New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Daron Aldridge: From a viewer standpoint, I was surprised it is this high because out theater was only about half full on a Saturday afternoon. But looking at the franchise’s track record, it’s perfectly in line with the other films’ debut numbers. This eerily similar debut shows consistency is king for this Dreamworks franchise.

In order to duplicate the box office of its predecessors, this installment will have to take full advantage of being the only true "kid’s movie" out there until Brave on June 22nd. I suspect that it will end up nestled between the final domestic takes of the other films ($193 million and $180 million) and that's it. DreamWorks knew with a Madagascar film at bat they would get a double or triple out of it and nothing more. Lo and behold…that’s exactly what they got. Domestically, it’s a solid, reliable hitter but not a home run slugger.

Felix Quinonez: That sounds about right. It's in line with the other entries in the franchise. I don't really find this surprising...or interesting.

Max Braden: Holding steady for the the series. I'd call that a good thing since this movie looks like more of the same.

Kim Hollis: Max, you're right that it doesn't diverge at all from the previous films, but there's no reason for the movie to really do anything daring or different. David and I described it as "comfort food" in the wrap and that's exactly what it is. Something safe and reliable that families can feel comfortable choosing. By the same token, it's also safe and reliable for the studio, but you can't argue with the results.

The Predators are feeling a little left out.

Kim Hollis: Prometheus, the semi-prequel to Alien, opened to $51.1 million. What do you think of this result?

Matthew Huntley: It's good, but the movie's day-to-day performance (i.e. Friday-to-Saturday dip in sales) is a tad disconcerting. It makes me think the movie isn't going to go too far beyond $120-130 domestically, which isn't particularly good for a movie that cost $130 million to make. I think this will ultimately be viewed as a case of hype outweighing quality (even though the film is a solid example of its genre) and its box office numbers will eventually be indicative of that. Still, Fox has been saying the movie has already opened higher than expected, so they're probably happy with it, and international numbers will allow the movie to show a profit. And with that said, Prometheus II is probably already in its early planning stage.

Bruce Hall: I look at it this way. What we have here is an R-rated space opera, courtesy of one of the most cerebral directors working today. It's about a brainy team of scientists and a robot who go looking for God and find chest bursting horribleness instead. This is the kind of film only a handful of people in this world can even get made, let alone made well. This is the kind of film that opens to $32 million, everyone shakes their head, the studio says "we tried", blames everything on the weather or the economy, and we move on. Instead it opened to $50 million. I consider this an achievement.

Continued:       1       2       3