'Iron Man 2' bests 'Robin Hood'

By Sarah Sluis

Robin Hood bowed this weekend in second place, earning $37.1 million. The medieval action movie was no match for the second week of Iron Man 2. The sci-fi blockbuster dropped 59% in its second week to $53

million, easily beating Robin Hood. However, both sets of theatres were equally packed. Iron Man 2 brought in $12,000 per theatre, while Robin Hood averaged out at $10,000 per theatre. With almost 900 more locations, however, Iron Man 2 was able to rack up a $15 million lead over Robin Hood.

Romantic counterprogramming to the action fare also did well this weekend. Letters to Juliet led the pack with $13.7 million. Along with the undisclosed amount earned during last week's sneaks, this

modestly budgeted romantic drama should do quite well for Summit. It also cements Amanda Seyfried's star power. By comparison, the more established star Jennifer Lopez opened The Back-Up Plan to the tune of $12.2 million a few weeks ago. Seyfried did have the help of Vanessa Redgrave, however, to bring in Moms and older viewers (teens probably don't know who she is), so she can't take all the credit for the strong opening.

Just Wright, starring Queen Latifah, opened to $8.5 million with a per-screen average that matched that of Letters to Juliet. Both averaged around $4,600 per screen, a sign that Fox Searchlight made a wise decision when it pared the size of the release to 1,800 theatres.

Among returning films in the top ten, Date Night had one of the smallest drops, 26%, to $4 million in its sixth weekend. The comedy has earned $86 million in six weeks, higher than would be expected for a movie that opened at $25.1 million. An older-skewing audience and strong word-of-mouth have propelled this film ahead of similar comedies. CG animated How to Train Your Dragon added another $5.1 million in its eighth week, falling just 23%. The movie will probably take a big drop next week with the opening of DreamWorks Animation movie, Shrek Forever After.

On the specialty front, IFC Films' Looking for Eric and Daddy Longlegs both debuted in the $8,000 range, in one theatre apiece. Princess Kaiulani opened to a $5,500 per-theatre average in 33 locations for a total of $184,000.

This Friday, SNL skit-turned-movie MacGruber will open opposite America's favorite green monster in Shrek Forever After.

'Robin Hood' enters the action movie fray

By Sarah Sluis

Director Ridley Scott may not quite hit the bull's eye with Robin Hood (3,503 theatres), but the movie will provide stiff competition this weekend as it goes against the second weekend of Iron Man 2. Without a

"dramatic pulse," according to critic Ethan Alter, the origin tale proves to be most exciting at the beginning before settling into a "stultifyingly boring" second half. My guess is that Robin Hood will win the Friday box office before coming in second to Iron Man 2 over the weekend, but it's unclear exactly how the two films will stack up against each other.

Those in for a more romantic view of history can take in Letters to Juliet (2,968 theatres), a romance starring Amanda Seyfriend as an

American visiting Italy. She finds an old letter bemoaning a lost love and decides to track down and reunite the couple. Summit did advance screenings in several hundred theatres last weekend, with 70% of audiences reporting that they would give it positive word-of-mouth, so this could help boost its opening weekend--or drag it down, if many of the audience members managed to see it the previous weekend.

Queen Latifah stars as a sports trainer in Just Wright (1,831 theatres). After a basketball player (Common) is injured, she nurses him back to health and they spark to each other. The limited number

of theatres in release indicates that Fox Searchlight is focusing the release in cinemas that do strong business with black moviegoers--the so-called "Tyler Perry" audience. Our critic Shirley Sealy liked the performances of Common and Paula Patton but felt "her highness" Queen Latifah "couldn't be bothered" to turn in a nuanced performance.

On the specialty front, Princess Kaiulani will release in 33 theatres. The historical romantic drama of Hawaii's last princess is playing in two theatres in New York, four in L.A. and eight near Oahu, so the release skews toward the West Coast and in Hawaii, where Kaiulani is a household name. A local cast and use of the Hawaiian language add authenticity to the project, while the colonial-era story should appeal to "art-house patrons who appreciate period romance," according to critic Justin Lowe.

Dads who feel they can do no good will appreciate Daddy Longlegs (NYC), the uneven story of a divorced dad hanging out with his kids for two weeks. While "there's little more here than a picaresque slice of life with a paternal though not particularly skilled single dad," according to critic Frank Lovece, "the emotions play as real." Also playing in New York City is Looking for Eric, the tale of a depressed, working-class Englishman who receives "hilarious" advice from football player Eric Cantona.

On Monday, we'll see if Robin Hood exercised its box office muscle or if Russell Crowe should put away his quiver and bow to the titanium-plated Iron Man 2.