“Little Fockers” Tops Holiday Box Offices

“Little Fockers” Tops Holiday Box Offices

Movie News

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

Yeah, as if us film writers needed another swift kick to the crotch. With plenty of know-it-alls more than happy to tell us that what we do has little effect on public opinion, this weekend’s box-office report only seems to provide more confirmation, with “Little Fockers” taking the top spot despite a less than enthusiastic critical reception. To be fair, even in the number one spot, it didn’t make as much money as expected—just about $34 million over the weekend—and with Christmas falling on Saturday, a lot of the people going to the movies were probably in a “let’s see whatever is new” mood, but still, c’mon. “Little Fockers?” Really?

Then again, the awards-worthy fare isn’t exactly family friendly. “True Grit” did well enough, making it into the number two spot with a weekend gross of a little more than $25 and a half million, and “The Fighter” came out in the number six spot. On the one hand, that’s not bad for a drama that was initially a “selected-theaters” release. On the other hand, that means that “Yogi Bear” beat it.

Sigh.

“Tron: Legacy” fell to the three spot with the new “Narnia” film right below it in number four. New Jack Black release “Gulliver’s Travels” failed to find a strong audience, ending up in the number seven spot, with awards contender “Black Swan” right behind it.

Once again, it wasn’t the usual weekend for the movie theater business, with a major holiday falling on Saturday and a blizzard stranding a significant portion of the Northeast indoors.

Still, “Little Fockers” and “the number one spot” should never have gone together.