When the weekend started off, I thought that there was no way that anyone could cripple teen heartthrob Justin Bieber and his by-all-accounts-better-than-expected 3D concert movie ‘Never Say Never’. Well, I guess I shouldn’t have said never, because one of America’s favorite comedians came up and bested the feathery-aired sensation, taking the Number One crown.
Yes, it looks like Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston have edged out the current prince of pop for the #1 slot. ‘Just Go With It‘, a loose remake of 1969’s ‘Cactus Flower’, took in $31 million – without even having to mention in the television ads that Nicole Kidman is part of the cast. This is pretty much in line with the unstoppable box office juggernaut that is Adam Sandler, although it’s still something of a surprise that the movie triumphed over Justin Bieber and his current zeitgeist-capturing moment…
… Not that the moment was far behind, however. ‘Never Say Never‘, directed by ‘Step Up’ series regular John Chu, netted $30.3 million and came in at second place. I’m not sure there’s anything else really to say about this, besides the fact that ‘Just Go With It’ was in almost 500 more theaters. That’s about it.
The third place slot was also filled with a new release, the 3D animated fable ‘Gnomeo and Juliet‘, which transplants Shakespeare’s classic tragedy to suburban England and transforms all of our lead characters into lawn ornaments. It nabbed $25.5 million. This wasn’t terribly expensive for an animated film, but it did have a hellish production history. It’s nice that it grabbed a few bucks at the box office while it can. (It certainly doesn’t help that the movie is practically an Elton John jukebox musical.)
The fourth place spot went to the historical action picture ‘The Eagle‘ (with $8.6 million). It’s a little surprising that ‘The Eagle’ didn’t do better, considering that it’s very much a “boys adventure” story. But those advertisements were so solemn and ‘Gladiator’-y, it’s no wonder families stayed away. Last week’s champion, ‘The Roommate‘, scored another $8.4 million to land in fifth place.
In the bottom half of the Top 10, the Oscar nominees like ‘The King’s Speech‘ (#6, $7.4 million) and ‘True Grit‘ (#9, $3.8 million) battled Hollywood schlock like ‘Sanctum‘ (surprisingly still in the Top 10 at #8 with $5.1 million) and ‘The Green Hornet‘ (#10, $3.7 million). Mercifully, ‘No Strings Attached‘ finally seems to be losing steam, earning just $5.6 million, which is enough to stay somewhat strong at #7. The sooner that movie is gone from the box office list and forgotten from our collective memories, the better. Yuck!
The Top 10:
01 ‘Just Go With It’ (Sony) – $31 million
02 ‘Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’ (Paramount) – $30.3 million
03 ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’ (Disney) – $25.5 million
04 ‘The Eagle’ (Universal) – $8.6 million
05 ‘The Roommate’ (Sony) – $8.4 million
06 ‘The King’s Speech’ (Weinstein Company) – $7.4 million
07 ‘No Strings Attached’ (Paramount) – $5.6 million
08 ‘Sanctum’ (Universal) – $5.1 million
09 ‘True Grit’ (Paramount) – $3.8 million
10 ‘The Green Hornet’ (Sony) – $3.6 million
Josh Zyber
Looks like Bieber had a bad weekend all around. His movie only opened in second place, and he got spanked at the Grammys.
Dick Ward
You know, at age 16 I would have considered that a very good weekend indeed!
Josh Zyber
I think you forget what it’s like to be 16. I bet he spent most of last night crying about how unfair the world is to him.
Dick Ward
That’s a fair point! Still, I’d like to think I’d be happy with a #2 movie and a Grammy nomination. 🙂
Jane Morgan
Damn you, Adam Sandler!
Just when Jennifer Aniston’s career was pretty much over, you had to go and hand her a free #1 box office weekend.
I’m sick of seeing the same old ladies, older and older, in my chick flicks.
Damn you, ‘Just Go WIth It’ chick flick sheep!
Thulsadoom
Just to annoy everybody, I’m gonna say I enjoyed ‘Just go with it’. 😀 Sure, it was typical silly Sandler fare, but it was sn enjoyable enough RomCom, with a few good laughs. (The little girl’s atrocious Dick Van Dyke British accent had the audience cracked up over ‘ere, guvna!!) and it didn’t go as far into the cringe worthy horrid areas as much as some of his other film.
And in all honesty, I still kinda like Aniston. 🙂 Sure, her range isn’t exactly great, but how many actors really do have much range, apart from being hired because they’re themselves? And it’s nice to have a romantic comedy without yet another new up-and-coming forgettable ‘pretty’ 20-something face that disappears as soon as it’s arrived. 😉
Adam
Ugh…a choice between Sandler or Bieber? I’d rather just stay home (and I did). Anyway, it was Valentine’s weekend, so I’m sure that played a part in the RomCom winning. That and the two massive parts of their ad campaign.
Regardless, if I have to pick between Sandler and Bieber, I’d choose the ice pick lobotomy.