Weekend Movie Guide (1/2/2014)

Ryan

3764 days ago.

The latest Paranormal Activity installment opens. The Wolf of Wall Street opens at MX Movies and The Wolverine is available at Redbox. It's your Weekend Movie Guide. — The latest Paranormal Activity installment opens. The Wolf of Wall Street opens at MX Movies and The Wolverine is available at Redbox. It’s your Weekend Movie Guide.

A crowded box office only welcomes one new film this weekend, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. There are several films out now that should show impressive numbers this weekend due largely to word of mouth. American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street, Saving Mr. Banks and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty have all been leaving audiences and critics satisfied.

Recapping Last Weekend

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug led the way at the box office for the third straight week with $29 million as almost $200 million was spent at theaters across the country. The sequel has now brought in $633 million worldwide of which $209 million came stateside. The first installment in the Peter Jackson-directed franchise made $246 million in its first three weeks of release at the end of 2012. Disney’s Frozen had a very strong weekend, bringing in $28.6 million in its sixth week of release. Its take was 45.6% larger than the previous weekend’s despite playing in 205 fewer theaters. Frozen is drawing very well overseas as well with 47% of its $515 million worldwide take coming outside the US. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues earned $20 million to push its total to $84 million on a $50 million budget. American Hustle took the fourth spot at the box with $19.5 million and The Wolf of Wall Street was the top-grossing opening film with $18.5 million. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opened to $12.8 million, which put it behind Saving Mr. Banks and in front of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 47 Ronin is well on its way to being a box office disaster after it opened with a $9.9 million weekend. The Keanu Reeves film is just the latest miss for Universal, which spent $175 making the film.

Justin Bieber’s Believe was a surprising flop even when you consider it was made for a paltry $5 million. The film barely grossed over $2 million in its opening weekend and stood at $4.88 million seven days after its release. Bieber’s first film, Never Say Never, opened with $29.5 million in February of 2011. Open Road Films, which produced Believe says they weren’t expecting to make big money on the film.

Opening This Weekend

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Now that the holidays are over, it’s socially acceptable to release a horror film in theaters. The fifth installment in this series is the first to get a sub-title and is also the first to be released outside of September or October. It comes on the heels of Paranormal Activity 4‘s dismal box office run of less than $54 million. The films in the franchise have pulled in a combined $350.6 million since the first installment opened back in 2009. While part of the Paranormal franchise, Marked Ones is marketed as being more of a “cousin” to the first four. If you liked the first four, you should like this one.

Opening At MX Movies

The Wolf of Wall Street will begin playing in downtown St. Louis tomorrow when it opens at MX Movies. You probably know someone who has seen this movie and described it as maybe the most intense three hours of their life. The craziest story about this movie is that it’s mostly true, at least according to Jordan Belfort’s book. The film is three hours long so plan accordingly.

Catch It Before It’s Gone

The lineup at Keller 8 is the same as last weekend, minus two holiday films. Thor: The Dark World probably has a weekend or two more in theaters. The dvd is expected to come out on February 25 and will include a special sneak peak at Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Dark World has made $629.5 million worldwide during its theater run with $427 million of that coming from foreign markets.

Make It A Redbox Night

The Wolverine is now available from the magical movie machine after grossing $132.5 million domestically in theaters. Hugh Jackman is Wolverine for the sixth time on film dating back to 2000’s X-Men. The combined box office total of the films Jackman has starred in is just shy of $2 billion.

Brought to you by Mills Properties.

Ryan

Ryan is a weird dude. He doesn't cook, yet owns a plethora of kitchen gadgets. He rationalized buying a SodaStream while unemployed. He counts Step Up 2: The Streets as one of his favorite movies along with Footloose, Rent, Grease and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. He loves Mizzou but only wants them in the SEC so he can tailgate in Nashville. He owns a ShakeWeight and AbLounger, but still loves him some John Donut and Billie's Fine Foods. You can get more of Ryan at iLoveSoulard.com or just check the stool on the far end of the bar at iTap in Soulard.