Box Office: Strong Debuts by 'Unbroken' and 'Into the Woods' can't Topple 'The Hobbit 3'

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies- $41.4M/$168.5M
Turns out audiences haven't grown bored of Middle Earth quite yet. Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies dominated the 5-day Christmas holiday with $54M overall, $41M over the weekend. Overall it will have passed the $500M worldwide mark probably by tomorrow, and when all is said and done it should be right up there with Guardians of the Galaxy as the top earners of the year.
2. Unbroken- $31.7M/$47.3M
Angelina Jolie's sophomore directorial effort, Unbroken, got off to the kind of powerhouse opening Academy voters will love with $47M over the holiday. The film, which stars breakout actor Jack O'Connell as Olympian and WWII hero Louis Zamperini, was built for this time of season and it showed. In an extremely crowded week, its $47M debut counts as the third best ever for Christmas week. Jolie's name was pretty much what the movie was promoted on, not that she spends a single moment in front of the camera, and clearly she turned out to be just as much of a draw as the inspiring true story being told.
3. Into the Woods- $31M/$46.1M
Disney's star-studded musical Into the Woods nearly sang its way past Jolie but just fell short with $46M over the 5-day week. The film boasts more superstars than anything in theaters right now with Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, and more as iconic fairy tale characters. Does this count as a much-needed win for Depp, who has had four flops in a row? Probably not. He only appears in the film for a hot second as the Big Bad Wolf, and this one was all about the ensemble, anyway. Sorry, Depp. Better look forward to Mortdecai (which looks awful) for Depp's next chance to rebound. Anyway, it's a big win for Disney and a good month for musicals overall with the Annie remake also performing well. More on that later.
4. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb- $20.6M/$55.3M
Showing why so many family-friendly movies open around Christmas, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb bounded 20% from last week for $20.6M. Considering the mediocre start from last week this makes things look somewhat better.
5. Annie- $16.6M/$45.8M
And continuing to sing its way to our hearts is Annie, the hip-hop remake starring Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhane Wallis, and Cameron Diaz. It didn't seem to be fazed by having another high-profile musical like Into the Woods opening, as the film earned $16.6M, nearly 5% up from last week.
6. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 1- $10M/$306.6M
7. The Gambler- $9.3M/$14.3M
A Mark Wahlberg-led remake of a 1974 James Caan film few remember? The Gambler was always going to have a tough go of it, especially this time of year with audiences looking for something relatively harmless, but the film still managed to perform well with $14M over the holiday. Once eyed as a potential Oscar contender, The Gambler probably won't meet those expectations, but the $25M flick has a solid performance by Wahlberg that has gained it some solid word of mouth. It's a good film, worth checking out if you can get away from the kiddies.
8. The Imitation Game- $7.9M/$14.6M
Booming to over 740 theaters, an increase of 800%(!!!), The Imitation Game is clearly being positioned as a Best Picture frontrunner. This is pretty much how things went with The King's Speech a few years ago, rolling out small in November before going huge a month later. We'll see if Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley can bring the story of heroic mathematician Alan Turing some gold.
9. Exodus: Gods and Kings- $6.75M/$52.5M
10. Wild- $5.4M/$16.3M

Told you this was a crowded week. There were a number of major films that had tiny platform releases worth mentioning. Ava DuVernay's MLK Jr. drama Selma opened in 19 sites for $912K, which isn't bad at all for a film many (like me) perceive as the best of the year. It will expand in a few weeks. Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper's American Sniper, in which Cooper gains a Texas accent and mad sharpshooting skills, got off to an incredible start with $610K at only 4 locations. That's another one many are looking at as an Oscar candidate, both for Eastwood and Cooper.

Tim Burton's art world dramedy Big Eyes earned $4.4M over the 5-day holiday, opening in just over 1300 theaters. That's pretty small by Burton standards, but consider that it was only supposed to get a small Christmas release by Sony until they were forced to scramble after the whole fiasco with The Interview.

Speaking of which, The Interview did $2.85M of business in its 331 locations. Of course the film also opened on VOD, and we won't have those numbers for awhile, but no matter what Sony is going to eat it big time on this one. If they had just left well enough alone and kept it in the original number of theaters (likely 3000 or more) it probably would have made back the $40M+ production budget. Now it doesn't have a prayer, not even when the Blu-Ray release hits.

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Review: Tim Burton's 'Big Eyes' starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz

We haven't seen Tim Burton make a movie as grounded as Big Eyes in a long time, and it's a refreshing turn for a director who has been coasting on CGI silliness for quite a while.  He still draws upon something personal here in recounting the loopy story of Walter (Christoph Waltz) and Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), renowned artists in the 1950s and '60s. Well, one of them was an artist. That’s kind of the point. Burton has long been a fan of the paintings of doe-eyed children the Keane's were famous for, and he's clearly invigorated by the chance to tell their story.

Reuniting with Ed Wood screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewsk, Burton paints a vividly complex picture of gender bias and repressed creativity, with a whole lot of betrayal thrown in for good measure. After leaving her first husband, no small act back in those days, Margaret met Walter Keane; a painter who resembles a street mime when we first see him. It's the perfect look for a guy who always seems to be performing, selling some aspect of his personality. He notices her talent for painting right away; the two become a pair, and soon the Keane empire is born as her paintings of sad, big-eyed children become a global sensation. There's just one big problem: Margaret didn't get any credit for her work for over a decade.

How does something like that happen? It was an era of creatively-stifled housewives and male dominance, that's how. Plenty of brilliant women were held back by a system that didn't value their input on anything except cooking and child-rearing, and Margaret bought into it while Walter exploited it. He convinced her nobody would buy her work unless his name was on it. He may have been right, too, but that doesn't make him any less of a creep. While he lives the high life, making famous friends and meeting powerful dignitaries, she's literally locked away churning out picture after picture while her daughter anguishes. Burton, along with another reliably strong performance by Adams, let us in on the quiet sadness of Margaret's plight.  She's ashamed and fearful of the lie she helped Walter construct; to admit the truth would be to admit a fraud. But she's also fiercely protective of her work and has a deep emotional connection to it. As Walter begins the mass production of the art, putting them in stores and on household goods everywhere, it's like something deep within Margaret's soul dies.

But what the Keanes are known for nowadays is the bizarre turn their marriage would ultimately take. They would go to court to decide who the true artist was and Walter turned it into a complete circus. Waltz taps into Walter's pathetic, increasingly desperate core. Where Margaret believes art can touch people's lives, Walter sees it as just another get-rich-quick scheme appealing to those looking for the latest fad.   It's easy to see why Burton would take to this story as it also works as a spot-on metaphor for the kinds of passionless films he's churned out in the past. Visually, this is probably the least obvious Burton movie he's ever done. While the color palette and somewhat kitschy tone give it away eventually, Big Eyes is a true and very welcome departure.

 Rating: 4 out of 5

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First Trailer for Tim Burton's Bizarre Art World Drama 'Big Eyes' with Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz

Tim Burton has had a couple of his animated features, Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, emerge as Academy Awards contenders but his live-action films have been completely shut out. That could change later this year when his art drama Big Eyes hits theaters, especially with prior winner Christoph Waltz and five-time nominee Amy Adams in what look to be worthy performances.

The first trailer for Big Eyes has been released and it has the offbeat vibe of a Burton film while telling the bizarre true story of married artists Walter and Martha Keane. They became famous in the 1950s for their painting of doe-eyed children, until their divorce led to her claim Walter was taking credit for her work. The case went to court where he was exposed as a fraud in what turned out to be quite the circus trial.

Also starring Terrence Stamp, Jason Schwartzman, Krysten Ritter, and Danny Huston, Big Eyes opens Christmas Day.

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First Look at Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams in Tim Burton's 'Big Eyes'

Chances are a lot of people don't know the bizarre story of artists Walter and Margaret Keane. There's is one that occupies a strange place in the art world, and so perhaps it's only fitting that the eccentric mind of Tim Burton is the one bringing their story to theaters with Big Eyes, a film starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz that some are calling a potential Oscar contender.

USA Today has the first images from the buzzed about film, and while it's definitely not as surreal as many of Burton's other works, there are plenty of oddities to be found.  Margaret and Walter became famous in the 1960s for their paintings of sad children with oversized eyes. The art was sold exclusively under Walter's name, but upon divorce she took him to court claiming she did all of the work. It became a public spectacle with Margaret challenging him to a public "paint-off", and that showdown eventually did take place in the courtroom.  Burton has long been a fan of Margaret Keane's work and commissioned her to paint his then-girlfriend, Lisa Marie.

Big Eyes is set to open on Christmas Day.

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Simon Pegg To 'Man Up'; Ray Liotta Cameos In 'Stretch'; 'Big Eyes' Adds Terence Stamp

When Simon Pegg has ventured outside of the relative ease of the "Three Flavours", Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible films, things haven't gone quite so smoothly. Attempts to branch out into the mainstream with Run Fatboy Run and How To Make Friends and Alienate People didn't work out, to put it mildly. But Pegg's going to give it another go, as Empire reports he'll star in Brit comedy, Man Up. Few details are available right now, other than that it features a script by Tess Morris (Beer Goggles) and will be a romantic comedy.

* Another day, another addition to Joe Carnahan's increasingly-impressive cast of Stretch, the indie action comedy starring Patrick Wilson as the titular limo driver who seeks to pay off his debts by chauffeuring a reclusive billionaire through a wild night. The latest to join are Ray Liotta and David Hasselhoff,who are expected to cameo as themselves. You know it's a weird night if you run into those two on the same evening. Shaun Toub also comes aboard as the no-nonsense owner of the limo company that employs Stretch. Chris Pine, James Badge Dale, Ed Helms and Brooklyn Decker co-star. [TheWrap]

* Other than Frankenweenie, there's no doubt that Tim Burton has been a bit of a creative funk. That's why his upcoming biopic, Big Eyes, has people already hoping it'll be a return to the Burton who gave us Ed Wood twenty years ago. Terence Stamp (The Limey) is the latest to join the film, which stars Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz as 1950s artists Martha and Walter Keane. Known for their popular images of big-eyed children, they would have an eventual falling out and legal dispute when he tries to take credit for her work. Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter, and Jason Schwartzman co-star, with Stamp playing New York Times art critic John Canada. 

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