Weekend Box Office (04/29/12): Think Like a Man tops again as four new releases perform relatively poorly. Oh, and The Avengers assemble overseas to the tune of $178 million.

In the weekend before the official start of the summer season, four new releases, all of which were relatively smaller fare, all debuted to numbers ranging from not awful to genuinely awful (or example 4,321 on why comparing total weekend box office is stupid).  The top film this weekend was once again Think Like A Man, which dropped a surprisingly decent 46%, earning another $18 million.  The ensemble romantic comedy has now earned $60 million, putting it on track to be among the domestic bigger grossers of the first 1/3 of 2012.  If we're specifically talking 'black-films', then the Tim Story picture is a few days from outgrossing every Tyler Perry movie save Madea Goes to Jail, which grossed $90 million three years ago (the second highest-grossing Perry film is the $63 million-grossing Madea's Family Reunion). With a smaller drop and a larger second weekend off a $8 million-smaller opening weekend, it may pass that mark all the way to $100 million if it can hold onto screens as summer begins.  It will soon surpass the $65 million gross of Barbershop 2, the $67 million gross of Waiting to Exhale, and the $75 million gross of Barbershop within the next full week.  It's also out-grosssed and/or will likely out-gross any number of higher-profile 'white' romantic comedies or dramas (the $81 million-grossing Dear John, the $84 million-grossing Stupid, Crazy Love, the $54 million-grossing New Year's Eve, etc).  Usually when a $12 million-budgeted film ends up flirting with $100 million, studios respond with sequels and/or star-vehicles for certain higher-profile cast-members.  We'll see if Hollywood again writes off this 'unconventional' smash hit as a 'fluke' or whether Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, and Meagan Good (among others) get any 'bumps' off this film's unquestionable success.

So we're getting a Muppets sequel! Why part of me wishes we weren't...

I'm actually a little surprised.  Yes the The Muppets opened with $42 million over five days and yes the film cost only $45 million to produce, but it wasn't exactly a box office firestorm.  The Muppets ended up with $88 million in the US (not even a 3.0x multiplier off its $29 million Fri-Sun opening) and $156 million worldwide.  That's a strong result, but considering the advance press and the solid opening, I think we were all expecting something a little bigger in the end, especially considering how good the movie turned out.  In truth, I'd argue that the reason it didn't truly break out is that it was more for the adults that loved the Muppets than kids who Disney was trying to hook on the property.  It is a bittersweet and often somber drama, filled with just as many lumps in the throat as belly laughs.  I've seen the film twice, and both times it was the grownups who were captivated while the kids squirmed in their seats.  Still, Disney's not one to turn away any would-be franchise that didn't lose tons of money, so they are indeed pressing ahead with a film sequel to The Muppets, with the key caveat being that Jason Segel won't be co-writing it this time.  Director James Bobin and original co-writer Nicholas Stoller are returning, but Segel is apparently too busy to commit to anything right now.  Come what may, he may have the right idea.  

Review: The Muppets (2011) is a touching and hilarious tribute to the iconic characters, plus a commentary on the pros and cons of nostalgia.

The Muppets
2011
105 minutes
rated PG

by Scott Mendelson

There is a part of me that doesn't want The Muppets to be a box office smash.  It's a wonderful film, one of the very best movies of the year, in fact. But there is a part of me that doesn't want this to be the opening chapter in another deluge of new Muppet movies, television shows, and the like. The film, as it stands, works fine as both a standalone film and an introduction to the world created by Jim Henson some forty years ago.  But it also has an unexpected power as something else: a farewell of sorts.  It is about the heartache of losing touch with old friends and not getting that last chance to say goodbye.  It is about, among other things, how we, as a society, seek a kind of closure for certain chapters in our lives, and can sometimes feel incomplete if we don't get it.  Maybe this new film will be a gateway drug to a whole new generation of kids, and I cannot begrudge them the pleasures that Kermit and his friends have given me.  But this new entry has our felt friends emerging out of exile and in arguably peak form, and it makes a strong argument for ending on top.  Come what may, The Muppets, if need be, exists as a triumphant last hurrah and/or fitting finale to a entertainment property that never really got its 'one last show'.

The Muppets gets a final domestic poster...

Thanks to Fandango to putting this up originally.  Not much to say, other than I'm glad that Statler and Waldorf are getting prominent spaces in the gigantic deluge of Muppets.  I suppose I could take umbrige over the fact that the humans are given top billing over the puppets that everyone is actually coming to see.  I love Chris Cooper as much as the next person, but he's not exactly a box office draw or a kid favorite.  Anyway, enough whining, I'll be there with bells on for the first November 23rd showing, or an earlier press screening if I can brownnose Disney to a suitable degree (they don't return my emails as often as other big studios).  On a last note, kudos to Disney for not forcing a 3D conversion this time around.

Scott Mendelson  

The Muppets gets a great international poster. When critics use their kids as alibis.

My daughter and I attended a press screening of Winnie the Pooh last Saturday.  It was filled with families with kids, but there were a few child-less critics in attendance.  While she enjoyed the movie and was well-behaved throughout, she did almost trip a prominent LA critic as she was walking down the aisle.  I apologized via Twitter merely out of courtesy, and said critic remarked that they 'felt like a conspicuously solo adult on a playground'.  I replied that most of us 'with-child' critics were likely using our kids as alibis, excuses if you will to attend a Saturday morning screening of a Winnie the Pooh movie.  And you can bet that we 'with-child' critics will be dragging our kids to the press screenings of The Muppets this November.  And you can bet damn sure that it will be far more for us than for the youngins in tow.  But we (critics and general moviegoers alike) are looking forward to see The Muppets this Thanksgiving.  You know... because our kids wanted to see it, right?

Scott Mendelson

The Muppets gets a real trailer. "This is their movie!", promises Disney.

After three satirical teasers over the last month, Disney finally unleashes a real trailer of sorts from this Thanksgiving's The Muppets.  The most effective portion is actually the opening bit, where Jason Segel basically acknowledges that the Muppets have not been a true pop culture force since Jim Henson died in 1990.  Yes, I enjoyed Muppets Tonight, and two of my favorite Muppet movies (Muppet Treasure Island and A Very Muppet Christmas) all dropped in the last fifteen years, but they've been mainly feeding on nostalgia since the early 1990s.  Anyway, the trailer itself is amusing, and it still avoids revealing any real plot.  Statler and Waldorf do make an appearance, so that's encouraging, and this new trailer is explicitly Muppet-centric.  In fact, the text at 0:41 - "This is their movie!" - seems to be a reassurance to those worried that Jason Segel and Amy Adams will dominate the proceedings. So far, so good.

Scott Mendelson  

The Muppets gets a Green Lantern-inspired teaser, with Statler and Waldorf!!

This is easily the best teaser so far, with what appears to be actual scenes from the movie, including an appearance (thank god) by Statler and Waldorf!!  All that, plus a witty self-acknowledgment from Jason Segel about the seemingly unending 'parody trailers' makes this the best spot yet.  Frankly, if Disney does nothing but parody trailers up until the film's release, they'll be able to market the movie without revealing anything resembling plot.  Imagine that... walking into a major studio movie not knowing at all what to expect behind the bare-bones synopsis.

Scott Mendelson