Forget the new releases: Cinemagoers this weekend favored an old movie based on an older movie set in the old, old West.
The Coen Brothers’ True Grit triumphed at the box office after playing second fiddle the last two weekends to Little Fockers. Grit rustled up $15 million, according to boxofficemojo.com, compared to Little’s $13.8 million.
Season of the Witch, the weekend’s biggest new release, could only spirit up a meager $10.7 million. Which, perhaps, is just about right for this pretty awful movie with some pretty OK messages. Country Strong, which found its way to 1,500 theaters after some time in very limited release, climbed to sixth (just behind TRON: Legacy and Black Swan) with $7.3 million.
Hollywood didn’t make much money this weekend, with the gross down 17% from where it was the same time last year. But it may tell us something about the rapidly heating Oscar race: Five of the top 10 box-office entrants (True Grit, Black Swan, Country Strong, The Fighter and The King’s Speech) have Academy Award aspirations, and all but Country Strong have already made more than last year’s Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker, earned during its entire theatrical run. True Gritis something of an art house blockbuster (and the Coens’ most financially successful movie ever), pocketing $110 million thus far.
Which makes me wonder: Are moviemakers making better movies that appeal to the masses—movies that have both artistic and popular appeal? Or is it possible that moviegoers, for whatever reason, are gravitating to artsier movies? Don’t have the answer … just asking.
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