BOX OFFICE: Why did you go and see that movie?

Another dull weekend for new releases, has meant the box office has continued to plummet in the U.S, with the lightest movie Why Did I Get Married? easily coming out on top with a surprising $21.5 million. Tyler Perry’s movies have never been the type of film we talk about on Obsessed With Film, so I really didn’t see that first place coming.

At two was The Game Plan, which added another $11 million to it’s now $59 million taking and it’s been the biggest post-Summer hit so far, even bigger than Resident Evil: Extinction ($48 million).

Michael Clayton went wide this week and took only $11.1 million also, in what was billed as the biggest new release of the week. If the film was marketed in the U.S. anything like it was in the U.K, then I’m not surprised it hasn’t found it’s audience as it looked rather vacant and uninteresting. The film is expected to be one of the biggest flops of Clooney’s recent career, although not to the extent that The Good German was last year.

The crime drama We Own the Night which got great buzz at Cannes, has finished just very slightly behind Clayton with a $11 million opening, and despite the presence of the mega talents and usually popular actors Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Duvall alongside Eva Mendes it hasn’t got anywhere near first place. The film will see a return on it’s $21 million budget, but it won’t be a significant money maker.

Considering it’s the first Joaquin Pheonix movie since his Oscar winning turn in the mega popular Walk the Line, We Own the Night has been something of a big disappointment though I’ve said for months now the marketing was poor and the trailer wasn’t all that spectacular.

Another Oscar hopeful failed to find a real audience. Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the sequel to Elizabeth… took an estimated $6.2 million and will likely fall well short of the original’s $30 million taking despite Cate Blanchett being a much bigger star these days than she was a decade ago.

Finally, Across the Universe which is getting an absolutely huge cult following and very vocal fanbase actually grew this week at the box office and has made $12.9 million in 31 days.

OPENING NEXT WEEK:

30 Days of Night, Rendition, Things We Lost in the Fire, Reservation Road, Gone Baby Gone, The Comebacks, The Ten Commandments, A Nightmare on Christmas in 3D (limited), Wristcutters: A Love Story (limited), Jimmy Carter Man from Plains (limited), Weirdsville (limited), Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour (limited), O Jerusalem (limited).

source - box office mojo, imdb

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