Simply put, Gnomeo & Juliet is an aberration. The Disney Touchstone release was just a placeholder; a film to occupy space before Mars Needs Moms (March) and Prom (April) arrived. And yet in its third week the animated film finds itself in first place, having had to settle for third place finishes the previous two weeks. A $14 million haul in its third weekend is pretty respectable for a February release, but had it not been for the boost in 3D, we may be looking at the Farrelly brothers in first place. Either audiences love that Travelocity gnome so much that they are willing to subject themselves to some lawn garden shenanigans on the big screen, or it’s because it is the only children’s movie playing in wide release – and kids navigating to animated fare like cats to catnip.
It’s disappointing that Warner Bros. is phasing out the New Line Cinema label. While Walt Disney may have been built by Mickey Mouse, New Line was built by the bastard son of one-thousand lunatics, Freddy Krueger. Hall Pass didn’t show much promise when the trailers first arrived months ago. It did look progressively better with the red-band trailer, which went viral the week leading up to its release. Peter and Bobby Farrelly have lost the magic they once had. After Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin and especially There’s Something About Mary, they’ve been usurped by the likes of Judd Apatow and his merry band of comic folk.
Still, Hall Pass did do enough to separate itself from Unknown, which dropped steeper than Taken in its second weekend. Like I wrote on facebook, I would have preferred Unknown to have been written by Shane Black. But if that were the case I’d be watching The Long Kiss Goonight. Not literally, because Liam Neeson dressed up as a chick would be just wrong. Nevertheless, the film has already recouped its production budget and is on its way to making up P&A costs. Expect it to be a big-seller on home video when it comes out. May seems like an approximate time frame, what with Father’s Day and all.
Just Go With It and I Am Number Four were neck and neck to finish the weekend in the fourth spot. The good news for Adam Sandler fans is that his latest comedy is just about to eclipse $80 million. The bad news is for Dreamworks. Dismal numbers for its sci-fi Twilight in its second weekend pretty much spells doom for any sequel chances. Unless it just catches fire overseas, don’t expect to any more movies starring Alex Pettyfer as the alien with light in the palms of his hands.
Audiences were still eager to see what the king had to say in The King’s Speech. The favorite to win Best Picture added 300 new venues and got a slight rise in business. Unfortunately for Martin Lawrence fans, Big Mommas: Yes We Really Greenlighted this Crap lost nearly 60% of its first-week audience. Face it, Martin, now is a good time to take mid-to-low profile supporting roles. If Kid and Play ever decide to do another House Party you could make a grand return to supporting work as Bilal again.
Sometimes you have to feel bad for Nicolas Cage. If it weren’t for his IRS woes, would he even be doing films like Season of the Witch and Drive Angry? He probably still would, because he has a such an uncanny screen presence. Maybe that’s the reason he’s beloved by the likes of myself, Kubryk, and Saucedo. I mean the guy is devoted to his craft that he ate a live cockroach. Considering that Summit Entertainment invested some money in Drive Angry – even going as far as paying for a Super Bowl spot – to see the 3D film open on a little more than 2000 screens and make $5 million is depressing. Personally, I had a blast watching it. It’s not particularly great, but it’s not half bad. William Fitchner, who some may remember as the bank manager in The Dark Knight, actually steals the movie from Cage, playing the role of “The Accountant,” the devil’s right-hand man who has to bring Cage’s character back to hell to make sure the books are kept in check.
Don’t be woeful of Cage. All he needs is another National Treasure or Oscar-worthy pic to bounce back to prominence.
Looking outside the major releases, Samuel Goldwyn’s Christian drama The Grace Card landed in 352 theaters and managed a $1 million in its first weekend. Even after playing “Chappy” in Iron Eagle, Louis Gossett Jr. can still bring in a crowd, albeit a small one. And the release of Of Gods and Men managed to have the strongest per-screen average of any new release. It pulled in $66.9k on a total of three screens.
1. Gnomeo and Juliet – $14.2 million ($75 million overall)
2. Hall Pass – $13.4 million
3. Unknown – $12.4 million ($48 million overall)
4. Just Go With It – $11.3 million ($79 million overall)
5. I Am Number Four – $11 million ($38 million overall)
6. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 3D – $9.2 million ($63 million overall)
7. The King’s Speech – $7.6 million ($114 million overall)
8. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son – $7.6 million ($29 million overall)
9. Drive Angry 3D – $5.1 million
10. The Roommate – $2 million ($36 million overall)
