It seems that the movie-going public is still insatiable for the found-footage films that has been a trend in films lately as another one in the genre topped the weekend box office.
It’s the doldrums for film fans at this time of year, but it seems that even though the Super Bowl was the talk of the world this weekend, a found-footage film about three teenagers who get superhuman powers was the box office winner. The film fought it out with the horror movie starring the former Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.
Chronicle is the story of three teenagers who find a strange hole in the ground that, inside, contains a mysterious object that gives them superhuman powers. At first, they engage in a bunch of teenage pranks, but then things get dangerous when one of them, emotionally disturbed, begins to take out his frustrations with the world on everyone around him. The film fought neck-and-neck with The Woman in Black, but came away the clear winner. The movie made $22 million domestically and another $13 million worldwide for a global total of $35 million.
Some say that the weather in the northeast, plus preparations for the Super Bowl, may have affected the overall box office for the weekend. There was also severe snow storms across much of northern Europe that may have also affected the global box office.
The victory for Chronicle was a narrow one. The Woman in Black just narrowly lost out by earning $21 million. The movie is the first outside the Harry Potter franchise for Radcliffe. It’s a haunted house tale about a man staying in a home haunted by a vengeful female ghost.
Chronicle might end up the biggest winner. The budget for the film was somewhere around $12 million, not including the publicity. It has no big stars in it, so already much of its cost has been recouped.
The other big motion picture that opened this weekend was Big Miracle. The family-friendly story about a small town in Alaska attempting to save a group of gray whales trapped in the ice did not resonate at the box office. It came in fourth place, earning just $8.5 million. The movie cost an estimated $40 million to produce.
In third place was the Liam Neeson actioner The Grey which opened in first place the week before. It lost only about 52% of its prior weekend’s box office. It earned an estimated $9.5 million for the weekend.
Photo courtesy of Morguefile.com
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
