Last week, two new releases, “Madgascar 3” and “Prometheus,” occupied the top two spots on the domestic box office charts for the first time since April 22, when “Think Like a Man” and “The Lucky One” knocked out “The Hunger Games” after four weeks on top. This weekend, something else that hadn’t happened in some time occurred: the nation’s two highest grossing movies remained static. “Madgascar 3” and “Prometheus” remain cemented at the top of the charts with $35.5 million and $20.2 million, respectively. The last films to accomplish that feat: “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” over the last two weekends of 2011, Dec. 23-25 and Dec. 30-Jan. 1.

Hair metal musical “Rock of Ages” came in third place with $15 million. Now, I could make that sound like a lot by pointing out that’s the sixth best opening of all-time for a musical and the third highest for a film adapted from the stage. But let’s be frank here, given the film’s prime summer release date, huge release (it played in 74 more theaters than “Prometheus” did in its first week), and most importantly its star-studded cast, “Rock of Ages” was a supreme disappointment. Seriously, this is a film with names like Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin, Bryan Cranston, Will Forte, Eli Roth and of course, Tom Cruise in its end credits. It should have made more money.

So what was the problem? Well, as I hypothesized in my Box Office Preview, nobody, and I mean nobody likes hair metal, the genre this film was banking on. Kids don’t like it, of that I can assure you, and baby boomers were the ones telling their children to turn that garbage down during the lost decade that was the 1980’s. As I said on Friday, the target audience here was the tiny sliver of the American population that was both a teenager during the 1980′s and enjoyed the crap at the top of the pop charts at the time.

All that showed in the demographics. For some reason, whoever keeps track of this stuff divides the entire population of the country into only two groups: above 25 and below 25. Nearly 75 percent of the audience for “Rock of Ages” was in the above category, and females made up 62 percent. Those numbers are staggeringly skewed.

Unsurprisingly, the demographics for the weekend’s other new release, Adam Sandler’s “That’s My Boy,” were distorted in the opposite direction. Sandler, of course, is known for his high-brow humor, stuff like “If peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis.” That’s sarcasm folks. Anyway, 52 percent of the comedy’s audience was under 25, and 54 percent was male. I know that doesn’t sound like much after what you just read, but in general, that’s not an insignificant skew towards teenage boys. “That’s My Boy” came in fifth place with $13 million.

The remainder of the chart offered few surprises. Sandwiched between the two new releases, “Snow White and the Huntsman” made $13.8 million, and “That’s My Boy” was followed by “Men in Black 3” and “The Avengers.”

Meanwhile, Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” continues to chug along at the specialty box office. With nearly $2.2 million, the film moved into ninth place this weekend despite being shown in just 178 theaters (compare that to Rock of Ages'” 3,470 and tenth place finisher “What to Expect When You’re Expecting’s” 1,216).

Here are the results for this weekend’s top 10 at the box office:

Title/Weeks in release/Theater count, Studio/Three-day weekend total/Cume
1. Madagascar 3, 2/4,263, Paramount/Dreamworks, $35.5 million, $120.451 million.
2. Prometheus, 2/3,442, Fox, $20.2 million, $88.858 million.
3. Rock of Ages, 1/3,470, Warner Bros., $15 million.
4. Snow White and the Huntsman, 3/3,701, Universal, $13.805 million, $122.602 million.
5. That’s My Boy, 1/3,030, Sony, $13 million.
6. Men in Black 3, 4/3,135, Sony, $10 million, $152.679 million.
7. The Avengers, 7/2,582, Disney/Marvel Studios, $8.848 million, $586.737 million.
8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 7/1,184, Fox Searchlight, $2.2 million, $35.133 million.
9. Moonrise Kingdom, 4/178, Focus, $2.181 million, $6.779 million.
10.What to Expect When You’re Expecting, 5/1,216, $1.33 million, $38.766 million.

Rock of Ages

OK, so “Rock of Ages” is an adaptation of a Broadway musical that uses hair metal the way “Across the Universe” used The Beatles. First problem: who the hell likes hair metal? It’s certainly not baby boomers or kids these days. The target audience seems to be the tiny sliver of the American population that was both a teenager during the 1980’s and enjoyed the crap, excuse me, music, at the top of the pop charts at the time. Maybe that’s a decent amount of people, but I sincerely hope not.

Anyway, on to the plot. Small town girl Sherrie (Julianne Hough), who’s presumably living in a lonely world, boards a midnight er, bus, going specifically to Los Angeles, which I suppose is close enough to “anywhere.” She’s mugged soon after arriving, but is saved by city boy Drew (origins unknown). Cue love story. Drew (Diego Boneta) is a busboy at Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand’s (character’s) nightclub, The Bourbon Room, but dreams of being a rock star (imagine that). The club is struggling, but its owner hopes Stacee Jaxx’s (Tom Cruise) final show before going solo will help spark revenues. That may just be the one upside in this movie, anyone who’s seen “Tropic Thunder” knows when Cruise gets a little self-deprecating it can earn major laughs. Meanwhile, Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston), along with his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) are launching a campaign to clean up the city, starting with The Bourbon Room. You disappoint me Bryan Cranston, but I doubt I’ll see this movie and “Breaking Bad” starts in a month, so my love for you shall survive.

Despite its star-studded cast and Cruise making an ass of himself, “Rock of Ages” is at a 44 percent on the Tomatometer, and Bullz-eye’s David Medsker had this to say:

If you look at “Rock of Ages” as a movie that knows it’s beyond salvation and is interested in finding out just far down the rabbit hole it can go, then it might earn some respect as the next cult classic in the making. Unfortunately, this is far closer to “The Apple” (look it up, if you dare) than it is to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” In the end, it’s just one of those movies that was never going to work. Pity no one realized this before they spent tens of millions to make it.

There you have it, if you’re a huge and I mean huge fan of musicals, hair metal, or any of the actors involved (Paul Giamatti’s in there too, somehow it never came up) then see this movie. But you’ve probably got better things to do.

That’s My Boy

So, it has come to this. Andy Samberg is Adam Sandler’s son, laughs ensue, or they would if this movie didn’t look so god awful. Also, is it just me or is the above picture a really bad photoshop job? Anyway, let’s just stick to the official synopsis:

While still in his teens, Donny (Adam Sandler) fathered a son, Todd (Andy Samberg), and raised him as a single parent up until Todd’s 18th birthday. Now, after not seeing each other for years, Todd’s world comes crashing down on the eve of his wedding when an uninvited Donny suddenly shows up. Trying desperately to reconnect with his son, Donny is now forced to deal with the repercussions of his bad parenting skills.

Specifically, Donny shows up because Todd is a hot shot hedge fund manager and he owes $43,000 to the IRS. He recieves this information from lawyer Jim Nance, played by Rex Ryan. That’s right, Rex Ryan, head coach of the New York Jets. I love sexy Rexy but c’mon, what does a football coach with no acting experience getting a part tell you about this movie?

If you didn’t get it from a thousand other hints, it tells you that it sucks. “That’s My Boy” is at an abysmal 23 percent on the Tomatometer. The best line of a review I’ve read so far comes from Adam Graham of The Detroit News: “Sandler’s Berger is the most loutish, annoying character he’s come up with since ‘Little Nicky.’ Nicky came from hell; viewers of ‘That’s My Boy’ will feel like they’re in it.”

Yeah, I know, you’re all bitter about the results last night on “American Idol.” I am surprised, but not all that surprised. And least of all, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson shouldn’t be as shocked after they had a lukewarm reaction to the person sent home. Anyway, here is how it went down…..

The show began with a rock medley by the Top 9 that was really boring as usual. Then actor/comedian Russell Brand was brought in as a charisma coach this past week. Really? That guy is really not funny. Then, on to the results….

Casey, Stefano and Lauren. Lauren, safe. Casey, safe. Ste-FA-no (as Ryan Seacrest says in his fake Italian accent), in the Bottom 3. No huge surprise at all.

Then they brought Constantine Maroulis in. Remember him? I think he was from like Season 4 or 5. His new single is…ready for this?….”Unchained Melody.” Really? That song has been done and re-done about a million times, and there is just no need to keep beating a dead horse. I know it’s Simon Cowell’s song, but Simon is not on the show anymore! Anyway, the performance was okay.

Then Gwen Stefani was shown offering style tips to Pia, Haley and Lauren. Yawn.

More results…..Paul, Scotty and Pia. Scotty, safe. Paul, safe. Pia, Bottom 3. Now, most of you were looking at your TV dumbfounded, but I actually had her in my Bottom 3 last night. Her performance was solid again vocally but lacked fire.

James, Haley and Jacob were next. James and Haley, safe, Jacob in the Bottom 3. Dude went first and it wasn’t his best performance. Plus, let’s be honest here….his shaking while singing is getting a bit old, as are the Adam Lambert screams from both him and James.

So your Bottom 3…Stefano, Pia and Jacob. Interesting. Then a shirtless Iggy Pop sang his ’80’s hit, “Real Wild Child.” Iggy was shirtless as is his trademark, but wow, I just looked it up…he’s going to be 64 in two weeks. Yikes. How in the world does he have flat abs as if he’s 17? Ryan Seacrest had the line of the night when he said after that that he was thinking about cutting out carbs. Nice!

On to results. Jacob was safe. Down to Stefano and Pia. I thought for sure it would be Stefano, but no…..Pia had the lowest number of votes and got the axe last night. Wow. Everyone was shocked, especially J-Lo and Randy, but let me tell you both….go back and watch Wednesday night’s episode. You both said something was lacking, even though you sugar-coated it. And really, with everyone being so talented this season, you shouldn’t be surprised that Pia was sent packing. All things considered, Stefano really deserved to go home, but to me Pia was not going to win this thing. She’s going to have a nice little Celine Dion type career, but I am quite sure the teeny boppers that follow this show and vote are more apt to pick Lauren or Scotty. Heck, age alone is the main reason Thia stuck around so long.

So there you have it folks. We’re down to eight and six of them are dudes. Who do you like? I’m going with Lauren or Casey, but I think Scotty is still the dark horse. But Stefano, the lowest vote total has its eye on your, so watch your back!

So, that Comic-Con thumb-sucker will just have to wait as I present only a few selected items of movie news to nourish your spirits.

* Speaking of Comic-Con, in terms of innovation, influence, and ability to tell a simple story very well, Will Eisner was pretty much the D.W. Griffith, John Ford, and Billy Wilder of comic books all rolled into one, but few people who aren’t serious comics fans even know his name. 2008’s despicable “The Spirit” most certainly did not help with his memory or in terms of encouraging a younger generation to check out his work. (I’m glad the movie did horribly because if kids had liked the hyperviolent and mean-spirited film, they would have had no time for the humanistic original.).

Now, via /Film’s Russ Fischer, we hear that an appropriately low budget/indie film version of Eisner’s groundbreaking non-genre comic, “A Contract with God,” is in the works. Among other points of interest, it was the book that caused Eisner to come up with the term “graphic novel” when he was led to believe the publisher wouldn’t want to be involved with a mere “comic book.” Ironically enough, it’s actually a collection of related short stories and the term “graphic novel” actually may predate the incident, so Fischer isn’t  wrong when he says it’s not the first graphic novel. I truly hope this turns out well and makes everyone forget that other movie. It was nice that this was announced at the awards named for Eisner, who died in 2005, at Comic-Con.

* In the here-we-go-again file, it looks like Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is being delayed for the millionth time, says the Playlist. And check out that graphic making Gilliam look a bit like a certain Mr. Orson Welles, who also struggled for years to make his vision of Cervantes’ classic delusional non-knight-errant.

* Another Deadline story: Kudos to writer Phil Johnston and Zack Galifianakis for taking on the deadly scourge that is the “Reply All” button. The children must be warned.

* The Jack Sparrow comparison will come easily to many with news of Russell Brand’s possible swashbuckling debut, but any excuse for swordfighting comedies that might actually be good works for me. (Actually, the character as described reminds me more than a bit of George MacDonald Fraser’s “Royal Flash,” portrayed by a young Malcolm McDowell. Never read the book(s) or saw the movie, but since it was directed by the great Richard Lester, I really need to.)

That formula has apparently been in full effect this weekend as a film which put a few gentle twists on a very familiar property prospered at the box office. A second movie — in terms of marketing, at any rate — was an apparent carbon copy of its source material, notwithstanding a new cast, more violence, and a bigger budget (too much bigger, probably). That film will prove vastly less profitable, at best.

To be specific, Sony’s PG-rated “The Karate Kid” changed the setting and even the martial arts style of the original (it’s  actually entitled “The Kung Fu Kid” in China and Japan). It also changed the dynamic by making the “kid” (Jaden Smith) an actual child, rather than a high school senior played by a 23 year-old. As for the master, the film cast a performer as renown for his martial arts skills as for his acting and comedy chops, i.e., Jackie Chan. Combine all of that with genuine all-ages family appeal which makes casting an 11-year-old seem like an even shrewder move, and you have, of course, a hit with very healthy box office estimate of some $56 million. That’s almost a 20% improvement over this weekend last year according to Box Office Mojo. Hollywood may be feeling a bit more itself right now.

Despite going through a number of writers over the years, any appealing or intriguing alterations made between the TV and film versions of “The A-Team” were kept a well-hidden secret from everyone. Still, the PG-13 film from Fox had enough appeal to grab up an estimated $26 million from only slightly fewer theaters than “Kid.” Actually, $26 million may be less than half of what its rival made, but it’s a decent showing for a first weekend — assuming you don’t consider that its budget was also more than double that of “The Karate Kid” (i.e., $40 and $110 million, respectively). I wonder if Hollywood will learn a lesson from the ugliness of seeing a plan fail to come together. Nah. In any case it’s nice that my pre-weekend guess about which film would do better proved correct for a change, though I did expect the two pictures to be a bit closer together in terms of grosses.

Further down the list, Dreamworks/Paramount’s “Shrek Forever After” continued following up its below-par opening with a leggy aftermath, netting a very decent $15.8 million estimate. Lesson: if you’re going to run a franchise into the ground with sequels no one really wants that much, coming up with a story that some viewers actually like might help.

The #4 film was last week’s #2, “Get Him to the Greek.” The Judd Apatow formula of raunchy comedy that is actually funny combined with counter-intuitive pro-responsibility messages proved its reliability once again, as the film held reasonably well in its second run. Dropping a below-average 43% to an estimate of just above $10 million, the most morally conservative film to ever reach its clmax with a freaky threesome is now just $4 million shy of making back its $40 million budget. Considering that a sure-to-be lucrative home video run lies ahead, I’m calling this film a success. I think we’re assured of having Russell Brand and Jonah Hill horsing around before us for a while longer.

On the other hand, if you want to see the somewhat controversial and, I think, badly mis-marketed creepy science-fiction thriller, “Splice,” in a theater, do so soon. It dropped by 61% percent and to tenth place in its second week, earning only a wan $2.86 million estimate.

This was also an interesting weekend for limited releases. I don’t have time to go into everything (Indiewire does) but the #1 film in the country in terms of per-screen averages was, according to the Numbers, the biographical documentary, “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.” It averaged $24,500 in seven theaters for a total of $171,50o. There’s nothing like the appeal of being a true show business survivor.

Also debuting quite strongly was the Sundance fave, “Winter’s Bone” which made $21,350 in four theaters. True, that only comes to $85,442 but, considering its $2 million budget and strong word of mouth, I’d say Roadside Attractions will do pretty well on this one. That’s especially so as an Oscar nomination or two — particularly for its highly acclaimed possible break-out star, Jennifer Lawrence, may not be impossible if the Academy remembers to take its ginkgo this year.