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'The Lion King' Knocks 'Moneyball' Box Office Crown

Posted 9/26/11 12:00 pm EST by in Box Office

'The Lion King'By Ryan. J. Downey

FROM MTV MOVIES: Simba and company partied like it was 1994 at the box office over the weekend as "The Lion King" remained #1 for the second weekend in a row. The 3-D re-release beat back competition from four wide releases while hauling in another $22.1 million, according to studio estimates.

All four of the other movies in the weekend's top five were new releases, but none had the strength to topple the legendary Disney animated film, which has grossed $61.7 million domestically in its 3-D format alone.

Brad Pitt's "Moneyball" and the kid-friendly "Dolphin Tale" were in close competition for the #2 spot, while Taylor Lautner's "Abduction" (which has been savaged by film critics) and the action-centric "Killer Elite" (also not a critical darling) both failed to generate much excitement.

"Moneyball" was still just barely ahead of "Dolphin Tale" at press time. The baseball-centered flick has done well with critics, according to film review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, where it has a 94 percent critical average. The movie took in $20.6 million, just $340,000 more than "Dolphin Tale."

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'Lion King' Outraces 'Drive' At The Box Office

Posted 9/19/11 2:46 pm EST by in Box Office

The Lion KingFROM MTV MOVIES: What's old was new again as Disney's iconic "The Lion King" became the #1 movie at the box office over the weekend, taking in an estimated $29.3 million with a souped-up 3-D redo of the 1994 original.

"Drive," one of the year's best-reviewed films, was #3 in its weekend debut, while the poorly reviewed remake of "Straw Dogs" and Sarah Jessica Parker's even-worse-reviewed "I Don't Know How She Does It" both flopped in their debuts. Last week's #1 movie, "Contagion," dropped to #2 this week.

"The Lion King" 3-D re-release earned more than the other three new releases combined. The film's original-run, IMAX re-release (back in 2002) and the past weekend's numbers pushed "The Lion King" from #25 to #17 on the all-time domestic box-office chart, according to Box Office Mojo. The animated tale, which has also quite successfully been adapted for Broadway, has made $357.8 million in the United States to date.

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'Contagion' Infects, 'Warrior' Fights At Weekend Box Office

Posted 9/12/11 11:31 am EST by in Box Office

ContagionFROM MTV MOVIES: We wouldn't be surprised by a spike in hand-sanitizer sales over the weekend, considering how many folks saw "Contagion." Filmmaker Stephen Soderbergh's procedural thriller — about a pandemic spread through doorknobs, Blackberries and handshakes — was the #1 movie at the box office, with an estimated $23.1 million debut.

"Contagion" — which stars a remarkable number of Academy Award nominees and winners — Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, John Hawkes, Elliott Gould, Jude Law and Laurence Fishburne — has been a hit with critics, with 82 percent of them reviewing the film favorably, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

"Warrior" also boasted 82 percent on the Tomatometer at press time but was only able to muster a paltry $5.6 million in its debut, landing the mixed-martial arts drama at #3 on the box-office chart. By comparison, "The Fighter" (which critics also loved) took in $12.1 million in its 2010 debut.

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'The Help' Wins Third Straight Box Office Weekend

Posted 9/6/11 10:58 am EST by in Box Office

The HelpFROM MTV MOVIES: Word of mouth about a movie based on the written word proved powerful yet again as "The Help" clung to the #1 spot at the box office for the third consecutive weekend. The four-day Labor Day weekend is traditionally slow for movie theaters, and while this one was no exception, the ensemble picture based on Kathryn Stockett's debut novel took in another $19 million, according to estimates.

"The Help" debuted at #2 (behind "Rise of the Planet of the Apes") a month ago but has topped the box office each week since. With a $123.4 million domestic gross against its modest $25 million budget, "The Help" movie is a smash just like the novel. The last movie to hold onto the #1 spot for three consecutive weekends was filmmaker Christopher Nolan's acclaimed mind bender "Inception."

One of the ensemble castmembers from "The Help," relative newcomer Jessica Chastain, turned up as part of the ensemble in the weekend's #2 movie as well. "The Debt" is a remake of a 2007 Israeli film called "Ha-Hov" and features Chastain in flashbacks as a character played by Helen Mirren.

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'The Help' Wins Stormy Box Office Weekend

Posted 8/29/11 3:12 pm EST by in Box Office

The HelpFROM MTV MOVIES: "The Help" managed to fend off competition from a new action movie, a horror flick and a comedy as the overall box-office suffered from stormy weather on the East Coast. The adaptation of the popular novel took in another $14.3 million over the weekend to remain at number one with a $96.6 million total.

Hurricane Irene certainly affected box-office receipts, according to studio estimates released Sunday. Ticket sales were down roughly 23 percent compared with the same period last year. AMC theaters closed all of its theaters in New York, Virginia, Philadelphia, Marlyand and D.C. while Clearview Cinemas and Regal Cinemas closed many locations as well, The Los Angeles Times reported.

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Emma Stone Beats Back Apes And Vampires For Box Office Win

Posted 8/22/11 12:30 pm EST by in Box Office

'The Help'FROM MTV MOVIES: Librarians, booksellers and English teachers, rejoice: Moviegoers overwhelmingly chose "The Help," adapted from the best-selling novel, over all of the remakes, sequels and reboots in theaters this past weekend.

"The Help" dropped just 21 percent in its second weekend of release, taking in $20.5 million (for a 12-day $71.8 million total) to become the #1 movie in America, according to studio estimates. The heavily promoted "Fright Night" remake, the "Conan" reboot and the latest "Spy Kids" all flopped.

Last week's #1 movie, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," was in second place this week with $16.3 million. The well-reviewed sci-fi film's $133.8 million total put it past where Tim Burton's critically maligned "Planet of the Apes" remake was during a similar spot in its 2001 theatrical run.

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'Planet Of The Apes' Keeps Rising At The Box Office

Posted 8/15/11 12:15 pm EST by in Box Office

Rise of the Planet of the ApesFROM MTV MOVIES: Not only did the apes begin to conquer the human world onscreen, but they managed to retain their top spot at the box office as well. Despite competition from four diverse new movies, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" remained the #1 movie in America over the weekend.

The sci-fi prequel took in another $27.5 million during its second weekend of release for a $104.8 million total, according to studio estimates. Starring James Franco, "Rise" is a descendent of 1968's original "Planet of the Apes" which was itself based on Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel of the same name.

Whereas "Apes" was written in the '60s but set in a distant future, "The Help" was written just a couple of years ago but is set in the '60s. The movie adaptation of the hit book about a Southern belle who collects the stories of several African-American maids opened at #2 with $25.5 million, which was much stronger than observers predicted. Perhaps they should have known better: The book, by Kathryn Stockett, was legendarily turned down by some 60 literary agents before becoming a best-seller.

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'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Explodes Past $1 Billion Mark

Posted 8/3/11 12:18 pm EST by in Box Office, News

Proving that not even the threat of global economic collapse can keep people away from giant robot fights, worldwide box office receipts for “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” have now surpassed $1 billion. No doubt aided by the additional money brought in by 3D ticket sales, the third Michael Bay “Transformers” movie has grossed $338 million in the United States and a whopping $663 million internationally.

While “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is the first Paramount Pictures film to ever break the $1 billion mark, it’s the tenth movie to do so in history, which also earns it a spot in the highest-grossing films of all time. The list, in order, goes: “Avatar,” “Titanic,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Toy Story 3,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” “The Dark Knight,” and finally, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” which edged out “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” for its place.

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'Cowboys & Aliens' Stunned By 'Smurfs' At The Box Office

Posted 8/1/11 10:14 am EST by in Box Office

SmurfsFROM MTV MOVIES: Industry watchers predicted that "Cowboys & Aliens" would easily top the box office over the weekend. But not so fast, partners! It wasn't little green men who fought hardest against the cowboys played by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford's, but rather little blue woodland creatures.

"The Smurfs" finished neck-and-neck with the Jon Favreau directed sci-fi Western with an estimated $36.2 million opening per movie at press time, tying the flicks at #1 for their respective debuts. "Captain America: The First Avenger" settled for #3 in its second weekend of release with $24.9 million. Its 10-day $116.8 million total is less than Marvel's "Thor" had earned in the same period but still a better second-week performance than "Green Lantern."

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide and was #4 at the domestic box office with $24.9 million for a $318.4 million North American total.

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'Captain America' Beats 'Harry Potter' At The Box Office

Posted 7/25/11 11:46 am EST by in Box Office

Chris EvansFROM MTV MOVIES: Captain America has beaten back the Red Skull, HYRDA, Nazis and various nefarious forces before, and now the shield-slinging star-spangled hero has conquered the box office, as well.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" debuted with an estimated $65.8 million over the weekend to become the #1 movie in North America, according to studio estimates. With Chris Evans in the title role and Hugo Weaving as his arch-nemesis, the Red Skull, the Marvel movie was the latest chapter in a series of films that began with "Iron Man" and will lead up to next year's "The Avengers."

Cap's debut bested that of his fellow Avenger "Thor" (which opened with $65.7 million) as well as the debuts of previous 2011 superhero movies "Green Lantern" and "X-Men: First Class." Only 40 percent of the Cap audience chose to see it in 3-D versus the 60 percent who saw "Thor" that way back in May.

Meanwhile the latest "Harry Potter" — which broke several records on its opening weekend — suffered a huge decline during its second weekend of release. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" took in $48 million (for a $274.1 million total), which was a 72 percent second-weekend fall, much steeper than that of "The Dark Knight," "Spider-Man 3" and the third "Pirates of the Caribbean."

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