Weekend box office wrap up: What movie took the top spot?

With the summer blockbuster movie season in full swing now, it's time for some upsets to happen. One of the biggest of the year, movie-wise, happened this past weekend, when Will Smith's science fiction/action movie After Earth pretty much bombed at the box office. When I say "bomb," the movie still took in millions, but it did not debut in the number one spot - something that almost always happens with a Will Smith summer film.

Before movies hit wide release, there's always a lot of predicting that happens. So-called experts have all kinds of wizardry they use to try and figure out how a film will perform when it opens in thousands of theaters nationwide (and globally, for that matter). In the case of After Earth, predictions had the film grossing at least $35 million in its opening weekend. What happened? After Earth actually took in just over $27 million, way below expectations.

This is precisely what industry types mean when they say a movie "underperformed." After Earth only managed to place third in the box office race, behind another new film, Now You See Me (at number two with $28 million) and Fast & Furious 6, which held the top spot for a second weekend in a row. Fast & Furious, by the way, earned an additional $34.5 million. The crazy ride for the Fast & Furious franchise continues.

I also avoided After Earth at the theater this past weekend, opting instead to see the caper thriller Now You See Me. I've already posted a review of the movie, and honestly I didn't hate it. I am almost certain that it's a better movie than After Earth.

Why did everyone stay away? I have no idea, but I can tell you why I did: I didn't like the premise, I thought the trailer looked kind of lame and I'm extremely hesitant to ever spend my money to see an M. Night Shyamalan-directed movie in the theater ever again.

Did anyone see After Earth over the weekend and if so, was it that bad? I actually like almost all of Will Smith's movies (they're usually quite fun), and I hate to see this bomb so badly. I also thought Jaden Smith was pretty darn good in The Karate Kid remake and starring opposite his dad in The Pursuit of Happyness.

Still, you put out a sub-par movie and these days, movie goers will definitely stay away.

Photo courtesy of E! Online