Last time, I was actually correct for the second time in two weeks, for the most part. There aren’t too many surprises this Mother’s Day weekend, but considering the downticket box-office, some respected filmmakers might be needing some maternal TLC right now.
*It’s safe to say that “Iron
Man” director Jon Favreau ain’t one of them. In its second week, as per this week’s estimates, the film experienced an approximate (and expected) 50% drop-off in ticket sales for a total of $50,500,000, more than doubling the numbers of any film out there this week. This might actually be an even better amount considering the number of screens has barely increased and the per-screen average is still a spectacular $12, 284.00, significantly higher than any movie playing in the U.S. right now.
* The congenitally jaundiced Nikki Finke is suspicious, but the official reports as of this writing is that the Wachowski Brothers’ “Speed Racer” has just barely managed to nab the #2 spot this week, with $20, 210,000. Considering the reported budget of $160 million — as far as I’m concerned enough money to make at least 16 perfectly good studio movies — this is nothing to write home about. And, perhaps another lesson is that, if you’re going to make a 2 hour, 15 minute kiddie movie, you’d better have something more than a bit of name familiarity, a good cast, and slightly ugly video game visuals. The James McTeigue directed “V for Vendetta” notwithstanding (which I loved, but which generates as many opinions as it has viewers), it’s really starting to look as if the Wachowskis may never escape the shadow of their one bonafide critical and commercial smash, “The Matrix,” if they don’t figure out to simply tell stories.
* Especially considering David Medsker’s backhandedly positive review, “What Happens in Vegas” may not be the worst high-concept romantic comedy, though it’s also pretty clear it’s not the best — how could it be with Ashton “Bob Westal Really Hates My Acting” Kutcher in the lead role? But it did manage to do pretty darn well, netting a higher per-screen average than “Racer” and an estimated $20 million even, which means it pretty much beats the pants of last week’s high-concept rom-com “Made of Honor,” which has made $26,275,000 over two weeks. Could it be the strong “Vegas” supporting cast Dave praises in his review?
*I’m sad to say that David Mamet’s mixed martial thriller/dark moral fable, “Redbelt” was ignored by filmgoers who, if they heard about the film at all, were likely somewhat confused by the idea of a thoughtful, small film with fighting in it and Chewitel Ejiofor is not yet quite the superstar he definitely deserves to be. (It’s hard to blame them since it’s not a concept Hollywood’s been comfortable with lately. People tend to understand what they’ve already been given. Movies that are even slightly different require some time for audiences to figure things out.)
I actually saw “Redbelt” last night and can attest to the lackluster receipts, at least in Long Beach, CA — the theater was less than 1/3 filled at the 7:25 Saturday night screening. It has its flaws and it’s certainly not Mamet’s best, and mainstream audiences are certain to be slightly baffled by those odd cadences which occasionally make themselves known in any Mamet-directed film. (Iambic pentameter…it’s an English major thing…you might not understand.) On the other hand, it’s a more than acceptable entry in the ancient genre of anti-prizefighting prizefighting movies with a possible nascent superstar in its leading man, and it has some strong, bone-crunching fighting sequences. To my mind, it deserved more time to try and find an audience before going this wide. If a movie of this sort is going to sell it all, it needs a lot more time than one week to develop the kind of awareness needed for a major national release. The resulting $825 per screen average should be no surprise in the circumstances.
The British kid comedy, “Son of Rambow” did better, earning $138,000 in 36 theaters. Considering the modest comedy has some international appeal, this may be good enough.
However, the two (very moderate) box-office champs in the limited release indie sweepstakes were two films I barely remembered existed, both from directors of Indian extraction. Fans of spectacular visuals, however, gave the fantasy thriller “The Fall” a nice enough opening with just over $80,000 on nine screens. This one has some geek boy buzz behind it (though not so much that I realized it was coming out this weekend) and is “presented” by David Fincher and Spike Jonze. The actual director is Tarsem Singh (just “Tarsem” to you!) whose gruesomely stylish, memorable sci-fi/horror flick, “The Cell,” has some lingering cult appeal. (Even a squeamish cinema chicken like me felt compelled to go see that one — though I suppose it’s quite mild by some standards.) So chalk this one up to the artier/alternativeish edge of the geek spectrum.
And romantics and those of us who are suckers for tales of “forbidden romance” and the whole stiff-upper lip gin-and-tonic drinking English colonial drama thing shelled out just over $50,000 in eight theaters to see “Before the Rains,” which manages to have both the Merchant-Ivory imprint and a good review on its website from guru-gone-bankable Deepak Chopra — both catnip to certain segments of the wine-and-cheese set. Don’t laugh. Unitarians like to go the movies, too.
