Dancing and aliens couldn’t knock down the boxing robots.
Real Steel, starring Hugh Jackman, kept its top spot at the box office, although just barely. Falling a respectable 40.3% to earn $16.3 million bringing its domestic box office total to $51.7 million.
Coming in second was the remake of Footloose with $16.1 million. There is a chance that once the final tallies come out later today that #1 and #2 could switch places, but it was definitely a close call.
The Thing shape shifted its way into a disappointing third place with a meager $8.7 million. Things aren’t looking too good for this remake … what a shock.
The Ides of March, the latest George Clooney vehicle, did a pretty good job of holding on, falling 28.4% to bring in $7.5 million, bringing its domestic total for two weeks to $22.1 million.
Wrapping up the top five was Dolphin Tale which slipped a further 30.2% to bring in $6.3 million.
This week’s other semi-high profile opening for The Big Year starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson debuted in eighth place with an abysmal $3.3 million. With a so-so advertising campaign that completely ignored the bird watching premise of the story, this isn’t a huge surprise, but still ranks as one of the worst openings for all three actors.
I Don’t Know How She Does It? $32,000 this weekend bringing its domestic total to $9.569 million off a $24 million budget. This just gets uglier with each passing weekend.
Apparently this weekend was a time for folks to head to the theater and watch robots fighting it out with one another.
Real Steel, starring Hugh Jackman, made it to the top of the box office over the weekend with an estimated $27.3 million. A healthy showing for a fall debut, and exit polling was mostly positive, so it’ll probably have some life to it. Who knew people were so anxious to see boxing robots?
Coming in a distant second was George Clooney’s political drama, The Ides of March. The new film landed with $10.4 million which is squarely in the center of George Clooney movies as of late. Not a huge disappointment, but there’s a reason these sorts of films usually hit in the fall. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good political thriller … at home.
Dolphin Tale slipped 34.2% to land in third, bringing in $9.16 million. A decent performance for any film in its third weekend, and brings its domestic total to $49 million off of a $37 million budget.
The Brad Pitt vehicle, Moneyball, came in fourth with $7.5 million inching its cumulative total to $49.5 million off of a $50 million budget, so it still has some ways to go for it to hit profitability.
Rounding out the top five was the cancer drama 50/50 with an estimated fall of 36.4% to $5.5 million. Considering the dark subject matter, this is a surprising hold for the film.
And from the “movie disasters” department, the Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle, I Don’t Know How She Does It lost 505 theaters and took a 76.8% fall to a paltry $93,000. This brings the total to $9.48 million off of a $24 million budget. I don’t picture Ms. Parker getting a whole lot of work any time soon.
The awards show will air Sunday, March 7th, at 8 PM est/5 PM est on ABC in the United States, hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.
The films with the most nominations are:
Avatar – 9
The Hurt Locker – 9
Inglourious Basterds – 8
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire – 6
Up in the Air – 5
Best Motion Picture of The Year
“Avatar” A Lightstorm Entertainment Production
James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers (20th Century Fox)
“The Blind Side” An Alcon Entertainment Production
Nominees to be determined (Warner Bros.)
“District 9” A Block/Hanson Production
Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers (Sony Pictures Releasing)
“An Education” A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production
Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
“The Hurt Locker” A Voltage Pictures Production
Nominees to be determined (Summit Entertainment)
“Inglourious Basterds”
A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production
Lawrence Bender, Producer (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production
Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
“A Serious Man” A Working Title Films Production
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers (Focus Features)
“Up” A Pixar Production
Jonas Rivera, Producer (Walt Disney)
“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
A Montecito Picture Company Production
Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
Achievement In Directing
James Cameron – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)
Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)
Lee Daniels – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Jason Reitman – “Up in the Air” (Paramount with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
George Clooney in “Up in the Air” (Paramount with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company)
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)
Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Carey Mulligan in “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
Matt Damon in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine” (The Weinstein Company)
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air” (Paramount with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” (Paramount with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Best Animated Feature Film Of The Year
“Coraline” (Focus Features) Henry Selick
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Wes Anderson
“The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
“The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
“Up” (Walt Disney) Pete Docter
Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell – “District 9” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Nick Hornby – “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche – “In the Loop” (IFC Films)
Geoffrey Fletcher – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner – “Up in the Air” (Paramount with Cold Spring and DW)
Original Screenplay
Mark Boal – “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)
Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman – “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – “A Serious Man” (Focus Features)
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter – “Up” (Walt Disney)
Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy
Achievement In Cinematography
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd
“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson
“The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger
Achievement In Costume Design
“Bright Star” (Apparition) Janet Patterson
“Coco before Chanel” (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme
“Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood
“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Sandy Powell
Best Documentary Feature
“Burma VJ” A Magic Hour Films Production
Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
(Oscilloscope Laboratories)
“The Cove” An Oceanic Preservation Society Production
Nominees to be determined
(Roadside Attractions)
“Food, Inc.” A Robert Kenner Films Production
Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
(Magnolia Pictures)
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” A Kovno Communications Production
Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
“Which Way Home” A Mr. Mudd Production
Rebecca Cammisa
Best Documentary Short Subject
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” A Downtown Community Television Center Production
Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” A Just Media Production
Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” A Community Media Production
Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
“Music by Prudence” An iThemba Production
Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
“Rabbit à la Berlin” An MS Films Production
Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra
(Deckert Distribution)
Achievement In Film Editing
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
“District 9” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
“Ajami” An Inosan Production Israel (Kino International)
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” A Haddock Films Production Argentina (Sony Pictures Classics)
“The Milk of Sorrow” A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production Peru
“Un Prophète” A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production France (Sony Pictures Classics)
“The White Ribbon” An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production Germany (Sony Pictures Classics)
Achievement In Makeup
“Il Divo” (MPI Media Group through Music Box) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore
Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original score)
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Horner
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original song)
“Almost There” (Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman from “The Princess and the Frog”
“Down in New Orleans” (Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman from “The Princess and the Frog”
“Loin de Paname” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas from “Paris 36”
“Take It All” (The Weinstein Company)
Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston from “Nine”
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)”
“Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Best Animated Short Film
“French Roast” A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production
Fabrice O. Joubert
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” A Brown Bag Films Production
Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
(Brown Bag Films)
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production
Javier Recio Gracia
“Logorama” An Autour de Minuit Production
Nicolas Schmerkin
(Autour de Minuit)
“A Matter of Loaf and Death” An Aardman Animations Production
Nick Park (Aardman Animations)
Best Live Action Short Film
“The Door” An Octagon Films Production
Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
(Network Ireland Television)
“Instead of Abracadabra” A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production
Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
(The Swedish Film Institute)
“Kavi” A Gregg Helvey Production
Gregg Helvey
“Miracle Fish” A Druid Films Production
Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
“The New Tenants” A Park Pictures and M & M Production
Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
Achievement In Sound Editing
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson
“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Wylie Stateman
“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Silvers and Tom Myers
Achievement In Sound Mixing
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson
Achievement In Visual Effects
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
“District 9” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton
Art Direction
“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
“Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
“Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray
Scattercast is 35 and in full-blown mid-life crisis.
- PETA is drinking the crazy juice again. This time? They want George Clooney’s sweat to make CloFu… tofu infused with his sweat. No… I am not kidding.
- Somehow I find a way to connect Natsha Richardson’s death with the New Jersey ban on Brazilian waxing. It’ll make sense when you hear it.
That’s it for this week… there may be a surprise during the week next week!
Here’s
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Dancing and aliens couldn’t knock down the boxing robots.
The 
Scattercast is 35 and in full-blown mid-life crisis.
