Month: December 2013

Box Office Results: December 6-8

As predicted, Disney’s animated Frozen overtook The Hunger Games: Catching Fire for the top spot at the box office this weekend, but both titles earned a bit less than my estimates.

Frozen took in $31.6 million in its second weekend for #1, below my $34.8M prediction. Disney’s feature has made $134 million since its Thanksgiving opening. An eventual gross in the $250M range seems likely.

In weekend #3, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire dropped to second with an estimated $27 million, under my $32M prediction. This massive sequel has earned $336M since its debut and still looks on pace to become 2013’s highest grossing picture.

Out of the Furnace, the crime thriller with Christian Bale, flopped with only $5.3 million for third place. I gave it a bit too much credit with a $9.6M prediction. Rounding out the top five: Thor: The Dark World in fourth with $4.7 million (just under my $5.2M estimate) and Delivery Man in fifth with $3.7 million (just over my $3.5M estimate).

Be sure to check the blog later when I’ll roll out my predictions for two very different sequels – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas.

2013: The Year of Matthew McConaughey

Seventeen years ago, Matthew McConaughey burst onto the film scene with a starring role in A Time To Kill, Joel Schumacher’s adaptation of John Grisham’s bestseller. His luck continued into the following year with Steven Spielberg’s Amistad and Robert Zemeckis’s Contact.

After that, things went off the rails a bit as McConaughey headlined one lackluster pic after another. The Newton Boys. EDtv. Two for the Money. And there were too many predictable rom coms (some of which did decent business at the box office): The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Fool’s Good, and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

The actor’s biggest flop came in 2005 with Sahara, a big budget action spectacle meant to turn McConaughey into the next action star. It failed grossing $68 million domestically against a reported $130 million budget.

For a while, it looked as if McConaughey’s film portfolio would consist of lame rom coms and not much else. In 2011, everything began to turn around with an acclaimed turn in the unexpected hit legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer. In 2012, McConaughey was lauded for his supporting roles in the indie comedy Bernie and especially Magic Mike, which was a major summer hit.

The actor’s transformation into critical darling has come full circle in 2013 and that’s why he earns a spot in this blog series. First there was Mud, a $10 million budgeted coming of age drama that sits at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. It has earned $28 million domestically and furthered McConaughey’s status as a performer who suddenly knows how to pick quality material.

It has continued this fall with Dallas Buyer’s Club, where he stars as a drug addicted cowboy in the 1980s who contracts the AIDS virus. McConaughey lost 50 pounds for the part, critics are raving, and chances are that he’s on his way to his first Oscar nomination.

And this Christmas comes a supporting role in The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese’s eagerly awaited film about Wall Street corruption. McConaughey is featured prominently in the pic’s brilliant trailer and this looks to be the actor’s third winner in a row for 2013.

McConaughey has been a terrific example of what happens when a quality actor stops slumming with projects he chooses and goes a different and more fascinating route. In 2013 and beyond, McConaughey is reaping the benefits of his decision. His next project up in 2014: starring in Christopher Nolan’s next feature Interstellar that is sure to be one of the next year’s most anticipated titles. For McConaughey lately, everything has indeed been alright alright.

Part five of my six part blog series focusing on performers with great 2013’s rolls on tomorrow with a comedic actress who broke out in 2011 and solidified her box office clout this year.

An Alternative Oscar History: 1990-Present

***Updated to the present

Whether or not you agree with the considerable power that the Oscars have in the world of film, there is no question that it does. When a movie wins Best Picture, it almost always adds millions to its box office gross. Actors who win their categories are granted instant access to better projects (have you noticed trailers love to tout “Oscar winner” so and so?). I have been tracking the awards closely for quite some time as you may have noticed from my 2013 Oscar predictions… round 4 coming soon!

So – this post focuses on an alternative Oscar history. If the pictures and directors and actors and actresses and supporting actors and supporting actresses in their respective categories hadn’t won that year, who would have? This speculation is based on what was happening during those years prediction wise and who I believe was the likely runner-up. In some cases, the winners truly were surprising over a more obvious candidate. Marisa Tomei was not expected to be awarded Supporting Actress in 1992 for My Cousin Vinny. Neither was Anna Paquin a year later for The Piano. Many were surprised when Crash won Best Picture in 2005.

Of course, there’s also times when the winner seems preordained and nobody really thinks anything or anyone else has a shot. Schindler’s List in 1993 comes to mind. Or Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor in Lincoln last year.

We’ll cover the years 1990-2012 and I hope you’ll find it interesting to see what might have been. For each year in the six major categories, I’ll list the “alternate” winner with the real recipient in parentheses.

1990

Picture: GoodFellas (Dances with Wolves)

Director: Martin Scorsese, GoodFellas (Kevin Costner, Dances with Wolves)

Actor: Robert De Niro, Awakenings (Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune)

Actress: Anjelica Huston, The Grifters (Kathy Bates, Misery)

Supporting Actor: Bruce Davison, Longtime Companion (Joe Pesci, GoodFellas)

Supporting Actress: Annette Bening, The Grifters (Whoopi Goldberg, Ghost)

1991

Picture: Bugsy (The Silence of the Lambs)

Director: Barry Levinson, Bugsy (Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs)

Actor: Nick Nolte, The Prince of Tides (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs)

Actress: Susan Sarandon, Thelma&Louise (Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs)

Supporting Actor: Harvey Keitel, Bugsy (Jack Palance, City Slickers)

Supporting Actress: Kate Nelligan, The Prince of Tides (Mercedes Ruehl, The Fisher King)

1992

Picture: Howards End (Unforgiven)

Director: James Ivory, Howards End (Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven)

Actor: Denzel Washington, Malcolm X (Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman)

Actress: Susan Sarandon, Lorenzo’s Oil (Emma Thompson, Howards End)

Supporting Actor: Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game (Gene Hackman, Unforgiven)

Supporting Actress: Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives (Maria Tomei, My Cousin Vinny)

1993

Picture: The Piano (Schindler’s List)

Director: Jane Campion, The Piano (Steven Spielberg, Schindler’s List)

Actor: Anthony Hopkins, The Remains of the Day (Tom Hanks, Philadelphia)

Actress: Emma Thompson, The Remains of the Day (Holly Hunter, The Piano)

Supporting Actor: Ralph Fiennes, Schindler’s List (Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive)

Supporting Actress: Winona Ryder, The Age of Innocence (Anna Paquin, The Piano)

1994

Picture: Pulp Fiction (Forrest Gump)

Director: Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction (Robert Zemeckis, Forrest Gump)

Actor: Paul Newman, Nobody’s Fool (Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump)

Actress: Jodie Foster, Nell (Jessica Lange, Blue Sky)

Supporting Actor: Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction (Martin Landau, Ed Wood)

Supporting Actress: Rosemary Harris, Tom&Viv (Dianne Wiest, Bullets Over Broadway)

1995

Picture: Sense and Sensibility (Braveheart)

Director: Michael Radford, Il Postino (Mel Gibson, Braveheart)

Actor: Sean Penn, Dead Man Walking (Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas)

Actress: Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas (Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking)

Supporting Actor: Ed Harris, Apollo 13 (Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects)

Supporting Actress: Joan Allen, Nixon (Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite)

1996

Picture: Fargo (The English Patient)

Director: Joel Coen, Fargo (Anthony Minghella, The English Patient)

Actor: Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire (Geoffrey Rush, Shine)

Actress: Brenda Blethyn, Secrets and Lies (Frances McDormand, Fargo)

Supporting Actor: Edward Norton, Primal Fear (Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Maguire)

Supporting Actress: Lauren Bacall, The Mirror Has Two Faces (Juliette Binoche, The English Patient)

1997

Picture: L.A. Confidential (Titanic)

Director: Curtis Hanson, L.A. Confidential (James Cameron, Titanic)

Actor: Robert Duvall, The Apostle (Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets)

Actress: Julie Christie, Afterglow (Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets)

Supporting Actor: Burt Reynolds, Boogie Nights (Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting)

Supporting Actress: Joan Cusack, In&Out (Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential)

1998

Picture: Saving Private Ryan (Shakespeare in Love)

Director: John Madden, Shakespeare in Love (Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan)

Actor: Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters (Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful)

Actress: Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth (Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love)

Supporting Actor: Ed Harris, The Truman Show (James Coburn, Affliction)

Supporting Actress: Lynn Redgrave, Gods and Monsters (Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love)

1999

Picture: The Insider (American Beauty)

Director: Michael Mann, The Insider (Sam Mendes, American Beauty)

Actor: Denzel Washington, The Hurricane (Kevin Spacey, American Beauty)

Actress: Annette Bening, American Beauty (Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry)

Supporting Actor: Tom Cruise, Magnolia (Michael Caine, The Cider House Rules)

Supporting Actress: Chloe Sevigny, Boys Don’t Cry (Angelina Jolie, Girl, Interrupted)

2000

Picture: Traffic (Gladiator)

Director: Ridley Scott, Gladiator (Steven Soderbergh, Traffic)

Actor: Tom Hanks, Cast Away (Russell Crowe, Gladiator)

Actress: Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream (Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich)

Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire (Benicio del Toro, Traffic)

Supporting Actress: Kate Hudson, Almost Famous (Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock)

2001

Picture: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (A Beautiful Mind)

Director: Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind)

Actor: Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind (Denzel Washington, Training Day)

Actress: Sissy Spacek, In the Bedroom (Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball)

Supporting Actor: Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast (Jim Broadbent, Moulin Rouge)

Supporting Actress: Helen Mirren, Gosford Park (Jennifer Connelly, A Beautiful Mind)

2002

Picture: The Pianist (Chicago)

Director: Martin Scorsese, Gangs of New York (Roman Polanski, The Pianist)

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York (Adrien Brody, The Pianist)

Actress: Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven (Nicole Kidman, The Hours)

Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken, Catch Me If You Can (Chris Cooper, Adaptation)

Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep, Adaptation (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago)

2003

Picture: Mystic River (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)

Director: Clint Eastwood, Mystic River (Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)

Actor: Bill Murray, Lost in Translation (Sean Penn, Mystic River)

Actress: Diane Keaton, Something’s Gotta Give (Charlize Theron, Monster)

Supporting Actor: Alec Baldwin, The Cooler (Tim Robbins, Mystic River)

Supporting Actress: Holly Hunter, Thirteen (Renee Zellwegger, Cold Mountain)

2004

Picture: The Aviator (Million Dollar Baby)

Director: Martin Scorsese, The Aviator (Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby)

Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator (Jamie Foxx, Ray)

Actress: Annette Bening, Being Julia (Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby)

Supporting Actor: Thomas Haden Church, Sideways (Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby)

Supporting Actress: Natalie Portman, Closer (Cate Blanchett, The Aviator)

2005

Picture: Brokeback Mountain (Crash)

Director: Paul Haggis, Crash (Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain)

Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote)

Actress: Felicity Huffman, Transamerica (Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line)

Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man (George Clooney, Syriana)

Supporting Actress:  Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain (Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardner)

2006

Picture: Babel (The Departed)

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel (Martin Scorsese, The Departed)

Actor: Peter O’Toole, Venus (Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland)

Actress: Kate Winslet, Little Children (Helen Mirren, The Queen)

Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls (Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine)

Supporting Actress: Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine (Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls)

2007

Picture: There Will Be Blood (No Country for Old Men)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood (Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men)

Actor: George Clooney, Michael Clayton (Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood)

Actress: Julie Christie, Away from Her (Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose)

Supporting Actor: Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild (Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men)

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There (Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton)

2008

Picture: The Reader (Slumdog Millionaire)

Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire)

Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (Sean Penn, Milk)

Actress: Meryl Streep, Doubt (Kate Winslet, The Reader)

Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, Milk (Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight)

Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Doubt (Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona)

2009

Picture: Avatar (The Hurt Locker)

Director: James Cameron, Avatar (Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker)

Actor: George Clooney, Up in the Air (Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart)

Actress: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious (Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side)

Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, The Last Station (Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds)

Supporting Actress: Maggie Gyllenhall, Crazy Heart (Mo’Nique, Precious)

2010

Picture: The Social Network (The King’s Speech)

Director: David Fincher, The Social Network (Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech)

Actor: James Franco, 127 Hours (Colin Firth, The King’s Speech)

Actress: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right (Natalie Portman, Black Swan)

Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech (Christian Bale, The Fighter)

Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit (Melissa Leo, The Fighter)

2011

Picture: The Descendants (The Artist)

Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo (Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist)

Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants (Jean Dujardin, The Artist)

Actress: Viola Davis, The Help (Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady)

Supporting Actor: Nick Nolte, Warrior (Christopher Plummer, Beginners)

Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo, The Artist (Octavia Spencer, The Help)

2012

Picture: Life of Pi (Argo)

Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (Ang Lee, Life of Pi)

Actor: Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables (Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln)

Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook)

Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained)

Supporting Actress: Sally Field, Lincoln (Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables)

2013

Picture: American Hustle (12 Years a Slave)

Director: David O. Russell, American Hustle (Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity)

Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street (Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club)

Actress: Sandra Bullock, Gravity (Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine)

Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave (Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club)

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle (Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave)

2014

Picture: Boyhood (Birdman)

Director: Richard Linklater, Boyhood (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman)

Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman (Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything)

Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Wild (Julianne Moore, Still Alice)

Supporting Actor: Edward Norton, Birdman (J.K. Simmons, Whiplash)

Supporting Actress: Emma Stone, Birdman (Patricia Arquette, Boyhood)

2015

Picture: The Revenant (Spotlight)

Director: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant)

Actor: Bryan Cranston, Trumbo (Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant)

Actress: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn (Brie Larson, Room)

Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, Creed (Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies)

Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs (Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl)

2016

Picture: La La Land (Moonlight)

Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (Damien Chazelle, La La Land)

Actor: Denzel Washington, Fences (Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea)

Actress: Isabelle Huppert, Elle (Emma Stone, La La Land)

Supporting Actor: Dev Patel, Lion (Mahershala Ali, Moonlight)

Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, Moonlight (Viola Davis, Fences)

2017

Picture: Three Billboards Outside, Ebbing Missouri (The Shape of Water)

Director: Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk (Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water)

Actor: Timothee Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name (Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour)

Actress: Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water (Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project (Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Supporting Actress: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird (Allison Janney, I, Tonya)

2018

Picture: Roma (Green Book)

Director: Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman (Alfonso Cuaron, Roma)

Actor: Christian Bale, Vice (Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody)

Actress: Glenn Close, The Wife (Olivia Colman, The Favourite)

Supporting Actor: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Mahershala Ali, Green Book)

Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz, The Favourite (Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk)

2019

Picture: 1917 (Parasite)

Director: Sam Mendes, 1917 (Bong Joon-Ho, Parasite)

Actor: Adam Driver, Marriage Story (Joaquin Phoenix, Joker)

Actress: Charlize Theron, Bombshell (Renee Zellweger, Judy)

Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

Supporting Actress: Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit (Laura Dern, Marriage Story)

2020

Picture: The Father (Nomadland)

Director: David Fincher, Mank (Chloe Zhao, Nomadland)

Actor: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Anthony Hopkins, The Father)

Actress: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Frances McDormand, Nomadland)

Supporting Actor: Paul Raci, Sound of Metal (Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah)

Supporting Actress: Olivia Colman, The Father (Yuh-jung Youn, Minari)

2021

Picture: The Power of the Dog (CODA)

Director: Steven Spielberg, West Side Story (Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog)

Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog (Will Smith, King Richard)

Actress: Kristen Stewart, Spencer (Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Supporting Actor: Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog (Troy Kotsur, CODA)

Supporting Actress: Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog (Ariana DeBose, West Side Story)

2022

Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Director: Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans (Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Actor: Austin Butler, Elvis (Brendan Fraser, The Whale)

Actress: Cate Blanchett, Tár (Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Supporting Actor: Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin (Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once)

2023

Picture: Poor Things (Oppenheimer)

Director: Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest (Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer)

Actor: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers (Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer)

Actress: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon (Emma Stone, Poor Things)

Supporting Actor: Ryan Gosling, Barbie (Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer)

Supporting Actress: Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer (Da’Vine Joy Randoloph, The Holdovers)

2024

Picture: Conclave (Anora)

Director: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist (Sean Baker, Anora)

Actor: Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown (Adrien Brody, The Brutalist)

Actress: Demi Moore, The Substance (Mikey Madison, Anora)

Supporting Actor: Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown (Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain)

Supporting Actress: Isabella Rossellini, Conclave (Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez)

And there you have it! My Alternative Oscar History since 1990!

2013: The Year of Sandra Bullock

It was twenty years ago that Sandra Bullock began to pop up on moviegoers radar screens with supporting roles in titles as varied as Demolition Man and Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. In the summer of 1994, she broke through in a major way costarring as one unlucky bus passenger in the smash hit Speed. Bullock was able to parlay that pic’s success and branch out to successful romantic comedies (While You Were Sleeping, Two Weeks Notice), a comedy franchise (the Miss Congeniality duo), and thrillers (The Net). There were also well-received dramatic roles: A Time to Kill, 28 Days, and Crash.

There were speed bumps as well… namely Speed 2, an unfortunate 1997 sequel. Also In Love and War, a poorly received romantic drama with Chris O’Donnell and All About Steve, a dud comedy from 2009.

However, 2009 turned out to be a watershed for Bullock. That summer, she starred in the rom com The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds. It was a massive audience pleaser. That fall, she headlined The Blind Side as a suburbanite who takes in an inner-city football phenom. The result? She won an Oscar and the pic did huge business.

Since that Oscar win, Bullock kept a relatively low professional profile, only costarring in 2011’s 9/11 drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which failed to impress audiences and most critics.

This all changed in 2013 and her year rivals the success of 2009. First off, there was the summer smash comedy The Heat, which teamed her with Melissa McCarthy in a buddy cop comedy that earned a remarkable $158 million domestically. A sequel is reportedly being sought from the studio though Bullock has yet to commit to it.

And then there’s Gravity. Released in October, this lost in space thriller was a visual game changer from director Alfonso Cuaron. It was Bullock’s performance, though, that audiences responded to. Gravity has (so far) made $250 million in the U.S. Furthermore, Bullock is on her way to a surefire Oscar nomination and possibly another win. The contest should come down to her and Cate Blanchett’s work in Blue Jasmine.

At press time, Bullock has no projects lined up other than Minions, where she’ll do voice over work for the Despicable Me spinoff coming in 2015. You can bet, though, that Bullock will continue to mix her comedic and dramatic work to great success in the future. She seems to have a formula that works brilliant for her and has earned her the title of America’s favorite actress.

2013: The Year of Tom Hanks

In 1993, Tom Hanks literally made a dramatic shift to more serious projects with Philadelphia, which brought the AIDS epidemic front and center to a more mainstream audience. For his performance, Hanks won an Oscar and forever changed moviegoers perceptions of him from a comedic actor to a jack of all trades.

The following year, Forrest Gump turned into a smash hit and Hanks would win his second Best Actor trophy in a row (a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since Spencer Tracy in the late 1930s). The rest of the 1990s would see the performer headlining one prestige project after another that connected with critics and audiences alike. Apollo 13. Saving Private Ryan. The Green Mile. Cast Away. In addition, he starred in a pair of hit rom coms with Meg Ryan – Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.

The last decade or so for Hanks could be described as spotty at best. After a mostly well-received turn in Sam Mendes’ Prohibition era pic Road to Perdition (where he cast against type as a hitman), there was Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal, which failed to make a major impression with audiences. The actor’s biggest financial successes were with adaptations of Dan Brown novels, 2006’s The Da Vinci Code and 2009’s Angels and Demons. Neither pictures were particularly beloved by critics. Of course, there was also the animated smash hit Toy Story 3 in 2010. And a supporting turn in Catch Me If You Can, another collabo with Spielberg that turned out well. However, there were disappointments as well. 2004’s Coen Bros remake The Ladykillers was a box office disappointment. 2007’s Charlie Wilson’s War was expected to be an Oscar player, but wasn’t. His directorial effort Larry Crowne costarring Julia Roberts didn’t resonate with audiences or critics. And last year’s Cloud Atlas was a financial dud domestically.

Two decades after Hanks achieved double Oscar glory, 2013 will be seen as a return to form. October’s Captain Phillips (the tale of the 2009 Somali hijacking incident) earned the actor his best reviews in years. The project (from director Paul Greengrass) gives Hanks his greatest chance for an Oscar nod in the last 13 years. He hasn’t been recognized by the Academy since 2000’s Cast Away. Audiences responded well to Phillips, too. It’s earned $102 million domestically at press time.

Captain Phillips would probably be enough to earn Hanks a spot in this blog series, but there’s another feature coming this month that should only add to his solid year. John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks casts Hanks (recently named America’s most trusted person in America) as iconic studio head Walt Disney. The film focuses on the making of 1964’s Mary Poppins and stars Emma Thompson as author P.L. Travers. Attention is already focused on Hanks receiving a Best Supporting Actor nod for his turn as Disney. If that happens, the performer may well be a double nominee as this year’s ceremony. Banks also seems likely to be a commercial hit.

While the last few years have been a mixed bag commercially and critically for Mr. Trustworthy, audiences and critics (and probably Oscar voters) entrusted Hanks at a level in 2013 not seen in a while. Hanks has no projects lined up for release in 2014, though expect Toy Story 4 and The Lost Symbol (another Dan Brown adaptation) in the future.

Part three of my six-part series on performers who had a profound impact in the movies in 2013 continues tomorrow with an actress who gave a performance that was literally out of this world.

2013: The Year of Jennifer Lawrence

This evening, I begin a six-part series focusing on six performers – three actors, three actresses – who had major impacts in the world of film in 2013. As you may have noticed, the year is winding down and soon enough we’ll have a bevy of Top Ten movie lists from critics and awards nominations being released.

So which actors shined the most this year and had significant impacts either at the box office or for awards consideration (or both)? We start with what I believe is the obvious choice – Jennifer Lawrence.

The actress began the calendar year with David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook expanding nationwide (it was released in late 2012). The film captured the hearts of moviegoers to the tune of a truly impressive $132 domestic box office take. It also garnered the attention of Oscar voters – so much so that its actors (Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver) were nominated in all four acting categories at the ceremony.

However, it was only Lawrence that was victorious as she claimed the Best Actress trophy. This was only two years after her first nomination for the indie favorite Winter’s Bone in 2010. At age 22, she had received two Best Actress nominations and one win.

Lawrence’s 2012 (with that Silver Linings performance) was equally impressive. She starred in a little something called The Hunger Games as Katniss Everdeen which opened in March 2012 and grossed an astonishing $408 million. In fall of ’12, even her critically panned horror flick House at the End of the Street took in a respectable $42 million, more than six times the cost of its meager budget.

If 2012 seemed impossible for Lawrence to improve upon, she somehow has managed to do it. First – the aforementioned Oscar win. And now – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the eagerly awaited sequel that opened two weeks ago and looks on its way to becoming the year’s top domestic grosser (it should eventually surpass Iron Man 3). As if its spectacular box office performance wasn’t enough, Catching Fire has been regarded by critics and audiences as an upgrade over the original.

And now there’s American Hustle. The actress has reteamed with Silver Linings director Russell along with Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner. The late 70s/early 80s crime drama isn’t out until December 18th, but already Lawrence’s work is being singled out as a highlight. An Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress seems a lock and it’s quite possible that she’ll win her second Academy Award in consecutive years. This is a feat not often accomplished (the last to do it was Tom Hanks in 1993/1994).

If that doesn’t constitute an amazing year in film, I dunno what does. Amazingly, Lawrence’s 2014 looks just as bright. She could collect another Oscar in the spring, she’ll return as Mystique in May’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and headline the third installment of The Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay – Part I, in November. She’s also filmed the Depression era drama Serena with her Silver Linings costar Bradley Cooper. It has yet to receive a release date, but expect it in 2014 as well.

My series on performers who had an excellent 2013 will continue tomorrow with one of America’s most trusted actors who returned to form this year as a Captain and a world famous studio head.

Box Office Predictions: December 6-8

The post Thanksgiving box office weekend is usually a fairly sluggish one and there’s only one new title joining the fray – the Christian Bale crime thriller Out of the Furnace. You can read my full prediction post on it here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2013/12/01/out-of-the-furnace-box-office-prediction/

Unless it majorly underwhelms (which is somewhat possible), Furnace is pretty much assured the #3 spot for its debut. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Disney’s Frozen appear destined to duke it out for the #1 slot.

Catching Fire is entering its third weekend and post Thanksgiving blockbusters typically drop below 50% in December’s first weekend. For instance, 2011 and 2012’s Twilight entries dipped 60% in their third frames over the same weekend. Catching Fire may not drop quite that far, but it should be close.

On the other hand, Disney’s Frozen opened at #2 over Turkey Day weekend with the best opening for the holiday of all time. Its chances of not falling over 50% seem better and, if that happens, Frozen would catapault to first and Fire would fall to second.

Thor: The Dark World should be fourth in its fifth weekend while Vince Vaughn’s Delivery Man and The Best Man Holiday should fight it out for the five spot. And with that, my predictions for this weekend’s top five:

1. Frozen

Predicted Gross: $34.8 million (representing a drop of 48%)

2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Predicted Gross: $32 million (representing a drop of 57%)

3. Out of the Furnance

Predicted Gross: $9.6 million

4. Thor: The Dark World

Predicted Gross: $5.2 million (representing a drop of 53%)

5. Delivery Man

Predicted Gross: $3.5 million (representing a drop of 49%)

As always, I’ll have final results on the blog this Sunday!

Out of the Furnace Box Office Prediction

Christian Bale headlines an all-star cast in the crime thriller Out of the Furnace from Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper. It is the only wide release coming out during the first weekend of December where moviegoers could still be preoccupied with leftovers such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Disney’s Frozen.

Beside the Dark Knight himself, Furnace costars Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker, and Willem Dafoe. Early reviews have mostly been positive (it currently sits at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes). There were some insiders who mentioned this pic for possible awards consideration though that talk has mostly fallen along the wayside. The marketing campaign has been fairly robust, but one has to wonder if audiences will rush out to see it.

A similar genre pic, Killing Them Softly with Brad Pitt, opened during the same weekend last year to highly disappointing results with only $6.8 million for its debut. That film also had mostly solid notices from critics. I believe Furnace will perform a bit better though it’s a legitimate question in my mind whether it reaches double digits or not. I’ll predict it doesn’t quite get there.

Out of the Furnance opening weekend prediction: $9.6 million

 

Box Office Results: Thanksgiving 2013

Thanks to a remarkable hold by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and a record setting debut by Disney’s Frozen, there was an extremely robust box office over the five-day holiday weekend.

Dipping only 52% from its monster debut, Catching Fire won the weekend earning $74.5 million over Friday to Sunday, easily outpacing my $56.8M projection. The sequel earned $110.2 million over the entire holiday frame and has taken in an astonishing $296 million in just ten days. Catching Fire is currently on pace to become 2013’s highest grossing title and should supplant the current winner Iron Man 3‘s $409 million domestic haul.

Disney’s Frozen now has the distinction of having the largest Thanksgiving opening of all time. It placed second with $66.7 million over Friday to Sunday and $93 million since its Wednesday debut (easily above my respective projections of $48.3M and $69.1M). With its A+ Cinemascore grade, expect Frozen to be a major player through the Christmas season.

Thor: The Dark World in its fourth weekend took in $11.1 million for third place, above my $9.5M estimate. In fourth, holdover The Best Man Holiday made $8.1 million in its third weekend, above my $7.1M projection.

Rounding out the top five is newcomer Homefront with Jason Statham and James Franco, debuting with middling results. The pic made $6.9 million over Friday to Sunday and $8.7 million over the five-day holiday frame. This is below my respective projections of $9.7M and $12.8M.

In sixth, Vince Vaughn’s Delivery Man dipped just 12% in weekend two with $6.9 million (above my $5.5M projection). Seventh place belonged to The Book Thief, which expanded its theater count and grossed $4.8 million over Friday to Sunday (below my $5.6M estimate) and $6.5 million over the five-day frame (just below my $7.2M estimate).

Where I really went wrong for the holiday weekend was my prediction for Black Nativity, the ensemble musical starring Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, and others. I predicted it would have a #3 showing with a healthy $19.3 million over Friday to Sunday and $26.8 million over the five day holiday weekend. Boy, was I wrong. Nativity managed just $3.8 million over Friday to Sunday and $5 million over Wedensday to Sunday. Whoops.

In ninth was Philomena with Judi Dench which also expanded its screen count to the tune of $3.7 million for Friday to Sunday (I predicted $3.9M) and $4.7 million for the five day (I said $5.1M).

Rounding out the top ten was 12 Years a Slave with $3 million (I incorrectly didn’t have it in the top ten).

Finally, Spike Lee’s Oldboy with Josh Brolin totally bombed for a 17th place showing with only $850,000 for Friday to Sunday and $1.2 million for the five day. I gave it a bit too much credit with respective predictions of $2.4M and $3.5M.

And there’s your Thanksgiving results. I’ll have my prediction up on the blog later today for next weekend’s only newbie, Out of the Furnace with Christian Bale.

***Blogger’s note: Any hardcore and even casual fan of the movies is frankly stunned by the news out of Hollywood involving the untimely death of Paul Walker. Just this year, I took it upon myself to watch all of the entries in the Fast and Furious franchise. I haven’t finished yet, but I certainly came to appreciate the talents of Mr. Walker, not just in that series of movies, but in Varsity Blues, She’s All That, Running Scared, and others. May he rest in peace.