'Trek' in hot pursuit of 'Angels & Demons'

By Sarah Sluis

Angels & Demons made the usual sequel dip, earning $48 million this weekend, only 62% of The Da Vinci Code's opening weekend. Because the book Angels & Demons wasn't nearly as popular as The Da Vinci Code, which had a Mona Lisa plotline that captivated readers' imaginations, the studio had expected a smaller opening. The popularity of Star Trek, however, likely prevented the opening weekend from crossing the $50 million mark, as did the film's older-skewing audience, which isn't as keen on turning out to see a film the first weekend.

In its second week, Star Trek earned nearly as much as Angels & Demons, pulling in $43 million, a mere 42% drop from last week. Wolverine, by comparison, dropped 69% in its second week, and another 44% this week. Because of Trek's below-average drop for a tentpole film, as well as its strong weekday earnings, it's now just $4 million shy of Wolverine's $151 million total. Its marketing efforts overseas have paid off too, as international audiences have finally taken notice of the franchise. Based on the success of Star Trek, expect Paramount to arc out the story across multiple sequels.

The rest of the top ten, combined, earned only about $20 million, each dropping minimally from the week before. With Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian releasing this Friday, family films like PG-rated Monsters vs. Aliens, which dropped only 8% this week, and G-rated Earth will likely fall to the bottom of the top ten or out altogether.

By contrast, female-oriented films Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Obsessed, which came in at number four and five this week, earning $6.8 and $4.5 million, won't see any competition for quite some time. It's another month until romantic comedy The Proposal, which has seen strong advance word, will open widely.

This Memorial Day weekend will please adults and families alike. Adventure comedy Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian has already blitzed kids and parents with advertising, and the addition of Amy Adams adds female appeal to a film whose first outing was toplined by males. R-rated Terminator Salvation, which parents will hopefully avoid bringing their kids to, will also attempt to re-launch and re-center a franchise that lost some of its resonance through projects like television show "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." I'll be weighing in on Terminator Salvation's attempt to live up to its iconic catchphrase "I'll be back" later this week, so surf back later in a few days.

'Angels & Demons' to usurp top spot from celestial 'Star Trek'?

By Sarah Sluis

Joining the fray of big releases, Angels & Demons opens this weekend (3,527 theatres), its main competition holdovers Star Trek, in its second week of release, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I saw the film this Wednesday and while I'll go along with the opinion that the follow-up is better than The Da Vinci Code, better is a relative term. I think The New York Times' A.O. Scott puts it best, saying director Ron Howard "combines the visual charm of mass-produced postcards with the mental stimulation of an easy Monday crossword puzzle." The intrigue seems paper-thin, and the ciphers are either incredibly easy to decode or require leaps of faith to pursue. Mr. Hanks, for example, simply looks at where statues are pointing and follows their direction, managing to find precision in casual hand gestures. The movie does have a nice twist towards the end, but for the first two-thirds you're actually watching a serial killer movie. Imagine Seven, but set in Rome, and you have the right idea. The Catholic Church, after objecting to the first film, seems to have deemed the second innocuous. Angels & Demons isn't expected to do the big business of Wolverine or Star Trek in its opening weekend, but say a prayer that it will cross $50 million in its opening weekend.

Most of the post-opening weekend Star Trek buzz has centered on one anecdote. Over the past week, I've heard from friends, family, and even eavesdropping, the same comment: "So-and-so [a female who would not be expected to like a sci-fi movie, especially one with such a strong geek following] really liked it." People seem to be interested in the fact that its appeal extends to the anti-fan, which is exactly the kind of word-of-mouth that will sustain a film beyond opening weekend. It's been killing it this week, earning five times as much as Wolverine each day and currently at $99 million.

The specialty market this weekend is packed, once again, though the less-crowded market at Cannes indicates that there will be fewer specialty films in the pipeline. With so many great indie films out there, and only a limited amount of time to see them, many are viewing the slowdown as a good thing. Summit's sneaking its oft-delayed The Brothers Bloom, which stars Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz, into four theatres, with plans to expand the film over the next two weekends. Big Man Japan, a "goofy sci-fi satire aimed at a narrow audience," will release in NY and LA. Romantic comedy Management, which stars Jennifer Aniston as a corporate executive and Steve Zahn as the motel owner she trysts with, opens in 212 theatres. Jerichow, which our reviewer described as a "modern-day, Teutonic Postman Always Rings Twice," also opens in NY and LA, along with IFC's Summer Hours, a story about three children dividing up their mother's belongings after her death.

Angels & Demons should win the box office, though Star Trek 's spectacular weekday performance could make it a tight race. Wolverine should grab the third spot. From the specialty front, The Brothers Bloom will be looking for a strong per-screen average to set up the caper comedy for its expansion. All the wide releases will want to rack up grosses before next week, Memorial Day, which will see ticket sales siphon away towards R-Rated Terminator Salvation and PG-rated Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

'Star Trek' back with a $76.5 million opening

By Sarah Sluis

With J.J. Abrams at the helm, Star Trek has officially relaunched. The prequel gave the franchise its biggest open ever. Including Thursday evening screenings, which tacked on $4 million to the total, Star Trek earned $76.5 million. IMAX screenings of the film added 11% to the film's bottom line, consistently selling out and counting for $8.3 million in ticket sales. The film also did better Saturday than Friday, which usually indicates positive reviews and the likelihood that the film will have legs at the box office.

While Wolverine dropped 68% from last week, down to $27 million, the film was number one overseas. Star Trek wasn't franchised internationally and thus tends to underperform globally, which dampens its profitability in an age where most films rely on international box office in order to make a film go into the black. Still, that doesn't seem to be changing any plans to go ahead with the next Trek film.

Next Day Air, a mix-up comedy that deals with the fallout when drugs are delivered to the wrong house, brought in a modest $4 million and grabbed the #6 spot.

Despite the presence of two tentpoles, the rest of the top ten dropped just 30-45%. Tellingly, most of the titles remaining in the top ten skewed towards females, kids, and families, apt films for those not in the mood, or old enough, for sci-fi or action. At #3, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past dropped just 32% to earn $10.4 million, and teen-themed titles 17 Again and Hannah Montana: The Movie both held on in the top ten, bringing in $4.4 million and $2.4 million. Monsters vs. Aliens, in its seventh week of release, brought in $3.3 million, and Earth, a documentary that focuses on the lives of animal families, reeled in $3.3 million.

Among specialty debuts, Rudo Y Cursi, which released in 70 theatres, brought in $3,000 per location. The per-screen average is light for a specialty title, and may indicate that the Spanish-language film could have benefited from more specific Hispanic marketing, most famously used in last year's Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Little Ashes, only at 11 locations, did better from a per-screen perspective with $6,400 per theatre, and Atom Egoyan's Adoration earned $4,000 across ten locations.

This Friday Angels & Demons releases, marking the third week in a row dominated by a tentpole. Because it's based on a mass-market paperback, there's a chance it will bring in a different, possibly older and more female audience than the previous two big-budget films. With both Star Trek and Wolverine out of the gate, everyone will be watching to see how they hold up in their second and third week of release.

'Star Trek' to boldly go to 3,849 theatres

By Sarah Sluis

The big films of the weekend are Star Trek (3,849 theatres) and holdover Wolverine. While Star Trek will clearly grab the top spot, there's a sense that there's only so much pie out there, and either Wolverine will drop harder than expected and Trek will do phenomenally, or Wolverine will dip modestly and dampen Trek's first-weekend gross. It appears that Trek studio Paramount is expecting the latter, as it's laid out relatively modest expectations for the picture, starting at $50 million. However, even with a smaller debut, Paramount won't lose face, since they're positioning the film as a type of Batman Begins, with the idea that there is a Dark Knight down the line.

Manohla Dargis at the NY Times pinpointed the greatest achievement of the re-launch: "Mr. Abrams doesn't treat Star Trek as a sacred text, which would be deadly for everyone save the fanatics." Indeed, the tale is appropriate for nearly everyone, as our reviewer Ethan Alter noted: "If this version of Trek doesn't become a four-quadrant hit, than Paramount might as well stop trying."

For those not interested in sci-fi, many specialty films are opening this week to provide counter-programming. Rudo Y Cursi opens in NYC. Coming from Carlos Cuarn, it's a tale heavy on fate: two brothers (one plays goalie, the other offense) are recruited from rural Mexico to the major leagues, where they struggle with their sudden good fortune, and, to the consternation of the viewer, keep on making decisions that threaten to push them back into their unknown, rural world. I found the film fanciful and fun, though those going to look at the hunk-like visages of Gael Garcia Bernl and Diego Luna will find them marred by terrible, terrible haircuts (think Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading).

Twilight fans may be in for a surprise when they check out Little Ashes (NY/LA: 12 theatres), which stars Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, and Javier Beltrn, who play 1920s trio Salvador Dali, Luis Buuel, and Federico Garcia Lorca. The three have a flirtatious sort of friendship, but, according to our reviewer Stephen Farber, nothing really develops. The "diffuse script...disappoints," giving the film a "handsome but meandering" feel.

The documentary Objectified, Gary Hutsit's follow-up to Helvetica, offers intriguing explanations of everyday objects like chairs, techno gadgets, and vegetable peelers. The designers' perspective is contagious, and after the film you'll find yourself examining everyday objects with the same thoughtfulness as the designers.

Tilda Swinton stars in the thriller Julia (NY/LA: 3 theatres), playing an alcoholic with a poorly conceived kidnapping plan. The documentary Outrage, which just debuted at Tribeca, outs closeted gay politicians, calling them out for their hypocritical voting. It's been generating controversy among audience members, which will probably only drive more curious people into theatres.

I'll see you back on Monday to discuss just how out-of-this-world Star Trek performed.