Oscar nominations reveal competing visions of America

What makes a film the "Best Picture" of the year? When it comes to the Oscars, it's not enough to be the most cinematically innovative or critical favorite. The movies also must be the kind those in the industry and out can look at and say, "Now this is why Hollywood movies matter." It's a rather inclusive test, but nevertheless one many films do not pass. This morning's Oscar nominations have a fair number of surprises and snubs, in a year that includes a number of incredibly strong films. They also offer competing visions of  America and Americans--even when the subject matter is foreigners. Go figure.

Lincoln led the nominations with twelve notices, including Best Director for Steven Spielberg and Best Picture. It's considered the favorite for Best Picture, but it's also the most "safe" movie. Lincoln is about showing an America everyone can be proud of. Lincoln is one of our finest presidents, and
attempts by the script to humanize him only show how much he accomplished in the face of adversity and weariness. Even nearly 150 years after the Civil War, the movie's message is progressive. All men are created equal--under the eyes of the law, Thaddeus Stevens finally concedes. Even today, that vision is still short of reality.

Beasts of the Southern Wild shows us inequality, but then offers us a hopeful vision in spite of adversity. If you can look through the strained father-daughter relationship, the misguided efforts of rescue workers, and some heavy drinking, you can see that Beasts also offers a vision of America to be proud of. The world outside the movie's Louisiana Bathtub may be harsh and cruel to those inside, but the residents exemplify the characteristics we Americans hold so dear. Self-reliance, independence, vibrant
culture, and strength in the face of adversity. Academy voters gave the film three important nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress for Quvenzhané Wallis, is the youngest nominee in history Along with Amour, Beasts "took" a Best Director spot away from previous winners Tom Hooper and Kathryn Bigelow, who were considered strong candidates for the nomination. Lincoln will always be a bit on a pedestal, but Beasts takes that pedestal, chops it up, and uses it to keep out hurricane winds.

Argo and Zero Dark Thirty are both about intelligence operations abroad, but they couldn't be more different. Argo champions playful ingenuity. The glitz and glamour of a Hollywood shoot just serve as a smokescreen to get trapped Americans out of Iran during the hostage crisis. There's great style, music, and a cowboy attitude prevails. The movie inspired vocal reactions among those
watching in theatres, and it's hard not to leave without a gushing pride that America was clever and renegade enough to pull this off. This is a story of unequivocal pride, in the manner of Lincoln. Zero Dark Thirty is the equivalent of Beasts. It shows that terrorism begets torture. The CIA is ruthlessly efficient and technologically advanced. The battle against bin Laden is won, but this movie lets us know just how high the costs were. This wasn't just about personal sacrifice, but a sacrifice our nation made in the quest of vengeance. That's a message that hasn't sat well with everyone. After doing extremely well among critics' groups, the movie has picked up some
heat from politicians denouncing the movie.

"It’s
impossible to leave this movie untroubled by the contemporary
parallels...[to author Victor] Hugo’s progressive political and moral concerns," noted Wendy R. Weinstein in her review of Les Misérables. Sure, maybe the movie would have been a hit nevertheless, but two of the other most successful musicals in recent years (Chicago and Dreamgirls) tackled big questions about fame and the American experience. As the country lifts from recession and questions topics like the incarceration of people of color who have committed minor drug offenses, for example, it recalls Jean Valjeans's life-ending punishment for stealing a loaf of bread. Like Lincoln, Les Misérables shows us that the search for justice and equality can be a never-ending process.

Which story will triumph when the statuettes are doled out? The film that wins Best Director nearly always wins Best Picture. This year, three frontrunners aren't even nominated: Les Misérables, Argo, and especially Zero Dark Thirty. Does this mean that Lincoln will win? In a year of films that spoke to the American experience, this one is the sturdiest and most uncontroversial. But the nominees that stand beside it share ultimately triumphant views of what it means to be an American, a human in society. When victories come, they are always qualified, and always at some cost. This isn't a year of fairy tales, but it does have the strongest slate of nominees in recent memory, one where multiple films can be heralded as examples of why movies matter.

'Chronicle' and 'Woman in Black' lure teens to theatres

This year more studios were willing to place films during Super Bowl weekend, even if it meant they would plummet up to 70% on game day. Chronicle and The Woman in Black were rewarded, while Big Miracle, the only film that actually tried to capture the un-Super Bowl audience, floundered. Overall, receipts were up 36% from last year, a clear sign that Super Bowl weekend no longer signals a lackluster box office.

The found-footage superhero movie Chronicle skyrocketed to first place with $22 million. The low-budget production only cost half that to make, so Fox is probably already in the green. 61% of audience members were under 25, a valued demographic that hasn't been showing up in force lately. Their presence elicited a sigh of relief for the industry as a whole.

The "Harry Potter factor" helped out The Woman in Black considerably this weekend, as it soared to an estimated $21 million. Young female viewers eager to see Harry Potter...er, Daniel Radcliffe...turned out in force for the haunted house flick. CBS Films only  paid $3 million for the movie, so this definitely counts as a win for the up-and-coming distributor.

Big Miracle failed to attract audiences, earning $8.5 million and landing in fourth place, behind the second weekend of Liam Neeson-starring The Grey. However, good audience response may make the whale-saving picture a strong holder. Echoing my feelings after seeing the surprisingly charming movie, audiences gave the movie an A-, the highest score of any new release.

Madonna-directed W.E. debuted to $45,000 per screen in four locations. Her star power has given the historical romance plenty of publicity, though some journalists are probably less interested in her movie than in landing a Madonna interview. The star's Super Bowl halftime performance will increase awareness even further.

The leaders in Oscar nominations all showed strong holds. George Clooney-led The Descendants dipped 28% to $4.6 million, even while playing in just over 2,000 locations. The Artist, for which I've also seen an increase in television ads, had a gentle decline of 22% to $2.5 million, while playing in 1,000 locations. Hugo topped them all, dipping just 8% to $2.3 million.

This Friday will be busy. In advance of Valentine's Day, romantic weeper The Vow will release, fanboys can check out the re-release of Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace in 3D, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island will entice families, and Safe House adult males.

'The Grey' treks to first place

Is Liam Neeson the new Harrison Ford (circa Air Force One)? The 59-year-old star led Taken to success a couple of years ago, and with The Grey he's struck again. The man vs. nature survival flick earned $20 million to win the weekend, exceeding expectations. There aren't many convincing older action heroes out there, but I think Neeson proves there is a contingent of people, including baby boomers, who like to see one of their own in an adrenaline-filled adventure. The 60% male audience made this a moneymaker for Open Road Films, which spent just $25 million on production.

In third place, One for the Money did surprisingly well despite the fact that many saw this Katherine Heigl pic was a stinker a mile away. It earned $11.8 million, driven by older female ticket buyers. The adaptation of Janet Evanovich's popular book "resembles a failed television pilot," THR's Frank Scheck laments. Plus, as New York Magazine outlines, Heigl is considered a toxic asset right now thanks to gossip about her ungraceful conduct on set and off. Still, the  light detective picture had a couple of tricks up its sleeve. One, 11% of attendees bought discounted tickets through Groupon. 93% of them said they would not have seen the movie without the promotion. Two, Lionsgate did a decent job connecting with the movie's literary fan base. I saw prominent ads on Goodreads.com, a book-centered social networking site.

In fourth place, Man on a Ledge stumbled with $8.3 million. Summit also offered discounted tickets through Living Social, but it appeared not to pay off. When it came to man vs. ledge or man vs. nature, Neeson in Alaska fighting wolves appeared to be more appealing than a jumper who was seeking revenge, vindication, or covering for a heist, depending on which ad or review you saw.

In the wake of the Oscar nominations, a number of the selected films made expansions and drew more audiences. The Descendants made its widest expansion yet, playing in 2,001 theatres, and came up with $6.5 million. It's the dramedy's second highest weekend to date. Back in November, it managed to earn $7.3 million while playing in only 390 theatres. The George Clooney starrer has earned $58 million to date, making it one of the most successful films in the running. The per-screen average, $3,200, in on par with where The King's Speech was last February.

The Artist, which earned ten nominations, added more theatres and rose 40% to grab the twelfth-place spot with $3.3 million. Hugo, which led with eleven nominations, added 50% more screens and went up 142% to $2.2 million. Still, the expensive film has earned just $58 million to date in the U.S. 

This Friday, audiences can save the whales with The Big Miracle, grab some thrills with The Woman in Black, or check out some teens with superpowers in Chronicle.

 

DGA nominees hint at who will receive Oscar nods

By Sarah Sluis

Yesterday, the Directors Guild of America announced its five nominees for Best Director. As opposed to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Writers Guild (WGA), and Producers Guild (PGA), the DGA awards have a track record of predicting the winner of the Oscar for Best Director. Since the Best Director victor frequently helms the Best Picture, one can reasonably assume that among these five films, we have our Best Picture winner, and probably at least five of the nominees.

DGA nominees:
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
David Fincher for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Martin Scorsese for Hugo

The biggest shut-outs are War Horse and The Help. The DGA has already honored Steven Spielberg three times: for The Color Purple in 1985, Saving Private Ryan in 1998, and with a (preemptive, perhaps) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Maybe they just want some new blood in the running. Spielberg has more Oscar-worthy projects in development, like a biopic of Lincoln, and War Horse was a wee sentimental.

The Help received its biggest support from the SAG, which makes sense. Director Tate Taylor has an acting background himself, meaning he has plenty of connections within the guild. It's only amplified by the large ensemble of actors who appeared in the movie. The Help will definitely receive a Best Picture nod, and certainly a few acting ones as well, but the new director slot went to Hazanavicius instead of him.

When it comes to who actually wins the award, history matters. Both Allen and Scorsese have been honored by the DGA, both for an individual film and with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Will Hugo or Midnight in Paris merit an additional honor? As a newbie, I doubt Hazanavicius will win. I think it comes down to Payne or Fincher, neither of whom has won before. Both have great track records and each of their films exemplify the work the helmers are known for. Payne specializes in the mix between comedy and drama, with sad-sack heroes that somehow endear themselves to the audience. Fincher is probably the most technically brilliant directors out there. None of the dark films he specializes in look like they use extensive special effects, but they do, and YouTube videos like this and this sold me on the kind of detailed planning and creative control Fincher exercises. I'm betting on Payne or Fincher.

On January 28, in less than three weeks, the DGA will announce the winner of their award--and make the outcome of the Oscars a little bit easier to divine.

Oscar nominees Bening and Sorkin share common past: 'The American President'

By Sarah Sluis

I saw Annette Bening in two films last year, as a parent traumatized by loss in Mother & Child and as a wine-swilling lesbian mother in The Kids Are All Right. While Bening performed admirably in both the roles, I was reminded of how well she does comedy in her latter role. Her first post-Oscar nomination project, The Third Act, will team her up with Rob Reiner, who directed her in one of the few movies I'm guaranteed to stop on while flipping through cable channels, The American President. And it just so happens that Aaron Sorkin, nominated for an Oscar this year for The Social Network, wrote the screenplay.

Before this year's Oscar nomination and four years before he created "The West Wing," Sorkin made one of the best late-century romantic comedies out there. Roger Ebert admired the movie for combining romance, comedy, and politics: "It is hard to make a good love story, harder to make a good comedy and harder still to make an intelligent film about politics," he praised in his four-star review (I knew I wasn't the only one who liked this movie!). Perhaps politics was the special something that made this movie go over the top. After all, the combination of romance and comedy tends toward the unfunny and unromantic these days. Or maybe it's that Michael Douglas and Bening got along well on set, if you believe what she said about him at an AFI event.

Whatever the reason, The American President is a charming movie and it's no surprise that both Sorkin and Bening are nominated this year at the Oscars. What's more surprising is that this gem with a level of feel-good on par with The King's Speech didn't get any Oscar love. How did this movie, rated four stars by Ebert, fare at the Academy Awards? It received one nomination, for Best Original Score. As a recent post by Kevin Lally on overlooked performances shows, the Oscars have missed crowning some of the best movie moments. Let's hope both Bening and Sorkin get their due, even if it's not for whatever film will eventually be considered their best.

Mall Cop holds down #1 spot; Oscar nominees see lift

By Sarah Sluis

Paul Blart: Mall Cop earned $21.5 million this weekend, bringing its two-week total to $64.5 million. Any reservations I had about the film's appeal were halted when I visited a mall this weekend, and was treated to the sight of a mall cop, on a Segway, ordering a meal at Dunkin Donuts. There's just something incredibly pompous about being mounted on a Segway, even without the addition of a coffee/doughnuts stereotype. If I were a teen moviegoer eager to thumb authority, I would definitely go see this movie in my mall's multiplex. With just a 32% drop from last week, the movie most likely had good word-of-mouth among fans of Kevin James.

Right behind Paul Blart, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans debuted at $20.7 million, while the badly reviewed Inkheart earned just $7.7 million and the number seven spot. Guess they won't be making any of the two already-scripted sequels.

With the Oscar nominees announced on Thursday, many films angling for nominations planned on expanding their runs in hopes of picking up extra business. The snubbed Gran Torino, which widened its

run last week, continued to make the biggest impact on the box office, dropping just one spot to number three. With so much momentum, it stands a chance at overtaking the gross of big-budget, most-nominated film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which staged its wide release over Christmas. Gran Torino's take, $97 million, is just slightly under Button's $111 million (to date) gross.

With so many Oscar contenders in the running amidst the January comedies and thrillers, over twenty

films grossed more than $1 million this weekend. All the nominated films saw boosts in business, especially when combined with expanded runs. Slumdog Millionaire, which moved into national release, saw an 80% increase in business, earning $10.5 million and the number five spot. Benjamin Button also made the top ten, but, already saturated in every market, saw only a 7% rise in business, earning $6 million and the number nine spot.

Despite receiving a mere three Oscar nominations, Revolutionary Road saw an almost 200% increase in business, and a per-screen average of $4,979, making the film more efficient than expansions of Best Picture nominees Frost/Nixon and The Reader. On the strength of Mickey Rourke's Oscar nomination, The Wrestler earned $6,537 per screen while showing on a modest 566 screens.

Next weekend thrillers The Uninvited and Taken will compete for attention, along with Renee Zellwegger starrer New in Town, mixing in with the awards contenders and, of course, the mall cop.

Full studio estimates viewable here.