Box Office Bombings: Box Office Breakdown 6/18/07

Don't mind the breaks, after all, there's always something new on the horizon in the summer movie season. Then again, some movies have a stranglehold for weeks on end. Let's see who survived the Weekend Box Office for Monday, June 18th, 2007.

1. Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
Last Week Rank: N/A
Weekend Gross: $58 million
Total Gross: $58 million
Weeks Out: 1
Musings: The sequel to the lackluster original that was overly panned by critics finds the First Family of Marvel chasing the surfer around the world. Much has been made of the simplisticness of this series and the unhappiness with the appearance of Galactus. Clearly, many geeks out there seem to forget something very important: they put the Silver Surfer on screen. Let's see if anyone imagined this would happen 10 years ago. Oh that's right, it was called the T-1000, nevermind.

2. Ocean's Thirteen
Last Week Rank: 1st
Weekend Gross: $20 million
Total Gross: $70 million
Weeks Out: 2
Musings: The increasingly strangely named series, now a trilogy based on a sequel of a remake...ok even I can't keep track of this anymore. Forget it, it's just George Clooney and friends doing what they do best: look cool. Also, Al Pacino is the bad guy. As if he could pull off a believable hero today.

3. Knocked Up
Last Week Rank: 3rd
Weekend Gross: $14 million
Total Gross: $90 million
Weeks Out: 3
Musings: The big money making live action comedy of the year so far, the alums of 40 Year Old Virgin take things a step further into parenting. Hilarity ensues, comedy that's more true to life than normal takes place, and Paul Rudd tries to take over everything.

4. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Last Week Rank: 2nd
Weekend Gross: $12 million
Total Gross: $274 million
Weeks Out: 4
Musings: The Pirates trilogy keeps chugging along, reeling in the dough. Disney has a truly bankable franchise. Unlike the Spider-Man series though, the star actually appears to want to push for the character's return. Something tells me the audiences will be sticking around with their Fastpass in hand.

5. Surf's Up
Last Week Rank: 4th
Weekend Gross: $9 million
Total Gross: $35 million
Weeks Out: 2
Musings: An interesting CGI film, apparently doesn't take itself too seriously. No heavy messages, just a fun time for kids. Also, it's yet another penguin film. Not to be confused with Happy Feet or March of the Penguins or Batman Returns. Seriously, it's Danny Devito free, so it's safe for the kids.

6. Shrek The Third
Last Week Rank: 5th
Weekend Gross: $9 million
Total Gross: $297 million
Weeks Out: 5
Musings: The ogre may be starting to wear thin on people. Not good news from the critics considering the 4th and 5th films are planned on the way. Considering it's keeping the careers of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy afloat, I think they'll keep pushing until the public has had enough. One wonders how well these films could hold up years from now, what with all the pop culture references. Clearly, it's a series for the now.

7. Nancy Drew
Last Week Rank: N/A
Weekend Gross: $7 million
Total Gross: $7 million
Weeks Out: 1
Musings: Really? They made a movie out of this, now? I can't imagine that Nancy Drew is even slightly popular at this point. I'll admit I read a few Hardy Boys books as a kid but I'm not even aching for a movie about that. I know girls need their inspirational hero film, but I don't think this is it. Looks too much like Legally Blonde (in reverse) meets Scooby Doo. Perhaps Nancy Doo? I perish the thought. [AE's Note: They are making a Hardy Boys movie. It will star...wait for it...Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise.]

8. Hostel: Part II
Last Week Rank: 6th
Weekend Gross: $3 million
Total Gross: $14 million
Weeks Out: 2
Musings: I have to give credit to this film for one major reason, I think it's the first film to use the words "Part II" since, what Back To The Future? But the point is, was anyone really wondering what other gory things could be explored with this film? I find this hard to distinguish from Saw and those kinds of movies. Slasher flicks seem to be dying and they have given rise to the gore/torture film. Now how could that possibly be disturbing in a post-9/11 world?

9. Mr. Brooks
Last Week Rank: 7th
Weekend Gross: $3 million
Total Gross: $24 million
Weeks Out: 3
Musings: Look, quick before the illusion disappears. It's Dane Cook, and he's a dramatic actor! Strange as that seems, he's apparently not that bad. To be fair, most comedians wind up being very good dramatic actors, weird how that works. Acting is easy, comedy is hard. But he's not the star and the rest of the cast is what keeps this film from being mediocre. Yes, it's apparently an interesting twisting film about a killer who, well, gets away with murder. Probably more than once.

10. Spider-Man 3
Last Week Rank: 8th
Weekend Gross: $3 million
Total Gross: $330 million
Weeks Out: 7
Musings: The webbed hero might have slung his last web in the top ten, though I'll be hard pressed to believe that it won't be here next week. Too many other films above don't have the staying power that a blockbuster like this does. Of course then everyone's already seen it. But at least they aren't like Dead Or Alive, which actually did enter the race DOA. Enjoy your direct to DVD failure. I recommend the game instead.

-Gonch