Box Office Actuals (8/19/11 - 8/21/11): A little "Help" goes a long way...

Information obtained via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

In a weekend full of nostalgic reboots and remakes, audiences shunned leftovers and opted instead for the buzzworthy movie of the moment as “The Help” held off all challenges to the #1 spot at the weekend box office. Taking that rare climb into the #1 spot, only the third film to achieve such a feat since December 2009, “The Help” saw a minimal decline in attendance (-23.1%) and earned a strong foothold in the marketplace as a formidable box office draw.

The subject of much controversy and debate, including this article by our own Robert Hamer, “The Help” began to generate discussions reminiscent of the box office breakout that “The Blind Side” experienced in the fall of 2009. Projected to be a mid-level achiever, “The Blind Side” blossomed and drew rave reviews from audiences across all demographic and geographic locations. Shot for a mere $29 million, “The Blind Side” concluded its theatrical run with a $256.0 million haul, earned nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress, and saw lead actress Sandra Bullock win her first Oscar.

Tracking to this point shows that “The Help” does not have that same far-reaching appeal…yet. Where “The Blind Side” gained audiences in its first few weeks, “The Help” has dipped slightly, amassing a 12-day total of $71.3 million stateside. “The Blind Side” had just left $100 million in the dust at the end of its 10^th day in theaters.

Reports indicate that DreamWorks are settling in for a nice, long run into the fall with “The Help” and have already indicated steps are in place for a huge Oscar push targeting Best Picture, Director, Lead and Supporting Actress (but whom and where?), Adapted Screenplay, and technicals including Costume Design, Cinematography, Original Song, and Original Score. Those dismissive of the film's stability over the coming weeks should look forward. Doing so, you will find films that may find a tough time unseating the racially-themed drama.

Guillermo del Toro’s produced remake of “Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark” could draw a nice opening, but as this weekend proved, audiences have likely reached saturation with remakes and reboots and are seeking out fresher material. The Weinstein Company’s R-rated comedy, “Our Idiot Brother”, starring Paul Rudd is playing fine with critics but is suffering with a lackluster marketing campaign.. Elsewhere, Zoe Saldana’s “Colombiana” is drawing dismal buzz thus far and with two films, potentially not screened for critics, arriving in the first week of September (“Apollo 18” and “Shark Night 3D”), “The Help” might see robust success for some time.

For the second consecutive weekend, four films drop into theaters and this weekend, virtually all of them were met with disinterest from the populace. What happened, where and why they went wrong, as well as analysis regarding a handful of indies that are performing strong, The Weekend Breakdown, and Top 40 Most Attended Films after the cut!

Box Office Actuals (8/5/11 - 8/7/11): The Apes "Rise" Again!

Information obtained via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Landing with a higher than estimated $54.8 million, 20th Century Fox's relaunch of the "Planet Of The Apes" gave the studio their largest August opening of all time. Experts had projected the film to land in the mid-$40 million range, but a strong Friday and virtual repeat of business on Saturday saw the film blow away the predictions thrown at it.

Critics stood up for the film, its TomatoMeter at or near 80% in the days leading up to the film's release, and Time Magazine even declared the film the best of 2011 thus far. Plus, Fox was hoping that "Planet Of The Apes" fan sites and science-fiction movie bloggers would spread positive word-of-mouth and they were rewarded handsomely. Fox also did a nice job in prepping the film, striking a nice balance between the recognizable James Franco, the stunning visual effects work on the apes, and navigating the slippery slope of making sure audiences knew that this was not just a remake, but a complete overhaul and new beginning to the film franchise. Certainly, a decade removed from Tim Burton's failed 2001 attempt at the franchise, Fox had another generation of movie-goers to target with their strategies.

Rapidly, amongst reviewers, writers, and bloggers, talk turned to the performance of Andy Serkis in the film. Serkis, who has previously played Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" franchise and King Kong in Peter Jackson's 2006 remake utilizing Motion-Capture technology, received accolades and some spirited Oscar buzz for bringing Caesar, the chimpanzee who serves as the focal point of the film, to life on screen. Serkis' work is extraordinary and in close ups and mid-range shots, the work by Jackson's studio, Weta Digital, is simply unparalleled. It should also be noted that each and every ape depicted in the film was generated via Motion-Capture technology, and although there might be some fair criticism at how the action sequences may look and feel on screen, there is so much detail and realism with these simians that Weta may have earned another Oscar come February.

But where does the film go from here? Burton's much-maligned 2001 film outgrossed this effort considerably on roughly the same budget. The issue is not whether "Rise" will be profitable with its $93 million production, as it has nearly achieved that total when counting worldwide numbers thus far (an additional $23.4 million already from overseas). As strong an opening as this is, the question turns to whether the film will have legs or not.

"Rise"'s prospects come with a tough weekend to analyze. The film is looking to hold strong against the horror/gore franchise, "Final Destination 5", the R-rated heist comedy, "30: Minutes Or Less", the inexplicable "Glee: The 3-D Concert Movie" and Buena Vista's early Oscar contender, "The Help", all opening wide and all optimistic for a big weekend. If "Rise" can hold on, it then likely succumb to Colin Farrell's "Fright Night 3D", which is looking to be a possible late Summer hit for Buena Vista.

"The Smurfs" distance themselves from "Cowboys and Aliens", Dominic Cooper and Brendan Gleeson lead their respective indies to big increases, and the R-rated comedy juggernaut crashes to a halt when "The Change-Up" fails to find a spark.

More analysis, The Weekend Breakdown, and The Top 40 after the cut!

Box Office Actuals (7/29/11 - 7/31/11): "Cowboys" Loses By Winning...

Picture courtesy of Zap2It

Information obtained via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Every mainstream, big studio film has the hopes of landing at the top of the weekend box office and more often that not, landing that success is something to be celebrated. Rare is it that being the weekend's most popular movie can necessitate bad news and press; however, welcome to the weekend that was Universal's "Cowboys and Aliens".

Initially, talk focused on the ambitious "Cowboys and Aliens" falling right in line with other summer blockbusters, scoring a big opening weekend and a final box office gross somewhere in the $175-$200 million range domestic. Then, Universal would move on to their next project and perhaps entertain ideas of a sequel - essentially the standard "Wash-Rinse-Repeat" approach to summer blockbusters. The marketing approach implemented by all involved was a tried and true outline on how to deliver a big movie success.

The outline looked something like this:

• First, teaser the film before the most anticipated film of the year...in this case, 2010's "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1". Check.

• Then, deliver a high profile Super Bowl teaser. Check.

• Next, deliver stills and marketing materials to drum up excitement for the trailer's debut on television's highest rated series, "American Idol". Check.

• Debut the final trailer in theaters before the anticipated highest grossing film of the spring, "Fast Five". Check.

But still...something was amiss from the outset. All of this marketing and all of this hype did not completely hide the behind-the-scenes nightmare that this production generated. In development since 1997, based on a drawing of an idea from comic book/graphic novel creator Scott Mitchell Rosenburg, the film saw a lot of eyes - directors, producers, and writers, and never got out of the gate. The graphic novel never received publication until 2006, meaning that the film essentially sat for 9+ years without as much as a skeletal framework of a functional script. In 1998, comedic actor/writer/director Steve Oedekerk took the initial reins on the project, only to leave for a Jim Carrey film that never panned out.

Columbia Pictures acquired the film in 2004 and never pursued production. Eventually, at the request of Robert Downey, Jr., director Jon Favreau moved into consideration for the project in the fall of 2009 and signed on to direct. In total, Universal and DreamWorks had the project, Columbia acquired it and then Universal and DreamWorks took it back. Jon Favreau was officially only the second director to sign on to the project, but a DOZEN writers were involved in the project, leading the WGA to hold an arbitration panel to determine who would receive credit on the film, and how they would be credited.

And finally, leading up to release day, Universal tempered down the initial opening week expectations when critics and word-of-mouth came in less than desirable. Still, at the start of last week, a $45-$50 million opening weekend was floated around as plausible. As preview screenings and further research indicated less than favorable reactions, Universal tried to claim a $40 million start would still work in with their expectations. However, "Cowboys and Aliens" scored a mere $36.4 million when all was said and done, locked in a virtual tie for first place with "The Smurfs" (more on that below...).

With this start, "Cowboys and Aliens" will likely land between $105-$110 million in its domestic haul and that is obviously a huge disappointment. Universal executives have tried to spin this as a positive in saying all the right things about the film having legs, international markets will be receptive, etc. All signs point to this being an expensive and snake-bitten project from the get-go.

"The Smurfs" nearly pull the upset, a flurry of independent releases try and stake a claim and how does "Crazy, Stupid, Love."'s opening stack up for its deep ensemble cast?

More analysis, The Weekend Breakdown and The Top 40 after the cut!

Box Office Actuals (7/22/11 - 7/24/11): "Captain America" Does Voldemort's Work...

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Audiences came out bigger than expected for the latest superhero to arrive on the big screen as "Captain America: The First Avenger" delivered a strong $65.1 million opening, giving it a huge victory over a rapidly declining "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2". Paramount reps were obviously ecstatic with the reception afforded to "Captain America" and the film opened almost even with May's "Thor", which started with $65.7 million.

With the arrival of "Captain America", everything has lined up nicely for May 4, 2012, when the eagerly anticipated "Avengers" film, featuring Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and other Marvel comic book icons finally sees its realization on the big screen. After some initial alarmingly negative reviews, "Captain America" saw its Tomatometer rise to 74% - on par with the reception critics levied upon "Iron Man 2" (74%) and "Thor" (77%).

Audiences were quite taken with the film and its throwback look and feel, grading it an A- via CinemaScore. The film has yet to make its mark overseas yet, grossing $2.8 million in Italy, the only overseas location receiving the film. Paramount and Marvel are rechristening the film internationally as "The First Avenger".

All in all, its yet another success for Marvel and Paramount, as Chris Evans lines up nicely alongside his counterparts, setting the stage for one of the most eagerly anticipated advance release dates of recent memory.

A "Harry Potter" breakdown (perhaps literally), Justin and Mila receive a warm welcome, and Indian cinema makes some headlines...more analysis, The Weekend Breakdown and The Top 40 after the cut!