Box Office: 'Apes' Retains Top Spot, 'The Purge: Anarchy' Kills while 'Sex Tape' Flops

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes- $36M/$138.9M
Unsurprisingly, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes held on to the top spot, but what is a little surprising is the small 49% decline. Thank a number of superlative reviews with many claiming it to be the best tentpole film of the summer. Internationally it has added another $32M for a total of $171M, right at the estimated $170M production budget.
2. The Purge: Anarchy- $28.3M
Although The Purge: Anarchy's $28M debut falls short of The Purge's $34M just last year, it perhaps has a better shot at performing better in the long run. The film is getting relatively good reviews for expanding the core premise of a national holiday where all violent crime is legal. That concept has always been the biggest hook, and with audiences happy at seeing more of it, the film has a 'B' Cinemascore, it should mean solid word of mouth buzz.
3. Planes: Fire and Rescue- $18M
The only film with an 'A' Cinemascore this week is Disney's largely unwanted sequel, Planes: Fire and Rescue. The last film began life as a straight-to-DVD project before the Mouse House decided to bring it to theaters, and it succeeded with $219M. 'Fire and Rescue' may not reach those levels but it doesn't really need to in order to be profitable. These movies cost about $50M, are sure to make bank overseas, and are basically just feature-length TV commercials for Cars/Planes merchandise.
4. Sex Tape- $15M
The biggest fail of the week was Sex Tape, the toothless R-rated comedy with Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel. It's actually a pretty funny film, just not as edgy as the marketing suggested, and that has driven many of the bad reviews that have played a part in it doing so poorly. The film inexplicably cost $40M and should manage to recoup that, but it says something that Sex Tape is lagging behind Diaz's most recent sex-themed comedy, The Other Woman, which opened at $25M and ended up with a whopping $190M worldwide. Bad Teacher, which featured the same cast and director, similarly started off slow before ending up with $216M, and maybe Sex Tape will rebound in the same way. Doubtful, but anything's possible.
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction- $10M/$227.1M
$886M and counting for Michael Bay's fourth Transformers flick. It should surpass Maleficent and X-men: Days of Future Past's domestic haul probably by the end of today, and may steal the top slot from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
6. Tammy- $7.6M/$71.2M
7. 22 Jump Street- $4.7M/$180.5M
8. How to Train Your Dragon 2- $3.8M/$160.6M
9. Maleficent- $3.3M/$228.3M
10. Earth to Echo- $3.2M/$31.9M

Zach Braff's Kickstarter-funded Wish I Was Here opened to decent business with $495K at only 68 sites. Richard Linklater's apparent Oscar-contender Boyhood was the big art house winner of the week, expanding to 33 locations with a hefty $36K per-site-average for $1.2M. Overall the film has earned $1.8M and will continue to roll into more cities over the next few weeks. 

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Review: Zach Braff's 'Wish I Was Here'

When Zach Braff made his directorial debut a decade ago with Garden State, it was the rare occurrence of an actor finding his voice immediately as a filmmaker. Say what you want about the film and the indie pop-laden, melodramatic copy cats that followed, the truth is that Garden State was a cornerstone film that inspired those of a certain age and disposition to dream a bit greater. So it's a little odd that Braff took so long for his follow-up, Wish I Was Here, and while the film has similar aesthetic touches and tries to say too much, it's a heartfelt clarion call to arms for those with dreams that will never fade.

Braff took a lot of heat for his record-breaking Kickstarter efforts, and frankly a lot of the criticism has been undeserved. But there's something to be said about the freedom it gave Braff to do basically anything he wanted, and that becomes a recurring issue right from the start. He plays Aidan Bloom, a failed actor whose best gig was a TV commercial and little else. Months have gone between gigs meaning he's not making any money, putting the financial burden on wife Sarah (Kate Hudson), who works a job she hates but endures out of necessity. Aidan is more than just another adult who never really grew up, he's someone who comes off as selfish and pre-occupied with his own dreams to worry about others. That disregard extends to his children, who attend a private Hebrew school paid for by Aidan's father Gabe (Mandy Patinkin) until he gets too sick to pony up the cash. Aidan's first reaction is to worry about himself and whether finding a job would distract from those all-important auditions.

And that's really just the start as Braff piles on even more subplots that often strike at something true but just as often get in the way from a clearer narrative. Josh Gad brings a little bit of humor and a lot of sadness to his role as Noah, Aidan's technologically talented brother who has withered his skills away as a blogger (nice cheap shot, Zach!). Gabe doesn't think much of Aidan at all but he really can't stand what Noah has done with his life. In broad strokes Braff explores issues of masculinity, faith, and midlife crisis with sincerity and real heart. Nobody can say Braff doesn't put everything he has into his work, even going so far as to blend in a few sci-fi sequences that hint the fantasy world in Aidan's mind. Aidan fancies himself a hero but as a father with responsibilities he's unprepared for the new heroic parameters.

Some will be quick to write the film off as merely Garden State redux but they may be surprised. Yes, you'll hear an endless stream of indie bands underscoring every crucial life moment, but the tone is considerably more spirited and upbeat, a tough thing to pull off with so many weighty themes. That seriousness is balanced by Braff's well-practiced comic timing, especially when paired up with the equally funny Patinkin. Braff still comes off as unnatural dramatically but he's better than when he starred in The Last Kiss some years ago.

The relevance of modern Judaism is explored in surprising detail, mostly through Aidan's daughter (Joey King, truly excellent) who faces an identity crisis similar to her father. It's one of the few subplots that really click, whereas others, like Noah's sudden love affair with a hot cosplay chick (Ashley Greene) feel tacked on and don't really go anywhere. The same goes for a pointless diversion about Sarah being harassed by a workplace colleague. Braff has enough material here to pad out a third movie and that's probably what he should have done. Surely a good chunk of that Kickstarter money is left over because this couldn't have cost but so much. Even if there isn't, Braff's fans who adored Garden State will find something to love in Wish I Was Here and will probably chip in a few dollars for another movie.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Trailer for Zach Braff's Kickstarter-Funded 'Wish I Was Here'

If you need a director who can find just the right indie band to score a major crossroads in somebody's life, that guy is probably Zach Braff. A decade after doing just that with his directorial debut, Garden State, he's back with his follow-up, Wish I Was Here, and now there's a new trailer that expands upon the teaser from a few weeks ago.

Braff leads the ensemble which includes Kate Hudson, Donald Faison, Joey King, Ashley Greene, Josh Gad, and Mandy Patinkin, playing a failed actor and struggling father forced to reconsider his entire approach to life. Basically this is pure Braff and everything that entails, so if you don't mind that his movies look like music video soap operas then this is something you'll be anticipating.

Wish I Was Here opens in limited release July 18th before expanding the next two weeks.

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First Trailer for Zach Braff's 'Wish I Was Here'

There's very little elbow room when it comes to Zach Braff's directorial debut, Garden State; you either love it or you loathe it. Sure it was trendy and came to symbolize the sort of maudlin, pretentious indie flick that became a thing for far too long, but it also featured some great performances along with a point-of-view that was uniquely Braff's. It's taken him a decade and a pile of Kickstarter cash, but he's finally back with his follow-up project, Wish I Was Here, and basically if you dug Garden State then this is for you.

Debuting in January at the Sundance Film Festival, where critics were either lukewarm or downright deadly to it. Braff plays a struggling actor (hey, how novel) with a wife and kids, who decides to home school his children to save money. Not that you'll get any of that out of this trailer, which looks more like a music video for an indie band than a music video. The score is actually provided by The Shins, who got their big break with Garden State and probably worship the ground Braff walks on at this point.

Also starring Kate Hudson, Ashley Greene, Josh Gad, Mandy Patinkin, Jim Parsons, Joey King, and Donald Faison, Wish I Was Here opens July 25th.


Wish I Was Here Teaser by Stuff We Like

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Zac Efron is a 'Narc'; Kate Hudson joins 'Wish I Was Here'; Dylan O'Brien to lead 'Glimmer'

* Chances are you missed out on Ramin Bahrani's terrific At Any Price, which also means you missed out on undoubtedly the best performance Zac Efron has ever given. Ok, that's a pretty friggin' low limbo bar, but it's still true. Hopefully staying clear from the lame rom-coms for awhile, Efron is now set to star in Narc, after 20th Century Fox picked up the life rights to an All-American college kid who turned police informant. Efron will play the star student, fraternity president, and lacrosse team captain who is busted for drugs, becomes a narc, yet continues his campus activities. No word on who will direct, but the writers will come from the studio's writing program. [Deadline]

* Zach Braff's Kickstarter-funded film Wish I Was Here is piecing together an impressive little cast. With Anna Kendrick, Josh Gad, and Mandy Patinkin already on board, the latest to join is Kate Hudson, who will be playing Braff's wife. The story, written by Braff and his brother Adam, centers on a 35-year old struggling actor, husband, and father, who is still trying to find his way in life and lets his mind wander into fantasy. Hudson can be seen in theaters now in Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist.  [Deadline]

* Teen Wolf star Dylan O'Brien is currently busy starring in an adaptation of The Maze Runner, but that hasn't stopped him from snagging another leading role. He'll star in Glimmer, a sci-fi film directed by Ringan Ledwidge about "a group of teenagers who discover a portal to the past. When one of them changes history, the effects start to snowball with tragic consequences." 20th Century Fox is eying a January start date, pushing it back so as to accommodate O'Brien's busy schedule.

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