Some Moviegoers were said to be hesitant to attend The Dark Knight Rises, but a number of people apparently made the trek over the weekend. The final installment in the Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan grossed over $64 million over the weekend, landing atop the box office for a second week. Another holdover, Ice Age: Continental Drift took second over the weekend, grossing a cool $13.3 million.
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The last pre-Dark Knight Rises weekend at the multiplex came and went without much incident, unless you call The Amazing Spider-Man losing his grip on the No. 1 spot after one week an "incident." You decide! Either way, your Weekend Receipts are here.
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As expected, The Amazing Spider-Man spun up impressive numbers over the Friday - Saturday weekend, adding to its totals since rolling out in the U.S. on Tuesday ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The film topped the overall box office and had one of the largest per screen averages in release, though the top PSA went to specialty release Beasts of the Southern Wild in its second weekend, though its screen count is still very limited. Last weekend's number one Ted held steady in second place on the b.o. rankings, while Brave and Savages came in third and fourth respectively.
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Like many other feminist moviegoers, I was more than a little disappointed that Pixar’s long-awaited first female protagonist, Brave’s Merida, is a princess. But what’s striking, even astonishing, about Brave's treatment of princessdom is its historical honesty; even though Merida convinces her parents to abolish the tradition of arranged marriage, the film's resolution essentially has our heroine accepting that she has to get married and that her nuptials will be used as a bond between rival clans. (Score one for the patriarchy.) Brave can boast some narrative complexity, if not much feminist bona fides, for having Merida occupy the role that real-life princesses have held for most of history — as insurance against war. This gloomy take on the purpose of royal females aligns Brave more closely with HBO’s medieval misery-fest Game of Thrones than with any other Disney princess movie that's come before.
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Audiences headed out to theaters to see a foul-mouthed Teddy Bear and some hot man flesh over the weekend. Universal's Ted grossed over $54.1 million over the Friday through Sunday, while Warner Bros.' Magic Mike came in at just over $39.15 million. The two studio newcomers topped the overall box office for the weekend, while last week's newcomer animation Brave held the third spot. Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection landed in fourth place.
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Two animated features sit atop the box office this past weekend. Disney/Pixar's Brave seized the top of the b.o. as expected. The animated feature grossed over $66.7 million Friday through Sunday. That total is above Pixar's previous feature title Cars 2, which opened with $66.1 million in 2011. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted held strong with $20.2 million.
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Among the many familiar faces in Disney-Pixar’s Brave – or familiar voices, rather – is actor Kevin McKidd, who joins fellow Scots Kelly MacDonald, Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane in bringing the tale of a 10th century princess to life in colorful detail. Earlier this week, Movieline spoke with the transplanted McKidd about his beloved home country, his Brave brogue, and the breakthrough moments in a career spanning his early turn in Trainspotting to his current gig on Grey’s Anatomy.
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This weekend's new theatrical offerings include a massive array for any taste. In the studio realm,
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter marks the 16th Prez as a savior from Vampires, Pixar's
Brave centers on a Princess who must save her kingdom. Focus'
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World pits a mismatched man and woman on an unlikely road trip, while doc
The Invisible War is a fascinating but sad exposé on the sad truth about sexual assault in the U.S. military. Fellow doc
Kumaré, meanwhile follows a man posing as an Eastern guru who builds his own following in Arizona.
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Pixar is at its best when it’s making movies about rats working in restaurants and families of superheroes with not-so-super powers; not so much when it's spinning cautionary environmental tales with robots-in-love subplots and sentimental weepers about grumpy codgers “learning to love again.” Somewhere at the more golden end of that yardstick is Brave, in which a peppery redheaded Scottish princess from days of yore named Merida – her voice is provided by the wonderful Glasgow-born actress Kelly Macdonald – decides she doesn’t want to marry from the selection of gents her parents have chosen for her and would much prefer traipsing through the forest with her trusty bow-and-arrow.
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Critics will argue over Disney-Pixar's 11th century Scottish princess adventure Brave, but there's one thing we can all agree on: That redheaded Merida chick has one fantastic head of hair. And as the Wall Street Journal reports, it wasn't easy to do the 'do. "Merida's hair is made up of 1,500 individually sculpted curves, distinct points in a three-dimensional space, that are programmed to bounce and interact in relation to one another via a new software system, says [Pixar simulation supervisor Claudia Chung]. Another software program was created to make the hair react more realistically to the character's movements and surroundings." Not bad for a girl born nine centuries before the invention of Herbal Essences. [WSJ via Movie City News]
Too cute not to share: Pixar has cut a very special Brave promo, just in time for Father's Day, celebrating all that fathers teach us — how to acquire an inner strength and confidence as children that carries us into adulthood, how to shoot arrows, how to ride horses and become deadly sword-fighting killing machines... you know, the basics.
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Also in Saturday's (mostly) Cannes related news round up, actress Isabella Rossellini gets a new festival jury gig, Lincoln Center teams with Dubai to spotlight Arab cinema, and two groups join for a $150 million equity fund for indie filmmakers. Also check out this weekend's specialty film releases.
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Fingers are crossed that Pixar bounces back from the uncharacteristic critical disappointment that was Cars 2 with their next effort, Brave -- a foray into Disney princess territory about a headstrong young Scottish lass (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) who defies tradition in her parents' kingdom. A new trailer for the animated adventure promises no small measure of spunky girl power as our heroine Merida upends an archery contest where doofus candidates are vying for her hand in marriage.
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Welcome to fairy tale trailer week! Yesterday, Movieline previewed Mirror, Mirror, Tarsem Singh's hammy Snow White adaptation which features Julia Roberts as an ineffectively evil queen who worries about age lines and financial security (just like you!). Today, Pixar has unveiled a full-length trailer for the company's first foray into fairy tale territory, the much more promising Brave.
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