Weekend Box Office Review

The biggest success over the weekend box office continues to be Universal Picture’s “The Lorax” which racked in a stunning $70.7 million during its opening weekend alone, and pulled in another $39 million this past weekend. In comparison, Disney’s big budget action, sci-fi film “John Carter” pulled in only $30.6 million as it opened on Friday. There seems to be a trend with larger than life budget action films (Carter’s being $250 million) that seem to flop at the box office. Could it be that audiences are expecting too much, and not getting enough when it comes to thrills, a convincing story, and believable computer animation?

Family films never seem to be in dire need of a boost at the box office. Partially due to the fact that most children still get very excited about going to the movie theater and haven’t yet discovered the worlds of Netflix or internet streaming. It’s also a good excuse for parents to be able to get their children out of the house for at least a couple of hours of the week, which seems almost vital in today’s hectic world. Animated family films are ageless, and can be enjoyed by grandchildren and grandparents alike, whereas action films are more niche – an age rage which seems to be faltering when heading to theaters. The average movie-goer needs to be extra enticed these days, and if they hear through the grape vine that a movie isn’t living up to standards, their desire to attend quickly fizzles.

This is also true for the new thriller, which opened, “Silent House” – pulling in roughly $7 million cumulatively. Horror and thriller genres are never expected to be huge box office smashes, and the deep fans of the genre are always looking for the newest, most horrifying film to assuage them. When horror flicks seem to fall short, so does the attendance rate.

While it’s most likely that “The Lorax” will continue to flourish, while lagging families get to the theater to enjoy the words of Dr. Seuss brought to the big screen, films such as “John Carter” and “Silent House” may see a slight raise over the next weekend, with sales falling short of opening weekend as their time drags on. “Silent House” perhaps even seeing the fate of many indie horror films and getting dropped from the theaters weeks early.