In Contention

Tag: Whiteout

  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Cloudy’ clears up box office

    Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs(EDITOR’S NOTE: My fault on the belated nature of Chad’s column.  Back on track next week.)

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It had been almost two months since a PG-rated film hit the marketplace and parents were desperate for something to take their kids to. The result is “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” topping the chart with $30.1 million and the seventh-biggest September debut of all time.

    It also tops the $25.9 million of “Open Season” to become the biggest animated debut ever for Sony, which is not really considered a major player in that arena. The real money here should be in fast food tie-ins, though. Why haven’t I seen a correlative toy in my happy meal? Somebody dropped the (meat)ball there.

    A distant second place is where “The Informant!” landed with a $10.5 million gross. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: 2009 is the year of the mustache and the proof is in the pudding. Anyway, this performance is more or less identical to the $10.8 million debut of “Michael Clayton” and I see no reason why this can’t perform with similar legs, reaching $40-$50 million total. That’s plenty enough to buy Matt Damon some Slim-Fast shakes and keep him on the lips of Oscar voters come January.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Do Bad’ does good!

    I Can Do Bad All By Myself*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Another day, another dollar for Tyler Perry. The man has released two films a year since 2006 and can’t seem to be unsuccessful if he tried. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” is an easy candidate for worst title of the year, but it opened to the tune of $24 million and first place by a mile.

    That ranks as Perry’s third-biggest debut as director and his best outside of February. If you are looking for one of the most unique and successful box office stories of the decade, look no further than the rise of the Perry Empire. He is the Pixar of religious cable-TV drama meets fat suit comedy.

    Second place goes to “9,” which earned $10.9 milion over the weekend and $15.3 million since opening on Wednesday. For a PG-13 rated animated flick with seemingly very little appeal outside of young males, that’s a great result. The best thing about this success is that all you need is a potato sack and a highlighter and you’ve got a recognizable Halloween costume. You’re welcome.

    “Inglourious Basterds” holds firm in the top three and passes the $100 million mark in the process. Tarantino was in very real danger of making a series of films that diminished his audience rather than expanded it, but he has turned it around here. Now all you need is a Clark Gable mustache and some prop scalps and you’ve got a recognizable Halloween costume.

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  • MONDAY CENTS: ‘Destination’ Labors to another victory

    All About Steve*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Labor Day is known as the end of the summer season and the void it causes at the multiplexes is the underline to that point. This year was no different as “The Final Destination” repeated at the top of the chart with $15.4 million over the four-day period. Even with an extra day, that’s still a 44% drop from last week, but as you’ll see with “Halloween II,” it could have been a lot worse. The film’s running total has passed $50 million, which means that Warner Bros. is scrambling to invent 5D technology to make the naming of the fifth film more convenient.

    Second place goes to “Inglourious Basterds,” which could very well be number one when actual figures are released tomorrow. Another $15 million takes the cume to $95.2 million and earns the film a place in the top 10 success stories of the summer. Revisionist World War II films are now totally in vogue and “Harold and Kumar Inadvertently Join the Third Reich” is currently on the fast track.

    Third place goes to our first debut of the week, “All About Steve,” starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. To those who thought I was low-balling the film last week I just want t0 say: “Good call.”  Despite a staggering 5% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, the film managed to sucker $13.9 million worth of lonely women and whipped men to the theater. Personally, it’s a rule of mine to avoid films that have a lame pun for a title.

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