"Dolphin Tale" (Warner Bros.)
A spunky romantic comedy, a mindbending suspense/thriller featuring Oscar winning talent, and one of the best received films of the year about a young cancer patient struggling with a life-altering diagnosis all could not match the interest and appeal of dolphins, baseball, animated lions, and Christian firefighters this weekend. As box office receipts were tallied, Warner Bros. “Dolphin Tale” swam past “The Lion King 3D” and “Moneyball” and took the top spot at the box office this weekend, tallying $13.9 million in its second weekend of release.
For Warner Bros., “Dolphin Tale””s victory over the weekend was sweet vindication for a film and a project that seemed to be frozen out of its potential box office success by Disney’s surprising reception for their “Lion King 3D” re-release, which I reported on last week. After initially claiming they would not hold “The Lion King 3D” in theaters for a third weekend, after winning the previous two weekend box office crowns, Disney went for the trifecta and but became victims of attrition and perhaps, ironically, their own marketing. With “The Lion King 3D” arriving on home video today, October 4, 2011, the inevitable television campaign certainly stunted attendance. While “Dolphin Tale” did not deliver a strong per screen average, the inspirational family drama did hold off “Moneyball” and four new contending films. One of which, quickly and against expectations, became the talk of the weekend. Read more on Box Office Final: Resilient “Dolphin” Swims Past The Pack……
Tags: analysis, box office report, Courageous, Dolphin Tale, Dream House, Margaret, Moneyball, Sarah Palin - You Betcha!, Take Shelter, The Lion King 3D, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, What's Your Number?
