seemed to respond to the "lamely obscene lines," and fires, which puzzles him. "Who knows? Maybe this is what really does pass for an enjoyable movie experience these days," he muses. If Project X tops $20 million, it will be considered a big success.

Being Flynn, an adaptation of the book Another Bull***t Night in Suck City, will have a limited release in four theatres. Robert De Niro stars as a contestant for the most "repulsive, unrepentant train wreck of a mortal" that has ever graced the screen, according to critic Doris Toumarkine. De Niro plays a father, and Paul Dano his son, who seeks out his absent parent. Toumarkine feels this "bleak sonata...won’t be worth a detour for most audiences." Still, Focus may be able to market this film well enough for it to pack four theatres, especially with a big name like De Niro.

The winner of the Best Picture Oscar, The Artist, will run a victory lap this weekend as it expands from 966 to 1,756 locations. The homage to classic silent movies is estimated to bring in around $5 million with the extra screens.

On Monday, we'll return to see if families make The Lorax the immense success everyone is predicting, and if Project X enticed enough teens to give it an opening rivaling Superbad.