Box Office Update for 1/27-1/29: Big Momma's House 2

Wow, that's all I can say when I see Big Momma's House 2 at the top of the box office. I am not commenting on the quality of said picture, just that I am surprised that there were that many people that wanted to see it. It is now the third biggest January opening ever, taking the place of Underworld: Evolution which had claimed it last week. It is also the biggest opening for a film with Martin Lawrence as the top billed star (the biggest opening with him is Bad Boys II). In any case, good for Martin.

Surprise of the week, for me, is Nanny McPhee. I never would have guessed that it would have opened as well as it has. I have seen that it has garnered some good reviews, and I like to see quality family films come through, as more often than not they are are dumbed down and generally not all that good.

As for Annapolis, it looks as if the word of mouth got out before too many people got to see it. While James Franco has the potential to be a star of the future, he is not quite ready to carry a leading role. Perhaps bigger than that is that Justin Lin showed great promise when he directed Better Luck Tomorrow, and here he seems to have been sucked into the Hollywood machine. I hope this does not have any permanent damage on his output.

Hoodwinked is hanging in there as a good family film, albeit with very mixed reviews, that is still drawing in the crowds. I have spoken with people on both sides of the fence, and I can understand both sides, I fall on the side of liking it. Those of you on the fence about just seeing it, don't be fooled by the lousy trailers. Still on the subject of family films, Chronicles of Narnia is still going strong, 2 months out. It is another example of a good family film, and the audiences are responding to it. Are you listening Hollywood? Make a good film and the people will come out, and they will keep coming out.

Closing out the top ten is The Matador, its release widened and it jumped from number 28 up to 10. This is a fun and quirky comedy with Pierce Brosnan stepping away from the suave James Bond character and into the boots of an aging assassin who may not be able to do his job. He hits a mid life crisis. Fun movie, a little strange and not as deep as I would have liked, but still solid.

Dropping off the top ten are King Kong (16), Hostel (17), End of the Spear (14), and Fun with Dick and Jane (11). Hostel took the biggest drop.

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	N	Big Momma's House 2	$27,736,056	$27,736,056	1
2	N	Nanny McPhee	$14,503,650	$14,503,650	1
3	1	Underworld: Evolution	$11,404,172	$44,607,264	2
4	N	Annapolis	$7,681,171	$7,681,171	1
5	2	Hoodwinked	$7,480,089	$37,767,800	7
6	5	Brokeback Mountain	$6,542,081	$51,024,343	8
7	3	Glory Road	$5,345,859	$51,024,343	3
8	4	Last Holiday	$4,802,618	$32,630,609	3
9	6	The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe	$4,504,990	$277,867,308	8
10	28	The Matador	$3,612,663	$5,270,798	5

Let's close this with a look at the pecking order that I had predicted, and see just how bad I did.

1. (3) Underworld: Evolution. I guess I overestimated the drawing power of the supernatural.
2. (1) Big Momma's House 2. I was close, didn't think it would get pushed all the way to the top.
3. (6) Brokeback Mountain. Again, an overestimation. Rethinking this, it is more of a long haul than a spike in box office.
4. (4) Annapolis. Hey! Not too bad, I got one right.
5. (5) Hoodwinked. What's this? 2 in a row! I guess I wasn't as bad as I thought.
6. (8) Last Holiday. Is interest waning a bit? Finished a little lower than I thought it would.
7. (9) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Still, off by a little, but this will probably stay on 1 more week.
8. (2) Nanny McPhee. Talk about a complete underestimation.
9. (7) Glory Road. This will be off the top ten and forgotten next week.
10. (11) Fun with Dick and Jane. This one dropped off one week quicker than I thought. Good for them!