Box: Anna Faris has great taste in men.

Chris Evans, Joel McHale, Chris Pratt, Anthony Mackie, Andy Samberg, Dave Annabelle. Just sayin.

1. Dolphin Tale - $14m / $36.5m / $80m
2. The Lion King 3D - $13m / $80.5m / $86m
3. Moneyball - $12.5m / $38.5m / $75m
4. Dream House - $12m / $12m / $35m
5. 50/50 - $11m / $11m / $34m
6. What's Your Number - $10m / $10m / $30m
7. Courageous - $6.5m / $6.5m / $22m
8. Abduction - $6m / $18m / $30m
9. Killer Elite - $5m / $18m / $28m
10. Contagion - $4.5m / $64m / $75m

No idea how many screens Lion King will lose, but after this weekend it will be done at most theatres. I went higher than tracking on all the openers, but really anything in the top 6 could be #1 and there will be only a few million difference between them. Courageous could also go higher as these Christian targeted movies are so hard to predict.

Box-Office: Brad Pitt and Simba on Top - What is it? 1994?

1. Moneyball - $20m / $20m / $70m
2. The Lion King - $18m / $55m / $90m
3. Abduction - $14m / $14m / $40m
4. Dolphin Tale - $13m / $13m / $60m
5. Killer Elite - $10m / $10m / $28m
6. Contagion - $8.5m / $57m / $80m
7. Drive - $6m / $22m / $36m
8. The Help - $4.5m / $154.5m / $167m
9. Straw Dogs - $2.5m / $9m / $13m
10. I Don't Know How She Does It - $2m / $8.5m / $12m

The Lion King will make more its second weekend than most thought it would be its first weekend. Despite the ads claiming a limited two week engagement, I suspect Disney will keep it in theatres longer give how well its doing. Abduction will prove once again that no one gives two shits about the Twilight stars outside of the franchise (take note, tabloids!). Dolphin Tale would do much better if it weren't for the 3D, but seeing as it has a lack of competition till Puss-in-Boots in November it'll have some legs.

This is how its done.

The Emmys are usually pretty awful. A step up from the SAGs, no doubt. But they are just kinda dull and low energy. That long trog (is that the word? is that even a word?) through the miniseries/tv movie stuff in particular brings things to a screeching hault. That being said, Jane Lynch's Entourage joke is enough to make up for that terrible intro, bizarre sound problems and those stupid EmmyTones. And a lot of the Drama winners provided surprises.

But all of that fails in comparison to this.

As someone who has watched countless award shows in his lifetime, I can safely say this is by far one of the greatest moments any has ever pulled off. It had nothing to do with the producers or writers and had everything to do with the creativity of the actual nominees and letting them run with it. Letting them actually have their moment. It was gloriously tongue-in-cheek, poking fun of the whole enterprise while bringing it back down to reality with the winner's genuine "holy shit" moment. I can only hope that someone high up at AMPAS will give Amy Poehler a phone call.

Hopefully, the video is still available here.

Box: Doggy Style With James and Alexander

1. Straw Dogs - $13m / $13m / $36m
2. Contagion - $12.5m / $42m / $65m
3. I Don't Know How She Does It - $12m / $12m / $38m
4. The Lion King 3D - $10m / $10m / $22m
5. Drive - $9m / $9m / $28m
6. The Help $6m / $146.5m / $167m
7. Warrior - $3.5m / $10.5m / $18m
8. The Debt - $3m / $26.5m / $32m
9. Colombiana - $2m / $33m / $37m
10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $2m / $171m / $175m

The three openers and one reissue could do just about anything below the upper teens. Contagion also stands a chance at repeating its time at #1. Hopefully, audiences keep their eyes on the quality product and allow Drive to be a mini-sleeper.

Summer Movie Box Office Wrap

In which Woody Allen, Kristen Wiig and Emma Stone are the new hitmakers. I can live with that.

Top Movies of the Summer of 2011:

1. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2
Projected Final Gross: $380 million
No shocker here. Scoring the biggest 3-day opening of all time, Potter's last stand was more than enough to hold off an assortment of sequels to claim the top spot.

2. TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
Projected Final Gross: $351 million
Aided by better reaction than the franchise's much maligned second installment and 3D that audiences actually enjoyed, the film's earning will unfortunately probably mean another sequel in a few years time. But hey, at least audiences enjoyed ONE 3D film since Avatar? Right?

3. THE HANGOVER: PART 2
Projected Final Gross: $255 million
This feels in many ways like a Shrek sequel: no will remember it in a few years time and those that do will be baffled it made so much money. Again, probably enough to ensure another installment or two.

4. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES
Projected Final Gross: $241 million
No one remembers this movie barely four months after it came out. So perhaps that should be a sign to abandon ship of this entire franchise, but it made a billion dollars worldwide. Altogether now: probably another installment.

5. CARS 2
Projected Final Gross: $190 million
I'd like to think that the people at Pixar are smart enough to see that this won't need another sequel no matter how much the merchandise brings in. Pixar's worst received movie to date, and could be their first to not get an Oscar nomination for Animated Feature.

6. THOR
Final Gross: $181 million
7. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
Projected Final Gross: $176 million

So now we're not even really making movies so much as we are making prequels to future blockbusters? I'll say next summer's The Avengers makes somewhere in between these 2 and Iron Man. So about $235 million. Remember that, kids!

8. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Projected Final Gross: $175 million
Hey, an actual surprise! Potter notwithstanding, this is the first film on the list so far we can say was actually liked by both audiences and critics.

9. BRIDESMAIDS
Projected Final Gross: $170 million
9 films in and we find our first film that is not part of a franchise. Perhaps studios should look at the grosses for this film and #10 and realize that there is an audience for womens' films that are actually good. I get the feeling we'll see one in mid May and one in mid August every year from now on.

10. THE HELP
Projected Final Gross: $167 million
See, modestly budgeted adult fare can do well in summer. Come on, studios. Look at this film and realize that if you have people behind a film that are passionate about making it and only need about $20 million, its worth it.

11. KUNG FU PANDA 2
Projected Final Gross: $165 million
Huge overseas, okay here. Seems to be a reoccuring theme this year.

12. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
Final Gross: $147 million
Despite solid reaction, this probably should have done better if they wanted a proper reboot of the franchise.

13. THE SMURFS
Projected Final Gross: $142 million
Ah, the Alvin and the Chipmunks of the season. Terrible reviews, huge hit.

14. SUPER 8
Projected Final Gross: $127 million
TNT and TBS will be running this thing nonstop in three years, in case you missed it. Will probably develop a nice following on DVD/Blu.

15. HORRIBLE BOSSES
Projected Final Gross: $117 million
Jennifer Aniston starred in 2 100+ grossers this year. Can we stop saying she's not a movie star? Can we just leave her alone? Please.

16. THE GREEN LANTERN
Projected Final Gross: $117 million
Ryan Reynolds starred in two flops this summer, this one being the biggest flop of the year. Really, Warner Bros, you spent over $200m on this? Can we stop pretending Blake Lively is going to happen? Tabloids, please.

17. COWBOYS AND ALIENS
Projected Final Gross: $100 million
If only this could have been as fun as the title promised. Can we stop pretending Olivia Wilde is going to happen? No matter how many guys she supposedly makes out with at parties, its not happening.

18. BAD TEACHER
Projected Final Gross: $100 million
The studio will fudge numbers to get it past the century mark, but at a budget of just $30 million, this is one of the more profitable films of the summer. If only they had just remembered to make it good and funny.

19. CRAZY STUPID LOVE
Projected Final Gross: $83 million
Not as big of a hit as The Help, but a similar lesson should be learned from it: modestly budgeted adult-aimed pictures can do well.

20. ZOOKEEPER
Projected Final Gross: $80 million
How did this movie cost so much to make? It baffles me how these Adam Sandler-produced movies cost so much.

21. MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS
Projected Final Gross: $68 million
I think audiences are over Jim Carrey.

22. FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Projected Final Gross: $56 million
A small recouper, even if it did less than No Strings Attached while looking miles better.

23. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Projected Final Gross $55 million
Ranks as one of this summer's biggest hits. Congrats, Woody. See you at the Kodak.

24. FINAL DESTINATION 5
Projected Final Gross: $43 million
This is supposedly the actual final one. If creativity didn't kill this franchise, that gross just may have.

25. SOMETHING BORROWED
Projected Final Gross: $39 million
We're done with Kate Hudson in romcoms, right?

26. Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World - $39m
27. 30 Minutes or Less - $38m
28. Jumping the Broom - $37m
29. The Change-Up - $37m
30. Colombiana - $37m
31. Larry Crowne - $36m
32. The Debt - $32m
33. Priest - $29m
34. Winnie the Pooh - $27m
35. Our Idiot Brother - $27m
36. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - $25m
37. Monte Carlo - $23m
38. Conan the Barbarian - $23m
39. Shark Night - $22m
40. Apollo 18 - $20m
41. Fright Night - $18m
42. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer - $15m
43. One Day - $14m
44. The Tree of Life - $13m
45. Glee: The 3D Concert Movie - $12m

So what did we learn from that last batch:
-Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts aren't the draws they once were and Tom needs to learn what a good script is and how to direct it.
-Selena Gomez can't open a movie worth a shit.
-Winnie the Pooh can't open a movie worth a shit.
-Glee and its cast should stay on the small screen.
-Focus Features seems to have small, random luck with adult films over Labor Day weekend.
-Terrence Malick films will never have mainsteam appeal.
-And I hope whoever the fuck thought it would be a good idea to spend $90 million on a remake of Conan the Barbarian is booted out of a showbiz. I'm guessing this is the same person that represents Blake Lively and Olivia Wilde.

Box: Matt, Gwyn and Jude are back for The Talented Mr. Sickly

1. Contagion - $18m / $18m / $52m
2. Warrior - $12m / $12m / $45m
3. The Help - $9m / $137m / $165m
4. The Debt - $6m / $23m / $35m
5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $4.5m / $168.5m / $178m
6. Colombiana - $4m / $30m / $38m
7. Shark Night - $3.5m / $15m / $22m
8. Bucky Larson - $3.5m / $3.5m / $8m
9. Apollo 18 - $3m / $15m / $21m
10. Our Idiot Brother - $3m / $21.5m / $27m

Contagion had low tracking for the past several weeks, but went up this past week due to the mostly positive reviews and a last minute surge in the ad campaign. Though I do wonder if this opening on the weekend of the anniversary of 9/11 will have any effect on it. Warrior has great audience reaction and could begin a leggy run. Sexy Tom Hardy/Joel Edgerton legs. Given the surprise performance of The Debt last weekend, obviously there's a good market out there for adult-aimed films.


Shoulda been a gay movie.

Eddie Murphy to Host The Oscars

In case you haven't heard by now and after a weekend of swirling rumors, Eddie Murphy has been chosen to host the Oscars. The reaction to this has been mixed (hey, its better than James Franco!) to negative (hey, isn't this 20 years to late?). I'm not totally against this, as when I think about how hard he made me laugh in The Nutty Professor and Shrek, it could work. That being said, it still seems that this is totally out of his element, he's pissed off numerous people in Hollywood and his own history with the Oscars (he left after he lost) is iffy. But, we'll see. Since Ratner was announced, many predicted the comedian he'd pick would be Ben Stiller given Mr. Stiller is also in Ratner's upcoming film Tower Heist. Instead, they went with his costar in that film. That Ratner and Murphy have a film in November and this announcement came very early have raised some eyebrows. After the last two ceremonies, things can only get better. Right? Right?


Official press release:

Beverly Hills, CA (September 6, 2011) – Oscar® nominee Eddie Murphy, whose performing career spans movies, television and the stage, will host this year’s Academy Awards show on Sunday, February 26, 2012, telecast producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer announced today. This will be Murphy’s first hosting stint on the Oscars®.

“Eddie is a comedic genius, one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever,” said Ratner. “With his love of movies, history of crafting unforgettable characters and his iconic performances – especially on stage – I know he will bring excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show Don and I want to produce in February.”

Commented Mischer, “Eddie is a truly ground-breaking performer, whose amazingly diverse array of roles has won him a devoted audience of all ages. His quick wit and charisma will serve him very well as Oscar host.”

“I am enormously honored to join the great list of past Academy Award hosts from Hope and Carson to Crystal, Martin and Goldberg, among others,” said Murphy. “I’m looking forward to working with Brett and Don on creating a show that is enjoyable for both the fans at home and for the audience at the Kodak Theatre as we all come together to celebrate and recognize the great film contributions and collaborations from the past year.”

Murphy began his career at the age of 15 as a stand-up comedian. In 1980, at the age of 19, he joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live,” becoming the show’s youngest cast member to that point, and bringing to life many of the show’s most memorable characters. His 1983 album “Eddie Murphy: Comedian” won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording. It included portions of his groundbreaking HBO special “Eddie Murphy Delirious.” In 1987, “Eddie Murphy Raw” was theatrically released and went on to gross over $50 million. Murphy made his feature film debut in 1982 with the classic “48 Hrs.” and would go on to star in such box-office hits as “Beverly Hills Cop” and the “The Nutty Professor” and “Shrek” franchises. All told, movies in which he has performed have earned in excess of $7 billion worldwide during their theatrical releases.

Murphy earned an Oscar nomination in 2006 for his supporting role in “Dreamgirls.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide