CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box-Office: The Real Thing Gets Real Dollars – Act of Valor on Top

Seth Paul

Box office receipts were down, way down from last week, but the big news is that the winner at the multiplex had no big name stars. Act of Valor, starring real U.S. Navy SEALs (and, reportedly, live ammunition during filming), earned an estimated $24.7 million and mixed reviews from critics. Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds came in second with an estimated $16 million and somewhat less positive reviews than Act of Valor, though even with less revenues both films had solid debuts for their budgets, Act of Valor earning twice as much as its $12 million price tag. While the Good Deeds budget is currently unavailable, Tyler Perry’s most expensive film to date, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family, cost $25 million, so Good Deeds will more than likely prove financially successful.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island has held on remarkably well for its third week, besting previous top draws Safe House and The Vow. Journey 2 made an estimated $13.5 million over Safe House’s estimated $11.4 million and The Vow’s estimated $10 million. In domestic gross, The Vow leads all three with $103 million, but worldwide Journey 2 still leads, with a total worldwide take of $235.9 million.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is dropping off very quickly, its estimated $8.8 million and $37.8 million domestic take remains in line with its critical and audience reception. So, too, is This Means War, its estimated $8.5 million not a good sign that it will recoup its $65 million budget anytime soon.

Debuting in rather poor circumstances are the Paul Rudd/Jennifer Aniston comedy Wanderlust and the Amanda Seyfried thriller Gone. Budgeted at $35 million and $22 million, respectively, Wanderlust picked up an estimated $6.6 million while Gone earned an estimated $5 million, with neither film gaining more than mixed reviews (and in Gone’s case, much less so). Critics, however, are raving over Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty, though American audiences aren’t biting…with an estimated $4.5 million this weekend and a total $14.7 million in domestic sales, the film isn’t getting the sort of attention it has elsewhere in the world, having earned $126.4 million in overseas box office.

Weekend Box-Office (February 14th – February 26th)

  1. Act of Valor…$24.7 million
  2. Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds…$16 million
  3. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island…$13.5 million
  4. Safe House…$11.4 million
  5. The Vow…$10 million
  6. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance…$8.8 million
  7. This Means War…$8.5 million
  8. Wanderlust…$6.6 million
  9. Gone…$5 million
  10. The Secret World of Arrietty…$4.5 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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