Shawn Levy won this weekend box office by TKO. His sci-fi / boxing drama Real Steel made a very solid $27 million to easily claim the weekend over George Clooney’s The Ides of March. I guess boxing robots are more attractive than presidential candidates. The boxing drama cost a lot though, a reported $120 million, not included the huge marketing campaign, and it will need to hold well in upcoming weeks to start making cash back for its studio. It should also be a hit overseas, as spectacular action movies filled with CGI usually does. Dreamworks think they have a franchise on their hands and already green-lighted a sequel. Regardless of my personal opinion of Real Steel, it scored a respectable 59% tomatometer, which is quite good considering the genre. Continue Reading

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A bunch of four new movies couldn’t crack the top 3. In a way, it means that the top 3 movies are holding very well due to the good response they got. Last week number 3 film Dolphin Tale (pictured) held best, getting the number 1 spot in the process. It added $14 million to its gross, down a very good 27% bringing its total to $37 million. The film by Charles Martin Smith is about a friendship between a boy and a dolphin and stars Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr. The second grosser this weekend is Bennett Miller’s Moneyball, a baseball drama starring Brad Pitt. The movie actually got some of the best reviews of the year so far, and has a current Tomatometer of 95%. It added $12 million to bring its two weeks total to $38 million. Last but not least was last week champ, The Lion King, which added another $10 million to bring its 2011 re-release to an impressive $79 million, making its cumulative domestic gross a gigantic $408 million, good for 10^th of all-time unadjusted for inflation or 18^th adjusted. Considering the Blu-ray is being release this Tuesday, the movie won’t make a lot more cash, even if Disney decides to extend its run in theatres. Continue Reading

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Long live the King! For a second consecutive weekend, Disney’s 3D re-release of The Lion King top all new releases to earn its crown. The beloved 1994 classic added another $22 million to bring its 2 weeks re-release to an impressive $61 million, one week away from its Blu-ray release. Don’t be surprised if Disney finally decides to extend its run longer – the marketing hailed the re-release as a “two weeks only” event. Its lifetime domestic gross is now a staggering $390 million, good for the twelfth place of all-time, unadjusted for inflation (it lands on 20^th place when adjusted for inflation). This good result for the Disney movie should be proof that when you got a classic on your hands, people will pay to see it, even if its 17 years old. Can we have Aladdin next? Continue Reading

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All three new releases were powerless in front of the supremacy of The Lion King, which have a limited two weeks 3D re-release – the same strategy was employed with the double feature of Toy Story & Toy Story 2, but it was so lucrative Disney left it in theatres for 5 weeks; since The Lion Ling more than doubled the opening weekend of that previous re-release, expect it to stay a little more than two weeks in theatres. Being one of the most beloved animated film of all time, and arguably the best animated film of the last 20 years this side of Pixar, it should come to no surprises that The Lion King comes in first position with an impressive $30 million opening weekend. In term of re-release, this is one of the best weekends there ever was, though it is less than the special edition of Star Wars did in 1997, with $35 million. It is unfair to compare both though, as The Lion King had merely a 3D treatment, while Star Wars had several modifications, and was released in anticipation of the new trilogy. The Lion King is re-released only in anticipation of the Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray release that’s set for October 4^th. It helps that the DVD went out of print many years ago, pushing forth the anticipation for this re-release. It is also a good opportunity for a younger audience to discover this Hamlet retelling. How well will it hold though? The double feature of Toy Story lost only 37% in its second weekend, and The Lion King will certainly benefits from being released in September, with few kids movies coming in the upcoming weeks (the more important one being Puss in Boots in November, but The Lion King should’ve left screens by then). Continue Reading

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