Box Office: Smart Dogs, Ab'ed Warriors, and Speed Racers
Sunday, March 16, 2014 at 5:25PM Because animated films have good legs at the box office, Mr Peabody continued to walk up right and traded places with the muscle-bound warriors of the 300 sequel for first place.
BOX OFFICE
01 MR PEABODY & SHERMAN $21.2 (cum. $63.1) Tim's thoughts
02 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE $19.1 (cum. $78.3)
03 NEED FOR SPEED $17.8 *NEW*
04 NON-STOP $10.6 (cum. $68.8) Amir's Review
05 TYLER PERRY'S SINGLE MOM'S CLUB $8.3 *new*
06 THE LEGO MOVIE $7.7 (cum. $236.9) Nathaniel's Review
07 SON OF GOD $5.4 (cum. $50.8)
08 THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL $3.6 (cum. $4.7)
09 FROZEN $2.1 (cum. $396.3) Review | Let it Go | Jonathan Groff Interview
10 VERONICA MARS $2.0 *NEW*
The LEGO Movie is way way out front for biggest hit of 2014 thus far but I have to admit that I'm surprised that Frozen which is now 2013's third biggest hit, far exceeding anyone's expectations, is folding up and moving out of theaters for DVD already. If they had kept milking it a bit, it probably could have passed Iron Man 3's gross. You can only make that theatrical money once, really (unless they invent 4D and retrofit) But I guess they're eager for the DVD/BluRay cash. Most of the Best Picture nominees are still in theaters but like Frozen are on DVD very very soon. They're now losing a ton of screens but you can see their final totals here (Nebraska and Her ended the season as the lowest grossers and Gravity and American Hustle as the bonafide sensations).
The big story of the weekend is surely Wes Anderson's success. The Grand Budapest Hotel was welcoming aton of new guests with the week's best per screen average. It vaulted into the top ten despite showing on roughly 3,000 less screens than the other movies. The smaller story is that Denis Villeneuve's mind trip Enemy (reviewed) starring Jake Gyllenhaal² only opened on one screen? One screen? What were they thinking? It's so hard to get attention when you're only on one screen
What did you see this weekend, my people? I hope you were watching Eternal Sunshine and are joining us for Tuesday night's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"?
I'll admit that I fell into a weird Netflix hole of Scandal Season 2 because I could barely get out of bed. I guess my body finally collapsed from Oscar season adrenaline withdrawal? (I'll be fine tomorrow I hope). I don't respect Scandal exactly but now I see why people tune in each week. I had tuned in for a few Season 1 episodes and thought it was very poorly written trash. At the end of each Season 2 episode we turned to each other and said "Scandal!" in our best loud whisper faux shock voices on account of the, uh, scandalousness. So I guess in Season 2 it transformed into good trash tv. Either that or I lowered my standards. Which is possible with Tony Goldwyn and Kerry Washington steaming up my TV screen. The supporting cast though I find surprisingly weak for such a successful show.
Enemy, Mr Peabody & Sherman, Scandal, TV, box office
Reader Comments (23)
Binge-watching two-and-a-half seasons of Scandal last fall
ruinedchanged my life.Jake's movie is available on-demand (Direct TV) prior to its one theater booking.
So far, I've seen The Housemaid (1960) and I Married a Witch (1942). I hope to catch one more oldie tonight.
I would think a movie starring Jake would have a wider release...I did see "The Lego Movie" which is AWESOME. Very funny comedy ( aimed more at adults than kids)
I came down with something, and it's cold outside, so I stayed in with my new Nashville Criterion, and I'm going to watch Some Like It Hot for the first time. Cheers to stating in!
300: Rise of An Empire: sadly not nearly as gay as the first film (not even self loathing gay) but Sullivan Stapleton is as hot as f***
Finally someone mentions the atrocious acting in Scandal. They are the worst. Particularly Guillermo Diaz who just frowns and growls out all his lines, all the time. He must really be a tortured soul!!
What's really hilarious is Shonda Rimes' indignation that Scandal isn't taken as seriously as shows like Mad Men or Breaking Bad. She hates her shows being deemed guilty pleasures and seems to think it's because their lead characters are women, as if the scripts and direction and quality of acting have nothing to do with a show's critical reception. At best, Scandal was a pretty breezy nighttime soap. At worst, it's the histrionic Alias rehash that currently makes up Season 3.
I went to see The Grand Budapest Hotel and it was delightful.
Like any sane person, I was getting my marshmallow on.
Saw "A Letter to Three Wives" (great -- Linda Darnell is so gorgeous I wanted to puke in envy), "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (still digesting it), and the first half of "Chicken Little" (worse than I expected, and I had middling expectations).
Would have gotten my marshmallow on, but middle America got screwed again in that regard.
I rewatched Shampoo and once again was mesmerized. Julie Christie should have earned an Oscar nom. That finale still hits hard.
Started the weekend with Wes Anderson, ended it with Veronica Mars, and watched The Heat in between. Loved all three films, which makes this my most successful moviegoing weekend in ages.
Re: Veronica Mars, man oh man - sucked me right in, like the nine years between episodes (and yes, this did just feel like a TV movie, but so what?) never happened. Oh how I wish this were the pilot to a new VM series and not just a one-and-maybe-done movie, but that's all up to the WB bean counters now.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler looking to the camera before saying "Scandal!" was the highlight of their Golden Globes monologue for me.
I watched Gigi. The best scene is I Remember it well With Chevalier and Hermione Gringold. It's lovely.
P.S. yes Rhimes' shows are not the best but I give her credit for employing actors who deserve attention and can get it from her shows like Kerry Washington, Sara Ramirez, and Kate Capshaw.
I watched the snow. Not a film, a weather event which destroyed any ideas of getting out to the theater.
Just saw the latest "special' promo for Noah (during the Mentalist, which begs the question of why they think the audience appeal of the film and that show are the same.). It looks like they are promoting it as a disaster flick with tons of CGI, a hint of a love story, flying bodies, flying flames, raging water and throngs of people rushing for somewhere or being tossed in the air. Reminded me a scene from Lord of the Rings only in Biblical drag and all from "The Director of The Black Swan".
Whatever the outcome, the trailer looked nothing like the Bible story I learned.
Those Noah promos are so bad they almost have me convinced not to see the film, and I head-over-heels love "The Black Swan" and its director. Boy does it look cheap.
Just saw the latest "special' promo for Noah (during the Mentalist, which begs the question of why they think the audience appeal of the film and that show are the same.).
Honestly? It's a CBS procedural. Obviously, not every viewer would be up for a Biblical epic but makes more sense to run an extended promo there than during, IDK, The Walking Dead. Though I would say the CBS procedural demo might be more of a Son of God crowd than up for Darren Aronofsky's Noah.
P.S. yes Rhimes' shows are not the best but I give her credit for employing actors who deserve attention and can get it from her shows like Kerry Washington, Sara Ramirez, and Kate Capshaw.
I do appreciate Rimes' hiring practices with respect to diversity but wish her shows didn't completely go off the rails at some point. A lot of the same flaws (or hallmarks, depending on your perspective) of Grey's Anatomy are apparent here.
Oh how I wish this were the pilot to a new VM series and not just a one-and-maybe-done movie...
This was my biggest gripe about the film, which I saw this weekend and liked well enough. It seemed they were trying very hard to make things/everyone go back to the status quo of what they were in the series in hopes of recharging the franchise versus making a stand-alone film or showing us how far along these people have come in the 9 years since the show. I just didn't buy her whole addiction metaphor and don't get me started on that weird and half-assed ending for Weevil's character. Really, only Logan's character was the one to show a marked change/development.
But I also know that this movie was made NOT with me in mind. I only saw the series a couple months ago so I haven't been waiting for the movie for the good part of a decade.
I have finally seen the excellent Dallas Buyers Club. The quality of acting of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto is outstanding. I hope there will be more cooperation between them in the future. I would love to see some political thriller with both of them.
Nat, that one screen for "Enemy" is, on Box Office Mojo, marked "US Only." Here in Québec, it's on at least 19 screens, whether the original version (without or with subtitles) or dubbed in French. I saw it on Saturday, and will comment under the other posting.
I also saw two other films on the weekend. "Quay d'Orsay" is a French political satire, the latest film from director Bertrand Tavernier. A young, somewhat idealistic leftist graduate goes to work as a speechwriter for the dynamic, right-wing Foreign Minister. Very funny, espacially Thierry Lhermitte as the Foreign Minister. (I also liked Niels Arestrup as a top civil servant in the FM's office; he won best supporting actor for that at the Césars.)
Finally, I caught a really lousy Québec film entitled "Bunker." The less said, the better!
Finished binge-watching Season 2 of House of Cards. Man, I love Robin Wright. She is so good as Claire Underwood I hope she wins an Emmy, but honestly I've had enough of Kevin Spacey to last at least until the next season comes out (if it does). Caught up on Nashville (TV show) which is kind of ridiculous now, plot-wise, but I like the music even thought I'm not a country fan, and I have a crush on Michiel Huisman.
Also watched Stripes, in honor of Harold Ramis.
Ugh, Scandal. You said it perfectly - I don't respect the show because it's not very good, but I can't turn away because it's so deliciously terrible. Outside of Washington and Goldwyn, the only stand out is Bellamy Young as FLOTUS. Her character is the only one fully-fleshed outside of Olivia. The rest of the cast is either disposable (Harrison and the red-head, David), or campy (Cyrus, Sally, Puck). I would have predicted jumping the shark this season, but those Shonda Rhimes dramas have legs.