Commentary Track

by RISHI AGRAWAL

So, it took a while to get this post out, but I figure it’s better late than never, especially since people occasionally go back to these posts as references. So, it’s time to discuss the films that won the March weekends as well as the ten highest grossing films in February. As always, numbers are American gross receipts.

March 6-8: 1. Watchmen* ($55.2 million). 2. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail ($8.5 million). 3. Taken ($7.3 million).

March 13-15: 1. Race to Witch Mountain* ($24.4 million). 2. Watchmen ($17.8 million). 3. The Last House on the Left* ($14.1 million).

March 20-22: 1. Knowing* ($24.6 million). 2. I Love You, Man* ($17.8 million). 3. Duplicity* ($14.0 million).

March 27-29: 1. Monsters vs. Aliens* ($59.3 million). 2. The Haunting in Connecticut* ($23.0 million). 3. Knowing ($14.7 million).

Asterisks indicate the opening weekends.

Well, two of the bigger films from March ended up being Watchmen and Monsters vs. Aliens, and I don’t think either of those was a surprise. I think some people were expecting Watchmen to have more longevity, but it still scored an impressive opening weekend. I think the real surprise of the month was Knowing, which looked awful and, by all accounts, was quite bad. Still, there’s something about, as James puts it, the acting fury of Nic Cage that continues to bring people in.

I had mentioned this in the February recap, but I am really impressed with the staying power of Taken, which was a January release that still was looking at a Top 3 box office spot in March.

Now, let’s look at the ten highest grossing films that opened in February.

He’s Just Not That Into You ($93.6 million)
Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail ($90.5 million)
Coraline ($74.9 million)
Friday the 13th ($65.0 million)
Confessions of a Shopaholic ($44.0 million)
The Pink Panther 2 ($35.9 million)
Push ($31.7 million)
The International ($25.5 million)
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience ($19.2 million)
Fired Up ($17.2 million)

There were no huge movies in February, and only a few films that really made much of a dent in the box office. I am a little surprised to see that He’s Just Not That Into You took over the top spot from Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, as the latter seemed to have a lot of staying power. But a strong opening weekend, which was probably bolstered by the dearth of romantic comedies in February, made He’s Just Not That Into You an appealing choice. Coraline was also a film with staying power that seemed to have very strong word of mouth. I think that Friday the 13th was expected to do better, but it’s still enough to probably make yet another film in the now re-launched franchise. Finally, I’d like to note that an evil little part of me is deeply satisfied that Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience did not do better. I think if it had done spectacularly at the box office, then we would have had a slew of Disney concert “films” which would have been insufferable to me.

And, although this concluded a while ago: For the record, here were the choices for the Box Office Recap game.

April 3: Adventureland, Fast & Furious
April 10: Dragonball Evolution, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Observe and Report
April 17: 17 Again, Crank: High Voltage, State of Play
April 24: Fighting, Obsessed, The Soloist

My predictions: Fast & Furious, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Observe and Report

(This post was updated on April 28)