By Chris Kavan - 12/30/11 at 03:29 PM CT
So, hopefully no one is looking forward to anything new to ring in the new year, as there are no new wide release films coming out this weekend. Instead, I'll touch on the two films that came out over Christmas that I so thoughtlessly neglected last week and we'll call it even.
1) Steven Spielberg did a little double duty last week. The Adventures of Tintin came out Wednesday while War Horse came out on Christmas. Despite having just a two-day release, it did surprisingly well, nearly cracking the top five. There are a glut of family films and while War Horse is rated PG-13, it's obvious Spielberg isn't getting into Saving Private Ryan-type realism with this film. I wasn't impressed by the trailers for this rather generic-looking film, and it remains to be seen whether it can hold its own over the last holiday weekend of the year.
2) The only other new release was The Darkest Hour. A film that reminds me a lot of an earlier alien invasion film - Skyline (not a good sign, as I really didn't like Skyline) - because it involves aliens that appear to be an unstoppable force and a scrappy group of hipsters trying to avoid them. Just because it's set in Russia doesn't mean it's going to be any better than setting it in L.A. or New York. Plus, this didn't even screen for critics, so you know how much faith the studio put into this. Better off just watching Ghost Protocol or Sherlock Holmes a second time around.
All signs point towards Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol having another top weeked, with Sherlock Holmes and Chip-Wrecked following behind once again as well. It will be a telling week for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo after a somewhat disappointing opening run as well as for the aforementioned War Horse. I'll be back on Monday/Tuesday with a second holiday weekend box office.
Comments
Chris Kavan - wrote on 01/03/12 at 11:44 AM CT
I feel the same way about Nicole Kidman. Even if she's in a movie that gets positive reviews, I have no desire to watch anything she stars in. I think everyone has a certain actor/actress they feel that way about.
