The Friday box office put “Django Unchained” back at number 2, just beating “Les Miserables” for the spot. But both movies are booming, which is good for the box office and their respective studios. The Weinstein Company really needed “Django” to jump start its bottom line since “The Master” never took off and “Silver Linings Playbook” has been a slow and steady earner. All three movies will be up for Oscars certainly. Meanwhile: Universal, even with “Ted” and “The Lorax” finally gets their mass appeal Oscar nominee in “Les Miz,” the best of all worlds.
But “The Hobbit” has jolted back to number as kids took the box office back from adults. On Friday “The Hobbit” crossed the $200 million mark in the US. It’s a massive worldwide hit as part four of “Lord of the Rings.” Let’s hope the profits are divided more quickly and evenly than when the “LOTR” actors were filing lawsuits and going to the press.
And yes, poor “Jack Reacher” keeps getting beaten for fourth place by “Parental Guidance.” Tom Cruise suffering at the hands of Bette Midler and Billy Crystal. Every day a half a million dollar separates them. And then Tom has to suffer the indignity of a fake “girlfriend” on the cover of every tabloid. Read my review of “Jack Reacher” elsewhere on this site today.
One more thing: for some reason “Zero Dark Thirty” is struggling. Would a wide release have been the way to go? Oscar nominations on January 10th should help give it a push.
