This weekend turned out to be a little different than I was expecting — films dropping more than I expected, new films opening below expectations, and one movie making a surprise appearance in the top ten. On one hand some of my faith in the film-going public has been restored, just a little bit. On the other hand I am rather surprised at how some of these films fared, both good and bad.
At the top of the pile, as expected, The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The juggernaut has cruised past the double century mark and seems to have a good chance to at least come close to $300 million. That said, it did suffer a 70% drop from its debut weekend, finishing near the $43 million mark. I have not seen the film and therefore cannot comment on its quality, but I can say that I am surprised that the drop was this steep. Considering how huge it opened, a big drop was to be expected, but I still expected it to top the $50 million mark. I am curious to see if this sequel's success carries over to the third film, Eclipse, slated to open in June.
Coming in a close second is the inspirational drama The Blind Side. I must say that this one is a big surprise. Who would have thought this movie would increase its take in its second weekend and challenge for the top spot? Certainly not I. I have heard good things about the film and about Sandra Bullock's performance. Still, I cannot say that I have a lot of interest in seeing it. Perhaps one day I will catch up with it.
Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic keeps chugging along with another $17 million and a third place finish. It is nearing $140 million domestically. Doesn't sound like much for a film with a $200 million budget, does it? Well, consider that it has taken in more than $450 million internationally. Now that is insane!
Fourth place features one of the week's new releases. Old Dogs limped to a $16 million take. I say limped as I was expecting it to pull in double that. I am happy to see that it did not do as well as I expected. The movie just looks bad and most of the reviews seem to confirm that sentiment.
Skipping down a space we come to another new release, Ninja Assassin. This one finished up about where I expected it to. Despite how much fun I had with it or how good I think it is, it is still a movie with limited appeal. That said, if you like fast-paced, bloody action in a B-movie setting, Ninja Assassin delivers.
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