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(1) Well not only is Simba back, he’s not in a hurry to go
anywhere. After roaring (sorry it just had t be done) back to the top of the
North American charts last weekend, The Lion King 3D held of strong competition
from Brad Pitt’s Moneyball and Dolphin Tale to stay at number one. Moneyball
actually took the number one spot on Friday, but the standard family surge on Saturday
and Sunday to stay top with $22.1m. So strong has the business for this
re-release (which let’s not forget is mostly a way of promoting the October
Blu-Ray release of the film, in 2D & 3D on the ) that Disney is seriously
considering extending the 2 week run they originally had planned for the film.
The Lion King 3D...
Coming in 2nd & 3rd were Moneyball
and Dolphin tale with $20.6m & $20.3m. There’s a strong possibility that
the amounts and places will change when the final figures are confirmed later
today though.
(2) Moneyball stars Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill:-
Synopsis...
“Based on a true story, Moneyball is a movie for anybody who
has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the
general manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who has
an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent
his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The
onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely
partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of
whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It's more than
baseball, it's a revolution - one that challenges old school traditions and
puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he's tearing out the heart and soul
of the game.”
Moneyball has had a lot of positive buzz prior to its
release including a 94% fresh (8.1 score) on Rotten tomatoes, an 87 on
Metacritic and a fair amount of Oscar buzz, especially for Brad Pitt. Unlike
Drive, which has been unable to transfer it’s even better pedigree (Best
Director at Cannes as well as critical acclaim) to mainstream appeal, Moneyball
appears to have connected with the general public as well as film buffs & critics.
Moneyball received an ‘A’ Cinemascore, whereas Drive got a very puzzling ‘C’.
(3) Dolphin Tale is also based on another true story and has
received fairly good reviews itself; 83% (6.5 score) on Rotten Tomatoes and a
64 on Metacritic. That it managed to make over $20m against the very strong performance of The Lion King
is commendable, especially as both films were in 3D and Dolphin tale made 50%
of its gross from 3D screens.
Synopsis...
"Dolphin Tale" is inspired by the amazing true
story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to
save her life. Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap,
severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater
Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just
begun. Without a tail, Winter's prognosis is dire. It will take the expertise
of a dedicated marine biologist, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics
doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a
groundbreaking miracle--a miracle that might not only save Winter but could
also help scores of people around the world. The real Winter, who plays herself
in "Dolphin Tale," today serves as a symbol of courage, perseverance
and hope to millions of people--both able and disabled--who have been touched
by her remarkable story of recovery and rehabilitation”
Starring:- Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd,
Kris Kristofferson and Nathan Gamble.
(4) Coming in at number 4 and providing no definitive clue,
either way, as to how much drawing power Taylor Lautner may have outside of the
Twilight Saga. On the one hand the $11.2m his action thriller took was enough
to beat established action star Jason Statham’s Killer Elite. That film, also
starring Robert De Niro & Clive Owen, took in $9.5m on its opening. Looking
at it you have to think that both films opening opposite each other probably
cost both films $2m - $5m in opening weekend cash. Certainly Abduction would
have been hoping for a mid-teens opening weekend, but given the strength of the
competition and the truly woeful reviews for the film itself (3% & 3.1
Rotten Tomatoes / 25 on Metacritic) It definitely seems premature to mark this
down a proof that he can’t cut it when he isn’t a shirtless werewolf. In fact
there’s probably as much to argue for him as against right now. Another important factor is the money spent marketing the film; there wasn't much. Reportedly only 1/4 as much was spent marketing Abduction as was spent on either Moneyball or Dolphin Tale.
Synopsis...
“Taylor Lautner stars as a young man unwittingly thrust into
a deadly world of covert espionage in Lionsgates's action thriller, ABDUCTION,
directed by John Singleton.
For as long as he can remember, Nathan Harper (Taylor
Lautner) had had the uneasy feeling that he's living someone else's life. When
stumbles upon the image of himself as a little boy on a missing persons
website, all of Nathan's darkest fears come true; as he realises his parents
are not his own and his life is a lie, carefully fabricated to hide something
more mysterious and dangerous than he could have ever imagined.
Just as he begins to piece together his true identity, Nathan
is targeted by a team of trained killers, forcing him on the run with the only
person he can trust , his neighbour, Karen
(Lilly Collins). Every second counts as Nathan ad Karen race to evade an
army of assassins and federal operatives. But as his opponents close in, Nathan
realises that the only way he'll survive - and solve the mystery of his elusive
biological father - is to stop running and take matter into his own hands.”
Starring:- Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina,
Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Sigourney Weaver, Denzel Whitaker and Michael Nyqvist. Interestingly the film’s ‘B-‘
Cinemascore jumps to an ‘A-‘ when just females under 18 are considered.
(5) Killer Elite should really be seen as the most disappointing
of the four new releases. The third of this week’s new releases to be based on
a true story, the film promised to be a more sophisticated action thriller; the
casting of De Niro in a key role was seen as proof of this ambition. However
the execution left critics to see the film as no better than your average
action film, in terms of depth and sophistication. With a 24% / 4.7 score on
Rotten Tomatoes and a 44 on Metacritic Killer Elite didn’t have enough to stand
out on such a crowded weekend: the first September weekend to feature 3 films
grossing at $20m or more. It managed a decent ‘B’ Cinemascore.
Synopsis...
“Based on a true story, Killer Elite races across the globe
from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East in the action-packed
account of an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) who is lured out of
retirement to rescue his mentor (Robert De Niro). To make the rescue, he must
complete a near-impossible mission of killing three tough-as-nails assassins
with a cunning leader (Clive Owen).”
Starring:- Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne
Strahovski, Dominic Purcell and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
North America
Film
|
Weekend Gross
|
Total Gross
|
Budget
|
|
1
|
The
Lion King (3D)
|
$22,130,000
|
$61,676,000
|
|
2
|
Moneyball
|
$20,600,000
|
$20,600,000
|
$50m
|
3
|
Dolphin
Tale
|
$20,260,000
|
$20,260,000
|
$37m
|
4
|
Abduction
|
$11,200,000
|
$11,200,000
|
$35m
|
5
|
Killer
Elite
|
$9,500,000
|
$9,500,000
|
$70m
|
6
|
Contagion
|
$8,565,000
|
$57,122,000
|
$60m
|
7
|
Drive
(2011)
|
$5,771,000
|
$21,425,000
|
$15m
|
8
|
The Help
|
$4,400,000
|
$154,444,000
|
$25m
|
9
|
Straw
Dogs (2011)
|
$2,100,000
|
$8,884,000
|
$25m
|
10
|
I Don't Know How
She Does it.
|
$2,053,000
|
$8,019,000
|
$24m
|
A glance at the worldwide top 5 (At the bottom) will give a
clue as to the relatively slow weekend at the international box office. With ‘The
Inbetweeners’ movie finally slowing down and Johnny English & The Three
Musketeers still only out in a few markets, The Smurfs were able to continue
their domination of the international charts, for the 7th weekend in
a row, with $12.9m. That helped the
little blue people to pass the $500m mark; an incredible achievement and better
than most inside Hollywood thought the film would ever make. ‘Friends With
Benefits’ continued its remarkably consistent run ($8.9m - $10.6m - $9.7m is
the film’s gross over the previous 3 weekends) as it chases down the
international take of identically themed comedy ‘No Strings Attached’ ($77,118,220).
Johnny English held
very well and shows signs that this film won’t put a dent in Rowan Atkinson’s,
impressive, international Box office run. With most of the film’s major markets
yet to open (Including domestic territory the U.K on the 7th) the
film already has $23m in 10 days.
Rowan Atkinson in the global market...
Film
|
Year
|
North American
Gross
|
International
Gross
|
Worldwide
|
Budget
|
|||||
1
|
Bean
|
|
$45,319,423
|
$205,893,247
|
$251,212,670
|
$18m
|
||||
2
|
Mr. Bean’s
Holiday
|
2007
|
$33,302,167
|
$196,434,177
|
$229,736,344
|
$-
|
||||
3
|
Johnny
English
|
2003
|
$28,082,366
|
$132,500,652
|
$160,583,018
|
$40m
|
||||
Things are also looking
up for international co-production ‘The Three Musketeers’. The producers’ will
likely be hoping the film can make a significant percentage of the previous
Anderson directed film, starring Mila Jovovich, Resident Evil: Afterlife ($236m
outside North America). That film made around $18.5m in Germany & Austria
and in 3 weeks The Musketeers have already taken $14,690,183 from those same
countries; the film is also holding significantly better.
Abduction has a decent start in a handful f markets as well.
Finally Tinker,
Tailor, Soldier, Spy continues to do great business in just the U.K. The
critically acclaimed film, with the British (male) cast to dies for stayed at
number 1 for the 2nd weekend and has grossed $11.2m in its first 10
days.
International
Film
|
Weekend Gross
|
Total Gross
|
Budget
|
|
1
|
The
Smurfs
|
$12,900,000
|
$364,400,000
|
$110m
|
2
|
Friends with
Benefits
|
$9,700,000
|
$55,600,000
|
$35m
|
3
|
Johnny
English Reborn
|
$7,400,000
|
$23,600,000
|
$
|
4
|
Final Destination
5
|
$6,600,000
|
$98,400,000
|
$40m
|
5
|
Abduction
|
$6,500,000
|
$6,500,000
|
$35m
|
6
|
Silenced
|
$6,200,000
|
$6,200,000
|
|
7
|
Crazy,
Stupid, Love.
|
$6,200,000
|
$35,460,000
|
$50m
|
8
|
Rise of The
Planet of The Apes
|
$5,800,000
|
$228,900,000
|
$93m
|
9
|
Le
Guerre des Boutons (War of the Buttons)
|
$4,000,000
|
$4,000,000
|
|
10
|
Tinker, Tailor,
Soldier, Spy
|
$3,900,000
|
$11,200,000
|
|
Worldwide
Film
|
Weekend Gross
|
Total Gross
|
Budget
|
|
1
|
The
Lion King (3D)
|
$24,030,000
|
$77,700,000
|
|
2
|
Moneyball
|
$20,600,000
|
$20,600,000
|
$50m
|
3
|
Dolphin
Tale
|
$20,260,000
|
$20,260,000
|
$37m
|
4
|
Abduction
|
$11,200,000
|
$17,700,000
|
$35m
|
5
|
The
Smurfs
|
$13,460,000
|
$364,400,000
|
$110m
|
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