By Keith Willams

Wild Things, leads box office

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 10/18/09 — Parental issues dominated the nation’s box-office this weekend with Loss propelling Where the Wild Things Are to an estimated $32.4 million at 3735 tribal love-ins, Revenge driving Law Abiding Citizen to $21.2 million at 2889 home invasions, and Tyranny bullying The Stepfather to $12.3 million at 2734 psychotic households.

Originally due to be released back in 2008, Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved childrens’ classic certainly raised furry eyebrows, including mine, with the higher-than-expected grosses for its opening weekend.  Reasons for its delay vary between the “perfectionism” of Jonze to Warner Bros’ demands that CGI be utilised to create more relatable facial expressions on the wild things themselves.  Whatever the truth is, it doesn’t matter now as a brave, ambitious approach by everyone involved, including stylish trailers, posters, and innovative marketing, has reaped major rewards for all.  Anticipation has been obsessional amongst those who read and loved the book as kids, no doubt anxious to share the experience with their own offspring, though what it means to those coming cold to the story and its characters, like me, is entirely another matter.  Nonetheless, despite mixed if polite reviews, for a project that at one time looked like it was destined for abattoirs more than family-friendly screens, this is a major boost for anyone dithering on the edge of doing something different.

With a trailer starting off as a distant cousin to that 1996 Sally Fields thriller Eye for an Eye, and skidding to a stop in Terminator territory,  Law-Abiding Citizen was another new release that took industry analysts by surprise, far exceeding their indifferent forecast.  For Gerard Butler it’s good news to see this likeable Scottish actor criss-crossing genres with commercial appeal intact, for Jamie Foxx an endorsement of his appeal given the series of commercial clunkers he’s recently been saddled with (did YOU see The Soloist?) and for F Gary Gray another commercial hit for this ever-dependable director.  With revenge becoming more popular than ever amongst frustrated, recession-hit movie-goers, could this be another Taken in the maken?

In third place, Paranormal Activity grew more intense, increasing its business by 155.2% to scare up $20 million.  That’s a per-screen-average of $26,500 on 760 screens for a gross to date of $33.7 million – phenomenal by anyone’s definition of what makes a successful movie, especially one that cost less than Bruce Willis’s toupee in Surrogates.  Following behind, cup in hand, came last week’s (albeit) brief box-office champ, Couples Retreat which indeed did recede by 47.7% for a take of $17.9 million and a total of $63 million to date – okay for a comedy that nobody seems to love, bar Universal of course.

At 5, Remake Alley this week gave us a chance to revisit that 80′s thriller classic The Stepfather with typical B-movie results for the ever reliable Screen Gems.  Originally directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Terry O’ Quinn from Lost in the lead role, this new version features Dylan Walsh as Psycho Dad of the Century, now directed by Nelson McCormick who last gave us the desultory remake of Prom Night.  The original was a genuine shocker, spawned a few lacklustre sequels and TV remakes before the concept was hammered into the ground and faded back into family obscurity.  Whether Stepfather 2 will resurrect itself as well depends on how desperate Screen Gems turns out to be, but with made-for-video sequels littering the shelves of lending libraries up and down the land, don’t be surprised.  If Rob Zombie can revive and desecrate the Halloween oeuvre, why not this?

At 6, Meatballs grew cloudier with a drop of 29.7% for $8.1 million, at 7, Zombieland lost its taste for human flesh by 47.3%, still good for a gobble of $7.8 million, at 8, Toy Story and Toy Story 2, a bargain double-bill in the US, separate releases (oh, what a surprise) in Gree-D obsessed UK, charmed far fewer than expected with a plunge of 61.2% for $3 million, leaving Surrogates to fall by 55% for $1.9 million in virtual change.  Proving the old adage that lying gets you nowhere, Ricky Gervais’s directorial debut,  The Invention of Lying prepared to go there by teetering on the edge of the top ten after only 3 weeks with a decline of 43%, a take of $1.9 million, and a grand total of $15.4 million – and that’s the truth.

Weekend Estimates courtesy boxofficemojo.com