COENS, PERRY TOP BOX OFFICE

By Sarah Sluis

After weeks with nothing to see, America turned out in force to catch four new wide releases, placing them #1-#4 at the box office.

Burn After Reading claimed the top spot with $19.4 million, creating an opening weekend record for the duo.  True, many of their films have opened in limited release and racked up the millions more slowly, but this nevertheless represents a victory for the Coens, who were able to roll over the critical success they achieved with No Country for Old Men into box office dollars for their current film.

Not far behind, Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys finished at #2 with $18 million.  Perry's continued success�$250 million in box office on his past six films, with five of the six films opening at #1 or #2, and 11 million DVD sales�has made more people stand up and take notice.  By not screening his films for critics in advance, and targeting mainly African-American viewers, Perry's films have made it big at the box office without a similar splash in the media.  Expect more stories about Perry, as a $250 million track record is hard to hide.

Righteous Kill (#3, $16.5 million) and The Women (#4, $10 million) were both star-studded mediocre releases.  Neither was particularly well-reviewed, although I imagine they will both find their way into many people's Netflix queues.

The House Bunny surpassed Tropic Thunder this week ($4.3 million to Tropic's $4.1 million), actually adding 27 theatres to its run.  Female-oriented films are known for opening small but lasting for several weeks as they gain word-of-mouth, and this film definitely speaks to that point.

Lastly, that incendiary film Towelhead had the highest per-screen average for the week, earning $13,250 per screen (with only four locations playing the film).  In terms of per-screen averages, Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys trailed at second with $8,705 per screen.  Choosing a wide but selective release of 2,070 locations was undoubtedly a smart move and certainly reflects the niche-to-mainstream position of Perry's films in the marketplace.

PAIR-UP SPECIAL: COEN BROTHERS, DE NIRO AND PACINO, AND A-LIST WOMEN

By Sarah Sluis

After two weeks of nothing, Hollywood has several options this week to bring viewers back to the theatres.

Righteous Kill
The much-hyped pairing of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro arrives onscreen with Righteous Kill, written by Russell Gewirtz of 2006's Inside Man.  Early reports rank the script as a lesser effort by the writer, exacerbated by director Jon Avnet's poor control over the picture.  Unfortunate, given that Inside Man had well-developed twists and was a bit of surprise coming from director Spike Lee.  Given the draw of the star power, however, this film has a strong chance of coming in at number one.

Burn After Reading
The Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading, featuring Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand as personal trainers-turned-blackmailers, has received "not as good as No Country for Old Men" reviews from virtually every critic, but Focus Features' marketing campaign has heavily emphasized the Coens' No Country for Old Men laurels in their ads.  With George Clooney added to the headline, this film will do brisk business.
Towelhead
Towelhead, mired in controversy I covered earlier, releases to New York and Los Angeles this week, and will undoubtedly be buoyed by the buzz surrounding the film, as well as the sizeable marketing budget.
Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys
Not being terribly familiar with Tyler Perry beyond his "Madea" character, I was surprised to learn that The Family that Preys does not feature a man in drag but instead takes a dramatic-comedic tone to depict a story about two families connected by friendship, affairs, and hidden paternities.  Of note, this film features a mix of white and black actors, including the always entertaining Kathy Bates.  Whether this was included in the original script or a studio attempt to have Perry's films reach a wider audience, eyes will be watching to see if this movie will expand Perry's viewership beyond his loyal black audiences.
The Women
Promising a Sex and the City experience, ensemble film The Women releases today to mediocre reviews. The original film was based on a play by suffragette Clare Boothe Luce, and the 1939 George Cukor film in turn honored the feminist roots and preserved the satire.  What I loved about the original, besides the neat visual trick that never brings any men onscreen, was how the primary conflict, a woman being cheated on, becomes an opportunity for complex iterations of power�not disenfranchisement and weeping.  The women are in complete control over their domains, and their power spots are not golf courses and smoky mahogany clubs, but beauty salons, spas, and fashion shows.  Judging by the reviews, this message has softened in the remake.  Nevertheless, those seeking an echo of the original The Women or this summer's Sex and the City will probably come out sated.