I know we are all a little disappointed in America for making Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted the number one movie this weekend, but at least we can take some solace in the fact that Prometheus might not have won, but it did do pretty damned well. If it means anything, it has one of the best number two debuts to date, behind only The Day After Tomorrow, Sherlock Holmes and Wanted. I guess that is good, but also feels like reaching for some good news for the film that whether we liked it or not, we all wanted to do better than Madagascar 3. However, to give Prometheus some credit, it is the summer and the Madagascar franchise has already proven to be successful with families. Also, I'm not sure how many locations they did this at, but there was a full-on carnival enticing kids to come out at the theater I went to. Perhaps for Prometheus they should have busted out some space flight simulators to compete.
I think the biggest question for Prometheus is going to be what happens to it now. There was a cult-like curiosity factor that I believe brought many people to the theaters this weekend, but with the films mixed reviews that may not translate in to big numbers in the coming weeks. In fact, it already had a 25% drop from Friday to Saturday, and if the word of mouth doesn't turn around soon, that could just keep getting worse. Disappointing for a film that had so much potential and is incredibly stunning and beautiful to watch (even in the 2D format I saw it in). However, I must say that in the end left me with more questions than answers, and not in a way that actually worked. I also wonder if Noomi Rapace can really carry a film. She was stellar in the original version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, but without the make-up and edge, I'm not sure if she is captivating enough to be the center of a big tent-pole film. I found myself waiting for the moments Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron appeared on screen which (being better characters or not) is never a good thing.
At the specialty box office, Safety Not Guaranteed was an indie film with great word of mouth and it brought in an average of $11,111 per theater. With that number, it will probably end up making pretty good money as it expands to more theaters over the next couple of weeks. I know that I think with all of the films coming out this weekend, it is the next on my list of movies to see.
Box Office
 | 1. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted $60.4 million / New / $135.9m Total Worldwide Blame the kids….they just can't resist talking animated animals that are lost in Europe. |
 | 2. Prometheus 50 Million / New / $141.5m Total Worldwide A pretty solid number for an R-rated sci-fi film and Ridley Scott's top box office opener ever. |
 | 3. Snow White & the Huntsman $23 Million / $98.5m Total Domestic / $182m Total Worldwide With two movies in the top 3 of the box office charts, I think Charlize Theron is fairest of them all right now. |
 | 4. Men in Black III $13.5 Million / $135.5 Total Domestic / $487.6m Total Worldwide Nearing the $500m mark worldwide, should we expect to soon hear about MIB IV. And, the real question: do we really want one? |
 | 5. The Avengers $10.8 Million / $571.9m Total Domestic / $1.4b Worldwide It might have fallen to the number six slot, but The Avengers have still slayed all of the competition this summer. |
 | 6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel $3.2 Million / $31m Total Domestic / $113.2m Total Worldwide A run-down hotel in India and several of the most brilliant actors England has ever produced. I'm sold. |
 | 7. What to Expect When You're Expecting $2.7 Million / $35.7m Total Domestic / $45.6m Total Worldwide I expect to never have to think about this movie again soon. Please? |
 | 8. Battleship $2.3 Million / $59.8m Total Domestic / $295.4m Total Worldwide Looking at the total worldwide market, while it bombed in the US, I'm not sure if this movie will be considered as much of a failure as we might have expected. Which is fine, as long as it doesn't encourage any more of this blockbuster awful-ness. |
 | 9. The Dictator The Dictator $2.2 Million / $55.2m Total Domestic/ $125.5m Total Worldwide "There are differences between the Wadiyan film industry and Hollywood. People say I am extravagant for using 20 trillion bottles of Fiji water every day to make snow for my ski resort in the middle of the desert, but am I the person who created 'John Carter'?" |
 | 10. Moonrise Kingdom Moonrise Kingdom $1.6 Million / $3.8m Total Domestic / $8.8m Total Worldwide If you like Wes Anderson and you like smiling and laughing then go see this movie. It makes my quirky little heart happy. |
Rated R film takes on kid-friendly PG rated film? Especially an already established animated comedy? Prometheus didn't have a big chance of winning. $50 million isn't bad but next weekend will be the real test for Prometheus, it has little new competition and needs to make another good showing.
Prometheus might be the better movie overall but it was a R rated,hard sci-fi,billed as a horror film movie. The fact it made $50 million is a great thing. This movie screamed limited (but awesome) potential since the word go and that was before they dropped it as a "alien prequel". Where it goes from here is interesting the word of mouth is solid amongst my friends, who showed 0 interest when I was talking it up but now that they here it might be good they are interested.
I understand the want to see Madagascar franchise die but it has Cars level of adoration from my younger family members blame the Penguin show on Nick.
Madagascar 3 also won over in the foreign market. Additionally audience didn't like Prometheus as it saw a big second day drop and Madagascar 3 also got good reviews.
DA DA DADADA AFRO CIRCUS!!
America, I am disappoint! Even if Prometheus reaching number 1 was something of a long, long shot.
I wonder if any teenagers pulled the old let's get a ticket to the PG-13 movie but actually see Prometheus instead trick?
@jackanderson: Prometheus has an outside chance to make #1 and since Madagascar is brand new and made for kids it's no surprise it won out.
"America let's us down"?!?
What a ridiculously huge and inaccurate generalization. I am part of America, and NO, I didn't want an average at best fanboy fueled film to "win" over anything.
Hollywood's new found awareness of the ambiguous nerd culture today is the reason why only these half-baked genre flicks get made. They can make millions because people are willing to fight for a failing franchise because the "fans" have needy nostalgia for it.
It blows my mind how this article complains that Prometheus wasn't the most profitable movie and how that's such a shame and it's just not fair, but at least we all know it's clearly the best, and then goes on to list the things that were wrong with it!
I don't mean to be attacking Stacey though, as this is something wide-spread that's just been getting worse and worse. Until we can treat this genre stuff like actual movies and not part of our fake identities that we're compelled to defend because it defines us too, we'll keep getting nothing but watered-down versions of what we once loved.
Stoopid America! Avengers should be number one until they remove it from theaters out of pity for other films.
I didn't see Madagascar nor plan to ~ I see it when it's "free on cable...", but I did feel kinda let down about what I saw in Prometheus. I saw some less than scientific things happen 'out there' in R rated space. It is a film that I left the theater feeling little about its contribution, except for the fleshing out of the universe that Alien(s) resides. If praise is to be meted out, it looks wonderful and draws you in, more so than any wallpaper on my computer and I was not bored during my viewing. The audience and I quietly watched from beginning to end, no one left too early (like the last few seconds), and most all of us chuckled at a particularly humorous spot during, but it was for me, just okay. It too I could have watched from the comfort of home after dvd release. I'm glad others enjoyed it more.
@AlKusanagi said:
And I would go and see it every weekend until then.
I think Madagascar actually deserved it. They did something almost impossible. They took a crap franchise, with only crappy to middling movies, and managed to make something good the third time around. Bravo!
Also, I really liked Prometheus so I'm glad they both did good.
@gangly: I completely agree, there seems to be no consistency with what people say versus feel. I happen to love Prometheus but I can't wrap my head around this strange mentality help by people who seemed to have relatively enjoyed the movie but it's actually more cool to be negative about it. Make up your mind, was the movie deserving of being number one or not? Is everyone just so jaded now? Seems like the cool thing to be.
I'm also quite puzzle by this, "it brings up more questions than it answers" issue. Prometheus clarifies the most important questions we had about Alien and then brings to light even more important an interesting ones. Which is awesome, now we have more to discuss and dive into. Did everyone really just want all the answers laid out on a platter? Because that's the way it seems.
@dezvous: Glad you agree, but you're making kind of the opposite point from what I was saying. What I've been seeing is that the majority of folks just thought Prometheus was okay at best, but they are hugely apologetic for it's faults. It certainly happens that a fad of being down on a film washes over the internet, but this seems more like a bunch of disappointed people refusing to accept that an alien movie made by Ridley himself wasn't that good.
@gangly: its still rocking a 74% on rotten tomatoes which is better than average its just that those who haven't liked it have been very overcritical on it since they were expecting
@gangly: I understand where you're coming from. For me that couldn't be farther than the truth however. Did you see it? I chalk it mostly up to really poor expectation management. You go in thinking it's going to be like Alien and of course you're going to be disappointed. There's a very good reason he didn't include "Alien" in the title, it really works nothing like those movies.
I just saw it as more of a common theme with people in general on the internet. Who seem to think they need to talk about things a certain way when they might feel differently. I didn't realize you were only talking about Prometheus and not just movies in general. This sort of inconsistency seems to crop up fairly often.
I saw Prometheus today, and I loved it. The visuals were stunning, and there were some truly scary scenes in it. The plot was complex, but I was able to understand what was going on. Finally, I think Noomi Rapace did a good job in the film.
@Sandor said:
It's been awhile since I've seen the first film but the second one was pretty good too. I mostly went because my wife really likes these films but you know what, I had a more enjoyable experience with this film than I did with Prometheus.
Would have loved to get a shot at Prometeus, but the local Cinemark has gone Real3D crazy. The earliest 2D showing was on at 1330 hrs and next Saturday it starts at 1440hrs. Guess, I will wait till it hits Amazon Instant Video to rent it. I'm getting really sick of the local theaters in the area.
It's quite possible to like something but see it as having flaws that lower your overall love for what could have been. It's not contrary, it's part of the downgrading. For some, it comes from expectations prior to viewing, but for others, it came from watching and evaluating the product, how it felt viewing it for a number of criteria, such as story and character logic, payoff of setup, not just a kneejerk or hip reaction. And then, not everybody reacts the same to a piece. The opposite direction can also be argued, loving something seemingly only because it is: wish fulfillment, fan service, or collectors mentality. One could like a film but because it's also part of a bigger project, elevate it's status to love or above passing not based solely on it but through the sum of its attachments. Either way, enjoy what you will, but know your audience will be cut by ratings that bar age groups.