Yawn. I'm so over January movies now. I don't know why, each year, I try to be optimistic about the offerings. They're all junk, and this year was no exception. Welcome to February, everyone - where things are also rather sucky on the new movie front. Maybe not quite as bad as January...but bad enough that I'm avoiding the theater for a while and catching up on DVDs (and sleep).
Ride Along won the weekend box office battle, though I seriously doubt anyone but studio executives give a rip. The Kevin Hart buddy cop comedy has now taken the top spot for three weekends in a row, easily beating two new debuts this time out: Labor Day and That Awkward Moment. In case you missed it, I was less than enthusiastic about the box office for the final weekend in January, and with good reason. Hollywood: If you put junk out there, eventually we're going to stop going.
Let's look at specific numbers: Ride Along took in an estimated $12.3 million, bringing the film's total to more than $90 million. Guess which film was second? Frozen, of course! And I can't say that's a bad thing. Frozen took in $9.3 million domestically, but here's a number that will blow your mind: The film has now grossed more than $800 million globally, putting it second behind Finding Nemo among Disney's original animated films (Frozen jumped The Lion King). That's staggering.
As for the rest of the pack, yeah, the new debuts? They performed very badly. That Awkward Moment only managed third place ($9 million), followed by The Nut Job ($7.6 million) and Lone Survivor ($7.2 million). Labor Day didn't even crack the top five. The Jason Reitman-directed drama starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin only managed to finish in seventh place, taking in a dismal $5.3 million.
Is there any hope in sight for a decent new release? Maybe. The Monuments Men opens later this week, as does The Lego Movie - and RoboCop isn't far behind. Here's hoping these films offer us a much-needed respite from the ho hum theater offerings at the moment.
Photo courtesy of JoBlo.com
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