The summer's feel-good hit just keeps chugging along, like it or not. Meanwhile three new films failed to drum up much business, possibly because of the storm, possibly because no one cared.
It's true! Lady movies are officially the go-to fare for the final summer month. Though, don't discount apes. Don't discount them ever, we've learned this summer. We've also learned that America only has room for one Conan.
Yes, ladies and germs, you might just be seeing a little more of Mr. Manganiello. Also today: bad news for Kat Von D, good news for Josh Groban, and this summer is going to save the movie industry.
The nostalgic prequel-type movie did surprisingly well this weekend, while the fate of an unexpected summer bomb came clearer into focus and Ryan Reynolds took his second stumble of the season.
This was a weekend of strange creatures warring with each other and, though they don't seem remotely evenly matched, they actually kind of are! Also, Miranda July has done well for herself, as has Emma Stone.
It was a patriotic explosion of patriotism at the box office this weekend, with our ultimate superhero and protector soaring to high heights. Those blasted British wizards still did good too, unfortunately. And some red-blooded American youths played all right as well.
The boy wizard has broom-swooped through multiplexes one last time, and holly hippogriffs did he do well. Other stuff was in theaters too, of course, and it was a busy weekend overall, but Harry reigned hugely.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 hasn't even come out yet and it's already made $32 million in the US. Most of the advanced sales are for midnight screenings, which are now certain to be nightmare mob-scenes. That advance is the highest in movie history.
Some would argue that she never left, that she's just staying in it, but either way, her new movie performed pretty well. So did Transformers, duh. Though Zookeeper fared less well.
Fireworks weren't the only things exploding this weekend, as Michael Bay's latest disaster trundled into theaters and connected big-time. Meanwhile, two oldsters sputtered out and three youngsters fared just OK.
The bulletproof animation hut produces a hit once again, narrowly avoiding catastrophe. Also: Green Lantern continues to tank, Cameron Diaz is the new Kristen Wiig (except not), and Conan can't win.
75-year-old up and comer Woody Allen has a hit movie right now with Midnight in Paris, a summer counter-programming sleeper success that is on its way to becoming his most successful movie ever.
Canada's answer to a question nobody asked has rolled out his big superhero picture and it's not quite a hit. Meanwhile, another Canadian, name of Jim Carrey, isn't faring so well either.
With the modest success of his latest, Spielbergiest movie, J.J. Abrams is close to ascendancy. The same cannot necessarily be said for the new X-Men, but inexplicably can about The Hangover Part II.
Though it initially looks like X-Men: First Class isn't as big of a hit as it could/needs to be, things might be OK. Meanwhile, things are definitely OK for funny ladies and funny old men.
The sequel to 2009's big sleeper hit comedy The Hangover opened yesterday in early anticipation of the holiday weekend and it is big. Its $31 million opening day is the largest single-day earning for an R-rated comedy ever, and third highest-grossing Thursday opening on record. So basically get ready for The Hangover III: Tijuana Nights. [EW]
This weekend saw the continuing domination of one star and the crowning of a new one. That crown might have been taken from Paul Bettany, who didn't have such a great weekend.
Holy ladies! While their movie wasn't number one, because they're still not men, of course, women surged into a big second-position at the box office this weekend. What's next? Women voters? Women motorists? The sky might be the limit.
Screw Hamlet and Henry and regular Hero. Who Kenneth Branagh should have been focusing on all this time are superheroes. Superheroes like Thor, who has brought him by far the biggest of his directing career.
On what turned out to be the year's most patriotic weekend, Americans flocked in droves to go see a bunch of American meat-bodies zoom it up in another country. Some others went to go look at a fake bird in that same country, but mostly people watched the cars.
