Now who didn’t expect this? While I did say that Tim Burton lost his “creative spark” with Alice in Wonderland, apparently the public disagreed, helping to propel the film to the sixth biggest opening of all time with $116 million domestic (and a worldwide gross of $210 million). The film ousted Zack Synder’s 300 out of its number one spot by eclipsing the previous March record holder’s weekend take of $71 million.
The release of Alice in Wonderland is the biggest non-sequel opening ever (Avatar only made $77 million in its first weekend of release). Though with the box office heating up in the weeks and to come, don’t expect Alice to just eat a piece of cake and tower over the competition.
The only other big opener for the weekend was Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest, a cop drama full of cliches. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone since it comes from a first-time screenwriter who more than likely had himself a marathon session of cop movies before writing the first draft. Scott’s review hit it right on the head: “The film feels like a retread of every other cop and crime thriller of the last decade.” Fuqua continues to ride the success of Training Day for all its worth, even though it’s mostly because of star Denzel Washington and David Ayer’s screenplay.
The release of Brooklyn’s Finest is the second in less than a month for distributor Overture. Its other film, The Crazies, continues to perform well, bringing in another $7 million. Its total stands at $27 million, which is well above its production budget. DVD rentals and sales should make it an even bigger hit on home video.
Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island still continues to surprise audiences and other box office contenders. It narrowly missed out finishing in second with $13.3 million. When it is all said and done, it’ll be Scorsese’s second-highest grossing film ever, right behind The Departed. Cop Out saw a 50% drop in box office gross with $9.1 million, but added to its first week total of $18.2 million it has surpassed Zack and Miri Make a Porno as Kevin Smith’s biggest film to date.
The Tooth Fairy may have finally dropped out of the top ten, but Avatar keeps chugging away as it adds to its $720 million domestic earnings. Still hanging around in the top ten are Crazy Heart, which saw a theater count increase of 126 and saw its earnings increase by another 36%. That’s not bad at all.
Other Oscar hopefuls that saw boosts over the weekend were Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side, A Single Man, An Education, Un Prophete, and The Lovely Bones – Paramount’s last ditch effort to support actor Stanley Tucci and his horrible comb over.
1. Alice in Wonderland – $116 million ($116 mil.)
2. Brooklyn’s Finest – $13.5 million ($13.5 mil.)
3. Shutter Island – $13.3 million ($95.8 mil.)
4. Cop Out – $9.1 million ($32.4 mil.)
5. Avatar – $7.7 million ($720 mil.)
6. The Crazies – $7 million ($27.4 mil.)
7. Percy Jackson – $5 million ($78 mil.)
8. Valentine’s Day – $4.3 million ($106 mil.)
9. Crazy Heart – $3.4 million ($29.6 mil.)
10. Dear John – $2.9 million ($76.7 mil.)
Credit: Box Office Mojo
