06/03/10

Tops at the Box: Shrek Forever After continued to bring in that sweet sequel green over its second weekend, upping its nine-day total to $133 million with another $43 million. The film’s success is no surprise, considering the first three Shrek films averaged over $300 million per picture in the U.S. alone. So, for you Sequel History Majors out there, every three years, come mid-May, Dreamworks puts out a movie with an ugly green dude who talks funny and goes on some sort of adventure with a bunch of other uglies (who are actually cute) that talk funny. People go to these movies like clockwork. 

More From the Box: The No. 2 film at the box office last week was Michael Patrick King’s Sex and the City 2, bringing in a disappointing $32 million over its first weekend and $46 million over its first four days. A longtime fan of the HBO program and so-so fan of the first film, ScreenTime caught this film on opening day and, as implied by the trailer, it was all kinds of awful. We could write a series of columns about why King’s second Sex flick is a major punch in the gut to the folks who looked to the now-classic series for more than cheap laughs. That said, if you like idiot humor, Sex and the City 2 might work for you … but it kinda broke our heart, it was that awful. Coming in at No. 3 last weekend was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, also known as the movie that many of us feel like we’ve been dreading for years now. It’s finally here!! So far the film has made about $32 million in the U.S. and $115 million worldwide. Not bad, but hardly what the studio hoped for on opening weekend. Looks so lame. Last weekend’s No. 4 and No. 5 films were Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood, respectively. Look for Iron Man 2 to possibly top the $300 million mark in the U.S. by the time next week’s column runs - an accomplishment that used to be a big deal. A number of other films continued to bomb (especially MacGruber) while Date Night continued to surprise, now pushing the $95 million mark in the U.S. (But, wait, isn’t that movie out on DVD in like three weeks?)

Opening this Weekend: Here comes summer. Four films will see major distribution this weekend, starting with the much-hyped Get Him to the Greek. Despite thinking that Russell Brand, the lead in Greek, is a little too over-the-top for comfort, ScreenTime is kind of looking forward to Nicholas Stoller’s film about a record label intern who has to deliver a wig-flipping rocker to a show on time (or else). Super simple premise and probably a predictable set of jokes, but with Jonah Hill as the intern and a supporting cast that features Rose Byrne and Aziz Ansari, Greek might not be as bad as it sounds. Fox’s new family comedy, Marmaduke, will look to capitalize on the success of the Alvin movies while Lionsgate’s uber-promoted Killers is something of a sure-thing at this point. Starring the suddenly-hot-again Ashton Kutcher and whiny babe Katherine Heigl as a couple who do stuff with guns and kisses and bad guys, Killers is probably as stupid as all the other failed romantic action flicks we’ve all endured over the years. But it’ll do well. Also out this week is Warner Bros.’ sci-fi flick Splice, which could be very good. Why could it be very good? Well, because is stars Sarah Polley, and she’s one of the smartest, most multi-talented people working in film today. Check out her acting in Secret Life of Words or her writing/direction in Away From Her for proof. Oh, and a number of films begin to test … nothing worth mentioning.

New to Home Video: The two most noteworthy home releases this week are Martin Scorcese’s great Shutter Island and Pierre Morel’s awful  From Paris With Love. We think you know what to do. Also out this coming Tuesday, June 8: season seven of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”; a box set that contains the complete “A-Team” television series; season six of “Nip/Tuck”; Caddyshack on Blu-ray (you know, because the cinematography is so great in that film); season one of “Family Matters”; something called The Cry of the Owl; season two of “Z-Rock” and a number of other small releases and Blu-ray first editions. So, basically, Shutter Island and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Written by G. William Locke