A huge February opening for “The Lego Movie,” which rode enthusiastic reviews and the eagerness of millions of Lego-loving kids to an epic $69 million opening this past weekend.
Yeah. Wow.
Witty script by the “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” team, cute music and a clever tune by Mark Mothersbaugh and a generally subversive vibe may be what adults pick up on. Kids? Who knows? Will Arnett as Batman scores laughs, Morgan Freeman doing a Gandalf/Obi Wan thing worked, Will Ferrell as the villain — the biggest opening weekend for most of those guys.
“The Monuments Men” wasn’t good enough to roll out during the run-up to Oscar nominations. Reviews — weak — reflected that. But it still drew $22 million worth of grown up film fans, not bad considering.
“Vampire Academy” played like a clever riff on the whole Buffy/Potter/Twilight thing — teens coping with and enjoying the fruits of being supernatural. Problem 1) They didn’t spend the money to get a better cast. Problem 2) They failed to promote it, treated it like damaged goods and critics responded accordingly. I’ve seen worse, but The Weinstein Co. botched this rollout entirely. Nobody went. Just over $4 million. Sequels? Maybe. They don’t cost anything.
“Ride Along” cleared $100 million, “Lego” didn’t kick “Frozen” or “Nut Job” out of the top ten.