Box Office Actuals (8/12/11 - 8/14/11): "The Apes" outlast "The Help"...

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

In a packed week of new releases both large and small, "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" held the #1 spot at the weekend box office, holding off a strong Sunday push from "The Help" to retain its box office crown. Other debuts involving teenagers dying, young adults trying to survive a bomb being strapped to one of them, and a 3-D concert movie for one of television's most popular shows all met with mediocre and/or disappointing responses.

"Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" held its ground, winning the weekend with $27.8 million at final count. Most science-fiction films slide between 55-60% in its second weekend, and "Apes" dipped only 49.2%. This greatly pleased 20th Century Fox reps, who started to boast that they could win the weekend when the film outperformed every new release on Friday, including Wednesday release, "The Help".

Cementing this franchise as one that just carries appeal across many demographics, "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" crossed the $100 million mark, earned back its $93 million production budget (shockingly low, don'tcha think?) and is closing on $200 million worldwide in 10 days. With the sequel already announced, this film might land in the $150-$175 million range domestically, which will be a tremendous success for the somewhat risky relaunch of the franchise.

A flurry of new movies vie for the almighty dollar, with "The Help" performing strong, "Final Destination 5" and "30 Minutes Or Less" splitting the vote somewhat, and what happened with the vaunted "Glee 3-D Concert Movie"??? More analysis, The Weekend Breakdown, and The Top 40 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!