I’ve been telling people to see “Slumdog Millionaire” ever since it was released in West Michigan, now it seems that the Golden Globes wins, the Oscar nominations, and national advertising is working.  The movie saw an 83% increase in ticket sales from last weekend, which was already up 55%  than the weekend previous.

Also seeing a Golden Globes/Oscar bounce, the audience for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” grew 9% from last week.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):
1. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $21.62 million
(2nd week at #1, lost 32% from last week)

2. “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” – $20.82 million (1st week)

3. “Gran Torino” – $16.24 million
(3rd week of wide release, was #2 last week, lost 26% from last week)

4. “Hotel for Dogs” – $12.86 million
(2nd week, was #5 last week, lost 24% from last week)

5. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $10.70 million
(11th week, was #10 last week, gained 83% more audience from last week)

6. “My Bloody Valentine” – $10.01 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 53% from last week)

7. “Inkheart” – $7.60 million (1st week)

8. “Bride Wars” - $6.87 million
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 41% from last week)

9. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $6.09 million
(5th week, was #11 last week, gained 9% more audience from last week)

10. “Notorious” – $5.78 million
(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 72% from last week)

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11. “Defiance” - $5.67 million
(2nd week of wide release, was #8 last week, lost 36% from last week)

12. “Revolutionary Road” – $5.19 million (1st week of wide release)

13. “The Unborn” – $4.36 million
(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 53% from last week)

14. ”The Wrestler” – $3.75 (1st week of wide release)

15. “Marley & Me” – $3.03 million
(5th week, was #9 last week, lost 50% of audience from last week)

18. “Bedtime Stories” – $1.95 million
(5th week, was #12 last week, lost 59% of audience from last week)

26. “The Dark Knight” – $0.67 million
(IMAX re-issue, total gross now $531.71 million, still $69 million behind “Titanic”, the #1 domestic movie of all time)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was number one… by more than $10 million dollars over second place “Gran Torino”.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):
1. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $31.83 million (1st week)

2. “Gran Torino” – $21.98 million
(2nd week of wide release, was #1 last week, lost 26% from last week)

3. “My Bloody Valentine” – $21.24 million (1st week)

4. “Notorious” – $20.50 million (1st week)

5. “Hotel for Dogs” – $17.01 million (1st week)

6. “Bride Wars” - $11.65 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 45% from last week)

7. “The Unborn” – $9.34 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 53% from last week)

8. “Defiance” - $8.91 million (1st week of wide release)

9. “Marley & Me” – $6.14 million
(4th week, was #4 last week, lost 46% of audience from last week)

10. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $5.85 million
(10th week, was #11 last week, gained 55% more audience from last week)

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11. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $5.78 million
(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 39% of audience from last week)

12. “Bedtime Stories” – $4.73 million
(4th week, was #6 last week, lost 46% of audience from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Bride Wars” and “The Unborn” also pushed “Marley & Me” out of its two weeks at number one.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):
1. “Gran Torino” – $29.48 million (1st week of wide release)

2. “Bride Wars” - $21.06 million (1st week)

3. “The Unborn” – $19.81 million (1st week)

4. “Marley & Me” – $11.39 million
(3rd week, was #1 last week, lost 53% of audience from last week)

5. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – $9.21 million
(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 49% of audience from last week)

6. “Bedtime Stories” – $8.80 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 58% of audience from last week)

7. “Valkyrie” – $6.62 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 53% of audience from last week)

8. “Yes Man” – $6.03 million
(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 56% of audience from last week)

9. “Not Easily Broken” – $5.31 million (1st week)

10. “Seven Pounds” – $3.82 million
(4th week, was #6 last week, lost 61% of audience from last week)

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11. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $3.78 million (limited release: just 601 theaters)
(9th week, was #10 last week, lost 21% of audience from last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“The Spirit” followed up its poor opening weekend by dropping to 13th (losing 49% of its audience) during a weekend with no wide releases (that’s a red flag movie go-ers !!!).

There were 27% fewer people ($130 million) at the movies over the New Year’s weekend compared to the big Christmas weekend ($179 million).

TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated): 
1. “Marley & Me” – $24.05 million
(2nd week at #1, lost 34% of audience from last week)

2. “Bedtime Stories” – $20.32 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 26% of audience from last week)

3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - $18.40 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 32% of audience from last week)

4. “Valkyrie” – $14.04 million
(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 33% of audience from last week)

5. “Yes Man” – $13.85 million  
(3rd week, was #5 last week, lost 17% of audience from last week)

6. “Seven Pounds” – $10.00 million 
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 24% of audience from last week)

7. “The Tale of Desperaux” – $7.02 million 
(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 21% of audience from last week)

8. ”Doubt″ – $5.03 million
(4th week, was #10 last week, lost 6% from last week)

9. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – $4.85 million
(4th week, was #8 last week, lost 37% of audience from last week)

10. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $4.77 million (limited release: just 612 theaters)
(8th week, was #13 last week, 11% more audience than last week)

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11. “Twilight”  – $4.53 million
(7th week, was #12 last week, lost 5% from last week)

13. “The Spirit” – $3.27 million
(2nd week, was #9 last week, lost 49% from last week)

15. ”Gran Torino″ – $2.82 million (limited release: just 84 theaters)
(4th week, was #15 last week, 21% more audience than last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

The life story of a dog “Marley & Me” and the life story of a man who ages backwards “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” take first and third place, while Adam Sandler’s family movie was second and Tom Cruise’s nazi-era drama was fourth.

TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 
1. “Marley & Me” – $37.00 million  (1st week)

2. “Bedtime Stories” – $28.07 million  (1st week)

3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - $27.00 million  (1st week)

4. “Valkyrie” – $21.53 million  (1st week)

5. “Yes Man” – $16.45 million  
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 10% of audience from last week)

6. “Seven Pounds” – $13.40 million 
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 10% of audience from last week)

7. “The Tale of Desperaux” – $9.37 million 
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 7% of audience from last week)

8. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – $7.90 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 20% of audience from last week)

9. “The Spirit” – $6.51 million (1st week)

10. ”Doubt″ – $5.68 million
(3rd week, was #15 last week, gained 733% more audience than last week, added 1,228 theaters)

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11.  “Four Christmases”  – $5.05 million
(5th week, was #5 last week, lost 35% from last week)

12. “Twilight”  – $4.52 million
(6th week, was #6 last week, lost 13% from last week)

13. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $4.45 million (limited release: added 25 theaters)
(7th week, was #8 last week, 45% more audience than last week)

15. ”Gran Torino″ – $2.44 million (limited release: added 65 theaters)
(3rd week, was #18 last week, 421% more audience than last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

This suprisingly touching movie might not be what you think from the previews – it is not a feel good cheery Christmas flick - this is a movie that relentlessly goes after your emotions to get you to cry, anyone who’s had a pet will be touched and moved, no matter how much you fight it, you’ll get teary eyed.
 “Marley & Me”

(2008) (rated: PG for thematic material, some suggestive content and language) (2 hrs)

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin, Nathan Gamble

Director: David Frankel

Genre: Romance/Drama/Comedy

The Plot: A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.

MY TAKE (minor spoilers): This movie centers around a couple through the years as Marley grows up and the couple John (Wilson) and Jen (Aniston) has three kids that become very close with Marley.

But Marley isn’t a great dog… several times in the movie he’s referred to as “the world’s worst dog”.

In the beginning, the story is set in “southern Michigan” as John and Jen get married on a snowy day, John was working at the Kalamazoo Gazette after going to college at Western Michigan University.

The couple moves to Florida where both get new jobs at different papers, Jen the more successful of the two as John ends up writing police blotter before switching to a columnist.

The story of Marley ruining everything becomes the central theme of his columns.  The title of “world’s worst dog” is helped by a scene where Marley tackles a rough looking Kathleen Turner as the obedience school instructor.   Marley also fits the bill when a housesitter says ”Marley is not a dog, he’s evil with a dog face that’s humping my leg and peeing on your carpet”.

Marley & Me is all about a couple getting through the struggles of life as John and Jen have three kids and move two more times to Boca and then to Philadelphia, all with Marley in tow, but as the family gets bigger Marley’s role gets smaller and the focus of John and Jen turn to their kids and John’s job.

The movie is charming and emotional – intricately weaving a web for the audience to fall in love with Marley the dog despite his issues, so you end up loving him especially as he gets older and is less of a troublemaker.

Aniston and Wilson have good chemistry as the couple, and while Wilson sort of plays this role like all his other comical/ slightly awkward roles, Aniston seems to pull a little more serious acting into this role, much like her turn in The Good Girl (2002).

Alan Arkin plays the editor of John’s newspaper in Florida, he’s a solid addition to the cast and puts in a good turn in the mentor role.

One of the movie’s flaws other than Owen’s traditional acting style is that we see about a 12 year span in this movie… Marley gets older with different dogs playing the title role, the kids get older with different child actors, but John and Jen don’t (they even celebrate his 40th birthday)… and there’s not even an obvious attempt to make them look older.

Also, Marley & Me overtly attacks your emotions and doesn’t let up, taking a turn from the charming and adorable to the surprisingly emotional.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  If you’ve ever had a pet… you’re done… you’ll shed a tear during Marley & Me… I give it 7.5 out of 10… as it embraces and celebrates the unconditional love only a pet can give.

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

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“…” poster courtesy

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