The Winner – The Descendants
However the top spot it has not got as it was pipped to the post by Spielberg’s rampant War Horse which continues its unbridled domination of the charts. Surfing up it on a river of tears and now sitting atop a throne of sentiment it looks down it’s long face impervious to all comers for a third week in a row. Nevertheless, after dropping a million pounds from last weekend’s revenues this could be the last week at the top for our equine friend, although the £13,418,627 he‘s accrued thus far should be more than enough to keep Joey in hay for years to come and Spielberg (who’s soon to pass half a billion for the year in directorial projects alone) atop a pile of money soon to be visible from space.
The Loser – Like Crazy
Some seem to imply however that this makes them a tedious, protracted, self-indulgent affair and that no matter how hard they emote they’ll never do anything more than nudge at the wallets of young men on their first date everywhere. This obviously isn’t true. The surprisingly touching Once scooped an Oscar and $20 million (on a budget of $160,000) into its lovely understated guitar case before running back to Ireland in triumph. Likewise, Like Crazy has already garnered a respectable $3,395,391 worldwide after putting in $250,000 to production showing that there’s no need to pander to commercialism when there’s an open audience, you churn out a good product and your film costs a pittance. That and success in America which has clearly saved the day here, because whichever way you look at it less than £1000 a site is disappointing. It could and should have done so much better.
The Children’s Animation – A Monster in Paris
Whilst it hadn’t even entered my ever fallible film radar until last week when I tipped it for no other reason than it would draw the kids, draw the kids it did. Nestled above the cuddly The Artist and the not so cuddly The Grey, the French produced A Monster in Paris has taken a respectable £1,043,531 after casting it’s net far and wide with 433 sites (making it the second largest release of the week). It’s no half term haul but for such an unadvertised (and whisper it – foreign) affair it’s done awfully well for itself.
The Smash Hit – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Next Time:
In other less sensationalist news we’ve got the genuinely interesting spectacle of Chronicle looming on the horizon. Watch the trailer and get excited. It’s War Horse’s only real competition for the top spot in my view and I’m predicting good things.
Man on a Ledge might do ok and nothing much else will get a look in box-office-wise but who cares? This is the week in which we see Al Pacino take the bullet no one asked him to take. It’s going to be messy…
UK Top 10 Films:
- War Horse, , £2,081,490 from 510 sites. Total: £13,418,627
- The Descendants, £1,797,939 from 403 sites (New Entry)
- The Grey, £1,094,338 from 345 sites (New Entry)
- A Monster in Paris, £1,043,531 from 433 sites (New Entry)
- The Artist, £704,348 from 190 sites. Total: £4,470,081
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, £655,144 from 365 sites, Total: £25,663,306
- Underworld: Awakening, £627,846 from 304 sites. Total: £2,382,349
- The Iron Lady, £567,397 from 397 sites. Total: £8,405,809
- The Sitter, £554,397 from 342 sites. Total: £1,967,227
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, £529,462 from 298 sites. Total: £17,536,984.
Other New Releases
- Agneepath, 52 sites, £307,814 (+ £38,646 previews)
- Polish Roulette, 40 sites, £159,568
- Like Crazy, 104 sites, £93,981
- Intruders, 100 sites, £76,832
- Berlin Kaplani, 3 sites, £15,159
- House of Tolerance, 6 sites, £5,524
- Patience (After Sebald), 2 sites, £3,933
- Acts of Godfrey, 2 sites, £3,469
- All’s Well That Ends Well, 2 sites, £1,224
- Spanish Masala, 1 site, £653
Top Film This Time Last Year: Tangled
Source: DCM