By Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times –
LOS ANGELES — With no new film proving especially intriguing at the box office, the well-reviewed “Argo” ascended to the No. 1 position after three weekends in theaters.
Ben Affleck’s political thriller claimed the top spot at the multiplex with $12.4 million, according to an estimate from distributor Warner Bros., a sign of that film’s staying power — and the sluggishness of the box office. That’s the second-lowest No. 1 of the year, just ahead of the $9.3 million that “The Possession” took in during its second weekend of release in September. Still, “Argo,” which has been in the runner-up position for the last two weekends, is well on its way to becoming a hit with a total of $60.8 million so far and raves from audiences and critics at its back.
There wasn’t much else for studios to celebrate at the box office this weekend. “Cloud Atlas,” the ambitious, nearly three-hour epic with a $102 million budget, came in with a dismal $9.4 million opening. The horror sequel “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D,” which was expected to have the highest gross of the weekend, instead started off with a lackluster $8 million.
And the weekend’s other two new films could barely lure anyone to the cinemas. “Fun Size,” the Halloween teen comedy starring Nickelodeon’s Victoria Justice, launched with a paltry $4.1 million. The Gerard Butler surfing drama, “Chasing Mavericks,” opened with an embarrassing $2.2 million.
Although Warner Bros. might be enjoying the success of “Argo,” the studio’s latest release is a major disappointment. Heading into the year, “Cloud Atlas” was one of the mostly highly anticipated films of 2012. Based on the best-selling 2004 novel by British author David Mitchell, the movie stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry and is directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings responsible for “The Matrix” trilogy.
But the movie has been met with mixed reviews since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall, and those who saw it this weekend didn’t enjoy it. The picture — which attracted a heavily older crowd, 77 percent of whom were over the age of 25 — assigned it an average grade of C-plus, according to market research firm CinemaScore.
The film did not do well this weekend in part because it didn’t attract audiences in the middle of the country.
“I’m disappointed, because we performed well in the East and the West, but in the middle we were challenged and the movie played more like an art film,” said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution, adding that ticket sales were weak in places such as St. Louis and Denver. “As you leave the bigger cities, there certainly could have been confusion about what to expect from the movie.”
The only good news for Warner Bros. is that it doesn’t have a huge financial investment in the film. The studio paid $15 million for the movie’s domestic rights, and the rest of the movie’s budget was paid for by a combination of investors including the Wachowskis, Asian sources and the German government.
Like many scary movies, the “Silent Hill” sequel received a bad average grade from moviegoers, a C-plus. Reviewers also loathed it: The film garnered a measly 7 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie’s opening was also far lower than that of the original “Silent Hill,” which premiered with $20.2 million in 2006 and ended up with about $100 million worldwide. Even with the benefit of 3-D ticket surcharges, it doesn’t appear the sequel will come close to that sum.
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies’ “Fun Size” also didn’t have a huge budget — only about $14 million. Still, the directorial debut from “Gossip Girl” creator Josh Schwartz doesn’t look as if it will be the modest hit the studio was hoping for. The picture, which earned a grade of B from audiences, features the young actress-singer Justice, known for her Nickelodeon roles, as a high schooler whose mom makes her baby-sit her brother on Halloween. Predictably, the film appealed mostly to young girls, as 67 percent of the audience was female and 73 percent was younger than 25.
Like many before her, the 19-year-old Justice might have a difficult time parlaying her television success into a movie career. Earlier this year, “Hannah Montana” veteran Miley Cyrus’ “LOL” barely got a theatrical release due to its poor reviews, and “Wizards of Waverly Place” actress Selena Gomez’s “Monte Carlo” grossed just $23.2 million domestically in 2011.
“I think there is a little bit of a transition that needs to go on for Victoria,” said Megan Colligan, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “It was a PG-13 audience, and she’s still growing her older audience.”
Although hardly anyone saw it, “Chasing Mavericks” had the best exit polls of the weekend for new films, scoring a B-plus CinemaScore. The $20 million production, which was financed by Walden Media and is being distributed by 20th Century Fox, is based on the true story of a young surfer who had an infamous wipeout during a competition.
Chris Aronson, Fox’s president of domestic distribution, said the film did well in surfside cities in both Northern and Southern California.
“Unfortunately, we have a terrific-playing movie that people actually cheer that no one went to see,” Aronson lamented.
