In grand “X-Files” manner, the film’s storyline is being kept under wraps. This much can be revealed: It is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show’s most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the complicated relationship between Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate, ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder’s pursuits.
TRUE DUDES REVIEW:
Without giving too much away, you know that there is a problem when the film’s most sympathetic character is a pedophile. While I enjoyed the film, I think it’s going to disappoint a lot of the fans.
The god news: the story is original, and unpredictable. The two leads are back and played perfectly (as always). And there are a few (and only a few) tense and thrilling moments. The bad news: much of this film is strictly dulls-ville. The pacing is unusually slow for an X-Files story. The characters go nowhere. We learn nothing new about them and at the end of the film they are exactly the same as they were at the beginning. While the story is unpredictable it’s mostly because the climax is so off the wall.
It was nice to see another X-Files but this will likely be the last. I don’t see this doing well. Casual viewers will be put off by the slowness of the story and by not being familiar with the characters, while fans will be disappointed by the lack of new Mulder/Scully relationship info. All in all, X-Files: I Want To Believe is only mildly entertaining and just bizarre enough to keep the hardcore fans watching.
True Dudes gives X-Files: I Want To Believe 3 out of 5 middle fingers.
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 4 July 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 Hancock (2008) $62.6M $62.6M
2 WALL·E (2008) $32.5M $127M
3 Wanted (2008) $20.1M $90.2M
4 Get Smart (2008) $11.1M $98.1M
5 Kung Fu Panda (2008) $7.32M $193M
6 The Incredible Hulk (2008) $4.9M $125M
7 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $3.77M $306M
8 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) $3.3M $5.82M
9 Sex and the City (2008) $2.38M $145M
10 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008) $1.98M $94.8M
Well, Hancock’s a flop. It was estimated to open at 150 million (yeah right). Wall-e and Wanted both took bigger than average drops, but Get Smart seems to be hanging in there (less than a 50% drop every week). Indy continues to hang on and at this right should overtake Iron Man in a couple of weeks to be the highest grosser of the year.
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 27 June 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 WALL·E (2008) $62.5M $62.5M
2 Wanted (2008) $51.1M $51.1M
3 Get Smart (2008) $20M $77.3M
4 Kung Fu Panda (2008) $11.7M $179M
5 The Incredible Hulk (2008) $9.23M $116M
6 The Love Guru (2008) $5.44M $25.3M
7 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $5.03M $300M
8 The Happening (2008) $3.85M $59.1M
9 Sex and the City (2008) $3.77M $140M
10 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008) $3.2M $91.2M
Everyone knew Wall-e was going to be #1. The big surprise is Wanted. 50 million is a huge opening and super unexpected. Good reviews and word of mouth must have really helped. Get Smart hangs on nicely as well, barely dropping. And Indy 4 finally crossed the 300 million mark. If it continues to hang on it could out gross Iron Man.
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 13 June 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 The Incredible Hulk (2008) $55.4M $55.4M
2 Kung Fu Panda (2008) $33.6M $117M
3 The Happening (2008) $30.5M $30.5M
4 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008) $16.4M $68.8M
5 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $14.7M $277M
6 Sex and the City (2008) $9.79M $120M
7 Iron Man (2008) $5.62M $298M
8 The Strangers (2008) $4.02M $45.3M
9 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) $3.17M $132M
10 What Happens in Vegas… (2008) $1.67M $75.8M
Well, maybe The Incredible Hulk didn’t open as big as Lee’s did, but I’ll bet it doesn’t take a 75% hit next week. On the other hand I’ll bet that The Happening does. How the hell a movie like that opens to 30 million I’ll never know.
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 6 June 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 Kung Fu Panda (2008) $60M $60M
2 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008) $40M $40M
3 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $22.8M $253M
4 Sex and the City (2008) $21.3M $99.3M
5 The Strangers (2008) $9.29M $37.6M
6 Iron Man (2008) $7.52M $289M
7 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) $5.53M $126M
8 What Happens in Vegas… (2008) $3.4M $72.2M
9 Baby Mama (2008) $779K $57.9M
10 Made of Honor (2008) $775K $44.7M
I don’t think anyone is surprised that Kung Fu Panda beat out Zohan for the top spot. It is surprising how big of a drop Sex and the City took. Indy regained some footing and is on his way to crossing the 300 million mark. The Strangers, Iron Man, and What Happens in Vegas all continue to perform well, while Narnia looks like it may not make the 150 mark.
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 30 May 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 Sex and the City (2008) $56.8M $56.8M
2 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $44.8M $216M
3 The Strangers (2008) $21M $21M
4 Iron Man (2008) $13.5M $276M
5 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) $12.7M $115M
6 What Happens in Vegas… (2008) $6.68M $65.9M
7 Speed Racer (2008) $2.26M $40.7M
8 Baby Mama (2008) $2.19M $56.1M
9 Made of Honor (2008) $1.91M $42.9M
10 Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) $1.06M $60.5M
Hell has officially frozen over. Sex and the City beat Indiana Jones. Is it possible that Iron Man will have a larger final gross? But, on a brighter note, The Strangers performed way better than expected. Now we can probably look forward to an array of home invasion flicks.
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 23 May 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $126M $151M
2 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) $28.6M $96.7M
3 Iron Man (2008) $25.6M $258M
4 What Happens in Vegas… (2008) $11.2M $56.4M
5 Speed Racer (2008) $5.21M $37.4M
6 Baby Mama (2008) $4.21M $53M
7 Made of Honor (2008) $4.2M $39.9M
8 Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) $2.2M $58.7M
9 Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) $1.2M $36.2M
10 The Visitor (2007/I) $917K $4.57M
Indy was the big winner! He captured the second highest memorial weekend ever, behind only Pirates 3. Narnia took a big shit, dropping around 50%. Iron Man continues to hold well and will easily overtake Narnia next weekend.
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 16 May 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian(2008) $55M $55M
2 Iron Man (2008) $31.8M $223M
3 What Happens in Vegas…(2008) $13.9M $40.3M
4 Speed Racer (2008) $8.12M $30.3M
5 Made of Honor(2008) $4.7M $33.9M
6 Baby Mama (2008) $4.68M $47.3M
7 Forgetting Sarah Marshall(2008) $2.79M $55.3M
8 Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) $2M $34.1M
9 The Forbidden Kingdom(2008) $1.07M $50.4M
10 The Visitor (2007/I) $672K $3.39M
Narnia was not quite the blockbuster the studio thought it would be, though it still fared better than Speed Racer (even though it’s not half as good). Iron Man continues to hold strong and surprisingly so does What Happens in Vegas. By the way, what the hell is The Visitor and how does it crack the top ten?
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
Week of 9 May 2008
Rank / Title / Weekend / Gross
1 Iron Man (2008) $51.2M $178M
2 What Happens in Vegas… (2008) $20.2M $20.2M
3 Speed Racer (2008) $18.6M $18.6M
4 Made of Honor (2008) $8.12M $26.8M
5 Baby Mama (2008) $6.23M $40.8M
6 Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) $3.84M $50.8M
7 Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) $3.11M $30.7M
8 The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) $2.17M $48.5M
9 Nim’s Island (2008) $1.46M $44.4M
10 Prom Night (2008) $1.01M $42.8M
Speed Racer was robbed. Get out there and support this movie. It rocks!