Simba's back with surprising $29.3 million weekend for 'Lion King'

By Sarah Sluis

Seventeen years after the animated behemoth released, The Lion King in 3D easily assumed first place with $29.3 million. In comparison, 2009's 3D double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2, also a re-release, opened to just $12.4 million. Why such a difference? For one, The Lion King had a much longer waiting period between its release and re-release. There were no (theatrical) sequels to give audiences more time with Simba, Nala, Timon and Pumbaa, whereas the Toy Story re-release was more of a prelude to the next installment, Toy Story 3. Second, The Lion Kingplay is still running on Broadway--a sign of the series' continued appeal. Finally, the animated feature was returning in a wide-open market. The last family movie opened five weeks ago, Spy Kids 3, and the critically panned movie has barely earned $30 million since. The only other kid movie, period, still in release is the two-month-old The Smurfs. No wonder families were flocking to the G-rated title. There's nothing else out there.

Contagion moved down one rung to second place, keeping its second week fall to 35% and earning another $14.4 million. Good reviews and the interest of adult audiences should keep this film in the top ten for weeks to come.

Drive opened in third place with $11 million. The Ryan Gosling getaway car drive movie is extremely polarizing, which is a good thing in my book (I'm one of the movie's fans). Though critics gave the movie a 92% positive rating and 81% of Rotten Tomatoes audiences liked the movie, it received only a C- Cinemascore rating--extremely low for a film that has people gushing with praise. An un-Hollywood ending, violence, and the movie's '80s music score were among the things that confused audiences, and judging from these comments walkouts and surprised looks weren't unusual. It's pretty rare for a movie to generate this diversity of responses, so the box office totals of coming weeks will show if this will spell success or disaster for the unusual action thriller.

The remake of Straw Dogs failed to draw in new audiences. Only $5 million in tickets were sold, showing that not every remake of a revered film will result in a home run the second time around.

I Don't Know How She Does It had a tepid debut of $4.5 million. The target audience (80% female, 50% over 35) isn't known for seeing movies opening weekend, so it could hold well in coming weeks, but this movie is the kind that will heat up once it hits Netflix. The working moms in the movie were probably too busy taking their tykes to a showing of The Lion King.

This Friday, the slick sports drama Moneyball will hit theatres along with Abduction, starring Twlight's Taylor Lautner. Rounding out the offerings will be the action thriller Killer Elite and the dolphin-with-prosthetic-fin tearjerker Dolphin Tale.

'Contagion' spreads among audiences, lands #1 spot

By Sarah Sluis

The infectious Contagion finished in first place at the box office with $23.1 million. The drama-thriller features an all-star ensemble cast, with each character offering a different perspective on a global epidemic. The Steven Soderbergh-directed tale performed evenly throughout the weekend, and with little competition on the horizon, it should perform well in coming weeks, though Rotten Tomatoes reports that audiences were cooler to the movie than critics, with just 69% liking the movie, compared to 82% of reviewers.

The Help experienced the biggest drop of its run, diving 40% from its outsized Labor Day weekend gross to a mere seven-figure sum, $8.6 million. With $137 million earned in just five weeks, the Civil Rights-era drama is one of this summer's biggest adult-centered successes.

Despite positive reviews, Warrior suffered a one-round knockout. The mixed martial arts film finished with just $5.6 million. 86% of critics and 94% of audiences liked the movie, according to Rotten Tomatoes, so it appears this movie didn't get a fair fight at the box office. Perhaps the movie will stage a comeback in coming weeks, but it may have been the victim of a grave marketing miscalculation by Lionsgate.

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star finished outside the top ten with an embarrassing $1.4 million and fifteenth place finish. The story of an awkward teen boy who becomes a porn star didn't receive much marketing support and the concept is cringe-worthy. This movie will probably see a lot more action on the rental market.

This Friday will be fueled by Drive, a riveting noir-action starring Ryan Gosling. Working mothers can vent by watching I Don't Know How She Does It, and Straw Dogs promises to be a harrowing Southern thriller. Also, Disney will be re-releasing The Lion King in 3D during a time where there's little family fare at the box office.

'Contagion' and 'Warrior' kick off the fall movie season

By Sarah Sluis

The fall has a reputation for being a quiet time at the box office, but if "quiet" means no comic book movies and megabudget sequels crowding the screens, adult moviegoers may be in luck. This weekend, Contagion and Warrior, both currently rated 82% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, will battle for the top spot at the box office.

Contagion (3,222 theatres) turns a global epidemic into a taut, thrilling ride. The premise is plausible enough to make the movie both more educational and scarier than a loose, over-the-top vision of a plague. The fact that Steven Soderbergh directed this movie says it all. Besides being able to wrangle a great cast that includes Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard, the thriller has a slick energy to it that brings to mind his Ocean films or Traffic. Variety is projecting the movie will be this week's winner with a $20+ million opening weekend.

A low, $20 million budget and good reviews could make Warrior (1,869 theatres) a big moneymaker for Lionsgate. The "macho" sports movie traffics in all the normal cliches, "but its raw emotional power will make strong men (and women) weep," according to Maitland McDonagh. Two brothers from hard-knock backgrounds end up facing each other in a mixed martial arts tournament, through a series of twists and plot turns that includes such unlikely backstory as "a viral video of Mad Dog Grimes' beat-down [that] has both made [one of the brothers] an underground sensation and revealed his identity to a group of marines he anonymously rescued from certain death." Whoa. I give the movie points for incorporating recent technology into the plot.

The R-rated comedy Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (1,500 theatres) follows an unfortunate looking small town boy (Nick Swardson) who discovers his parents were porn stars, so he moves to Hollywood--or would that be the San Fernando Valley?--to follow in their footsteps. Christina Ricci and Stephen Dorff round out the cast of what could be a funny movie. However, since no critics have been allowed to see it in advance, it's probably not going to end up on any must-see lists.

Finally, the horror movie Creature (1,507 theatres) will appease those in need of a more visceral adrenaline rush. The creature in question is a half-man, half-alligator dubbed Lockjaw. Need I say more? The movie also failed to screen for critics.

Burke & Hare (1 theatre) marries the macabre to comedy in this retelling of the story of two 19th century cadaver sellers who decide the best way to get fresh corpses is to murder them. The unusual documentary The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (1 theatre) compiles interviews with black power celebrities, such as Angela Davis, on Swedish television. "One feels like this most lily-white and seemingly tranquil of countries must have been mesmerized by the raw fervor and vivid passion and personalities involved," critic David Noh speculates.

On Monday, we'll see how the first post-Labor Day frame played in what has traditionally been a quiet time at the box office.

Ensemble films spread with 'Contagion, ' 'New Year's Eve'

By Sarah Sluis

From romantic comedies to action thrillers, ensemble films cast with prominent Hollywood stars have their own set of benefits and drawbacks. While the costs of the actors can add up, and a huge cast can confuse viewers, it's a fairly risk-averse strategy. Including names that appeal to a variety of demographics can expand the audience and multiply the star pull.

Ensemble romantic comedies have emerged as the latest Hollywood trend. Last year's He's Just Not That Into You spawned Valentine's Day, which releases this Friday, and even before this coming weekend's numbers come in, New Line has planned New Year's Eve, another holiday-themed romantic comedy. Some of the cast may return for the sequel, which would release during the holiday season of 2011. That's a tough time spot, since December releases are usually big-budget blockbusters and critics' choices, not run-of-the-mill romantic comedies. While having a strong ensemble cast can elevate a movie to a more "special" romantic comedy, I think the best strategy would be to include a pair of kids (pre-teens or grade school puppy love) to make the story more family-friendly--like Marley & Me, that dog/marriage movie that did so well during the holiday season of 2008.

In action/thriller ensemble news, director Steven Soderbergh has assembled an impressive cast for his upcoming film Contagion. Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard (both Oscar winners) are in talks to join Matt Damon and Jude Law. Styled like Soderbergh's Traffic, the script contains interlocking stories about a disease threat. Participant Media, which chooses projects that have a social action component like the environment (The Cove, Furry Vengeance) or food politics (Food, Inc.) is in talks to co-finance and produce. The movie would shoot late this year, after Soderbergh's thriller Knockout, now filming, and presumably ahead of other Soderbergh projects like his biopic of Liberace that is (was?) in the works. So that makes, at the very least, two high-profile ensemble movies that will release somewhere in 2011.