So, in the weekend that Steven Soderbergh’s terrific action picture “Haywire” opens wide, audiences flock to two terrible, horrible, no-good movies: “Underworld: Awakening” and “Red Tails“, which placed first and second on the charts with $25.1 million and $19.1 million, respectively.
“Haywire” opened in fifth place with a gross of $9 million, behind “Contraband” — which dropped from first place with $12.2 million — and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”, which opened wide to $10. 5 million take.
Look, I know it’s January and pickings are slim, but come on, people. Demand better.
Some of us demand better, but I doubt my ticket sale next weekend for Coriolanus will impact on the box office draw of Kate Beckinsale in a skin-tight costume. It is, however, one of the few movies recently that has my psyched to see it on the big screen.
Also, part question/part gripe, when did movie etiquette change? Admittedly I don’t get out to movies much, but last time my daughter and I went to see a movie, someone came and snarled at us to be quiet. During the commercials. Not the coming attractions. Definitely not the movie. (We wouldn’t have been talking during them at all.) The commercials! I’ve been more polite shushing people during the actual movie. I need to know before Coriolanus if theaters suddenly became churches or libraries. Or did I just have the bad luck to sit near someone whose frustrated lifelong ambition was to be an obnoxious usher? (Gripe over.)