TheChez.net

All right, here we go, week two of me writing about the weekend’s box office. Coming in to this weekend, Angels and Demons was the favorite, though it was never expected to come anywhere near the heights of The Da Vinci Code. However, I think the race for first place this weekend was a hell of a lot closer than most people would have thought.

Despite the race being closer than anticipated, Angels and Demons does come out on top for the weekend. However, without all the hype and controversy that surrounded The Da Vinci Code, not to mention the horrible reviews, Tom Hanks’s star power could only do so much. Angels and Demons opened to 46 million, which is just kind of… mediocre. It’s not a breakout success and it’s not a massive failure. Sure, it was 30 million off the debut of its predecessor, but no one ever thought it come close to that. I saw this movie on Friday because all my friends wanted to see this more than Star Trek for some reason completely inconceivable to me. I thought The Da Vinci Code was a horribly boring complete piece of shit. And this also got horrible reviews. Star Trek, on the other hand, has stellar reviews and word of mouth. I just have to say that sometimes my friends have really bad taste in movies. That said, I do have to admit that Angels and Demons was certainly a lot better than its forerunner, if only because it wasn’t anywhere near as boring. It had more action and moved at a faster pace. So, while it still wasn’t particularly great, color me pleasantly surprised. With the terrible reviews, the fanbase turning up pretty much entirely this weekend, and the competition up ahead, Angels and Demons has a tough road ahead of it. It’ll definitely get over 100 million, but it’s hard to tell what kind of trajectory it’ll have until its second weekend. I’d give it 130 million tops, though. So, let’s move to the rather stunning result that is number two.

STAR TREK

Star Trek, with the aforementioned glowing reviews and word of mouth, has an absolutely fantastic hold this weekend. It drops 43% to around 43 million this weekend, which is actually pretty extraordinary. These days, any drop below 50% for a blockbuster like this is commendable. People are apparently really enjoying Star Trek and I sure would like to go see it, but my friends are gay and I don’t want to go by myself. Eventually, though, I honestly think I’ll go alone because I really want to see this now if it had such a stellar hold in its second weekend. Star Trek now sits at 147 million and has nearly caught up to Wolverine, despite the latter’s bigger opening and one week advantage. Star Trek faces more of a direct threat next weekend with Terminator Salvation, another effects-driven action flick, so we’ll see what kind of impact that has. Still, though, at this point, Star Trek is going to easily get beyond 200 million and if it continues to have exemplary holds, it could definitely climb beyond 250 million. So, now that the two interesting aspects of this weekend’s box office are out of the way, let’s move to to some of the less interesting parts.

3. Wolverine. This actually dropped less than I would’ve expected considering its collapse last weekend. It makes a little less than 15 million, pushing its total a little over 150 million. I’m still guessing it’ll end somewhere in the 170s.

4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. 6.9 million. 40 million running total. Not bad, I guess.

5. Obsessed. 4.5 million. 62.6 million total. I really don’t think there were many people who thought this movie would surpass 60 million. Pretty decent success here.

6. 17 Again. 3.4 million. 58 million total. I suppose for Efron’s first film outside the whole Disney thing, this is pretty good.

7. Monsters vs. Aliens. 3 million, up to 190 in total. Hmmm, it’s tough to say whether or not this will just inch over 200 million or if it’ll fall just short. Either way, definitely a large success. It’s still the number one grosser for the year, but it will be surpassed by Star Trek soon enough.

8. The Soloist. 2.4 this weekend. Total of 27.5. To be honest, I have nothing witty or informative to say about this.

9. Next Day Air. 2.3 million this weekend. Total up to 7.6. For the second weekend in a row, this movie has surprised me. I didn’t expect it to open with over two million, never mind still be over that in its second weekend.

10. Earth. 1.7 million. Up to 29. It’ll get into 30s and is now the third highest grossing documentary ever, behind March of the Penguins and Fahrenheit 9/11.

Yeah, so, that’s all for this weekend. Disappointing result for Angels and Demons and a fantastic hold for Star Trek, which I will see eventually even if I do have to end up going by myself. Next weekend sees Terminator: Salvation open against the sequel to one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, Night at the Museum. Terminator looks absolutely fucking awesome and if Night at the Museum beats it next weekend, I will have officially lost all faith in humanity. I took a look through the 100 highest grossing movies ever and with the possible exception of Twilight, which I have yet to see, Night at The Museum is by far the worst movie on that list. I’m trying to not have this turn into a rant, but I really cannot withhold my intense hatred for that movie. So, I’ll stop here. See you next time motherfuckers.

-ssjrem