September is a transition month; the leaves change, the weather cools down and filmgoers don't go to the multiplex. This much was true at least this past week. So the question falls to you, faithful reader, whether you've seen anything interesting in the multiplex these last two weeks. No? Well I haven't either, and we aren't alone.
The weekend of Sept. 7 marked Hollywood's slowest box office take in four years, with the top 10 films barely making more than $50 million. This was also the first time in four years where a film failed to break $10 million. "The Possession" led the way with a take of $9.5 million, the last top film that failed to break $10 million was 2008's "Bangkok Dangerous," which only came in at $7.8 million.
By comparison, the top 10 films last year made almost $58 million, with the surprise disaster hit "Contagion" raking in nearly $22 million. In 2010, "Resident Evil: Afterlife" opened with $26.7 million, giving the top 10 that year $58.1 million.
Not all was bad news, however, as "The Possession" was the first horror film since 2009's "The Final Destination" to hold the top box office spot for two consecutive weeks. "Lawless" also didn't completely flounder, only losing 40 percent of its opening audience for a take of $6 million. "The Words" was a big loser, however, as the writer-drama only managed to pull in $5 million on its opening weekend.
The start of September is always a little slow, and there are a few reasons for the lack of box-office flair. Schools have started again and football season just kicked back in, each of which cut in to the audiences for theaters. The summer movies also start running out, and it is still too soon for studios to back Oscar contending films. The heads of these studios want their best movies to be fresh in the minds of Oscar voters so they may gain better favor.
The previous weekend was also little cause for concern because nothing exciting really opened. "Lawless" may be able to score a supporting Oscar nomination for a few of its stars, but otherwise there were few wide-release films for audiences to get excited about. This year has also been a very strong box office year thus far, with "The Hunger Games," "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises" all bringing in huge numbers in the early going. One two-week dry spell is nothing to be worked up about.
Another reason not to fret is the weekend of Sept. 7 also marked the start of the Toronto Film Festival, which some consider to be the unofficial start of the Oscar season. Highly anticipated films such as "The Master" and "Looper" are also right around the corner, with both getting wide-release in the on Friday and Sept. 28, respectively.
From this time on, filmgoers will be treated to a wide variety of films all vying to be Oscar contenders, along with a stronger rotation of foreign films for the same reason. It will be a nice break from the action and superhero heavy lineup of summer movies that dominated America's cinemas. The summer movies are fun, but eventually more serious filmgoers crave deeper flair. The fall movie season always delivers on this promise.
This month will be a little slow, but hang in there, lovers of all things moving pictures; we will be to the land of pure award-winning fare in no time. That much is enough to get me excited for the coming few months of film, and hopefully you feel the same way.
-รก
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