12/16/10

Opening This Weekend: Well, damn, they actually went through with that Yogi Bear movie; look for it to open this Friday, December 17. It seems that Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (our guess at Movie of the Year) will be in town soon (probably December 22), as will Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, so cross your fingers for those two. The Coen Brothers’ new Western, True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, will be in town on December 22, as will, umm, Little Fockers and Sophia Coppola’s promising fourth feature, Somewhere. David O. Russell’s comeback film, The Fighter, will open in town on Friday, December 17, as will the much hyped Tron: Legacy. And last but not least is the new James L. Brooks film, How Do You Know, starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Dignan. So yes, finally, with five probably-great films coming to town over the next week or two, the best time of the year for cinephiles is here. Here’s the ScreenTime pecking order for the movies that are coming to town over the next few days: 1. Black Swan; 2. The Fighter; 3. True Grit; 4. Somewhere; 5. How Do You Know; 6. Tron: Legacy; and, what the hell, 7. Little Fockers. Very stoked. Very, very stoked! 

ScreenRant: With Casino Jack, Rabbit Hole, Country Strong, I Love You, Phillip Morris, The Illusionist and The Tempest all also opening soon, this is, in ScreenTime’s opinion, the best time of the year. And if that’s not enough, three movies that all seem Top 10-worthy, Blue Valentine, Biutiful and Mike Leigh’s Another Year are also all opening before the end of the year. Sure, we won’t get most of these films in town right away, but they should all/most make it here before the Oscar Nominations in February. You hear that … that’s the sound of a so-far disappointing year for film coming together nicely. For the hell of it, here’s our updated predictions for the 15 best films of what is turning out to be maybe the best year for the movies since 2007: 15. 127 Hours; 14. Greenberg; 13. Another Year; 12. White Material; 11. Exit Through the Gift Shop; 10. The Fighter; 9. Winter’s Bone; 8. The American; 7. True Grit; 6. Blue Valentine; 5. Inception; 4. Biutiful; 3. The Social Network; 2. Un Prophete; 1. Black Swan.

Tops at the Box: Despite taking the No. 1 spot and $24.5 million over its first three days last weekend, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is so far considered to be quite the failure, fumbling in the presence of still-new hits Tangled and The Deathly Hallows Pt.1. The movie looks just about as ridiculous as the last two Chronicles flicks, so we’re not at all surprised. Note to the producers at Fox and director Michael Apted: don’t open your children’s franchise films when either/both Buena Vista and Harry Potter have new releases still going strong. Dummies.

More From the Box: Last weekend’s No. 2 film, The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, had a weak opening as well, bringing in $17 million over it’s first weekend - about half what the studio predicted. Despite its promising cast, the movie is getting consistently negative reviews and features a pretty awful trailer. Tangled took last weekend’s No. 3 spot, bringing in another $15 million, upping its 17-day total to about $115 million. Sounds like a weak start when you consider the film’s $260 million production cost, but the movie is doing well overseas and will do very well on DVD and Blu-ray. Rounding out the weekend’s Top 5 were The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 at No. 4, upping its U.S. total to $257 million ($778 million worldwide, making it No. 40 ever at the box office), and Unstoppable, upping its U.S. total to $74 million ($125 million worldwide). Also of note: Black Swan has been testing very well, selling out almost every screening last weekend while playing at 90 theaters across the country. So far the film has already made about $6 million in the U.S. while only seeing release in a handful of select cities.

New to Home Video: Studios all but fight each other for slots on the final Tuesday home video release day of the Christmas shopping season. This year’s crop is, well, a bit underwhelming. Out this coming Tuesday, December 21: Devil; Easy A; Salt; Soul Kitchen; Step Up 3D; Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; a handful of first edition Blu-ray releases; volume five of “Futurama,” season 1.5 of “Caprica” and seasons one and two of “Billy the Exterminator.” We predict that Easy A will be this season’s big winner.