This week's number one film is none other than Robert Zemeckis' animated legend Beowulf. The epic poem adaptation became the widest digital 3D release thus far, and if this is an example of what is to come, the future looks bright.
If the early success of Beowulf isn't exciting enough, Dreamworks has announced a three picture deal to release films in the IMAX 3D format. It will definitely be interesting to see how that develops; the first release, Monsters vs Aliens, is due in 2009. Anyway, Beowulf easily took the top spot and proved to be an exciting take on the ancient poem. I am curious to see how it holds up when the holiday competition really begins to kick in.
Now that the holiday season is officially here, we will begin to see more and more holiday-themed films reach the big screen. Last week brought Fred Claus, which didn't open quite as well as I was expecting it to, but it is still a pretty good movie. Still, despite the less than expected opening it displayed a pretty strong hold, falling only 35% from its opening frame. This could indicate good legs to survive the holidays, or at least pull a respectable final gross. Its endurance will be tested in the coming week as a lot of new movies are on the horizon.
This week's holiday-themed release is the Dustin Hoffman vehicle, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. It received a lukewarm response and failed to really make much of a mark. This opening could prove to be a bad sign as it will receive strong direct competition from Disney's Enchanted, opening this week. Still, despite its lack of overall depth, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is an entertaining fantasy in the Willy Wonka school of family entertainment and is worth spending some time with.
In its second week of limited release, No Country for Old Men made a strong play at the box office as it leaped onto the top ten. In a mere 148 theaters it took in over $3 million to place seventh on the top ten. Miramax has to be very happy with its performance thus far. The Coen brothers movie is also one of the best of the year. See, Hollywood? Put out good films and the people will respond.
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