Everything old was new again this weekend at the box office, with a third sequel and a WWII film cruising to the lead opposite pockets of crummy weather and a pair of NFL playoff games that were about as good as they could possibly be. What hit? What kind of didn't? Your Weekend Receipts are here.
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A slightly above-average weekend at the box office abated further talks of a moviegoing slump (for now), with a proven star and a buffed-out Disney classic teaming up in the top two. Mission: Impossible continued its formidable hold, meanwhile, barely suppressing a certain Joyful Noise. Your Weekend Receipts are here.
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There was good news and bad news at the movies over the weekend, where the first big box office frame of the new year showed a nice bounce from the sluggishness afflicting the end of 2011. The bad news? The comeback was led by the film equivalent of a dirty diaper. Let's have a look.
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It was a buoyant holiday frame for the last releases of 2011, with audiences turning out in droves (and likely family-loaded minivans) to boost just about every film in theaters. Biggest congrats are in order for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which is indeed set to make in 17 days what Mission: Impossible III made in its entire theatrical run. And, look! A bunch more people caught the timely holiday spirit and bought a Zoo this week, along with a War Horse and, uh, Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve. Enjoy it while it lasts, Garry. Auld lang syne, 2011. Your holiday weekend receipts after the jump!
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Post-yuletide holiday crowds flocked to the same trio of sequels that dominated the Christmas box office -- Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked -- while Summit newcomer The Darkest Hour limped into theaters waaaay under the radar. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise will be ringing in the new year with a number 1 box office finish, made all the sweeter by projections that Ghost Protocol will overtake the $134 million domestic take of the series' last installment by Monday. Dive into your Friday Box Office!
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'Twas the weekend of Christmas, and all through the house, many studio executives had good reason to grouse... Ugh, sorry about that -- it's the egg nog. In fairness, the holiday frame actually signaled a nice rebound from previous weekends (which, when considering the utter horror show this month's been, isn't saying so much, but still). Who got what they wanted for Christmas, and who did Santa all but skip? Your Weekend Receipts are here.
A slumpy month at the box office showed little sign of abating on Friday, when the holdovers Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked fought off a trio of high-octane newcomers -- including the abysmally performing We Bought a Zoo -- to lead the early holiday-weekend competition. Your Friday Box Office is here.
Sherlock Holmes may have won the weekend with a modest debut, but was it the real box office winner? Not with Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible gang around to flaunt their fab limited release per-screen average in everyone's faces, a precursor to next week's Christmastime blitz. And, yeah. The new Chipmunks is out. A moment of silence for all the poor souls who helped it debut in the number two slot. I'd wager even David Cross feels for you.
What is going on out there, people? All these franchises and rehashes at the multiplex, and Hollywood can't interest you in any of them? Last week it was the aromatic anti-charm of New Year's Eve falling flat on opening weekend, and now new installments of Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks are limping along at the front of the pack? At least Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol showed signs life in limited IMAX release, but ugh. Next week's Christmas harvest couldn't come soon enough, but for now, your Friday Box Office is here.
Nationwide audiences had New Years Eve and The Sitter to choose from this weekend, and so, they didn't. This weekend's box office tally is weak, and Breaking Dawn, Part I is still lingering in the top 3 like an undead slime. Time for some Dragon Tattoo upheaval, STAT. Bring on Christmas! Let's discuss the breakdown after the jump.
What the saying again? You can fool some moviegoers all the time and all moviegoers some of the time, but you can't fool all of them all the time? Something like that -- maybe we should ask Warner Bros., Garry Marshall and all the stars stuffed so ruthlessly into New Year's Eve, who recycled the model that earned the aromatic Valentine's Day a $56 million opening weekend and found less than a third of that crowd ready to fall for it again. Still, it will be enough for first place on a pillow-soft weekend. Your Friday Box Office is here.
Breaking Dawn sparkled to the top slot yet again on the quietest weekend of the season, but just take a gander at the healthy size of Shame's art house opening! Meanwhile, the latest offerings from Martin Scorsese and Alexander Payne enjoyed a boost. But I've got to ask: What happened to the Muppets' mojo?
A light week in new releases yielded an opportunity for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 to claim its third consecutive Friday crown, all while The Muppets, Hugo and Arthur Christmas fought for what remains of holiday table scraps. Your Friday Box Office is here.
As usual, America's taste for leftovers dominated the long Thanksgiving weekend -- but enough about Breaking Dawn - Part 1, which handily knocked off newcomer The Muppets for first place at the holiday box office. The specialty meals are what's really worth sampling, and to help break it all down, I'd like to welcome Muppets co-star and special guest box-office correspondent Beaker to provide his typically keen, clear-eyed insights. Your Weekend Receipts are here.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn might have held onto the #1 slot during the Thanksgiving frame, but holiday buzz lifted those plucky Muppets to a strong second place showing; with $24.7 million over three days, Jason Segel, Kermit, and Co. should ride the Rainbow Connection all the way to a very nice pile of green by weekend's end. Meanwhile, Happy Feet Two continues to slide and Aardman Animation's fellow wintry offering Arthur Christmas opened with a modest $4.5 million Friday. Martin Scorsese's 3-D fall family flick Hugo, on the other hand, enjoyed a strong debut on a fraction of the screens. Maybe audiences weren't quite ready to ring in the yuletide cheer?
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