Box Office: 'Lone Survivor' Melts Down 'Frozen' as 'Hercules' Flops

1. Lone Survivor- $38.5M/$38.8M
In its third week of release, after an Oscar-qualifying run late last month, Lone Survivor has powered into first place with $38.5M. Hailed in ads as the best war film since Saving Private Ryan, has snagged the second-highest January debut ever, and can lay claim to 2014's first genuine hit.  While this is a nice bounce back for director Peter Berg, this is familiar territory for star Mark Wahlberg, who has been one of the most consistently bankable stars over the last few years. The only real exception was Broken City, which opened around this same time in 2013 and tanked with only $19M for its entire run. It's also a solid return for Taylor Kitsch, who took a crushing hit with duds John Carter, Savages, and Berg's Battleship.  War films of had it rough of late, especially those focusing on the Middle Eastern conflict, but Lone Survivor won over audiences and earned an 'A+' Cinemascore, suggesting this could be sticking around through the desolate January month.
2. Frozen- $15M/$317.6M
At $317M Frozen has now surpassed the original domestic run of 1994's The Lion King, so it's in very good company.
3. The Wolf of Wall Street- $9M/$78.5M
4. The Legend of Hercules- $8.6M
Perhaps it's time for studios to rethink casting Twilight hunks as action heroes? Taylor Lautner failed miserably (at least domestically) with Abduction, and now Kellan Lutz has managed to defeat Hercules in a way his 'Twelve Labors' couldn't. Nobody expected much from The Legend of Hercules, which inexplicably cost $70M but looks worse than an episode of Spartacus, and so it's a wonder that it was ever greenlit in the first place. Lutz isn't a star by any measure, and poor Renny Harlin is still smarting from Cutthroat Island twenty years ago. It currently stands at an embarrassing 2% on Rotten Tomatoes, and only managed a 'B-' Cinemascore so those who saw it weren't really into it. It's always a risky gamble when two similar movies come out within months of one another (see Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down), and audiences may have decided to wait until Dwayne Johnson's Hercules movie comes out.
5. American Hustle- $8.6M/$101.5M
6. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $8M/$242.2M
7. August: Osage County- $7.3M/$7.8M
Weinstein is banking on awards buzz for Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts to power August: Osage County as it expands into wider release. The star-studded adaptation of Tracy Letts' hit play got off to a solid start with a sizable $8K per site average, and if those Oscar nominations come next week it should do decent business.
8. Saving Mr. Banks- $6.5M/$68.9M
9. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones- $6.3M/$28.4M
Tumbling 65% after a mediocre debut, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is well on its way to being the lowest-grossing of the franchise.
10. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $6.1M/$118.5M

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Box Office: 'Frozen' Freezes Out 'Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones'

1. Frozen- $20.7M/$297.8M
In its seventh full week of release, Disney's Frozen simply refuses to melt, leaping back into first place and slipping only 27% from last week.  It's doing even better overseas, where it has hauled in $342M for a worldwide total of $639M. There's little reason to think it'll be going anywhere anytime soon, with little in the way of serious competition over the next couple of weeks.
2. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones- $18.2M
The first week of January is usually reserved for a cheapie horror film looking for a big opening weekend, but Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones has the power of the hit franchise behind it. That's why the $18.2M number is such a huge disappointment, and one can only think it was hurt by the marketing, which pegged it as merely a "Latino-themed spinoff". They may have found greater success if it had been titled Paranormal Activity 5, but that film doesn't actually hit until October. Paranormal Activity 4 opened in 2012 to a weak $29M, a low since the first movie, suggesting audiences were growing weary of the found-footage beast, at least domestically. They still perform extremely well overseas, and given the international flavor of this one we can likely expect more of the same. Fortunately for Paramount and Blumhouse Productions, the cost still hovers around $5M so they're already making money.
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $16.2M/$229.6M
4. The Wolf of Wall Street- $13.4M/$63.2M
5. American Hustle- $13.2M/$88.7M
6.  Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $11.1M/$109.1M
7. Saving Mr. Banks- $9M/$59.3M
8. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- $8.2M/$45.6M
9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $7.4M/$407.4M
10. Grudge Match- $5.4M/$24.9M

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Box Office: 'Anchorman 2' Has Classy Debut But Can't Top 'The Hobbit'

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $31.4/$127.5M
Peter Jackson's latest journey into the land of hobbits and orcs slipped 57% from last week but still had enough muscle to best Ron Burgundy.  It's still doing considerably less business than the first film on the domestic side, which will make it nearly impossible to best its $1B worldwide total.
2. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $26.7M/$40M
It took nine years for Paramount to get off their duffs and give fans an Anchorman sequel, largely because it took time to become the pop culture phenomenon we know it to be. And it appears that Ron Burgundy fan base has remained rock solid, giving the film a $26.7M three-day weekend and $40M since it  opened Wednesday. That's still less than Anchorman's' $28M back in 2004, but one has to expect the sequel to have long legs during the holiday season, and it's guaranteed to be huge on the home entertainment market.
3. Frozen- $19.16M/$191.5M
4. American Hustle-  $19.1M/$20.2M
After an insanely huge run in limited release last week, David O. Russell's American Hustle expanded nationwide and it's off to a start that compares favorably to last year's Silver Linings Playbook. That film was bolstered by star power, a crowd-pleasing plot, and solid Oscar buzz, and American Hustle actually has more firepower at its disposal. This is an event picture, the type families will gather together to check out after the holiday festivities, so expect it to hang around for a long time and do very well.
5. Saving Mr. Banks- $9.3M/$9.9M
Also expanding into wide release not faring so well is Disney's making-of Mary Poppins biopic, Saving Mr. Banks. It's possible this one could be a solid holiday destination, as well, but so far the returns aren't looking good. Perhaps it's being overshadowed by the crush of flashier new movies, but that's not going to get any better next week when a number of others emerge.
6. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $8.7M/$371.7M
7. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $8.5M/$28.3M
8. Walking with Dinosaurs- $7.3M
Movies with dinosaurs tend to be a reliable cash cow no matter who or what the movie is about, which just goes to show the extreme level of failure for 20th Century Fox's Walking with Dinosaurs. Very loosely based on the BBC series from the late '90s, the $85M 3D film has been crushed by bad reviews and has no chance of competing with Frozen for the family-friendly market. Opening at over 3200 theaters it has the lowest per site average in the top 10 with only $2200.
9. Dhoom 3- $3.3M
In a year that has seen ethnically-targeted movies take a major step forward domestically, Dhoom 3's surprising $3.3M opening weekend is the biggest ever for a Bollywood film.
10. Thor: The Dark World- $1.3M/$200.7M

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Box Office: 'Desolation of Smaug' Burns up 'Frozen'; 'A Madea Christmas' Opens Small

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $73.6M
The middle chapter of Peter Jackson's latest Tolkien trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, opened strong with $73.6M, performing well in midnight sneaks and IMAX, which accounted for $9M of the total. The film even did well overseas, as the New Zealand-based production was expected to, adding another $53M to the total. So what's the problem? Well, detractors will be quick to point out that the domestic debit is $11M less than An Unexpected Journey last year, although this isn't too surprising. Many considered that film a disappointment, so some hold-over was anticipated. You won't hear Jackson complaining, though, as the film moves into 4th place on the all-time list for December premieres.
2. Frozen- $22.1M/$164.3M
3. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $16M
Perhaps creeped out by an ad campaign with kids sitting on Madea's lap, Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas opened to the smallest debut ever for a Madea film at $16M. These movies have long had a very loyal, dedicated audience who turn out annually for junk like Madea's Witness Protection and Madea Goes to Jail to an average $25M opening. And yet somehow Perry couldn't make this work even with the holiday theme, suggesting some of the sheen is coming off his favored character. Still, these movies don't cost much and generally do strong business on DVD/Blu-Ray, so Perry and Lionsgate aren't sweating this.
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $13.1M/$356.9M
5. Thor: The Dark World- $2.7M/$198.1M
6. Out of the Furnace- $2.3M/$9.4M
7. Delivery Man- $1.8M/$27.9M
8.  Philomena- $1.7M/$11M
9. The Book Thief- $1.67M/$14.8M
10. Homefront- $1.63M/$18.4M

It was a pretty good weekend for two major movies in limited release. First is American Hustle, the star-studded ABSCAM caper from David O. Russell scoring $690K in only six sites. Disney's Mary Poppins biopic Saving Mr. Banks performed less well, perhaps because its audience was at American Hustle, earning $421K at 15 theaters.

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Review: 'Saving Mr. Banks' Starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks

This time of year Hollywood should just take out a giant full page ad that reads: "Make a movie about us and we will love you forever!” Hollywood loves movies about making movies, and from the moment Disney revealed the plot of Saving Mr. Banks, which follows the contentious battle to complete 1964's beloved classic Mary Poppins, it's been pegged as a future Oscar contender. Maybe that will still be the case, maybe not, but for all the talent and Disney cozying up for some Oscar gold, the film simply isn't very good and won't make you care a whit about Mary Poppins or its author, P.L. Travers

Unfortunately the entire point of the film is to make us care about Travers (Emma Thompson), the Australian author who famously fought Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) for years before she'd allow him to adapt the first of her Mary Poppins novels. When the movie begins she's in dire financial straits and has started to listen to Disney's offers, albeit reluctantly. She has no desire of selling the rights to Mary Poppins, and at first we're expected to believe it's just another case of a creator protecting the integrity of their work. When she arrives in Los Angeles to negotiate, it might as well be a hostage negotiation for all the enthusiasm she displays. Not only is she snotty and rude to Disney, who is merely hoping to fulfill a promise he made to his daughter, but she's a complete snot to the screen and song writers (Bradley Whitford, Jason Schwartzman, B.J. Novak). She's even dismissive of her well-meaning driver (Paul Giamatti), an everyman always "keeping on the sunny side of life" so to speak.

Disney does what nobody else can understand, allowing her to take part in the movie's production even though she hasn't signed a deal. She takes every opportunity to point out how repulsive she finds the entire ordeal, and arguments over every bit of minutiae she can find play out ad nauseum. She doesn't want any songs...or any animation...and she has a problem with the color red so there can't be any of that. The entire purpose of the film up to this point seems to be showing just how ugly Travers was, and well, they succeeded because she's absolutely awful.

The trouble is that the ultimate goal is to make us sympathize with her, and to uncover the reasons she's holding on to Mary Poppins so tightly. Thus a parallel narrative unfolds through flashback, chronicling her childhood in Australia where she worships her fun-loving, frolicking drunk of a father (Colin Farrell, never been better really). Directed lovingly by John Lee Hancock, these scenes are at first a welcome, very Disney-esque look at the influence Travers' imaginative father had on the surreal world she created around Mary Poppins, and explains in some way why she considers the work so sacred. However, they quickly become a distraction as her father's personal demons begin to take over, dampening the film's jovial spirit without shedding much light on Travers' unforgivable attitude as an adult. The script by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith heaps on one mawkish beat after another before but never quite makes the connection between the hopeful young Travers and the older one who is busy scolding everybody.

Since this is a Disney movie and Hanks is playing Walt Disney, one can be forgiven for assuming his portrayal would be a little thin. But Hanks is too good for that, and with a script that treats Disney far better than it does Travers, we're allowed to see him as both kind-hearted and a shrewd businessman. His outgoing, wizened Jiminy Cricket personality makes for a soothing, calming presence and, although he's very much a supporting character, the film loses much of its warmth when he's away. That's because the film gets mighty chilly every time Thompson is on screen. They're much better together when they can bicker and quarrel like an old married couple from two vastly different worlds. Thompson, whose Nanny McPhee movies were clearly inspired by Travers, gives the role everything she's got but is consistently let down by the script. She's been a hater the entire movie and her transformation into a kinder, gentler Travers never feels earned.

The film bends over backwards for a happy-ish ending; giving the impression Travers was mostly pleased with Disney's completed work. She really wasn't, but to say otherwise would be to throw a wet blanket over everything. Better a happy ending than the truth, right? While Saving Mr. Banks may be must-see viewing for Mary Poppins fans, others won't find anything magical about it.

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Tom Hanks Is Walt Disney In First Trailer for 'Saving Mr. Banks'

Disney pretty much has all of its Oscar bases covered with Saving Mr. Banks. Not only is the story interesting and relevant to the Mouse House, following Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers and her rocky relationship with Walt Disney, but it also has quite an assemblage of talent in front of and behind the camera. Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell, Jason Schwartzman, and Ruth Wilson are all on board, with The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock at the helm. It all amounts to a film that seems ready-made for a Best Picture nomination, but is it perhaps a little too safe and comfortable?

After the first image dropped a couple of day ago, we know have the trailer for Saving Mr. Banks, and while it's definitely a charmer, it's also more than a little sappy and manufactured. Hanks plays the legendary Mouse House founder, who fought with Travers to let his studio adapt Mary Poppins to the big screen, but she's reluctant because the character of Mr. Banks is based on her own father, and she considers the story extremely special. Speaking of special, the trailer goes a little overboard in trying to get across just how important Walt Disney was, but there's no denying Hanks looks great in the role, and he has strong chemistry with Thompson.

The last film similar to this was 2004's J.M. Barrie biopic, Finding Neverland, which was nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor for Johnny Depp. Could Saving Mr. Banks replicate that success? We'll find out when it opens on December 13th.

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First Look at Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in 'Saving Mr. Banks'

It used to be that any time Tom Hanks had a movie coming up in the fall, you could probably count on it being part of the Oscar race. That's been less of a guarantee of late, but this year he's got two legitimate shots at scoring some gold. He'll star in Paul Greengrass' Somali pirates film Captain Phillips this October, but his best shot may come after that when he plays Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks.

We've seen a couple of set photos but now we have the first official still showing Hanks as the Mouse House visionary, along with Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins creator, P.L. Travers. The story, written by Kelly Marcel and directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), tells of Disney's attempts to get Travers on board for his adaptation of her book. After finally convincing her, she hated the result, in particular the animated sequences, and vowed never to let Disney near her work again. It'll also deal with Travers' relationship with her father (Colin Farrell), who served as the inspiration for the story's patriarch, Mr. Banks.

Also starring Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, and Jason Schwartzman, Saving Mr. Banks hits the Oscar race on December 13th.

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1st look at Tom Hanks as Walt Disney in 'Saving Mr. Banks'

It's always fun to see how actors' looks will evolve when they're gearing up for a major role. If you've been following Tom Hanks(not literally I hope) over the last few weeks you may have noticed some curious facial hair. In pro wrestling this usually means someone is about to turn heel, and it's sorta the same thing for Hanks as he was growing his mustache to play Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks.

The first set photos have emerged of Hanks in the role, and also of Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers. The story follows Disney's pursuit of the film rights to Travers' Mary Poppins novel, and after she finally gave in their relationship soured over the changes he made. Travers was particular peeved over the animated sequences, and swore never to work with Disney again.

The Blind Side's John Lee Hancock is directing, with Paul Giamatti, Ruth Wilson, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, Rachel Griffiths, and Jason Schwartzman co-starring. Saving Mr. Banks opens on December 20th 2013, check out all of the images below....[Inside the Magic via Slashfilm]

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