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Box Office Breakdown: Weak Showing for Country Strong

Country Strong

Gwyneth Paltrow's appearances on Glee, the Country Music Awards and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon couldn't help her film's performance at the box office.

Country Strong's first week in wide release strummed up less than $10 million over the past three days. The good news? The film only cost approximately $12 million to produce. In comparison, True Grit -- another film in its third week -- finally rode past Little Fockers for a first-place finish.

Meanwhile, Season of the Witch, the only other new entry in the Top Ten, fired up $10.6 million. That was enough to give the Nicolas Cage feature a third place debut.

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

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In Theaters This Weekend: January 7, 2011


Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

  • Country Strong** (PG-13): starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund (directed by Shana Feste)
  • Season of the Witch (PG-13): starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Ulrich Thomsen (directed by Dominic Sena)

Gwyneth Paltrow Received Addiction Tips from Robert Downey, Jr.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow ran into some obstacles while trying to identify with her character in Country Song.

"I just couldn't understand how you could be so drunk that you could wreck people's lives and then wake up the next day and pretend everything was fine," she said.

Gwyneth revealed how she prepped for the film in a recent interview.

Paltrow wanted real insight into addiction, and how it affects the user as well as those around them. So, she went to someone with real life experience: Iron Man co-star Robert Downey, Jr.

“He was really articulate about addiction and the psychology behind it. He really helped me a lot.”

Read More | The Huffington Post

In Theaters This Holiday Week: December 22, 2010


Here are a few selections in theaters this holiday week:

  • Gulliver's Travels (PG): starring Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt (directed by Rob Letterman) **opens on Dec. 25**
  • Little Fockers (PG-13): starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson (directed by Paul Weitz)
  • True Grit (PG-13): starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin (directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Holiday Week: December 22, 2010


VIDEO: Gwyneth Paltrow is Country Strong


If playing a washed up country singer could earn Jeff Bridges an Academy Award, what could it possibly do for ?

In Country Strong, Gwyneth plays Kelly Canter, a troubled musician who tries to get her career back with help from her husband/manager (played by real-life country star ). Paltrow, who previously demonstrated her vocal abilities in Duets, also does her own singing in this film.

The movie—which also features Tron: Legacy‘s Garrett Hedlund and Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester—opens in limited release on December 22.

Read More | Just Jared

Box Office Breakdown: Toy Story Still Has Game

Toy Story 3

The number “11” appears to be a good one for .

Although it’s been almost 11 years since we had fun with Woody and Buzz Lightyear, those classic characters were apparently anything but forgotten. This weekend’s long-anticipated debut of rang up $110 million, giving Pixar its 11th chart topper in a row. The sequel also surpassed all previous Pixar debuts (including The Incredibles’ $70.5 million from 2004) and became the second best animated opener of all time (right behind Shrek the Third‘s $121.6 million from 2007).

, on the other hand, was unfortunately cursed from the start. The comic book adaptation - starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox - fired up a underwhelming $5.4 million. That performance was even more dismal than the debut of Megan Fox’s last film, Jennifer’s Body, which opened to $6.9 million in September 2009.

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Box Office Breakdown: A-Team’s Face Kicked by Karate Kid’s Foot

Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid

The battle of the ‘80s remakes was won by an actor born in 1998.

Despite featuring no actual karate and a Smith named Jaden, had no problem kicking up Will Smith-esque dollars this weekend. (I’m sure it had something to do with that Justin Bieber song.).  Sony’s remake of the 1984 classic surpassed early projections by rallying to a $55.7 million finish. The film’s debut means the 11-year-old star has already managed to outperform most of his father’s films. (I Am Legend opened to $77.2 million in 2007; Hancock premiered to $62.6 million in 2008.)

Meanwhile, Fox’s reboot of cranked out what could be considered a B-grade performance. The movie, which cost over $95 million to make (compared to Karate‘s $40 million), only rang up $25.7 million in its first three days. That’s barely above the figure Liam Neeson’s Taken earned in 2009 ($24.7 million) and nowhere near the debut Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel had with Valentine’s Day ($56.2 million).

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Get to the Greek…and Shrek

Get Him to the Greek

Ashton Kutcher may have more Twitter followers than Diddy and Russell Brand combined - but that achievement wasn’t reflected at the box office this weekend.

Despite pirating the first 13 minutes of Killers, Kutcher was unable to generate enough interest to earn more than third place. The film - Katherine Heigl’s first since leaving Grey’s Anatomy - only rounded up a mere $15.8 million. (In other words, Ashton got about $3 from each of his Tweeps.)

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: Theatergoers Choose Shrek Over Sex

Sex and the City 2

Shrek - not cosmopolitans - was what fans were buying this weekend.

Despite competition from two heavily-promoted features, an aging green ogre was able to hang on to his title for two weeks in a row. raised an additional $57 million during the Memorial Day frame to bring its domestic total to $146.8 million.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. proved that people can get tired of sex. Sex and the City 2 - which featured the return of Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) - couldn’t get past the bad reviews to even match the first film’s numbers. (Sex and the City opened to $56.8 million in May 2008.) The lovely ladies also couldn’t overpower Jake Gyllenhaal’s four-day haul. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time wound up snagging second place with a $37.8 million debut.

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: MacGruber IS a Bomb

MacGruber

Disappointment can come in all shapes and box office sizes.

may have earned nearly three times as much than its nearest competitor, but it wasn’t exactly a winner for Paramount or Dreamworks. The film, which grossed $70.8 million in ticket sales, become the first sequel in the Shrek franchise to open below the $100 million mark (and that’s with the help of higher 3-D prices). The comedy did, though, place fourth on the all-time animated debuts list behind Shrek the Third ($121.6 million), Shrek 2 ($108 million)  and The Simpsons Movie ($74 million).

Meanwhile, it appears will last just as long in theaters as he does in Will Forte’s sketches. Although the character is (supposedly) known for diffusing bombs, he actually helped deliver one this weekend. The latest Saturday Night Live-based comedy - also starring Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe - generated a mere $4 million this weekend. While that number seems (understandably) dismal, there is one positive thing to note: the film only cost approximately $10 million to make.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: MacGruber IS a Bomb

Read More | Box Office Mojo

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