1. The Lion King (3D) $22M – Somewhere I read that this was supposed to be a two-weekend re-release, but I can’t imagine the studio will pull it with this kind of cash coming in.
2. Moneyball $20.6M – Brad Pitt’s star power is receiving a lot of credit for this very respectable opening and I’m not going to argue with that, but the “Moneyball” trailer is one of the best I’ve seen in years. The baseball pic looked enormously appealing and judging from the reviews, delivered as advertised.
3. Dolphin Tale $20.2M – This would be an impressive opening without having to compete against “The Lion King.” Considering that kind of competition for the family buck, this is a phenomenal start. Appealing family movies will always be the best bang for the buck.
4. Abduction $11.2M – Shirtless “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner’s solo debut as an action star is being described as a box office disappointment, but I’m not so sure. The trailer was pretty cheesy looking and this opening is right up there with other B-level action pics. In other words, what brought in $11.2M was Lautner — not the concept or glowing vampires or anything else. This 19 year-old has an audience.
5. Killer Elite $9.5M – Clive Owen, Jason Statham and Robert DeNiro got their butts kicked by Taylor Lautner. That’s gonna leave a mark.
7. Drive $5.7M – Critics loved it and critics love star Ryan Gosling, but we like our action stars a little more mannish looking.
9. Straw Dogs $2.1M – With a total take of only $8M over two weeks, this is an epic flop. The good news is that the publicity surrounding it focused a lot on the film’s simple-minded stereotyping of Southerners and now all we can do is hope that Hollywood gets the message. You can’t expect people to pay $10 to sit there and be insulted — not even us dumb hicks who live in the sticks.
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