Anthony J. Merced

If there’s one thing that has been proven countless times through multiple generations, it’s the fact that well marketed horror movies will always have a special place in the hearts of movie goers. The Last Exorcism is yet another movie that pulls inspiration from the famed 1973 blockbuster The Exorcist. No matter how many times the formula is washed, rinsed and repeated there always seems to be an audience for it. In 2005 The Exorcism of Emily Rose garnered 30 million dollars in its opening weekend. While this latest tale of demonic possession did not have as impressive of a showing, the profit made off of it is far from forgettable. The Last Exorcism pulled in 21.3 million making 20 times more than its production budget of 1.8 million. The Exorcism of Emily Rose had a budget of 19 million.

The success of The Last Exorcism has to be attributed partially to The Exorcist-heavy marketing campaign. The bulk of it centered around Ashley Bell, the young actress that bears a striking resemblance to Linda Blair in many of the ads. The similar night gown and contorted poses also brought to mind some of the horrifying moments of the 1973 horror masterpiece. If you’re going for shock in a film about demonic possession it is definitely wise to mimic the film that invented the genre. The Last Exorcism succeeded in not only grabbing the attention of audiences but also succeeded in setting itself apart from other supernatural duds such as 2009’s The Unborn and The Exorcist: The Beginning.

The other shock from this weekend’s numbers was Takers, a more urban version take on the Oceans Eleven franchise. The movie, held up by more hip hop artists than Hollywood star power, garnered 21 million in its opening weekend. Going into Sunday it looked like it was headed to the top of the box office charts. A late fall made the weekend a photo finish. Hayden Christensen continues to place himself in sleeper hits. Last year he was part of the sci-fi film Jumper. While it didn’t have the most impressive showing, the film spawned tremendous marketing opportunities. The impressive showing by such an unproven cast might mean we see more musical acts on the big screen, a trend that seems to wax and wane every other decade.

Two weeks in and Internet fans are crying over the lack of enthusiasm shown toward Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The heavily marketed 60 million dollar film has little hope of recouping it’s costs while in theaters. The dismal showing was compounded by the fact that Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendibles, filled with action movie stars of years past, has sat on top of the box office charts for two weeks. A common interpretation has been that people don’t understand Edgar Wright’s latest film. Another reason is that Americans have bad cinematic tastes. The only thing for certain is that movie goers have little to no interest in seeing yet another Michael Cera romantic nerd comedy.

I’d like to state that I actually really like Michael Cera. I thought that Paper Hearts was not only one of the more original concepts but also one of the most effective romantic comedies I’ve seen in quite some time. How Scott Pilgrim vs. The World failed is more of a sign of audience desire than anything else. In the 80’s and 90’s, fans were kept healthy with a heavy dose of action films. Many of which were far from making any sort of sense from a cinematic or plausibility standpoint. However, this level of fantasy is a necessity for audiences. Aside from the occasional Jason Statham Crank film, people have been left desiring more in recent years. The Expendables gave mindless entertainment seekers something to sink their teeth into. What Scott Pilgrim vs. The World represented was a new age action hero. Something that many audiences weren’t ready to accept.

Lately I’ve seen a lot of arguments that lean heavily towards the lack of internet support for the film. However, time has shown that the internet has not been able to produce a significant dollar value in the entertainment business. Television and print advertisement still dominates the medium. Whether or not that changes in the coming generation remains to be seen. Scott Pilgriim vs. The World centered heavily on an internet marketing campaign. The posters avoided descriptions of any sort of plot description or even cast members. Michael Cera’s face was usually obscured during a moment of musical enjoyment. This sort of marketing detached the everyday man or woman from being able to acknowledge what they were viewing. While the posters were quite original, they failed to do what movie posters are supposed to do… promote the film.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World could be suffering from the same thing that The Wizard of Oz suffered from or even Citizen Kane. It could be a great movie obscured by lack of interest. The DVD sales of the film will show this more than anything else. While I can’t comment on the content of the film, I can say that universally the film has been snubbed on its initial release. Whether or not this reflects the actual content is a completely different argument.

Will Ferrell comes back guns blazing, literally, after a lackluster summer opening last year. The Other Guys, also staring Mark Wahlberg, managed to rip the title of number 1 film in America away from Inception which actually held strong in its fourth week. The cop parody film garnered 35.6 million in its opening weekend, nearly doubling the amount of this year’s other cop comedy Cop Out. Last year, Will Ferrell missed the mark with a seemingly uninteresting remake of the classic television series Land of the Lost. Fortunately for him, it did not extinguish his selling potential. Of course the film is bolstered by a much stronger cast than usual for Ferrell. Along side the comedic money maker is Mark Wahlberg, who has successfully separated himself from his 90’s pop star gimmick. Now he looks to prove his versatility by taking on a slapstick role. Alongside them are fellow money makers Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. If anything, they provide the name power to put a few more butts in the seats. The Other Guys is Will Farrell’s second highest grossing opening, next to Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

With the dance film trilogy now complete, it is safe to say that Step Up 3-D did not live up to expectations. Although, I don’t know if there were any expectations going in. While, billboards littered buses and even took up large amounts of real estate in Times Square, the interest level of the film never seemed to materialize. A very dismal 15.8 million might signal the death of this dancing franchise but gives a boost to the 3-D lobbyists, providing evidence that 3-D is still attractive. In fact, 3-D screenings showed for more than 81% of Step Up’s earnings. Eliminate the high ticket price and Step Up 3-D performed well below expectations.

The blockbuster month continues this Friday as both The Expendables and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World finally hits theaters. We’ll see if the tag team of Mark Wahlburg and Will Farrell can fend of Sylvester Stallone and Michael Cera.

2012 is set to be one of the more ambitious years in comic book cinema history. Batman 3, Spiderman reboot, Green Lantern and the first Avengers film will somehow try to squeeze into the summer months in an attempt to steal viewers from one another. While it is arguable that interest is at its peak, comic book films have always been a tremendous hit or miss proposition. Unlike the horror film genre, which has seen a disappearance from cinematic relevance, the comic book genre is dependent on expensive special effects, big name actors and sometimes unfilmable source material. Their success comes down to whether or not they can break into the status of cultural phenomenon.

Last year, Watchmen was only able to garner 107 million of its 140 million dollar budget domestically. After great hype and a very loyal fan base, DC and Warner Bros. were left with a financial lemon. Early warning signs are showing that comic book films are on the steady decline. As is the case with any genre, certain franchises continue to produce. Iron Man 2 had a fantastic showing amidst sub par reviews. However, formerly successful franchises such as Spiderman, X-Men, and Superman have seen their credibility shrink under several very unconvincing performances. While certain franchises will continue to produce for years to come, it is impossible to say that audiences have not reached their limit with the comic book craze. 2 Fantastic Four movies, 2 Incredible Hulk movies, 2 Punisher movies, Daredevil, Electra, Ghost Rider, and most recently Jonah Hex have shown that audiences are not jumping into seats to see what’s next to pop off of the pages. Much like the horror genre, the lack of consistent and original material is slowly draining a very patient and forgiving audience. By 2012, filmgoers and comic book lovers will be asked to keep the genre alive.

Three weeks in and it doesn’t seem like Inception is going anywhere for the moment. The movie managed to make a little over 27 million in its third week on top of the charts. This weekend didn’t provide as much opposition as previous weeks. Dinner for Schmucks opened to a dismal 23 million dollar showing. While this is good news for Paul Rudd, who celebrates his highest grossing opening as a lead man, it doesn’t help Steve Carell who has fallen quite a bit since the days of 40 Year Old Virgin. The continued over exposure of Zach Galifianakis didn’t add a boost to a film that seemed destined for second place.

While, Dinner for Schmucks seems to suffer from more than just critical apathy, its moderate “success” cannot be understated. Get Him to the Greek, I Love You, Man and Role Models each fell short of  a bigger opening weekend. In fact Dinner for Schmuck’s opening even surpasses last year’s Judd Apatow superstar comedy Funny People. The question begs to be asked whether or not there is any star power in comedies any more. Zach Galifianakis has never been known as a draw. However his association with Steve Carell and a bit of residual Hangover magic didn’t seem to make a whole lot of difference. Perhaps the comedy formula has fallen flat. Over the top comedies such as Hot Tub Time Machine couldn’t find extreme success either. Although, its low budget makes it easier to stomach.

The coming weeks will put Inception’s reign to its ultimate test. With a continued drop off and the release of a highly marketing Will Farrell movie The Other Guys it seems that Inception’s days on top may be numbered. If it does survive on top for a fourth consecutive week, it’ll be face to face with the anticipated release of The Expendables and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.