Ben Affleck's exceptionally well made drama Argo [review here] landed in second place with $20 million. This bodes well for the critically acclaimed thriller as award season begins. Personally, I'm amazed by the success of the film. On paper, this movie has all the benchmarks of a difficult to market independent film. A lot of credit has to go to Warner Bros. who took a movie with a very difficult subject matter and pitched it to audiences as a nail biting, must see thriller for more mature movie goers.
Affleck has done a phenomenal job as a director, building on the successes of Gone Baby Gone and The Town. Argo is his most accomplished film to date and has positioned itself as an award season front runner in a number of categories. Don't be surprised if the film receives nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and supporting actor nods for Alan Arkin and Scoot McNairy. It's always nice to see a great movie find an audience.
The scare-fest Sinister [review here] opened to a strong number three, scaring up $18 million. The Ethan Hawke starring horror film has been very well reviewed which should contribute to a strong hold in week two. There is a lot of competition coming in the horror genre with Paranormal Activity 4 and the follow up to Silent Hill hitting theaters over the next two weeks. Even with the competition, the modestly budgeted scary movie is a win for all involved.
Hotel Transylvania crossed the $100 million mark in its third weekend, a solid win for Sony Animation. While they're still light years away from the successes of Pixar, Dreamworks and BluSky, Sony is starting to make a slight impression in animation.
The Kevin James comedy Here Comes the Boom [review here] was met with a lackluster 'meh' by American audiences, and I doubt the high school teacher / Mixed Martial Arts hybrid is going to be appreciated by the international audience. Still, the failed experiment made $12 million in its debut weekend, which was enough for number five.
The dark comedy Seven Psychopaths managed $3.5 million from just under 1500 screens, while Atlas Shrugged: Part II took in just over $1 million from 1000 theaters.
Next week delivers the fourth entry into the seemingly endless Paranormal Activity series, and Tyler Perry makes an attempt to crossover from cross dressing in the new thriller Alex Cross. See you next week.
Here's your top films for North America...
1. Taken 2
Weekend Estimate: $22 million; $86 million total
2. Argo
Weekend Estimate: $20 million
3. Sinister
Weekend Estimate: $18 million
4. Hotel Transylvania
Weekend Estimate: $17 million; $102 million total
5. Here Comes the Boom
Weekend Estimate: $12 million
Anghus Houvouras
