Last weekend was topped by a film that was good and hit its box office expectations, yet did not cross the $50 million mark as the weekend winners had for the seven weekends prior. The trend towards lower box office takes lasted a mere week as this weekend featured two films crossing the $50 million barrier. Next week should continue the high box office trend with its surefire winner, Hancock.
However, this weekend is the one we're talking about and it pushed this June to become the most profitable June in history, with this particular weekend being the second biggest ever, with the top 12 films totalling more than $180 million.
Leading the charge is the newest film from Pixar, Wall*E. With this tale of robotic adventure and love, Pixar proves that they still have plenty left in the tank (as if there was any doubt). I keep waiting for them to release an utter failure, but the more films they make, the higher they seem to reach. Last year's Ratatouille was a top ten finisher for the year (on my chart anyway), and I had to believe that this year's film could not dare reach that high. Boy, was I wrong. Wall*E is an absolute masterpiece, nearly flawless in narrative as well as execution. This is a movie that digs into your heart and takes up a permanent residence. It is easily the best film I've seen thus far this year. It deserves every penny it makes and will hopefully display strong legs in the coming weeks.
Coming in second place, with a surprisingly strong showing, is the bullet-riddled action-fest Wanted. This film is a strong entry in the action genre in this post-Matrix world, adapting a comic book to the big screen with a number of visual flourishes that help it stand out from the crowd. Its strongest point is easily the wild action and fast-paced narrative, but what truly makes it worthy is the casting of a strong lead in James McAvoy, not to mention the inspired choice of putting Angelina Jolie's smoldering screen presence next to him. Its initial success should go a long way to getting a sequel; the story certainly begs for it.
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