Black Sheep @ The Box Office

And Black Sheep returns to the box office after a long and arduous awards season. Arduous might be a bit of a stretch but I'm in a bit of a dramatic mood today so just roll with it. It would have been great to come back last weekend to celebrate the phenomenal success of ALICE IN WONDERLAND but there were those pesky Oscars last weekend. Instead, we're here to see the Tim Burton film cross the $200 million mark in only its second weekend. In fact, at ten days to cross, it is the 11th fastest film in history to accomplish the feat, just a few million shy of AVATAR's same pace. I'm not suggesting that we should expect AVATAR size business here but it's only about $40 million shy of surpassing BATMAN as Burton's most successful film.


Four other films debuted in the Top 10 this weekend but none made any sort of significant dent. Leading the charge was the Paul Greengrass / Matt Damon pairing, GREEN ZONE. Pulling in an average of less than $5K per screen means it will be a big stretch for this one to make back any of its reported $100 million budget. Stealing third place from Robert Pattinson is Canadian boy, Jay Baruchel's headlining act, SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE. The lighter fare brought in a light gross but one that improved over teen romance, REMEMBER ME as the weekend went on. Subsequently, the Pattinson vehicle had to settle for fourth, proving lack of interest in the star past his turn in the "Twilight" movies. Opening in sixth place was the Fox Searchlight title, OUR FAMILY WEDDING. Essentially, with ALICE IN WONDERLAND monopolizing the global business these past two weekends, little interest is being generated for anything else.


Speaking of little interest, although the Oscar telecast last Sunday was the highest rated since 2005, most of the films that took home awards were no longer playing in theatres. Best Picture winner, THE HURT LOCKER, was rereleased in 75 new theatres and took in about $825K, allowing the film to actually make back its reported budget. DVD/BD sales saw great increases but this is the lowest grossing Best Picture winner in Oscar history and that is not about to change. Meanwhile, if it had won, AVATAR would have been the highest grossing Best Picture winner and it suffered another scant 18% decline this week. CRAZY HEART, starring Best Actor winner, Jeff Bridges, slipped just 6% and THE BLIND SIDE, starring Best Actress winner, Sandra Bullock, saw a bum of 24% seventeen weeks into its run for a grand total of $252 million.

NEXT WEEK: Big week people ... THE BOUNTY HUNTER, starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, hits 3000 screens. On 3100 screens, family hopeful, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID opens. Jude Law and Forest Whitaker are REPO MEN on 2400 screens. Sundance film, THE RUNAWAYS, with Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett hits 225 screens. And the latest film by one of my favorite directors, Noah Baumbach, GREENBERG, starts its limited run on 3 screens.

SOURCE: BOX OFFICE MOJO

Shearing the Oscars: Best Actor

This weekend, Black Sheep will be taking a closer look at one of the most exciting categories and one of the most infuriating at this year's Academy Awards. As I figure it best to start my weekend on a positive note, I am going to go with exciting to start. The ladies will wait until tomorrow, where apparently I will begin my day with a coffee and a scowl as I muse on their category. Meanwhile, if we could get to the gentlemen, and they all appear to be folks I could say that about, I describe the Best Actor category as exciting because I genuinely feel that they all deserve to be there. Though Bridges definitely has the edge, it is not a lost cause for the other competitors. And the nominees are ...

JEFF BRIDGES as Bad Black in CRAZY HEART


I did not get the chance to review Scott Cooper's CRAZY HEART when it came out but if I had I would have called it pretty good but not amazing. I also would have said that Bridge's incredible performance is the only real reason to see this film. To watch him disheveled and barely able to stand up is to understand how heavy life can get for an alcoholic who has no respect for his own self. His expression is restrained and real but his resonance is staggering. Bridges has been nominated for four Oscars already, the first for 1971's THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and the last for 2000's THE CONTENDER, but he has yet to win. After snagging the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild Award for this role, Bridges does seem somewhat destined.

GEORGE CLOONEY as Ryan Bingham in UP IN THE AIR


Clooney had the momentum going in. He picked up early kudos from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle for his smooth work as Ryan Bingham, in Jason Reitman's UP IN THE AIR. The role almost seems tailor made for Clooney, as art imitates what we think we know about his life. Bingham is unattached and approaching 50. He has no interest in settling in one place in particular or holding any one person's hand for too long. Clooney brings so much more than himself to the role though. He brings class and sophistication and such sympathy that he sets the tone for the film to follow. He has lost his edge though and has already won for a supporting role in SYRIANA. He could turn it around but I fear his plane might be grounded.

COLIN FIRTH as George in A SINGLE MAN


I have never really been a big Colin Firth fan. When I caught the North American premiere of Tom Ford's A SINGLE MAN at TIFF this fall though, I was floored by the depth of his range and how much sadness he could carry in his soul. Firth was on hand for the premiere and he could not appear to be more proud of his work and the film itself. The Academy didn't shower A SINGLE MAN with any other love than this nod though so Firth has his work cut out for him. He won awards for his work at the Venice Film Festival as well as from some West Coast critic's associations but so far, he has come up short for anything really big. This is his first nomination and without a major campaign, I can't see this being his first win as well.

MORGAN FREEMAN as Nelson Mandela in INVICTUS


I'm happy to say that with Freeman's and Matt Damon's Supporting Actor nods being the only one's awarded to Clint Eastwood's INVICTUS, it would appear that the Academy's unconditional love for all of Eastwood's work is finally falling off. The best thing about INVICTUS is the acting and Freeman certainly deserves to be nominated for his uncanny interpretation of the former President of South Africa. My criticism, and also why I don't feel this fifth nomination will turn into a second win for Freeman, is that his performance often borders more on imitation.

JEREMY RENNER as Staff Sgt. William James in THE HURT LOCKER


Renner's nod is the only one that doesn't match my Top 5 for the year. I enjoyed him. I felt that he brought different layers to a role that could have been very one-dimensional. I just happened to enjoy another performance more (Michael Stuhlbarg in A SERIOUS MAN). Renner is a fairly fresh face and this is his first nomination. My guess is that he got swept up in the enormous support for Kathryn Bigelow's THE HURT LOCKER and that just being honoured among these other veteran actors is his award.

WHO WILL WIN? Jeff Bridges

WHO COULD STILL UPSET? George Clooney

And so there are the men. Tomorrow, it's the women. I will not be covering the supporting categories as those are pretty much locks already. What do you think? Who do you think will win? And who do you think actually should win? Black Sheep wants to know what you think!

Oscars @ Home

There are over 40 different films nominated for Oscars this year and less than 30 days before the actual telecast. Let's be real here. Unless you've been thoroughly preparing for this throughout the year, you will not get a chance to see all the nominated films in time. Even if you did prepare, or are a film critic like myself and have seen 30 of the nominated films already, there are some selections, like the surprise animated feature nominee, THE SECRET OF KELLS, which won't reach theatres until after the awards are handed out. And so I suppose the goal is to do the best we can with what time we have and with the resources available to us.

This is where I come in. I will help you make sure you see as many of the right films possible before the big night. To make it easier on you, I'll start with all the nominated films that you can get at the video store or on demand or delivered to your door. Believe it or not, there are 16 films available to rent before the telecast airs, five of which are nominated for Best Picture. You can start your journey comfortably in your living room and work your way up getting out of the house and into the crowds to see the rest. I will rank them in order of importance and list the awards they are nominated for so that you can see why I consider them important.

1. THE HURT LOCKER
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING


Tied for the most nominations with AVATAR, THE HURT LOCKER is your first stop. Unfortunately, as it only pulled in $13 million or so in theatres, it is a lot of people's first stop so it might be hard to find. If you're a fan of the war genre and appreciate the tension that only dismantling bombs can carry, you should just buy it. It's a gorgeous film. THE HURT LOCKER has a great chance to win in all of its categories, except the acting (sorry, Jeremy Renner), so this is a must if you want to follow on the big night.

2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SUPPORTING ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS has only one less nod than THE HURT LOCKER but not as much buzz. I would say it would be a surprise Best Picture winner but if anyone has a shot at a directing upset, it's Quentin Tarantino. Christoph Waltz is a lock for Supporting Actor and Tarantino might take the screenplay nod instead of the directing award. This one is also a must see.

3. DISTRICT 9
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
FILM EDITING
VISUAL EFFECTS

DISTRICT 9 is a long shot in all of it's categories but the fact that it managed that much attention in such big categories makes me think a lot of people liked this one. It is a must see before the telecast just because of what it is nominated for but as it won't likely win, it won't be the end of everything if you miss it.

4. UP
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ANIMATED FEATURE
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND EDITING


UP has a very good chance to beat FANTASTIC MR. FOX for Animated Feature and an off chance at the screenplay bid so it is a contender but I don't see it as a Best Picture threat. Composer Michael Giacchino could grab another award for his score but I don't know how many people watch the Oscars for the music category. If you haven't seen UP, you should. You'll be happy to see it win whatever it does.

5. A SERIOUS MAN
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Two biggies there but no support in any other category suggests people liked A SERIOUS MAN but weren't floored by anything in particular about it. Personally, I loved everything about it and still think Michael Stuhlbarg was robbed in the Best Actor category. It comes out tomorrow and Black Sheep's full review will be up then.

6. JULIE & JULIA
Nominated for:

ACTRESS

JULIE & JULIA only has the one nomination but it happens to be a record-breaking one for Meryl Streep and people are saying that it is going to come down to her or Sandra Bullock in THE BLIND SIDE. If you want to get in on that race, you need to start here.

7. IN THE LOOP
Nominated for:

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY


Although I was sad not to see Tom Ford pick up a nod for writing A SINGLE MAN, I am thrilled to see the screenplay for IN THE LOOP up for it instead. This is definitely one of the sharpest, dirtiest, most hilarious films I've seen in years. You likely have never heard of it but if you are debating watching it because of the nomination, good for you! You will laugh very hard at this British political satire. It is brave and shocking and again, so funny!

8. STAR TREK
Nominated for:

VISUAL EFFECTS
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING
MAKEUP

STAR TREK may have missed out on the bigger prizes but these four nods tie STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME for the most Oscar nods for any Star Trek film. You don't need to see this beforehand but you should definitely see it.

9. THE COVE and FOOD INC.
Each nominated for:

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

You don't always get to see the nominated documentary features that easily and THE COVE and FOOD INC. are two that you don't want to miss. Both will change your life and just imagine how smart you'll look at your Oscar party when you can say you've seen two of the nominated documentaries.


THE REST ...

The following films are nominated here and there and also available to watch before the telecast, in case you wanted to be thorough. Once you're done with the first half of this list though, you should probably get to the theatre before the rest of these. Priorities, people!



BRIGHT STAR
(Nominated for Costume Design)

COCO AVANT CHANEL
(Costume Design)

CORALINE
(Animated Feature)

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
(Cinematography)

IL DIVO
(Makeup)

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
(Sound Mixing)

Shearing the Oscars: Best Picture

The nominations for the 82nd annual Academy Awards were announced this past week and, if you care about the Oscars at all, you likely knew already that they were to be expanding their Best Picture category from five to ten slots. It may have been a thinly veiled attempt to ensure the telecast audience grows this year by embracing a wider array of films but did it work? My guess, based on the support the films reached in other categories and the feelings I'm getting in my stomach, I would venture that had the Academy stuck with five nominees, they would look a little something like this:

AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

I would have been satisfied with that, even with AVATAR being included. Thanks to the new rules though, the following films get to bask in Oscar glory as well:

THE BLIND SIDE
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
A SERIOUS MAN
UP

All, save for one, which I will allow you to figure out all by yourself, are well deserving. So, it would appear, that Oscar did good so far and their future bodes well. I'm still back and forth on the move though. On the one hand, I feel that honouring ten films better encompasses all genres and audiences. On the other, I feel it cheapens the recognition itself. While I am torn on this point, I am decisively upset with the media for how they've handled the whole thing. The Academy goes out of its way to reach a wider audience and honour more films and what do you do? You whittle the list down to a mere two entries, suggesting this biblical David vs. Goliath cage match between THE HURT LOCKER and AVATAR, as though none of the other films stand any chance. I understand that frontrunners exist but to be fair, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS has eight nominations in total, only one less than the big two. UP IN THE AIR has already won plenty of top prizes during awards season too. Even PRECIOUS, whose buzz died off long ago, still has Oprah behind it. If she can get a president elected, she can get a measly, little Oscar.

And so, in the interest of actually considering all ten nominated films instead of writing them off immediately after they were announced, Black Sheep will break down the nominations for Best Picture, one by one, beginning with ...

AVATAR

Do I believe AVATAR has an excellent chance of winning Best Picture? Yes, it does. Do I believe it should win? Of course not. The entire world has been swept up in the incredible spell AVATAR has cast on filmgoing audiences. Do I believe it warrants its nomination? Yes, I do. Any film that wows and inspires as many people as this one has, deserves to honoured as one of the best pictures of the year. An exciting adventure doesn't always make for an incredible film though. Director James Cameron's screenplay is unoriginal and obvious and the acting is uneven at best. Sure, I had a good time watching AVATAR but nothing other than that has stayed with me. A Best Picture winner should be timeless.

THE BLIND SIDE

I swore I would never see this movie when I first saw the preview and I finally had to cave last weekend because it was becoming pretty clear that Sandra Bullock was going to score a Best Actress nomination for her work in it. She did just that and, in another beguiling sign that she has a very good shot at winning that award, she also inspired enough love to elevate the film itself into the Best Picture race. Clearly, I had very low expectations for THE BLIND SIDE but I was pleasantly surprised. By that, I mean, it was alright. Alright should not be nominated for Best Picture, let alone win, and, in this case, it won't.

DISTRICT 9

I don't think DISTRICT 9 has any genuine chance of winning this award but the fact that it's here speaks to how much unexpected impact it had on those who saw it, including myself. (DISTRICT 9 is nominated for Best Picture at Black Sheep's Mouton d'Or Awards this year as well.) The Academy also showered the film with love for its elaborate and imaginative screenplay as well as its very real visual effects and intense editing style. Stealing an editing slot from bigger fish, UP IN THE AIR, suggests that its chances are stronger than I think they are but if a piece of science-fiction is going to win this year, it will be for bluer aliens than these.

AN EDUCATION

As AN EDUCATION too earned a Mouton d'Or nomination for Best Picture this year, it is clearly a favorite of mine and I am thrilled to see it make the final cut, alongside the brilliant Nick Hornby screenplay and the breathtaking performance by Carey Mulligan. This film has a much better chance of winning overseas at the BAFTA's though than in Hollywood. It is one of the nominated films that stands a good chance to see its box office receipts increase now but that is only because it has not been seen by many at all. (It has earned less than all of the other nominated films in this category.) It's lack of exposure will ultimately cripple it.

THE HURT LOCKER

This Kathryn Bigelow picture has only made a few million dollars more than AN EDUCATION but has been lauded as the Best Picture of the year by critics almost universally. And now that it is available to rent, interest in the film has, uh, exploded, if you will. Critical darlings don't always take the big prize and God knows war-themed pictures have struggled hard for years now but THE HURT LOCKER has the potential to transcend that. It will reach an audience now that it may never have without this recognition and that audience will be shaken by its overpowering tension. They won't know what hit them and if the HURT LOCKER Oscar campaign doesn't trip any major wires before the big night, the rest of the nominees won't know what hit them either.

Black Sheep's breakdown of the Best Picture nominees continues tomorrow with INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, PRECIOUS, A SERIOUS MAN, UP and UP IN THE AIR.

In the meantime, what do you think? Is it really just a race between AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER? If it is, was it worth expanding the list to begin with? Black Sheep wants to know what you think!

Tis the Season: The Los Angeles Film Critics Association

So many critic groups release year end lists and I won't be looking at all of them but when I hear about one as large as say L.A. or New York, I think I can take a minute or two to let you know what they decided. THE HURT LOCKER makes a big play for Best Picture with its win with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and director, Kathryn Bigelow's win for Best Director. UP IN THE AIR comes up in the runner-up position for picture and supporting actress (Anna Kendrick) and takes the win in the screenplay category. Another point of interest for me is the win for FANTASTIC MR. FOX over UP! With so much competition this year for Animated Feature, this could be a very close race. And also intriguing is this unexpected support for IN THE LOOP.

Here is a partial list of winners ...

BEST PICTURE

THE HURT LOCKER
Runner-up: UP IN THE AIR

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER
Runner-ip: Michael Hanake, THE WHITE RIBBON

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART
Runner-up: Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN

BEST ACTRESS

Yolande Moreau, SERAPHINE
Runner-Up: Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christoph Waltz, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
Runner-up: Peter Capaldi, IN THE LOOP

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS
Runner-up: Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR

BEST SCREENPLAY

UP IN THE AIR
Runner-Up: IN THE LOOP

BEST ANIMATION

FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Runner-up: UP!

Source: VARIETY (for the full list)

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Summer 2009!

It is Labour Day today - a day in which no one actually labours too hard, likely because they already went too hard doing something else last night. And as we sit here and recover from our evenings, we are really recovering from the summer as a whole. It all starts back tomorrow, school and sweater weather, that is. The summer blockbusters will make way for pensive Academy fare and before we all put on out glasses and thinking caps, let us raise a glass one last time to the summer of 2009.

(Click on any of the highlighted titles to read the Black Sheep review.)


I wouldn't go so far as to say there is a clear winner at the box office for the summer of 2009 but it can be definitely narrowed down to three. To look at the Top 10 worldwide grosses above, the Top 3 easily outrank the rest of the Top 10 and for different reasons. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, was the clear North American winner, pulling in just under $400 million during its summer run, from both regular and more expensive IMAX screens. The surprising international winner was the third installment of the ICE AGE series, pulling in over $640 million outside of North America. Despite these individual successes, one film did better combined and that was the sixth film in the HARRY POTTER series, proving that the franchise is nowhere near losing its magical touch and will likely ride it out through the remaining two installments. Fans were desperate for some Potter love as it had been over two years since the last film and the final book were released. Harry was due and he got his dues in return.


ANGELS AND DEMONS, the sequel to the infinitely more successful DA VINCI CODE, managed a surprise fourth place finish overall. This is the perfect example of how one film's disappointing domestic bow can be easily salvaged by international interest. International interest also saved TERMINATOR SALVATION and the second NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM even pulled in about $50 million overseas more than its domestic total. Contrarily, there are some films that perform significantly better domestically than elsewhere. The most notable example is STAR TREK. J.J. Abrams managed to successfully reboot the ancient franchise for North American audiences but did not drum nearly as much interest around the globe. It was still one of my favorite flicks this summer.


Men behaving badly left its usual mark on the summer box office, most notably with, the runaway success, THE HANGOVER, which performed well both domestically and internationally and the sequel is already in development. I'm not sure how many times we can watch these dopes get plastered and recreate their evenings but I wasn't sure anyone would care this time either so what do I know? Testosterone also fueled hits like Michael Mann's PUBLIC ENEMIES ($97 million in N.A.) and the summer kick starter, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. Meanwhile, the women continued to prove that summer time is just as much their time as it is the boys'. The Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy, THE PROPOSAL did exceptionally well, with a grand domestic total of $161 million, making the it the 9th biggest domestic summer title out there. And the ladies also enjoyed THE UGLY TRUTH ($87.6 million) JULIE & JULIA ($80.6 Million) and THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE ($55.8 million). Granted those three films combined still come nowhere near what THE HANGOVER made, it is a strong showing nonetheless.


3D added a new dimension to the box office this summer. With a higher ticket price, late summer entry THE FINAL DESTINATION was able to open bigger than any of the previous films in the franchise and G-FORCE was able to cross the $100 million mark for Disney. There was no bigger 3D success this summer though than Pixar's first 3D effort, UP!. UP! pulled in over $290 million domestically, making it the third biggest film of the year so far and the second biggest Pixar film in their history, behind FINDING NEMO, the highest grossing animated film of all time. Pixar will be re-releasing their first hits TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 in 3D as a double bill for a limited run in October to whet our appetite for their next 3D entry, 2010's TOY STORY 3.


There were no major bombs this summer but there were a number of disappointments. The biggest was certainly BRUNO, which grossed more than $60 million less than Sasha Baron Cohen's breakout, BORAT did and it fell fast, proving that Twitter and texting can kill you dead and it can kill you quick. Other disappointments include Judd Apatow's return to directing, FUNNY PEOPLE ($51 million), the Apatow produced, YEAR ONE ($43 million) and the Sam Raimi directed, DRAG ME TO HELL ($42 million). Incidentally, that last one was actually really good so don't let it slip past you when it is released to rent and own this October.


The summer is also a time for little art movies to rise past the big explosions and make miniature waves of their own. Sam Mendes's AWAY WE GO charmed adult audiences at the beginning of the summer, finishing with a total gross of $9.5 million. Oscar contender, THE HURT LOCKER beat the war movie curse by taking in $11.7 million in limited release. No film crossed over better though that the modern romantic comedy, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, which allowed the whole world to fall in love with Zooey Deschanel right alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, to the tune of $28.4 million.


The final days of summer wound down with the reasonable launch of a new franchise based on a toy, G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA. The film pulled in about $141 million domestically and just about the same internationally. They aren't TRANSFORMERS size numbers but they will do for at least one sequel. Quentin Tarantino released what will go on to be the most successful film of his career with INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. The domestic total currently stands at $95 million and it will surely surpass the $107 million domestic gross of the Oscar winning, PULP FICTION. And then there was that phenomenal film about alien occupation on earth that many critics and moviegoers considered to be the best release of the summer, DISTRICT 9. The Neill Bloomkamp directed film has already taken in $103 million and Sony has greenlit not one but two sequels.


Overall, the 2009 worldwide summer box office took in over $10 billion, allowing it to surpass the records established two years ago. Apparently, the summer box office dollar is alive, well and in three dimensions.

Black Sheep's regular box office report will return next week.

Sources: Variety
Box Office Mojo

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: No Laughing Matter

$23 million doesn’t sound like the opening weekend gross of a number one summer title but it is for this week’s FUNNY PEOPLE. In fact, that amount is the lowest gross of any number one film this summer and also 23% less than what writer/director, Judd Apatow’s last movie, KNOCKED UP, pulled in on its opening weekend. Still, distributor, Universal, thinks the number is great and falls perfectly in line with what they had in mind to begin with. Now, that’s funny.


FUNNY PEOPLE is considered a departure for both the director and the star, Adam Sandler. The major reason for that is that it isn’t very funny. To be fair, it isn’t supposed to be – it is a movie about a dying comedian after all. The departure angle is Universal’s argument for the supposedly acceptable gross. They believe the picture will speak for itself and that it will grow just like the director and star have grown in the weeks to come. One problem with that theory – reviews are mixed to poor. They’re not about to be booed off stage but it shouldn’t be too hard to follow them.


Audiences weren’t interested this weekend in much of anything that Hollywood had to offer. ALIENS IN THE ATTIC opened on over 3100 screens but only mustered a very earthly $7.8 million. And horror flick, THE COLLECTOR, missed out on the Top 10 and couldn’t crack an average higher than $3K. It was the holdovers that most impressed this week. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE redeemed itself after a 60% drop last week by slipping less than 40% this week. That did of course have to do with the addition of over 160 IMAX screens as it had to wait in line for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN to finish its IMAX run first. Last week’s number one, G-FORCE, has now pulled in over $66 million in under 2 weeks. And comedy hits, THE HANGOVER and THE PROPOSAL are still only dropping off with scant 20-something percents week on week.


The art-house crowd also had much to celebrate this week as expansions went smoothly and launches started solidly. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER made its first major move toward the mainstream with the addition of 181 screens. It still managed an average of over $10K per screen and will certainly find itself in the Top 10 next week when it adds 800 more screens. THE HURT LOCKER has not seen as much success as that but that stands to reason given the heavier subject matter. Still, now playing on over 500 screens, the Oscar contender saw its gross increase week on week by another 32% for a total of $6.8 million. And British import and Black Sheep favorite, IN THE LOOP added 27 screens for 60% increase and an average of nearly $9K. As far as launches go, the dolphin documentary, THE COVE, opened to a solid $13K average on just four screens (look for the Black Sheep interview with the director coming later this week) but it was ADAM, a Fox Searchlight picture about an unlikely love, that scored this week’s biggest per screen average, with $16.5K.

NEXT WEEK: The last of the summer blockbusters, G.I JOE blasts its way onto over 3500 screens. Sony counter-programs with the Meryl Streep/Amy Adams comedy, JULIE & JULIA on 2300 screens. Universal gets scary with THE GETAWAY on 2000 screens. And the quirky Charlene Yi/Michael Cera mockumentary, PAPER HEART opens on 40 screens.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, Variety

BLACK SHEEP @ The Box Office: HARRY POTTER Works his Magic!

This time last year, THE DARK KNIGHT shattered the notion of what it meant to open a movie with a three-day haul of $158.4 million. I can still remember how very ticked off I was that I had to settle for MAMMA MIA! on opening night because all THE DARK KNIGHT IMAX screenings were sold out. No one expected HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE to come anywhere near that but Mr. Potter and friends still managed to get a trick or two in anyway.


It certainly seemed like this sixth Harry Potter installment had the potential to reach new heights when it debuted to $22.2 million in advance midnight screenings the day before its release. This gross easily surpassed THE DARK KNIGHT’s $18.5 million record midnight haul from last year. The next day, it came very close to beating the record for best Wednesday opening that was set just a few weeks back when TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN opened to $62 million. Ultimately, opening to the third largest theatre count in history helped HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE take in a weekend haul of $79.5 million for a five-day total of just under $160 million. It is the largest Harry Potter opening to date and fitting, if you, like I, thought it was the best Harry Potter film to date as well.


The news was not so good for BRUNO this weekend. The film fell off a drastic 73% in its second weekend, ensuring that it will come nowhere near the success of star, Sasha Baron Cohen’s last hit, BORAT. I speculated last week that BRUNO didn’t do as well because of its gay content and as I’ve done no research on the subject, I have no basis for this. The film is certainly not being as praised by critics or fans this time out but most people I know who’ve seen it, still thought it was funny. And so I am still left wondering whether the world just didn’t want to watch such a flamboyantly gay character for that long. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.


And, while THE HURT LOCKER (pictured further up because I don't want to see any more BRUNO pics) continued to outdraw the majority of the Top 10 in terms of per screen averages, with $8K at 94 screens, a 19% increase over last week, the big art house success story of the week belonged to lovers. 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, a big favorite at this year’s Sundance film festival, opened in 12th place with a per screen average that easily exceeded every title in the Top 10, $31K on just 27 screens. The film expands next Friday and the Black Sheep review is coming this week.

NEXT WEEK: You know its going to be a great weekend when the good money is on the movie with the talking hamsters. Disney’s G-FORCE opens on 3200 screens. Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler battle it out for all the sexes in THE UGLY TRUTH (2700 screens). And yet another movie about a demonic child, THE ORPHAN, opens on 2600 screens. In this one though, we’ll never believe what made the little girl do it. That's what the trailer says anyway.

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

THE HURT LOCKER

Written by Mark Boal
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty


Colonel Reed: What’s the best way to go about disarming one of these things?
Staff Sergeant William James: The way you don’t die.

It is no secret that Iraq war movies are a hard sell to both audiences and critics these days. Audiences seem to want nothing to do with watching the hardships of their fellow countrymen on screen and critics can’t seem to agree on any one picture that gets it right … until now, that is. Kathryn Bigelow’s THE HURT LOCKER still has to prove itself at the box office but has almost universally wowed the critics, including this one. It has done so by stripping itself of any pretense or need to speak out against the war. No, Bigelow’s take is not one of condemnation but one that is simply humane and frank about reality. THE HURT LOCKER may just usher in a new breed of post-war films, despite the war not actually being finished. Perhaps this is why the film works – because it isn’t about the war itself but rather the effort to clean up the mess that was made.


The title, THE HURT LOCKER, refers to a place of pain that you cannot get out of. In this case, the hurt locker is Baghdad but there is hope. For Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Remmer) and his crewmen, JT Sandborn and Owen Eldridge (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty), their particular hurt locker has an expiry date on it when we meet them. These three men, all admirable and all seemingly stable, form a team called the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). This is a fancy way of saying bomb squad and together, they have about three weeks or so left in their tour. Bigelow shot over 200 hours of footage, using sometimes four cameras at a time when shooting, to capture an authentic documentary style. The cutting is sometimes so quick that we go from patrolling the perimeter to guarding the rooftops to being right at the side of the bomb. Subsequently, we are the fourth members of this EOD and this becomes our hurt locker as well.


Bigelow (perhaps most famous for directing Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves in POINT BREAK, way back when the first gulf war was coming to a close) brings a feminine sensibility to THE HURT LOCKER that removes the obnoxious male ego we are so accustomed to in war films. Sure, team leader, James does things his way and that gets him into trouble from time to time but he doesn’t do it to get in anyone’s face and he doesn’t do it to prove he is a big man. He does it, from what I gathered because Bigelow is subtle enough to let us do the thinking ourselves, because he is good at it. For James, this is not a hurt locker; this is home, where he knows that who he is and what he is good at is being put to its best use. Remmer (most recently seen in TV’s now cancelled “The Unusuals”) is a great leader for both the team and the film; his presence and dedication command respect from them and admiration from us.


Of course, dismantling bombs is no Iraqi picnic. The true genius of THE HURT LOCKER stems from Bigelow’s handling of Mark Boal’s delicate script. (Boal spent time with an EOD squad to write the script.) Like the men on screen, Bigelow has no interest in the superfluous. She has a job to do and if she doesn’t do it right, it will blow up in her face and take down anyone in the immediate radius. Despite this, she gets right up in the face of the bomb without fear at all times and somehow manages to make an explosive film about making sure explosions don’t happen.

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: BRUNO Ist Fabulous!

Well, maybe fabulous is used too loosely here but it is still appropriate considering loose is a fabulous word to describe Bruno too. BRUNO was expected to capture the top of the box office this weekend and the $14 million Friday take seemed to have sealed the deal. The 39% drop from Friday to Saturday put it all into question though. In was very tight in the end between BRUNO and the latest ICE AGE but BRUNO ultimately came out on top – puns fully intended.


BRUNO finished the weekend just north of $30 million, with a per screen average of over $11K. Universal rolled BRUNO out in a much more aggressive fashion than BORAT was unleashed back in the day. Star Sasha Baron Cohen was unproven at the time and therefore the film was released on under 1000 screens. It sold out nearly all weekend and scored somewhere just below $30 million total before the theatre count was tripled the following weekend. BRUNO made slightly more but did so on over 2700 screens with a per screen average that came in at less than half what BORAT did. Reviews are mixed and the general consensus is that BRUNO is not BORAT (or maybe that is just how I feel) so it isn’t likely that BRUNO will go on to match BORAT’s success. In a summer where THE HANGOVER, another R-rated comedy, can make over $200 million, BRUNO should have been bigger. Maybe America did not want to watch a particularly flaming homosexual for an hour and a half or perhaps the film just isn’t amazing. I cannot say for certain but I would not be surprised.


This week’s only other wide release was teen comedy, I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER. The film was completely dismissed by both critics and audiences alike, as it landed in 7th place with just $5 million. The bigger winners can be found below the Top 10. Iraq war films are infamously hard sells by Kathryn Bigelow’s THE HURT LOCKER is now a dark horse Oscar contender and it saw its gross expand by almost 375% as it added another 51 screens. I saw it last night, thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reviewing it later this week. The week’s biggest per screen average belonged to a quirky comedy about two guy friends who are making a porn that calls for them to have sex at some point. At least that’s what I got from the preview for HUMPDAY. The film opened on just two screens and pulled in an average of $14.5K. Check back on Black Sheep tomorrow for tickets to the Montreal premiere!


NEXT WEEK: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE finally hits theatres after being delayed from last November. The film hits 4250 screens on Wednesday and will add a bunch more IMAX screens in a couple of weeks when TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN finishes its minimum four-week run. And this year’s summer hopeful from the folks at Fox Searchlight is the Sundance pleaser, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER. The modern romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel opens on 27 screens and expands in the weeks to follow.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Transformers More Than Bleeds Us Dry

Earlier this week, Michael Bay was quoted in the press as saying he was disappointed with Paramount and Dreamworks’ promotion of his highly anticipate sequel, TRANFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. He felt that there wasn’t enough of it; that his film was being treated as some plain old sequel and not the event film he believed it to be. After pulling in over $200 million in just five days, subsequently tying THE DARK KNIGHT for fastest film to reach $200 million and far surpassing SPIDER-MAN 2 ($152 million) as the highest five day-opening in history, it would seem to me that any more money spent on promotion would have been completely unnecessary.


TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN opened on Wednesday to the tune of $60 million, more than double what the TRANSFORMERS did in its opening day in 2007. This would have included over $16 million in midnight screenings the night before, second only to THE DARK KNIGHT. And with it’s near $30 million Thursday take, the film had already banked approximately $90 million before the weekend even began. As the first installment was a general crowd pleaser, it was expected that a lot of more casual filmgoers would have waited to catch the film on the weekend but the fanatics came out in droves during the week to ensure this mammoth success. Whereas critics were pretty much unanimous about not enjoying either film, fans were passionate about the last. This is not the case this time out. Fans of the first are split on the new one so a steeper than expected decline may follow next week. Still, the film captured one of the best global debuts of all time with a combined total of $387 million.


The week’s other major release did little to capitalize on counterprogramming. MY SISTER’S KEEPER, the movie that makes me teary during the trailers starring Cameron Diaz, opened in fifth place to a total of $12 million and an average of under $5K. Less than stellar reviews will likely urge many interested parties to wait for the rental. Meanwhile, a decidedly more upbeat romantic comedy, AWAY WE GO, has finally squeaked its way into the Top 10 this week. After adding over 360 screens, the Sam Mendes directed indie saw its earnings increase by over 93% over last week with an average of over $3K in its fourth week in theatres. Distributer, Focus Features, has been smart about its expansion technique and AWAY WE GO is now sitting comfortably as this summer’s light indie must see.


While the $26K per screen average of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is certainly impressive for such a wide release, it is not the highest per screen average this weekend. That would belong to Kathryn Bigelow’s highly regarded THE HURT LOCKER. This may be one of the first Iraq war films to register with filmgoers, as is evident with its $36K per screen average coming from just 4 sites in all of North America. In other limited release news, the Stephen Frears directed CHERI, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, opened to a solid but not spectacular total gross of $400K on just 76 screens. And finally, Woody Allen's WHATEVER WORKS maintained a healthy $11K per screen average as it expanded to 35 screens, suggesting the reaction to the film is a good one.

NEXT WEEK: TRANSFORMERS will face serious competition next weekend, making its expected tumble all the more inevitable. Families will be packing the seats for ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (4000 screens) and will have the added bonus of higher ticket prices for the 3D screenings. And Michael Mann’s much anticipated Jon Dillinger biopic, PUBLIC ENEMIES, starring Johnny Depp, rolls out onto 3200 screens. Be sure to catch the Black Sheep review for PUBLIC ENEMIES coming mid week.

Source: Box Office Mojo