Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden thriller “Zero Dark Thirty,” Steven Spielberg’s Civil War epic “Lincoln” and Christopher Nolan’s superhero tale “The Dark Knight Rises” are among the American Film Institute’s top-10 movies of the year.
Also on the AFI top-10 announced Monday: Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage-crisis drama “Argo”; Benh Zeitlin’s low-budget hit “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; Quentin Tarantino’s slavery saga “Django Unchained”; Tom Hooper’s Victor Hugo musical “Les Miserable”; Ang Lee’s shipwreck story “Life of Pi”; Wes Anderson’s first-love romance “Moonrise Kingdom”; and David O. Russell’s misfit love story “Silver Linings Playbook.”
The AFI also picked its top 10 television shows for the year: “American Horror Story;” ”Breaking Bad;” ”Game Change;” ”Game of Thrones;” ”Girls;” ”Homeland;” ”Louie;” ”Mad Men;” ”Modern Family;” and “The Walking Dead.”
Creative ensembles for the films and TV shows will be honored Jan. 11 at a luncheon in Los Angeles.
“Red One” Tops Weekend Box Office With $34.1 Million
Moviegoers were not exactly feeling the Christmas spirit this weekend, or at least what "Red One" was offering. The big budget, star-driven action comedy with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans sold $34.1 million in tickets in its first weekend in theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It easily topped a box office populated mostly by holdovers.
For traditional studios, a $34.1 million debut against a $200 million+ production budget would be a clear indication of a flop. Some even peg the budget closer to $250 million. But "Red One" is an Amazon MGM Studios release and they have the luxury of playing the long game, accounting not only for global box office where Johnson tentpoles often overperform, but its life on Prime Video for years to come.
"Red One," in which Johnson plays Santa's bodyguard, was also originally built to go straight-to-streaming. There's a narrative that the theatrical earnings are not only just a bonus, but that it's an additive gesture towards struggling theaters looking for a consistent stream of new films. The first major studio holiday release since 2018, "Red One" opened on 4,032 screens, including IMAX and other large formats, on an otherwise quiet weekend for major releases.
Warner Bros. is handling the overseas release, where it has made an estimated $50 million in two weekends from 75 territories and 14,783 screens.
Still, it's certainly not a theatrical hit in North America. Even "Joker: Folie à Deux" made slightly more in its first weekend. "Red One," directed by Jake Kasdan and produced by Johnson's Seven Bucks, was roundly rejected by critics, with a dismal 33% Rotten Tomatoes score. Jake Coyle, in his review for The Associated Press, wrote that it "feels like an unwanted high-priced Christmas... Read More