Crap movies stunk up the box office this weekend, with The Big Year winning the prize for stinkiest. There were three new releases out, including two that were remakes (The Thing, Footloose) and one whose synopsis suggested it was about birdwatching. Meanwhile, its trailer implied that it was about Jack Black falling down. It’s hard to say which was the smaller draw, but The Big Year ended up winning this weekend’s bed-sh*tting contest, grossing a pathetic $3.3 million. Unflattering comparisons abound. Here are the bullet points:
- Steve Martin’s worst opening since 1994’s Mixed Nuts (and that was before those Pink Panther movies)
- Barely better than Tenacious D: Pick of Destiny ($3.2 million)
- Worse than Owen Wilson’s previous biggest bomb, 2004’s The Big Bounce
It reviewed equally poorly, tracking 41% on RottenTomatoes with the most favorable reviews citing its lack of profanity. Pixar makes great movies without profanity too, and there’s a reason no reviewer has ever felt the need to point this out. In a perfect world, the critic would run out of compliments long before he got to “doesn’t swear.”
Elsewhere, Footloose was mildly disappointing at the box office ($16.1 million, worse than Stomp the Yard and the first two Step Up movies) despite garnering mostly positive reviews. I would’ve seen it, but judging by the fact that 80% of all network TV is shows about singing and dancing, I get the feeling I’m wildly out of touch with the rest of the world vis a vis how much I want to watch people sing and dance.
| TW | LW | Title |
Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count / Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | 1 | Real Steel | BV | $16,304,000 | -40.3% | 3,440 | – | $4,740 | $51,744,000 | – | 2 |
| 2 | N | Footloose (2011) | Par. | $16,100,000 | – | 3,549 | – | $4,536 | $16,100,000 | $24 | 1 |
| 3 | N | The Thing (2011) | Uni. | $8,700,000 | – | 2,996 | – | $2,904 | $8,700,000 | – | 1 |
| 4 | 2 | The Ides of March | Sony | $7,500,000 | -28.4% | 2,199 | – | $3,411 | $22,154,000 | – | 2 |
| 5 | 3 | Dolphin Tale | WB | $6,345,000 | -30.5% | 3,286 | -192 | $1,931 | $58,672,000 | $37 | 4 |
| 6 | 4 | Moneyball | Sony | $5,500,000 | -26.2% | 2,840 | -178 | $1,937 | $57,712,000 | $50 | 4 |
| 7 | 5 | 50/50 | Sum. | $4,315,000 | -23.7% | 2,391 | -88 | $1,805 | $24,334,000 | $8 | 3 |
| 8 | 6 | Courageous | TriS | $3,400,000 | -30.2% | 1,214 | +53 | $2,801 | $21,378,000 | $2 | 3 |
| 9 | N | The Big Year | Fox | $3,325,000 | – | 2,150 | – | $1,547 | $3,325,000 | – | 1 |
| 10 | 7 | The Lion King (in 3D) | BV | $2,708,000 | -41.1% | 1,970 | -297 | $1,375 | $90,452,000 | – | 5 |
[via BoxOfficeMojo]