‘Precious’ still climbing charts for Oprah and Perry

By Keith Williams

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/15/09 – It was the end of the world as we know it this weekend with Roland Emmerich’s apocalyptic 2012 heating up an estimated $65 million from 3404 solar flares.   Caught in the ensuing tsunami, Richard Curtis’s Pirate Radio capsized with $2.8 million on 882 wavelengths, Lee Daniels’s Precious floated up to $6 million on 174 life-rafts, leaving Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr Fox safe and dry with $260,000 at only four woodland lairs.

Having destroyed half of civilization already in Independence Day and frozen the rest of it in The Day After Tomorrow, Master of Disaster Roland Emmerich outdid even those past efforts with “the end-of-the-world movie to end all end-of-the-world movies”.  Starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet as the seperated couple reunited by destruction, and featuring cameos from the likes of George Segal and Woody Harrelson, this cheery tale of Sayonara Earth ticks every conceivable box that lovers of this genre have come to expect.  Pity those who sneered at its screenplay – what did they expect, King Lear? – under-predicted its opening weekend – 42 million, really? – and failed to enjoy what must be considered one of the most spectacular films in years.  Even by Emmerich’s previous standards, this is quite an achievement, and for once, in these days of over-priced 3D excursions to the cinema, true value is delivered for those who love entertainment on the big screen.  Don’t be at all surprised to see 2012 win special effects at the Oscars next march, unless of course James Cameron’s Avatar really is that good.

Blown into second place from its perch last week at no 1, Disney’s A Christmas Carol continued warbling with only a 25.7% drop in business, collecting $22.3 million in the charity cup.  Whether this is enough to sustain it through to the holiday season proper remains to be seen, but considering its debut was less than impressive for such an expensive outing, its future remains iffy, especially with many 3D screens taken over by Avatar next month.

At 3, The Men Who Stare at Goats might as well have been looking at coats for the lack of interest showed by audiences in its second weekend, dropping 51.2% for a less-than-hilarious $6.2 million.  Eyebrow raiser of the week, however – no, I really did expect 2012 to take what it did – would be arthouse film du jour, Precious, elbowing its way into fourth place with a per-screen-average of $35,000.  Based on the novel by Sapphire, produced by those Titans of contemporary black cinema, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, with acclaimed performances by Gabourey Sidibe and Monique, this is a case of the little film that could, meaning its chances of winning Academy awards has increased as dramatically as its box-office take.  And how nice to finally see co-star Mariah Carey putting the debacle of Glitter behind her and proving herself to be an actress not only of ability but courage and taste.

Dropping to 5 in the top ten, concert movie This Is It – pulling the same scam as Fantasia did when first released on VHS (yes, we remember how it was advertised “for a limited period only” and wasn’t) – Michael Jackson’s “two week only” release found itself still around for a third outing, despite a plunge of 61.2% and takings of $5.1 million.  The exact same drop was experienced by The Fourth Kind, dodging lawsuits to slip to 6 with $4.7 million.

Showing resilience at 7, Couples Retreat fell a credible 30.6% for $4.2 million, like Paranormal Activity behind it at 8 joining the 100 million dollar club with roughly the same take on a 49.3% decline in sleepless nights.  Law Abiding Citizen continued its rampage at 9, adding $3.9 million on a 34.5% fall for a grand total to date of $67.3 million, pushing The Box into the top ten exit slot where it closed by 57.9% for $3.1 million.

Sniffing its way towards future inclusion in the top ten, The Fantastic Mr Fox took an amazing per-screen-average of $65,000.   Opener for this year’s London Film Festival, this unusual “cartoon” features the voice talents of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, and was directed by Wes “Mr Eccentric” Anderson himself, auteur of Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and that one set in India with Adrien Brody.  Reception in the UK has been favorable – but then they love anything by Roald Dahl – so hopefully it will build on its boffo business in the US when it goes wider.

Mention should be made of Disaster of the Week (no, not 2012 again), an award claimed by Pirate Radio which didn’t even make it into the upper charts.  Written and directed by Richard Curtis, writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral and writer/director of Love Actually, this woeful attempt to dramatise a period of Swinging Sixties UK, albeit aboard a ship, suffered from an unexpectedly dismal script, over-wrought performances  (Kenneth Branagh, we’re looking at you) and visuals that looked like they’d been shot on home video.  Taking only $10 million in its country of origin, it suffered the ignominous fate of being retitled for America from The Boat That Rocked as well as being recut, which didn’t prevent it from sinking further into a watery grave.  For those still tempted, close your eyes and listen to some classic 60′s songs on the excellent soundtrack.

Weekend Estimates courtesy boxofficeguru.com