Lorax Defeats Carter
It was another remarkable weekend for The Lorax, Universal's Dr. Seuss adaptation, whose two-week haul is now $122 million. Disney, however, has a massive disappointment on its hands with John Carter, a $250 million space opera from Pixar director Andrew Stanton, which earned a paltry $30 million.
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1. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (Universal): $39.1 million in 3,746 theaters [Week 2]
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The movie has just surpassed The Vow to become the biggest-earner of 2012, and with Mirror, Mirror the only other family film on the horizon, it could easily surpass $200 million. And all this despite the dismal failure of Starbucks' "Bagels, Cream Cheese and Lorax" promotional menu tie-in. Go, Lorax!
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2. John Carter (Buena Vista): $30.6 million in 3,749 theaters
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Yikes -- heads will roll on this one. Hollywood is whispering the fault lies in the film's vague marketing, but I'd go one step further and put the blame on that title. Who spends $250 million on a movie and then calls it "John Carter?" Everyone knows your space hero needs a fun, sound-effecty name. Buzz Carter! Flash Carter! Zoom Carter and the Legend of Barsoom! Work with me, people!
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3. Project X (WB): $11.55 million in 3,055 theaters [Week 2]
If Cloverfield and Can't Hardly Wait had a teen pregnancy, Project X would be it. Amazingly, there's an audience for that kind thing.
4. Silent House (Open Road Films): $7.01 million in 2,124 theaters
Audiences mostly ignored this psychological thriller from the directors of Open Water, starring Elizabeth Olsen as "Sarah, a young woman who finds herself sealed inside her family's secluded lake house, and is slowly nipped to death by hungry sharks circling around the living room."
5. Act of Valor (Relativity): $7 million in 2,951 theaters [Week 3]
6. A Thousand Words (Paramount): $6.35 million in 1,890 theaters
The second flop story of the weekend is Eddie Murphy's latest cinematic turd (0% on Rotten Tomatoes is no mean feat). Even the promise of a strict dialogue-cap couldn't lure in the customers. On the plus side, at least we didn't have to endure his plugs for the film at the Oscars.
