Another week, another BOX OFFICE BATTLE! Let’s which newcomer grossed the most this week.
The loser this week is Skyline. Originally, I was hyped for this movie because it looked like another Independence Day, a movie which, while obviously not Oscar material, was fun for me (and I grew up with this movie, so I have a lot of fun memories associated with it). However, the consensus from critics is that it’s not even campy-fun. It’s just boring and bad, plodding along from point A to point B with no real direction. Stats wise, the film garnered a low 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, didn’t make the top three on the box office charts (it came in at number four), and made $11,678,000:
“If ‘Skyline’ never seems interested in pushing the envelope, it at least begins with enough promise to suggest a competent thriller. No such luck.”–San Francisco Examiner
“The only fascinating thing about Skyline is that that such a mad muddle of a movie can even exists in an era of corporate homogeneity and purported quality-controlled.”–Globe and Mail
“Skyline is a piece of junk, even in a movie climate littered with expensive — though sometimes fun — junkiness.”–Movieline
The middle spot is taken by Morning Glory, which received 54% from Rotten Tomatoes and also didn’t register in the top three on the b.o. charts (it came in at number five). It grossed $9,625,000, which is pretty low by all accounts, but is especially noteworthy because this film was produced by J.J. Abrams’s company Bad Robot, the same company that gave us Alias, Lost and the spectacular Star Trek reboot. Perhaps this is Abrams’s off-year; just a few weeks ago, his undercover spy rom-com show Undercovers was cancelled on NBC. In any event, the critics said that Morning Glory is fluffy forgetfulness:
“What IS the story with ‘Morning Glory’? No seriously, you need to pick one.”–The Scorecard Review
“Workplace comedy is winning but predictable; OK for teens.”–Common Sense Media
“Can an overbaked soufflé still be too “fluffy”? Morning Glory’s catch phrase gives new meaning to chick flick.”–Film Journal International
The winner out of these three movies is Unstoppable, which garnered 85 % at Rotten Tomatoes, the number 2 spot on the b.o. charts, and grossed $23,500,000. Critics felt that the Denzel Washington/Chris Pine-led film was one of director Tony Scott’s best films in a while, citing that it was everything you want out of popcorn movie entertainment, no matter how implausible the subject matter (a runaway train that must be shot at?!):
“Too many times we’re stuck watching fake TV news or other people react to the action, instead of hanging with Washington and Pine.”–The Scorecard Review
“Unstoppable doesn’t try to be much more than a runaway train movie, and it’s an effective runaway train movie. In fact, it’s everything you could want from a runaway train movie.”–The Aisle Seat
“If you’re looking for 100 minutes of pure escapism, get on board.”–Kaplan vs. Kaplan
Notice that throughout the post, I’ve been saying “The winner out of these three.” None of these movies actually won the weekend. The real winner in this scenario is Megamind, which once again beat out the expected winner, Unstoppable, for the number one spot. I’m speaking from a bias, but I’m pretty stoked Megamind received its props once again, whether some critics decide to give them to it or not. Overall, the top five movies of the week are:
All ratings stats from Rotten Tomatoes, all monetary and b.o. stats from Box Office Mojo.
