George Lucas has been back in the news this week, lambasting those who have criticised his constant Star Wars tinkering and lamenting the difficulties he had getting WW2 drama Red Tails distributed by a major studio.
In the end, Lucas was forced to reach into his own pocket to get the film released, so he’ll be relieved to see the Red Tails sitting in second place at the box office, with a better-than-expected $19.1 million in the bank.
It couldn’t quite manage top spot however, with that particular accolade going to Kate Beckinsale’s fantasy caper Underworld: Awakening, which took $25.4 million on its opening weekend.
Mark Wahlberg thriller Contraband remained stable in third place with $12.2 million, but Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close disappointed in fourth with a weekend of just $10.5 million.
Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire also endured an underwhelming opening of just $9 million, narrowly topping Disney’s 3D re-release of Beauty And The Beast on $8.5 million. Joyful Noise, with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, took just over $6 million to claim seventh spot.
Three festive blockbusters round out the top ten, with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes 2 and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in the bottom three places.
Next week sees Liam Neeson fighting off a pack of wolves with his bare hands in survival thriller The Grey. A recipe for box office success if ever we heard one!
Source: Box Office Mojo
Will you be giving Red Tails a spin? Let us know, below.
Comments
FBGRoberts
Jan 23rd 2012, 8:51
...Why are Americans perpetually so accepting of s**te films?! Maybe it's the American prudish culture repressing their sexual curiosity in films and so Kate Beckinsale in a 3D catsuit which follows her a**e down a ventilation shaft makes them think of Kate Beckinsale's a**e on their shaft. As long as we learn from this that 100 b***rs don't mean a film is well-made, then the world can keep turning.
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mcghater
Jan 23rd 2012, 10:36
all i think of most of the time is kate beckinsale on my shaft.....and i aint even a yank
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Indianabones
Jan 23rd 2012, 10:54
Seems like it was a bad result for Lucas, to lose out when it seems such big releases came out..........(did the sarcasm come out ok???) I'm a big fan of Kate Beckinsale, she can do no wrong in my dreams,eyes, fantasies etc....... I enjoyed the first one, 2nd one was ok, not seen the prequel, though a big fan of Rhona Mitri too, but in all honestly I think Ms Beckinsale might have a lot to do with why i enjoyed the films.
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RaveyDaveyGravy
Jan 23rd 2012, 13:07
box office is no guarantee of quality
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