"The Wolverine" Teaser for a Teaser For a...Oh, Nevermind, Just Watch.

Yes, let's just get that part out of way:  turning a trailer into a three-day extravaganza by showing a just few seconds of it at a time is kinda silly.  But to be honest, I've been far more entertained by the 26 seconds we've seen of The Wolverine so far than the ceaseless whining that this tweazer/teaser phenomenon is now a thing, especially since those same outraged people went and watched it anyway. 

So let's get caught up.  First, here's the 6-second "tweazer" that we saw yesterday. 

Silver Samurai!  Jean Grey cameo!  Wolverine angry at...stuff!  I'm not entirely sure what going on there, because it was, you know, six seconds long.  But, there it was.

Today, we got what I'm just going to call the "inbetweazer", because, why not?  We're in uncharted territory here, people.  This one premiered via MTV, with an intro by Josh Horowitz and Hugh Jackman, who are standing in front of much better artwork for the movie than that rather unfortunate ninja poster that premiered earlier this week:

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So that's a little more.  I'm loving that sword/claws combat.  And Yukio is looking pretty damn awesome.  Looks like Wolverine is having some healng factor issues too? 

Again, turning a trailer into a mini-series is pretty silly.  But for those of us who've been looking forward to this movie (and we've seen precious little from The Wolverine so far), it's been kinda fun regardless.

The full trailer for The Wolverine will finally be online tomorrow, and you can see it on the big screen in front of G.I. Joe: Retaliation this weekend.  The movie itself opens in theaters on July 26.

Weekend Box Office: March 22-24

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Croods - $44.7 million

2.  Olympus Has Fallen - $30.5 million

3.  Oz The Great And Powerful - $22 million

4.  The Call - $8.7 million

5.  Admission - $6.4 million

6.  Spring Breakers - $5 million

7.  The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - $4.7 million

8.  Jack the Giant Slayer - $2.9 million

9.  Identity Thief - $2.5 million

10.  Snitch - $1.9 million

It was great to be a caveman this weekend, as the animated The Croods did excellent business, earning an estimated $44.7 million.  That's a big sigh of relief for Dreamworks, whose Rise of the Guardians sputtered at the box office a few months ago.  Overseas, the film seems poised to be a hit of Ice Age-type proportions, having already grossed $62 million. 

At last, this weekend also produced an action film that people showed up for, as Olympus Has Fallen earned an impressive $30.5 million, which is far better than the $24 million opening of A Good Day to Die Hard last month.  It also earned an "A-" Cinemascore from audiences, so unlike that phoned-in Die Hard sequel, this one may actually stick around for awhile.   

Oz The Great And Powerful falls from first to third place, but gets that much closer to 2013's first $200 million grosser, earning $22 million to bring its domestic total to $177 million.

Halle Berry's The Call is still defying its original expectations, earning another $8.7 million.  The kidnapping thriller has earned a totally decent $30.9 million. 

The weekend's other new release, Admission, starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, didn't really catch on, earning just $6.4 million.  In wider release, Spring Breakers earned $5 million, which is significant since it's not really being widely advertised, but significant drops throughout the weekend could mean some not-so-good word of mouth to carry it much further from here.

Next weekend, the long-awaited (well, it was delayed from last summer) G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in theaters, where it will be competing with the adaptation of the Stephanie Meyer novel that isn't Twilight, The Host.  Also in theaters will be Tyler Perry's latest, Temptation, and the British action thriller, Welcome to the Punch. 

Weekend Box Office: March 15 - 17

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Oz The Great and Powerful - $42.2 million

2.  The Call - $17.1 million

3.  The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - $10.3 million

4.  Jack the Giant Slayer - $6.2 million

5.  Identity Thief - $4.5 million

6.  Snitch - $3.5 million

7.  21 and Over - $2.6 million

8.  Silver Linings Playbook - $2.5 million

9.  Safe Haven - $2.4 million

10.  Escape From Planet Earth - $2.3 million

Audiences were still off to see the Wizard, as Oz The Great and Powerful celebrated its second weekend in the top spot, with an estimated $42.2 million.  The dropoff is less than half from last week, which is some excellent staying power, and is currently 2013's top grosser with $145 million so far.  The film is also a hit overseas, where it has grossed $136 million.

Halle Berry had good reason to smile this weekend, and not just because she's coming back to X-Men.  The Call, which was shellacked by critics, exceeded expectations with a surprisingly good $17.1 million.  Considering the string of flops that Berry has had in recent years, it's nice to see her come back with a hit. 

Good news was not so much the case for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, which bombed this weekend with only $10.3 million.  Having Steve Carell and Jim Carrey face off as competing magicians seemed like a potentially hilarious idea, unfortunately, it appears the final result just didn't pan out, as the comedy earned a weak "C+" Cinemascore from audiences. 

In limited release, Spring Breakers earned $270,000, and that was just in three theaters.  Starring Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and current Wizard of Oz James Franco, the film goes into wider release next week.  Competing with that will be the animated caveman tale The Croods, the Tina Fey comedy Admission,  and the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen.

Weekend Box Office: March 8-10

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Oz The Great and Powerful - $80.2 million

2.  Jack the Giant Slayer - $10 million

3.  Identity Thief - $6.3 million

4.  Dead Man Down - $5.3 milion

5.  Snitch - $5.1 million

6.  21 and Over - $5 million

7.  Safe Haven - $3.8 million

8.  Silver Linings Playbook - $3.7 million

9.  Escape From Planet Earth - $3.2 million

10.  The Last Exorcism Part II - $3.1 million

The first blockbuster of 2013 was welcomed in theaters this weekend, as Oz The Great and Powerful opened with a stellar $80.2 million.  That the highest weekend debut since The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opened with $84 million back in December.  Internationally, Oz is also as great and powerful as the title suggests, earning nearly $70 million in oversears markets just this weekend. 

That's not such great news for Jack the Giant Slayer, which tumbled 63% in its second weekend to earn an estimated $10 million.  In less than ten days, the film has earned just $43 million domestically.

Identity Thief is still performing very well with $6.3 million, actually beating out this weekend's other new release, Dead Man Down, which went barely noticed with only $5.3 million.  Snitch hasn't been exactly lighting the box office on fire either, but its $31 million over three weeks is a bit more respectable than some of the more recent R-rated action bombs of the year so far. 

But it was good to be the Wizard this weekend.  And it's likely to be that way next weekend too, when it competes with new releases The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, The Call, and Spring Breakers. 

Weekend Box Office: March 1-3

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Jack the Giant Slayer - $28 million

2.  Identity Thief - $9.7 million

3.  21 and Over - $9 million

4.  The Last Exorcism Part 2 - $8 million

5.  Snitch - $7.7 million

6.  Escape from Planet Earth - $6.7 million

7.  Safe Haven - $6.3 million

8.  Silver Linings Playbook - $5.9 million

9.  A Good Day to Die Hard - $4.5 million

10.  Dark Skies - $3.5 million

Oh boy...you know it's rough weekend at the box office when John Carter boasted better numbers on this same weekend last year.  Jack the Giant Slayer proved to be not-so-giant, as the $200 million adventure opened with just $28 million (John Carter, by comparison, earned $30.2 million).  That's pretty bad, but better than was originally estimated after the movie's dismal midnight grosses on Friday, which means it's still a reasonably popular choice for family audiences.  Not sure how well it will hold up when it has to compete with Oz next weekend, though. 

The other new releases didn't fare much better, as audiences essentially shrugged at both Hangover-wannabe 21 and Over f($9 million), and the horror sequel The Last Exorcism Part 2 ($8 million). 

Audiences still love Identity Thief, as this weekend the comedy became the first movie of 2013 to cross the $100 million mark at the box office.  Taking advantage of Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar win last week, Silver Linings Playbook earned $5.9 million - a 3% bump from last weekend.

Next weekend, we're off to see the wizard as Sam Raimi's prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful opens in theaters.

Weekend Box Office: February 15 - 17

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  A Good Day to Die Hard - $25 million

2.  Identity Thief - $23.4 million

3.  Safe Haven - $21.4 million

4.  Escape from Planet Earth - $16 million

5.  Warm Bodies - $9 million

6.  Beautiful Creatures - $7.4 million

7.  Side Effects - $6.3 million

8.  Silver Linings Playbook - $6 million

9.  Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - $3.4 million

10.  Zero Dark Thirty - $3.1 million

The Die Hard series may just be phoning it in at this point, but Bruce Willis' fifth round as John McClane managed to do what what his action movie buddies Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone weren't so far this year:  open in first place.  Granted, the estimated $33 million A Good Day to Die Hard has earned since opening on Thursday isn't all that great, and Identity Thief may actually squeak back into first by tomorrow when the President's Day holiday weekend wraps up tomorrow, but it appears the series is still pretty popular.  In fact, it's very popular overseas, where it's already grossed $79 million.

In second place was Identity Thief, which dropped just 32% from its first-place finish last weekend.  The comedy has earned $70 million so far.  Safe Haven, the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, also opened on Thursday (it actually opened just ahead of Die Hard, Thursday being Valentine's Day and all), and finishes the weekend with $30.2 million.  Escape from Planet Earth didn't really register with families this weekend, earning a so-so $16 million.

Beautiful Creatures failed to catch the Twilight crowd, bottoming out this weekend with only $10 million since opening on Thursday.  That crowd seem more interested in Warm Bodies, which continues to do well, earning another $9 million.

Next weekend is the Oscars, which is good, since there's not a whole hell of a lot going on in theaters, other than the horror film Dark Skies, and the drug dealer-action thriller Snitch, starring Dwayne Johnson.  Oscar frontrunner Argo is due out on DVD this Tuesday, so it might be a good time to catch up on that instead.

Weekend Box Office: February 8-10

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Identity Thief - $36.5 million

2.  Warm Bodies - $11.5 million

3.  Side Effects - $10 million

4.  Silver Linings Playbook - $6.9 million

5.  Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - $5.7 million

6.  Mama - $4.3 million

7.  Zero Dark Thirty - $4 million

8.  Argo - $2.5 million

9.  Django Unchained - $2.2 million

10.  Bullet to the Head - $1.9 million

Despite a blizzard wreaking havoc in the Northeast, there was no stopping Identity Thief this weekend, as the comedy earned an estimated $36.5 million.  That's a great start - the biggest opening of 2013 so far - not to mention a perfect response to the oh-so-irrelevant critic Rex Reed, who took some childish jabs at star Melissa McCarthy's weight in his review of the film.  Although, all anyone needs to do is watch Bridesmaids to be reminded how awesome McCarthy is.

Warm Bodies, which opened big last weekend with $20 million, held up very well in its second weekend, earning another $11.5 million.  With new episodes of The Walking Dead starting tonight on AMC, it looks no one can get enought of zombies at the moment.  This weekend's other new release, Side Effects, from the apparently retiring Steven Soderbergh, also did pretty well with $10 million.

The Oscar nominees are still taking a few spots in the top ten, with Silver Linings Playbook doing the best in fourth place with $6.9 million.  It should break the $100 million mark by next weekend.  Frontrunner Argo returned to the top ten (it was #18 last week) with $2.5 million.  Zero Dark Thirty added another $4 million, while Django Unchained earned $2.2 million.

The weekend's other new release was more of big-screen ad for the upcoming blu-ray release of Top Gun, but the 80s classic did manage to earn $1.9 million at 3D IMAX locations.  There was probably no need for a Top Gun re-release, but with Hansel & Gretel stinking up the IMAX theaters for the last few weeks, we'll take it, right? 

Speaking of 80s classics, next weekend sees the return of Bruce Willis as John McClane in A Good Day to Die Hard, which is coming out on Thursday for some reason (hey, nothing says Valentine's Day...).  Joining it will be Beautiful Creatures, the supernatural love story that isn't Twilight, the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation Safe Haven, and the animated alien comedy Escape from Planet Earth. 

The Wolverine Wears a Suit!

No, not that suit.  But still, wouldn't it be awesome if Hugh Jackman showed up at the Oscars like this next month? 

The latest issue of Empire Magazine features this new image from The Wolverine, which opens in theaters this summer.  Besides being the first photo we've seen from the film where Wolverine is actually wearing a shirt (not that I had a problem with that), this is the first time in any of the X-Men films where we've seen Wolverine in a...is that a suit?  And a tie?  What is going on here?

Set after the events of the third X-Men film, The Wolverine is based on the popular Claremont/Miller saga from the comics, which has Wolverine tangled up with the Japanese criminal underworld.  Director James Mangold recently spoke about the adaptation, and his comments about bringing out Wolverine's beserker rage in the film:

"All that talk about getting darker and more intense had us wondering how that might affect the film's rating. "The whole point is not about violence or rating; it's about intensity," Mangold said when asked exactly how dark and dangerous things get. "I wanted to make a film that in a way captures the intensity of his character. One of the things that has always been a feature of Wolverine in the comics is that he has a berserker rage, that he has anger and some of his abilities are driven by something more primal." And how do you showcase the primal nature of those abilities? Easy, Mangold said: You give the character opportunities to get pissed off. "Honestly, to get really pissed off — not cute pissed off, not quippy pissed off, not funny pissed off or cigar-chomping pissed off, just pissed off — that can then help drive the fighting, drive the combat," he explained. "That is interesting for me and then for the character, some of the jet fuel underneath some of the combat in the film."

That certainly sounds promising.  The Wolverine opens in theaters on July 26.

Weekend Box Office: January 25-27

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters - $19 million

2.  Mama - $12.8 million

3.  Silver Linings Playbook - $10 million

4.  Zero Dark Thirty - $9.8 million

5.  Parker - $7 million

6.  Django Unchained - $5 million

7.  Movie 43 - $5 million

8.  Gangster Squad - $4.2 million

9.  Broken City - $4 million

10.  Les Miserables - $3.9 million

Remember when that Hansel and Gretel movie looked like a good idea?  Nope, me neither.  Nevertheless, that long-delayed film won the box office this weekend with an estimated $19 million...which means enough people showed up to keep it from being a complete disaster, but not too many rushed out to see it either. 

At least that debut was more respectable than this weekend's other new releases, as Jason Statham's Parker did so-so business with just $7 million, and Movie 43, the R-rated comedy starring the biggest cast of A-list stars who wouldn't be caught dead actually promoting the film bombing outright with a meager $5 million.  That's not good.

It was decent second weekend for the horror thriller Mama.  Although it dropped more than half its audience since opening in first last weekend, it managed to hold on well enough through a weak box office weekend to finish in second. 

The Oscar hopefuls were still popular, with Silver Linings Playbook still enjoying finally being in wide release, earning another $10 million, and Zero Dark Thirty right behind it with $9.8 million.  Django Unchained earned $5 million, and Les Miserables was good for one more week in the top 10 with $3.9 million (it also just passed the $300 million mark worldwide).

Coming up is Superbowl Weekend, so it will be quiet again next week.  For those not interested in football, opening in theaters is the zombie comedy Warm Bodies, as well as Stallone's latest, Bullet to the Head, and Stand Up Guys, starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin. 

Weekend Box Office: January 18-20

Courtesy of BoxOffice.com: 

1.  Mama - $28.1 million

2.  Zero Dark Thirty - $17.6 million

3.  Silver Linings Playbook - $11.3 million

4.  Gangster Squad - $9.1 million

5.  Broken City - $9 million

6.  A Haunted House - $8.3 million

7.  Django Unchained - $8.2 million

8.  Les Miserables - $7.8 million

9.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - $6.4 million

10.  The Last Stand - $6.3 million

It was a good weekend for horror movies and Oscar hopefuls, but not so much for Arnold Schwarzenegger, as his big comeback, The Last Stand, turned out to be a box-office bust.  The movie barely managed to crack the top ten, landing (at least until the actuals are totalled up tomorrow) in tenth place, just behind The Hobbit, which has been in theaters for more than a month.  Yikes.

Meanwhile, moviegoers were seeing plenty of Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain this weekend, as the horror film Mama easily took first place with a terrific $28.1 million, and Zero Dark Thirty was in second place $17.6 million - dropping only 28% from its first-place finish last weekend.  So even if Mama takes the inevitable horror movie dive from here, at least the movie Chastain was actually nominated for remains the more popular of the two films. 

Fellow Best Actress nominee (and this weekend's SNL host) Jennifer Lawrence also had a good weekend, with Silver Linings Playbook finally - it's been in theaters for 10 weeks, longer than any other movie in the top 10 - going into wide release and earning a solid $11.3 million.  Other Oscar nominees continue to do well, with Django Unchained officially becoming Quentin Tarantino's highest grossing film with $138.3 million, and Les Miserables boosting its own total to $130.3 million.  Overseas, the musical has grossed an additional $115 million.  And while it may have only scored nominations in the technical categories, The Hobbit still has $300 million in its sights as its total went up to $287 million after this weekend.

This weekend's other dud was Broken City, which flopped with only $9 million.  The delayed Gangster Squad continued to underperfom, having only earned $32 million through its second weekend.

Next weekend is not looking like much, with Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (seriously?) opening in theaters, along with the comedy Movie 43.  Might be a good time to catch up on some of those Oscar movies, if you haven't already.