Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Box office analysts everywhere are freaking out because of how this summer's tentpoles have been underperforming.  I've gotta say I'm not sure how they didn't see it coming.  What movie has come out in the last month that actually incited any summer worthy excitement amongst audiences?  IRON MAN 2 roared but it is hardly doing any better than the first.  SHREK FOREVER AFTER has managed three straight weeks at number one, the only Shrek film to accomplish that feat, but it is still not going to match the grosses of its green giant predecessors.  Last week's disappointments continued to do just that, as PRINCE OF PERSIA and SEX AND THE CITY 2 both dropped off steeply, certainly due to poor word of mouth for both.  I actually saw them both last weekend and have been spreading most of that bad word of mouth myself.

And this week's batch of wide releases, no less than four, did absolutely nothing to inspire anyone.  GET HIM TO THE GREEK was the biggest "success" of the bunch, coming in second place with a total of $17 million.  It opened slightly lower than director, Nicolas Stoller's first film, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, but that one came out in April.  Still, it managed to narrowly beat the first major Katherine Heigl flop.  KILLERS, also starring Ashton Kutcher, in which a woman unknowingly marries a spy, opened to approximately $16 million and abysmal reviews should make sure it does not linger. Speaking of lingering, that smell in sixth place is the CGI extravaganza, MARMADUKE.  I'm glad at least to see that people are not just buying every piece of dog poop being forced on them this summer.  Audiences also did not buy the Adrien Brody-Sarah Polley thriller, SPLICE.  Bombing in eighth place means that even great reviews could not get people to see this one.  It just looked too scary for little old me.

NEXT WEEK: The summer continues with another two massive releases.  On the art house side of things, which, contrary to popular belief, does not just shut down during the summer months, handfuls of theatres will begin screening the Sundance favourite, WINTER'S BONE, as well as the documentary, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, and the stylish COCO CHANEL AND IGOR STRAVINSKY.  Opening on an arguably much larger handful of screens, 3000+ as it turns out, is the remake of THE KARATE KID.  I will be taking my chances on THE A-TEAM.  If it sucks, at least I will get to see those gratuitous shots of Bradley Cooper's chest.

Source: Box Office Mojo

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Black Sheep @ The Box Office

As expected, IRON MAN 2 had no trouble hovering over its throne at the top of the box office, presiding with a a little more than $15 million than its closest competitor, ROBIN HOOD.  The sequel is outpacing the original by about $45 million but it should be noted that it's 58% drop is about 10% higher than the first installment.  It debuted higher so a steeper drop is to be expected but it also falls in line with the slight sense of disappointment with the sequel.

Meanwhile, ROBIN HOOD performed solidly if not spectacularly.  It would have truly been impressive if it had come from behind to take the weekend but that wasn't likely.  Reviews have been mixed in general while I enjoyed it more than I expected to.  The lack of resounding support though means older crowds might pass up on the crowds and wait for something supposedly stellar.

Proving that overcrowding does not necessarily mean that everyone has to go home disappointed, LETTERS TO JULIET and JUST WRIGHT, both female skewed pics, managed to similar per screen averages.  That said, neither of those averages were over $5K so while the results may have been split, they were still disappointing.

NEXT WEEK: What promises to be the final chapter in the Shrek saga, SHREK FOREVER AFTER will trounce onto 3800 screens.  As I have not seen a Shrek film since the first, I will be avoiding this one as well and checking out the "Saturday Night Live" skit comedy, MACGRUBER, instead, when it appears on 2400 screens.

Source: Box Office Mojo

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Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Oh boo hoo.  How everyone is so disappointed that IRON MAN 2 didn't break any records this weekend at the box office.  Suddenly, the fifth biggest opening of all time isn't impressive to anyone.  $133 million and a $30K per screen average is nothing to scoff at.  I say it's a great start to summer and the Marvel pic is sure to give ROBIN HOOD a run for it's money next week.

No studio was dumb enough to put anything up against IRON MAN 2 this weekend.  The only mild counter programming came from the documentary, BABIES, meant to capitalize on Mother's Day sentiment.  I don't know about you but my mother is going to see Robert Downey Jr. and friends today.  BABIES was able to score a Top 10 finish but wasn't even able to crack $3K per screen.  I still say they would have made money if they had gotten Morgan Freeman to do some narration.

In other box office happenings, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET reboot plummeted over 72% in week two.  Bad word of mouth and direct competition from that other guy who likes to play with metal killed this one.  THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES and PLEASE GIVE continued to play well in limited release and MOTHER AND CHILD, an adoption drama with Annette Bening and Naomi Watts, opened to an $11K per screen on just four screens.

NEXT WEEK: Summer enters its second week with the Queen Latifah comedy, JUST WRIGHT on 1800 screens, yet another sappy Amanda Seyfried teen romance, LETTERS TO JULIET on 2800 screens, and ROBIN HOOD himself reunites Russell Crowe with Ridley Scott on 3400 screens.  Will the sword be mighty enough to dethrone the Iron Man?  Find out next week!

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

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IRON MAN 2

Written by Justin Theroux

Directed by Jon Favreau

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Dona Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke

Ivan Vanko: If you could make God bleed, people would cease to believe in him.

When the lights went down at the sold out opening night screening of IRON MAN 2 that I attended, there was a particular energy in the air.  It was that moment when you realize that what you’ve been waiting for for so long is really about to take place.  The hushed anticipation was infectious and, as exciting as it was to feel it build, it was just as disappointing to feel that energy die off as the film unfolded.  Iron Man may have a brand new suit but his heavier armour ultimately just weighed this new adventure down.

I had no knowledge of Iron Man before the first film, other than the fact that he existed anyway.  When director Jon Favreau introduced him as an irresponsible billionaire who learns that his legacy would be essentially ensuring continuous and unnecessary destruction until there was nothing left to blow up, I instantly loved the guy.  Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), as privileged as he was, was still human and still had a soul that he didn’t want to see damned.  Super ego still intact but changed nonetheless at the end of the first film, Stark re-emerges now as narcissistic and oblivious again, almost as if to satisfy what test audiences liked most about him after the first film.  It gives the film itself an air of arrogance that it is difficult to recover from.  The Iron Man people know they did good last time out and like Tony Stark, it seems to have gone to their heads a bit too much.

Justin Theroux, the writer of TROPIC THUNDER, is a new addition to the Iron Man team and, despite his clear ability to be laugh out loud funny, he takes Iron Man and Tony Stark to some pretty dark places.  There is nothing wrong with going to these places in a superhero movie but with Stark coming off more smug and callous from the beginning, there isn’t as much sympathy to go around when Theroux finally reveals why Stark is acting this way.  Downey Jr. still nails Stark but despite having some serious mortality issues to deal with this time, he never seems to get to the core of where Stark is coming from.  And, correct me if I’m wrong, but Iron Man is nothing without his core. 

Other newcomers to the Iron Man world include Mickey Rourke as a sinister Russian physicist bent on revenge, Sam Rockwell as a less successful version of Stark himself, Scarlett Johansson as a sultry new member of Stark’s team and Don Cheadle as a replacement for Terrence Howard in the Rhodey role, Stark’s best buddy.  Rourke is certainly scary but he seems to be trying too hard to redefine evil, much like Heath Ledger did as The Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT.  Rockwell is hilarious and stylin’ in the three-piece suits he wears to cover up his inferiority issues.  Meanwhile, Cheadle does nothing with the opportunity that fell in his lap and I would really like to see Johansson do something other than just look sultry for a change.

IRON MAN 2 does get better as it goes on.  I don’t want to make it sound like it’s a bad time.  It’s just easier to focus on what isn’t working when everything worked so well in the past.  Favreau does his best to keep things smooth and fresh; Downey Jr. delivers as expected but ultimately, IRON MAN 2 just isn’t as much fun as the first.  You might say it has an iron deficiency.  You might.

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Black Sheep Revisited: IRON MAN

Back in 2008, when Jon Favreau’s IRON MAN kicked the summer blockbuster season into an unexpected incredible start, both critically and financially, I think I can safely say that no one was certain it would actually work. Marvel was stepping out on their own for the first time with a very risky title and with a slew of titles ahead of them, most of which seem to be connected to each other in some way, they are probably feeling a lot better about what to expect from IRON MAN 2 this coming weekend.

Prognosticators are saying IRON MAN 2 should earn somewhere in the vicinity of $150 million over three days. That is about $50 million more than the original did in its first weekend. The major difference between IRON MAN and IRON MAN 2 though is that, while people just wanted big and were surprised by what they got last time, this time out, people have expectations for IRON MAN 2. The question is not whether people will go but rather whether they will like it as much as the first and keep coming back for more.

When I originally reviewed the film, I gave it four stars and enjoyed it thoroughly. I watched the film for the third time this past weekend and I thought it might be fun to go back and see if my opinion now has changed with time and subsequent viewings. Here’s what I said then:

“What is Iron Man anyway? Can we really call him a superhero? As far as I can tell, he’s just a guy with a bum heart that happens to be pretty handy in the shop.”

Clearly, I went into this movie with absolutely no research done whatsoever. I go on to say:

“Well, according to this adaptation, he is the superhero for the modern era. He is sarcastic and skeptical but still hopeful and genuine. He is a man who is capable of admitting his failures, not dwelling on them and then fostering a new path for himself. He is the kind of man that is both envied and looked up to. He is building himself a reputation as a superhero that can manage tremendous feats through intelligence and perseverance rather than just brawn and dumb luck. And now, IRON MAN is also a movie that offers perspective on the world around us at the same time as some awesome exhilaration.”

Two years later, IRON MAN holds up because Robert Downey Jr., as Tony Stark, is so darn comfortable in that role. The character fits his personality as well as the flashy iron suit fit his then newly buffed body. Downey Jr. makes Stark relatable and likable, not always easy feats when the protagonist starts out as a billionaire playboy. I was essentially of the same mind then as I am now.

“With IRON MAN, it looks like Downey Jr. might finally be able to wipe his past clean and achieve the heights his talent has always warranted. Though his body is in noticeably better shape, it is his quick-witted delivery and cynical yet sympathetic duality that make Tony Stark the kind of guy everyone wants to hang out with or just plain be.”

Like I said, there is no way IRON MAN 2 won’t make more than the first instalment but if the people at Marvel want the party to continue on for future sequels, they had better hope audiences still want to hang out with Stark

For Black Sheep's full review of IRON MAN, just any of the six links in this one article.  Black Sheep's review of IRON MAN 2 will be coming on Saturday.

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