Box Office: Brad vs. Simba. And Other Stories...
Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 8:32PM 
Brad on the greenThe lion is still the king of the jungle. Moneyball's opening was very respectable but a bit softer than Brad Pitt's usual opening weekend numbers. My guess is that too many people who are pushed toward ticket-purchases by perceptions of quality rather than celebrity or subject matter didn't expect it to be as good as it actually is. I'm guessing word of mouth is strong and Brad's very-real bid for Oscar (who'da thunk it?) finds its legs quickly. In baseball you have to do a lot of standing around and waiting for the excitement to accumulate. Or so I gather.
Thus Disney's most popular picture roars again from its jutting cliff peak.
Box Office (U.S.) Baker's Dozen -estimates
01 THE LION KING 3D [review] re-release $22.1 (cum $390.2)
02 MONEYBALL [review] new $20.6
03 DOLPHIN TALE new $20.2
04 ABDUCTION new $11.2
05 KILLER ELITE new $9.5
06 CONTAGION [venice] $8.5 (cum $57.1)
07 DRIVE [review] $5.7 (cum $21.4)
08 THE HELP [review] $4.4 (cum $154.4)
09 STRAW DOGS $2.1 (cum $8.8)
10 I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT $2 (cum $8)
Talking Points: Weekend, the terrific gay romantic drama we've been raving about (read my interview with the director) had the nation's highest per sceen average which is promising for its expansion plans.
Chris New (foreground) offers an invitation to Tom Cullen in "Weekend"
We have always hoped it would expand quickly. You deserve to see it! According to Indiewire our hopes will become reality.
Sundance Selects said they’re “thrilled” with the opening numbers and will expand through the major markets in the next two weeks."
Dolphin Tale once again proves that family films don't need anything in the way of pre-release buzz to do well. I'm so weirded out that it almost equalled the gross of a really entertaining Brad Pitt movie! (I expect that Moneyball will have sturdy legs over the next month or two though.)
Uh... I did not throw that tomato!Will Abduction's super blah but not altogether embarassing opening and the terrible reviews be enough to put a stake through Taylor Lautner's career? My guess is no. Besides, stakes can't harm you if you're already made of wood. (Hardy-har-har). Nevertheless, unless his acting magically improves, he'll be given a headlining opportunity on a procedural on TV in ten years time on his name recognition alone. He'll be working his whole life on name recognition, actually. Such is the power of kicking things off in a blockbuster franchise. (See also: the inexplicably long career death rattle and similarly suspect acting of one Hayden Christensen.
What did you see this weekend?
If you saw Moneyball make sure to sound off over in the review. I'm a bit surprised that Brad Pitt didn't win the weekend since my theater was packed even early in the morning (which is not common in September in NYC).
Brad Pitt, Moneyball, Taylor Lautner, The Lion King, Weekend, box office
Reader Comments (10)
When I was a kiddo, I played The Lion King so many times on repeat that the VHS actually started smoking. I wish I was exaggerating.
I'm kinda more worried about Sarah Jessica Parker. I know she doesn't need the money but doesn't her career seem to lose steam recently?
I'll say about her what I've already said about Jennifer Aniston after watching her on 'Cougar Town'. I'd love for you to return to the small screen in a HBO/Showtime dramedy. I think it's time.
Of course I know Jennifer Aniston will probably never stop making movies but I think she could easily do both. I just think she needs to stop headlining terrible movies (I've already discussed the same issue with Heigl who I think would be perfect for a dramedy too) - for instance, I think her best parts (except 'The Good Girl' and 'Friends with Money') came from movies where she wasn't the obvious lead ('Horrible Bosses', 'Management', 'Bruce Almighty', 'Office Space'...).
is not unusual that gay films do the highest per screen average time to time and gay kisses are a shoe in for MTV awards without mention that now 2 out o 3 movies have a gay character .. so why there's no a mainstream gay film yet hollywood??
Thoroughly enjoyed Moneyball. And how awesome was the actress who played Pitt's daughter's singing voice?? Equally surprised it didn't win the weekend...
I was also at Loews Lincoln - showed up 50 minutes early for the 6:20 only to find it, along with the 7:15 AND 9ish showings, already sold out. Thus, I went to the (also sold out) 10:25 - in the massive Loews theater. Given all that plus Friday's numbers and the reviews, I was pretty surprised Lion King still beat it out.
cinemateo and others -- anyone know what song she was singing... i'll probably smack my head when i hear (it sounded so familiar) but i was just having a mental brain skip with it.
Re: Lion King winning the weekend despite Moneyball packing people in. I'm thinking the 3D prices did plenty to make up the difference. A family of four (w/ 2 kids) in NYC would have to pay at least $60 for a non-matinee showing. It definitely adds up.
Re: the song sang by Kerris Dorsey in Moneyball
It's "The Show" by Lenka-the title probably doesn't sound familiar, but if you listen to it, you'll recognized it.
John T -- thanks. I knew i knew the song... though i have to admit the Oscar fanatic in me was really sad for a moment during the film when the familiarity to the ear made me think "oh, it can't win Best Original Song even though it's such a perfect use of a sung through sung in a movie."
I saw Drive on Friday night (in NYC- Union Square) and it was nearly sold-out. I'm surprised it's not doing well. However, I kind of didn't like it. I had really high hopes so maybe that's it but, well, it left me rather let down. I saw Refn's first film, I think, the first Pusher movie and haven't seen anything of his since. It didn't feel to me as if he'd matured very much from that first movie.
I saw Moneyball yesterday afternoon (Chelsea- decent crowd) and liked it way more than I thought I would. I'm going to go ahead and call it Brad Pitt's best performance. He's terrific. And I've decided that if they ever make a biopic about Roger Ebert, Jonah Hill can play him.
My favorite movie of the weekend was Hunger which I watched on dvd and by which I was completely, overwhelmingly blown away. Incredible. How did I not see this movie when it came out? Now I'm off to read all of Nat's old pieces about Hunger.
I did see "Moneyball" on Friday (1 PM showing at the local AMC; OK crowd but not that full). I liked it, thought it was well done...but didn't fall in love with it. (Last year, it took more than one viewing to really appreciate "The Social Network;" maybe it will be the same with this.)
I also saw "The Guard," which just opened here on Friday. I thoroughly enjoyed it; loved the interplay with Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle.
On Saturday, I saw "Omar m'a tuer," Morocco's Oscar candidate. The acting was good, particularly Sami Bouajila, as the gardener convicted of murder, and Denis Podalydes as the crusading writer trying to clear the gardener's name. However, the action kept skipping around in time over a period of several years, which was a bit disconcerting. I doubt if it will get an Oscar nomination.
Also on Saturday, I caught "Poupoupidou," a strange little French film which gave off strong US "indie" vibes. (Some print reviewers compared it to the early Coen brothers, which might be going a bit too far.) Again, a story of a writer and a crime, but this time a thriller writer with writer's block who believes that a local starlet didn't commit suicide, but was murdered. One thing I especially liked about this is that it was set in the mountainous Jura region, near the Swiss border, not an area we usually see in French films. (It looked more like maybe parts of rural Québec, or even northern Michigan.)
Finally, on Sunday I caught the new Québécois film "Café de Flore," the latest by Jean-Marc Vallée and his first French-language film since "C.R.A.Z.Y." There are two parallel story lines: A globe-trotting DJ in Montréal in the present, and a single mother in Paris in 1969 raising a son with Down's syndrome. How do the two come togher? They do...and it helps to be a bit New-Agey and a believer in reincarnation to accept what happens. Worth seeing.