Film critic Pauline Kael, New York Times photo.
Two Questionable Remakes …
… couldn’t topple “Real Steel” from its perch atop the box office heap. Nonetheless, box office receipts were down nearly 8 percent over the weeekend, a suggestion that filmgoers weren’t too excited with the flicks on offer this weekend. Courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo, here’s the weekend by the numbers:
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count / Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | 1 | Real Steel | BV | $16,304,000 | -40.3% | 3,440 | – | $4,740 | $51,744,000 | – | 2 |
| 2 | N | Footloose (2011) | Par. | $16,100,000 | – | 3,549 | – | $4,536 | $16,100,000 | $24 | 1 |
| 3 | N | The Thing (2011) | Uni. | $8,700,000 | – | 2,996 | – | $2,904 | $8,700,000 | – | 1 |
| 4 | 2 | The Ides of March | Sony | $7,500,000 | -28.4% | 2,199 | – | $3,411 | $22,154,000 | – | 2 |
| 5 | 3 | Dolphin Tale | WB | $6,345,000 | -30.5% | 3,286 | -192 | $1,931 | $58,672,000 | $37 | 4 |
| 6 | 4 | Moneyball | Sony | $5,500,000 | -26.2% | 2,840 | -178 | $1,937 | $57,712,000 | $50 | 4 |
| 7 | 5 | 50/50 | Sum. | $4,315,000 | -23.7% | 2,391 | -88 | $1,805 | $24,334,000 | $8 | 3 |
| 8 | 6 | Courageous | TriS | $3,400,000 | -30.2% | 1,214 | +53 | $2,801 | $21,378,000 | $2 | 3 |
| 9 | N | The Big Year | Fox | $3,325,000 | – | 2,150 | – | $1,547 | $3,325,000 | – | 1 |
| 10 | 7 | The Lion King (in 3D) | BV | $2,708,000 | -41.1% | 1,970 | -297 | $1,375 | $90,452,000 | – | 5 |
And writing in The New York Times over the weekend, A.O. Scott and Mahnola Dargis consider the life and legacy of film critic Pauline Kael, who’s the subject of a new biography.
As ever, here’s the nut graf (from Scott):
“I think Kael is remembered not for her particular judgments or ideas, but rather for her voice, for an outsized literary personality that could be enthralling and infuriating, often both. A lot of people read her for the pleasure of disagreement, and the resentment she was able to provoke — in critical targets and rival critics — is surely evidence of power. An awful lot of our colleagues are still, in both senses, mad about her. To reread her is to understand why.”
Read the full story here.
The Cineaste's Lament. 
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