Weekend Box Office Results for August 17-19, 2012

Weekend Box Office Results for August 17-19, 2012

Everything went according to expectations, except that the total market was a bit less robust than anticipated. The Expendables didn't make it to $30m, but it made $29M. ParaNorman, Sparkle and Timothy Green grossed $14M, $12M and $11m, respectively, placing them 3-5-7.

The Bat crossed $400m with a sixth place finish.

Total Recall, although still in 2400 theaters, dropped pretty much off the map.

Something called 2016: Obama's America had the second-highest gross per theater, taking in $7000 per location, an average topped only by The Expendables. It finished 13th despite being in only 169 theaters. Amazingly, given that I had never heard of it, it has been around for six weeks, gaining theater count each week. Variety calls it, "a sort of Cliff's Notes precis of the conservative case against [Obama]."

By the way, Sparkle defied my expectations and earned 56% positive reviews! (Roger Ebert gave it three stars.) Most of the critics who praised it were impressed with the musical numbers and the film's visual pizzazz. The negative reviews focused on the melodramatic, hokey cliche of a plot. Village Voice wrote about its "Tyler Perry-like soap operatics and much jawing about the Lord, riots in the Motor City, marriage proposals, and maternal heartbreak and disapproval."