Weekend Box Office Report

Weekend Box Office Report

Movie News

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

February is never a fantastic month for moviegoers. Most of the Oscar contenders have finished up their runs in the theater, and it isn’t quite time yet for studios to start releasing any major blockbusters. Still, in comparison to other years, this February has at least given us some films with major stars, and they were able to draw a decent crowd.

The new Liam Neeson thriller, “Unknown,” came out on top, taking in close to $22 million. His star power, along with that of January Jones from “Mad Men,” gave the film a big boost. However, it is worth mentioning that it’s sad to see Neeson constantly turning up in mediocre action movies and less-than-spectacular blockbusters these days. What happened to the actor who played Oskar Schindler? When’s he going to appear in a major drama again?

Taking in $19.5 million to secure its place in the number two spot was the teen sci-fi flick “I Am Number Four.” The combination of attractive young actors and shades of “Twilight” assured this film a decent degree of success. “Gnomeo and Juliet” brought enough kids and parents to come in at number three.

Now, we don’t know what is more reassuring. The fact that a fine film like “The King’s Speech” has managed to hold on to the reasonably respectable number seven spot, or the fact that an atrociously unnecessary new comedy like “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son” opened to a disappointing fifth spot. Both bode well for movies (if we have to have another “Big Momma’s House,” it might as well do poorly at the box office).

Perhaps poor word of mouth is the reason why the Sandler/Aniston rom-com “Just Go With It” fell to the fourth spot after opening last week in the number one position. Whatever the explanation may be, we’re happy to know audiences aren’t falling for it.