WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Snowed Out

Box office geeks everywhere were very curious to see how this weekend would play out. It isn’t often that two giant stars open movies the same weekend. Only one can debut on top and no one wants to take the runner-up spot. In the end though, it would appear that Mother Nature was the big winner this weekend. With most of the eastern portion of North America covered in snow, the big showdown between Jim Carrey and Will Smith got lost in the blizzard. In fact, the only casualty the weather can’t be blamed for is the steep 66% drop of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. That’s merely a reflection of how bad it is.


Carrey’s YES MAN actually came out on top, but just barely. Smith’s SEVEN POUNDS actually took in a higher per screen average, signaling that there was a higher demand for his film. Still, YES MAN had a higher theatre count and solid average, allowing it to pull ahead with $18 million over the $16 million take for SEVEN POUNDS. I never thought there was any reason to believe Smith would come out on top. I realize he is the world’s biggest box office draw but SEVEN POUNDS is a downer and it is Christmas after all. Sure, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS was a downer that came out around the same time too but that one was actually good. SEVEN POUNDS meanwhile, is actually making some critic’s year end worst lists. So finally, yes it is to YES MAN.


Squeaking into third place is the little mouse that isn’t afraid of anything (except Smith and Carrey as it turns out), THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. Audiences practically ignored this family film but business could pick up in the weeks ahead with the holidays just around the corner. Still, it is off to a very slow start and has no critical praise to encourage parents to bother.


Every major awards contender vying for art house supremacy continued to impress on the smaller stages of America. DOUBT and GRAN TURINO each built on last week’s totals as they expanded but there are two other titles that need singling out this week. The first is the latest by Darren Aronofsky, THE WRESTLER. The film itself isn’t getting much awards recognition but performances by Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei are being talked up around the country – or at least they are in and around the four cinemas where the film opened this weekend. THE WRESTLER wrestled up nearly $300K on four screens for an average of over $52K per screen. And for the first time since its release six weeks ago, the unexpected front runner in the Best Picture Oscar race, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, has finally made it to the Top 10. In its widest expansion to date, Fox Searchlight added 420 screens and saw its returns improve nearly 45%. The inevitably impressive word of mouth that will be generated from these showings will certainly only catapult Danny Boyle’s film to even more unexpected heights in the weeks to come. I smell a crossover!

Or is that just my turkey in the over? Hmmm …


NEXT WEEK: What isn’t coming out next week? Aside from wide expansions for DOUBT, GRAN TURINO and FROST/NIXON, and the soft release of the Kate & Leo reunion, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, Hollywood will unleash five mammoth releases on the Christmas public. For the families, there is the Adam Sandler comedy, BEDTIME STORIES. For the couples, you’ve got Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in MARLEY & ME. For the comic book crowd, Frank Miller makes his formal directorial debut with THE SPIRIT. For the award geeks, David Fincher’s buzz heavy, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON finally hits. And for, actually, I’m not sure who this one is for, but Tom Cruise also returns with VALKYRIE. People like seeing WWII movies with bad acting and eye patches on Christmas, right?

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Day the Box Office Stood Still

Aliens may have descended upon the box office this weekend but it was the art house and wards contenders that brought on the major invasion. Of the three wide releases this weekend, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is the only entry that hit the ball into outer space. Meanwhile, three smaller shining stars expanded their runs into bigger galaxies to stellar results and five brand new limited releases shone brighter than most of the big boys.


Opening THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, a sci-fi remake, in the middle of December reminds me of last year when I AM LEGEND was released. I’m sure the good people at Fox were hoping for somewhere near the $70 million that I AM LEGEND opened too but Keanu Reeves is not Will Smith. Oh, and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is certainly not I AM LEGEND. And while $31 million is more than half as much, the film still opened to another $39 million internationally this weekend, putting it just $10 million away from it’s reported $80 million budget. Granted, these preliminary figures have not taken into account grosses from space, where Fox beamed the movie this past weekend as the first film in history to be beamed in its entirety to another solar system. (No, I’m not making this up). Of course, it will take about 4 billion light years to get these figures back so we’ll just stick with earth grosses for now.


Calling the next entry notable is a bit of a stretch but it’s a mega smash when you compare it to the third wide release. NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS could not draw audiences away from FOUR CHRISTMASES (which saw a scant 20%) and opened to a very mild $3.5 million. Meanwhile, Freestyle Releasing’s animated DELGO, opened to a per screen average of just $424 on over 2100 screens. DELGO’s biggest competitor, BOLT, held nicely in fourth place with a 23% decline.


Where do we start with all these amazing art house performances? How about we start the holdovers? I would ordinarily go with the new but art house hits can hit hard one weekend and disappear the next so strong holds and growth are always a testament to the strength of the film. Despite only scoring one Golden Globe nomination for its lead, Sean Penn, MILK jumped back into the Top 10 in its third week. Its aggressive expansion of 229 additional screens proved successful as the film managed the second highest per screen average in the Top 10. Meanwhile, just below the Top 10, as is always seemingly the case for this entry, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, Golden Globe nominee for Best Picture (drama), added 91 screens and brought in another per screen in the teens this weekend, settling again for the number 11 position. And finally, FROST/NIXON, added 36 key markets and saw its gross rise almost 250%. Nothing frosty about that! (Ugh.)


As the December 31 deadline for Oscar contention draws near, the prestige pictures are being unloaded in droves. The good news is that they all seem to be finding their own audiences. The most impressive showing this week goes to Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TURINO. Opening on 6 screens, the film nailed a $47K per screen average. Next on the list is the screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, DOUBT. DOUBT earned an average of $35K on 15 screens. Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour epic, CHE, is playing in New York and L.A. just this week to attempt sneaking Benicio del Toro into the Best Actor race. On 2 screens, the film average just over $30K. Best Picture contender, THE READER, from Stephen Daldry, premiered on 9 screens this weekend to an average of $21K. And last but not least, WENDY & LUCY, starring Michelle Williams in a very stark performance, opened to an average of nearly $11K on just 2 screens. As previously mentioned, the true test will come when the expansion follows.


NEXT WEEK: With only one week to go before the big holiday, studios will cram more big names on to your wish list while they still can. Will Smith goes dark and hopes for gold with SEVEN POUNDS. He’ll have a lot of competition with Jim Carrey’s YES MAN though. I have a feeling people might opt for a positing Jim Carrey over a morose Will Smith. Or maybe both will be sent home by a little mouse that isn’t afraid of anything, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. Meanwhile, Darren Aronofsky’s much buzzed about THE WRESTLER, opens on four screens before expanding in the new year.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

FANDANGO (for more information & tickets)

Written by David Scarpa
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith and Kathy Bates


Secretary of State: I represent the United States of America. Why have you come to our planet?
Klaatu: Your planet?

I don’t know about the earth standing still but I certainly had a hard time moving after this one finished. I think I may have been in shock. I didn’t know they still made movies as bad as this. That’s me, I guess; the eternal optimist, thinking one day Hollywood will see the error of their ways. I’m starting to think there’s a greater chance of aliens landing in Manhattan though. You don’t take a highly regarded classic like THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and update it for no reason other than to make a few bucks. Sure, you can pretend there is purpose; you can cash in on the current environmental crisis fears by insinuating that aliens have come to earth to save the planet from the horrifically unappreciative human race. When you make a film with such disregard for quality though, you can’t do anything to convince me that you actually care about what you’re trying to say.


I will give Hollywood this though; they have finally found the perfect vehicle for the now-veteran Hollywood actor, Keanu Reeves. Reeves plays Klaatu, an alien in human form who has no capacity of expressing human emotion or understanding the intricacies of human nature and interaction. It might as well say that at the top of Reeves’s resume so this is Reeves in his element. Honestly though, this is the first time I can say that Reeves’s presence in a film has absolutely nothing to do with why it is unwatchable. You know you have a problem when dialogue is so bad that it even drags Reeves’s acting down. In fact, having the familiar Reeves on board for this uneventful journey, alongside the strikingly beautiful, Jennifer Connelly, at least gives us something pretty to distract us from the banality of the entire affair. Klaatu certainly rocks that three-piece suit though.


The earth is supposed to stand still on this particular day because aliens have descended upon Central Park in a giant weather sphere of sorts. It is a momentous occasion, one that could be the sign of the end of days. Yet, in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, panic hardly seems to be in the air. Panic comes from a fear of the unknown and an inability to see a solution to your problems but David Scarpa’s script is so painstakingly obvious and formulaic that you can see right through to the end at all times. I hope I’m not giving anything away here but as if this film would finish with humanity’s extinction. And when the devices used to create the melodrama are so laughably contrived (who knew that a white step mom and a black step son could have such hard times getting along?), at least you have the special effects to revel in. Mind you, when the special effects are even more ridiculous than the ensuing melodrama in a big sci-fi pic like this, what is there to keep you sitting still, let along standing?


You’ll never believe this but humanity, or at least the American government run portion of humanity, take immediate military action against the alien invaders before giving them the chance to make their case. This next bit is even more shocking. Apparently, violence is not the answer to solving our problems. I swear, I learned so many hard life lessons watching this movie. Perhaps the most important lesson though is that humanity will never learn. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL represents the same disposable and commercial interests that are the root of our environmental problems. Yet, here is it preaching against the very values that justify its existence. For that reason alone, I would consider this film to be one of the most hopeless (and hapless) films of the year. We’re essentially doomed so I say you can take it, Klaatu. Earth is all yours. We clearly don’t deserve it.

Holiday Movie Preview

There is no time like the holidays to kick back, throw on a fuzzy reindeer sweater and catch a flick at the multiplex. You’ve got movies about pedophile priests and overbearing nuns, aliens landing to end the earth, washed up wrestlers clinging to fame, married couple crumbling underneath the pressure and fantastical tales of men who grow young instead of old. Yes, all this strife is what the holidays are all about and Hollywood is there for you. Join Black Sheep as we look ahead the 2008 Holiday Movie Preview.

DOUBT
Written and Directed by John Patrick Shanley
Starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffmann and Amy Adams
(December 12)

Shanley brings his Pulitzer-prize winning play to the big screen with a remarkable cast. He may not have a movie since 1990’s JOE VS THE VOLCANO but the source material is so solid here that its hard to imagine him missing the mark entirely. It has Oscar buzz written all over it and Streep’s biting ferocity in the trailer has got me practically peeing in my pants.

RANDOM TIDBIT: Natalie Portman was originally considered for the Amy Adams role but she could not connect with the celibate plight of a nun.


THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
Written by David Scarpa
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates
(December 12)

Derrickson remakes the 1951 classic which most consider to be pretty darn near already perfect. Well, nothing guarantees the integrity of a film like casting Keanu Reeves. No, but seriously, the trailers are intriguing and 20th Century Fox is certainly to catch the same audience that made I AM LEGEND into a $256 million domestic smash.

RANDOM TIDBIT: The original film was directed by Robert Wise, director of the first STAR TREK film as well as WEST SIDE STORY and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.


THE WRESTLER
Written by Robert D. Siegal
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood
(December 17)

After his last film, THE FOUNTAIN, tanked loudly, Aronofsky needed some seclusion and rest. He’s coming back fighting though with this unlikely crowd pleaser. The film was bought by Fox Searchlight at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and Rourke is considered a front-runner in the Best Actor category at this year’s Oscars.

RANDOM TIDBIT: Nicolas Cage was originally considered for the Rourke character. He had even started his research phase but was eventually replaced by Rourke for undisclosed reasons.


REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Written by Justin Haythe
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates
(December 26)

Who hasn’t wanted to see DiCaprio and Winslet get back together on screen since they last paired in TITANIC? Ok, it may not be as desperate a scenario as I make it out to be but people are definitely excited to see them together again. Only this time, they’re not falling in love, they’re falling into monotony. Honestly, I’m more excited to see Mendes deal with some of the same issues he did in AMERICAN BEAUTY.

RANDOM TIDBIT: I got two for you here. This is actually the first time that Winslet and Mendes, who have been married for years now, have worked together. Also, Todd Field was originally attached to direct this but he chose to do LITTLE CHILDREN instead, also starring Winslet.


THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Written by Eric Roth
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton
(December 25)

Here’s an interesting one. Pitt plays Benjamin Button, a man who is aging backwards while the rest of the worlds ages as per the norm. You can imagine how difficult this makes dealing with humanity. Fincher, the mman behind such contemporary classics as SE7EN, FIGHT CLUB and last year’s ZODIAC, is a front runner in the Best Director category and the picture is being tipped as the film to beat this year. I know where I will be on Christmas day.

RANDOM TIDBIT: Pitt’s daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, makes a cameo appearance in the film. She was 10 months old when the footage was shot.

Also in December: Beyonce channels Etta James in CADILLAC RECORDS. Ron Howard brings the wildly successful play, FROST/NIXON to the screen and hopefully the Oscars. Stephen Daldry follows us THE HOURS with another literary adaptation, THE READER, starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. Client Eastwood tries for another Oscar with GRAN TURINO, in which he plays what seems like a grumpy old man … with a gun! Michelle Williams turns in an incredibly understated performance as a vagrant looking for her dog in WENDY & LUCY. Box office golden boy, Will Smith reteams with THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS director, Gabrele Muccino in SEVEN POUNDS. Say yes to Jim Carrey in THE YES MAN. Graphic novel king, Frank Miller, tries his hand at directing by himself with THE SPIRIT. Tom Cruise tries for prestige with VALKYRIE but I don’t hear anyone caring. And Owen Wilson returns to film after his suicide attempt last year with MARLEY & ME, a movie about a man and the world’s worst dog. Apparently now, he wants to kill his career instead of himself. Hmmm, too soon? Oh well, Happy Holidays!!