Weekend Box Office: Oz tops twice, The Call tops Burt Wonderstone, and Spring Breakers explodes in limited release.

There is an amusing phenomenon, going back at least as long as I can remember, to underestimate the box office potential of films featuring actors of color.  We don't see it coming, we're shocked when it happens, and then studios don't actually factor this new information into their production slate.  Anyway, The Call was the top new release of the weekend, earning $17.2 million.  Yes the film played strongly among African Americans, at least partially because the movie bothered to feature a few (Halle Berry and Morris Chestnut among many others) in more than just token roles.  Tracking this debut compared to Berry's previous efforts is tough because she has had co-starring roles in stuff like Die Another Day ($47 million debut), The Flintstones ($29 million), and the X-Men trilogy ($54m, $85m, and $102m).  In terms of starring vehicles, this is bigger than the likes of Catwoman ($16 million), and A Perfect Stranger ($11 million), but below Gothica ($19 million).  The marketing smartly highlighted that it was a film about one woman rescuing another woman from peril, with no clear male lead.  It played 61% female and 53% over-30.  The picture cost just WWE just $13 million before selling the rights to Sony and earned a B+ from Cinemascore, so it may just have legs.  Even if its appeal is about "black audiences have nothing for them right now", Warner Bros' Jackie Robinson biopic 42 doesn't open until April 12th.

Review: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) will make your laughter and interest disappear.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
2013
100 minutes
rated PG-13

by Scott Mendelson

Among its many other faults, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone makes a solid case for the old 'television is better than the movies' argument.  The film is written by four different screenwriters all swimming in television writing experience and directed by a man who has directed almost nothing but television since 1990 and all of their various television projects are likely, by default, better than this film.  It features two actresses (Olivia Wilde and Gillian Jacobs) who did shine or are currently shining in well-developed three-dimensional roles on episodic television and uses them here merely as props for the boys to screw or ogle.   It contains a script seemingly written by committee that features less wit and smarts than any one of the 38 episodes of 30 Rock  by director Don Scardino.  But putting aside the film vs. TV debate, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is an inexplicable missed opportunity, showcasing subject matter that isn't the least bit timely and highlighting the unmerited 'redemption' of a pointlessly horrible human being whose downfall is completely his own fault.  More importantly, save for Jim Carrey's supporting turn and a few grace notes along the way, it isn't very funny.

John Gosling previews the week's new releases (08/10/12)

This week brings us three major releases, one opening Wednesday, the other two on Friday.

The character of Jason Bourne made his debut in the 1980 Robert Ludlum book, The Bourne Identity. The story opens with Bourne being found with bullet wounds and no memory of who he is or why he has been shot. As the tale unfolds he soon discovers that he is a highly trained individual, possibly a spy or assassin, and begins to piece together the reasons why he was left for dead. Since his debut, Jason Bourne has gone on to feature in two further Ludlum penned stories, along with six written by Eric Van Lustbader (a seventh is due at the end of 2012). The character actually made his screen debut in an extended TV movie in 1988, which featured Richard Chamberlain as Bourne, and Charlie's Angels's Jaclyn Smith as Marie. While there were differences between this version and the novel, it would be a closer adaptation than the next version to reach the screen. Director Doug Liman, a fan of the book since reading it in high school, decided he wanted to adapt it for the screen while finishing up work on his breakthrough movie, Swingers. It would take two years before he could wrangle the rights from Warner Brothers and a further year of writing with Tony Gilroy before a workable script emerged. Liman discarded all but the central premise for his version, contemporising the themes and politics in the process. He also added elements garnered from his father's memoirs, a former NSA operative, who had had dealings with Oliver North - traits of whom would be the basis for the character of Alexander Conklin.

Despicable Me 2 gets a teaser, despite having nothing really to tease.

I've whined before about the inexplicable need to spend countless millions of dollars on marketing campaigns so far in advance of the film's release that only the hardcore fans are paying attention anyway.  So here we have a teaser for Despicable Me 2, just over a year from its release date (July 3rd, 2013), with no known plot to tease.  Universal is merely going with what it knows sells - the minions.  The first film was smart enough to hold those characters somewhat in reserve despite their obvious appeal, and here's hoping that the sequel will muster the same restraint.  I'm presuming that Universal didn't spend too much cash putting together this minimalist teaser, so I won't hold it against them.

Scott Mendelson 

Review: Crazy, Stupid Love is stupid, vapid, insulting, misogynistic, and completely disconnected from human experience. A baker's dozen list of why I hate it:

Stupid, Crazy Love
2011
117 minutes
rated PG-13

Stupid, Crazy Love is a wolf in sheep's clothing.  Despite its pedigreed cast and the directing team of Dan Fogelman and John Requa (the very good I Love You Phillip Morris), Stupid, Crazy Love is written and performed like a sub-par sitcom.  Despite its promise of adult comedy and genuine insight into love, family, and relationships, it comes off as a shockingly moronic and simplistic fable penned by people who apparently have no experience with real relationships.  Every moment of genuine pathos and earned drama is followed or undercut by a ghastly contrivance.  It treats women solely as conquests, either as casual one-off hook-ups or as prizes to be won.  In terms of teaching its audience how how to deal with the people in our lives, it is far more insidious than the Twilight films, since the supernatural romance is hardly subtle about its disconcerting undertones.  Like the loathsome Enchanted, Crazy, Stupid Love hides its regressive and boneheaded notions of love and romance under a guise of progressive maturity and thoughtfulness.  I do not yet know whether it is the worst film of 2011.  But it surely contains more awful moments than any film I've seen this year.

Weekend Box Office (07/31/11) part I: The Smurfs, Cowboys and Aliens do battle,tying with $36.2 million, while Stupid Crazy Love opens with $19.2 million.

This weekend is an excellent example of why it's the numbers, not the rankings that matter when discussing box office.  And, more importantly, the context of the numbers must be taken into account as well as the hard figures.  As of this moment, The Smurfs and Cowboys & Aliens are battling for the top slot at this weekend's box office, with both films hovering at $36.2 million.  One cost $110 million while the other cost $165 million.  One has strong foreign prospects and a guarantee of eternal life as a family DVD purchase/rental, while the other faces an uncertain future as it belongs to a distinctly American genre.  Point being, The Smurfs can take solace that it somewhat over-performed this weekend, while the Jon Favreau genre mash-up may go down as one of the bigger whiffs of the summer season.