It finally happened — the Chihuahuas were knocked out of the top spot. It had its two weeks, now its time to move on. Of course, we all could have hoped for a stronger follow-up than Max Payne, but what are you going to do? It had to open this weekend, lest it get sucked up by Saw V next week or have to compete with Halloween night.
Anyway, Max Payne took the number one spot as predicted. While that has to be seen as a success, I cannot believe they are happy with the numbers. The movie took in just over $17.6 million over the weekend, while many were predicting a take north of $20 million. Of course, if the film had been better, who knows what it could have done? It will likely get clobbered next week as it begins its slide down the chart. Granted, the film does have some nicely composed shots, but they tried too hard with too little and the end result was a rather tired affair.
The Secret Life of Bees surprised many by finishing in third place, narrowly edging out W. Frankly, I am surprised that it did as well as it did, although I shouldn't be. The film was well received by critics and positive buzz was rising all around it as its release approached. I have not yet seen the film so I cannot comment on whether it lives up to the good word or not. I'd like to believe it is a case of a good movie defying expectations and finding an audience.
As mentioned above, the next film down the list is W. It is the biopic of our sitting President by one Oliver Stone. It is a movie that is simultaneously interesting and dull. It offers up a portrait of a man that is unlike what I expected. However, it seemed to drag through the middle, threatening to take me out of it. Anyway, it is the sort of movie that has to be a hard sell, considering the subject. That is a statement proven by a fourth place finish, yet disproven by the near sellout crowd I saw it with. Interesting. What will be even more interesting is how it fares over the next couple of weeks. Will it sprout legs?
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