Clint Eastwood’s latest action-drama, Gran Torino, cruised into first place as the weekend box office race got underway, grossing $9.6 mil on Friday. The movie had been a hit in limited release, banking more than $10 mil since its premiere last month; this is its first weekend playing wide. Close behind were two newcomers — the horror flick The Unborn and the Anne Hathaway-Kate Hudson comedy, Bride Wars, each coming in around $8 mil on Friday. The weekend’s other major release, Not Easily Broken, had a solid first-day take of $2 mil. Friday’s rankings are below, and please check back on Sunday for a full weekend wrap in our Box Office Report.
1. Gran Torino — $9.6 mil
2. The Unborn — $8.2 mil
3. Bride Wars — $8.1 mil
4. Marley & Me — $3.2 mil
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — $2.9 mil
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Gran Turino deserves to be #1 this weekend. Time will tell if it is, since there was much more marketing for Bride Wars. And the Unborn is just another January horror flick that could be the darkhorse. But when it comes to which movie deserves it, it’s Gran Turino. Eastwood has another fantastic film to his credit now.
I’ll watch Clint Eastwood cracking some skulls over a Kate Hudson flick any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Oh God. Haaaated Gran Torino. The last 10 minutes were so ridiculously overwrought with sentimentality and hackney symbolism to the point where someone in a fit of wide-eyed amazement couldn’t hold in that, *gasp* “He’s like Jesus!” Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Painful.
The only thing more painful was the child’s acting when he’s trying to get out of the basement. “Walt. Don’t leave. Walt. Come back here. Waaaaaaalt.”
1)Gran Torino: $23 million
2)The Unborn: $19 million
3)Bride Wars: $18 million
4)Marley & Me: $9 million
5)Benjamin Button: $7 million
(with Bedtime Stories right behind it)
This is classic Eastwood; the unnamed cowboy and dirty Harry matured into an old man. This story carries a lesson about America, about the changing times, that a person must allow time to fully grasp. Thanks Clint – I mean Mr. Eastwood.
This is classic Eastwood. It is the unnamed cowboy and dirty Harry in the form of an old man. The story is about a changing America, a changing time and culture. A person must allow the message time to settle in, to teach. Great movie. I’ll see it again tomorrow.
Fantastic! It deserves to be number one, it’s a wonderful film.
Gran Turino was great. Clint Eastwood at 78 shows what it is like to be a great actor at any age. He is not afraid to take chance with a role. Will buy it when it comes out on DVD
So when are people going to acknowledge that Eastwood is just as big a box office draw as most of the actors half his age?
I believe that people are going to see Gran Torino since this will be Clint Eastwood’s last acting role. He will continue directing movies, but not act. They want him to go out on top by making this movie No. 1. It’s received good to excellent reviews so far.
Gran Torino is an awesome film. It deserves an Oscar nom for Best Picture.
Gran Torino’s a great film. I didn’t expect to like it, but it’s really entertaining. I wouldn’t say Clint goes far out of his comfort zone, but who cares. And a movie like this with a cast like this and a plot like this would never get made if it didn’t have the power and influence of Eastwood behind it.
If Eastwood wasn’t in it, Gran Torino wouldn’t have done as well. I just saw it today and I thought it was just okay.
I went to see Gran Turino with no other expectation than to be entertained. I was.