Good Monday Morning, Everyone.
Critical brickbats didn’t keep Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” from ruling the box office over the weekend. The anti-corporatism parable took in a quite capitalist $70.7 million, propelling a 34.4 percent improvement in receipts over the weekend previous. And “The Artist” got its Oscars bump, finishing the weekend in 10th place, after languishing in 15th the weekend before.
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo, here’s the weekend, by the numbers:
| 1 | N | Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax | Uni. | $70,700,000 | – | 3,729 | – | $18,960 | $70,700,000 | $70 | 1 |
| 2 | N | Project X | WB | $20,775,000 | – | 3,055 | – | $6,800 | $20,775,000 | – | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | Act of Valor | Rela. | $13,700,000 | -44.0% | 3,053 | +14 | $4,487 | $45,239,000 | $12 | 2 |
| 4 | 4 | Safe House | Uni. | $7,200,000 | -34.1% | 2,553 | -499 | $2,820 | $108,200,000 | $85 | 4 |
| 5 | 2 | Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds | LGF | $7,000,000 | -55.1% | 2,132 | – | $3,283 | $25,745,000 | – | 2 |
| 6 | 3 | Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | WB | $6,925,000 | -48.3% | 3,060 | -290 | $2,263 | $85,611,000 | $79 | 4 |
| 7 | 5 | The Vow | SGem | $6,100,000 | -38.5% | 2,826 | -212 | $2,159 | $111,712,000 | $30 | 4 |
| 8 | 7 | This Means War | Fox | $5,625,000 | -33.2% | 2,342 | -847 | $2,402 | $41,464,000 | $65 | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Sony | $4,700,000 | -47.8% | 2,487 | -687 | $1,890 | $44,881,000 | $57 | 3 |
| 10 | 13 | The Artist | Wein. | $3,900,000 | +34.2% | 1,756 | +790 | $2,221 | $37,088,000 | $15 | 15 |
The New York Times has finally figured out that there’s a big-screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “John Carter” tales in the works and it hits movie theaters this week. The paper takes a look at the hero’s pulp legacy and a possible resurgence in the print titles.
Here’s the nut graf:
“The Library of America plans to reissue “Princess of Mars” in April with an introduction by Junot Diaz, an unusual elevation for a book that began as a pulp serial and whose appeal remains a kind of cheerful boys’ adventure romanticism. Seldom, if ever, out of print, “Princess” has enjoyed a remarkable shelf life not so much in libraries or classrooms as in the cluttered, dreamy, overheated minds of teenage boys and certain grown-ups. Out of nostalgia or affection they have preserved that part of their mental storeroom from housecleaning and have not only made early editions of the John Carter books into expensive collector’s items, but have also extended the character into fan fiction online.”
The Cineaste's Lament. 