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.
Gran Torino was superbly acted by Eastwood. The kids acting was marginal. Depicted a sort of new, pitiful brand of Americana which brings to light the reality of racism in this country – not surprisingly with levity. Everyone was equally skewered, leaving no ethnicity untouched. LOVED IT. Clint should get Best Actor next year.
This movie was great! Went to it with my 16 y/o daughter, and she agreed that it was better then The Bride Wars that we went to yesterday.
Saw this today and can honestly say that it is the greatest movie I have seen in my 16 years of life. You’ll laugh and cry. A masterpiece. How many straight 16 year old guys cry at the movies? I did.
Anyone who says they didn’t like this movie either doesn’t like Clint Eastwood or just didn’t get it. This is a superb movie and Clint is at his absolute all-time best. The movie is all at the same time…funny, poignant and eye-opening. Talk about going out with a bang! Don’t miss this one.
Wow…Clint’s finest ever.
An Academy Award Winner I’d
have to say.
Identifies much about ourselves. Got to see it
don’t wait.
This is another great movie by Mr. Eastwood and it shows not only the clashes of culture in the USA today, but also the America we are losing. This movie is funny, it’s riveting, it’s bitter sweet. Some of the young actors’ dialog didn’t quite hit their mark, but they portrayed their characters well. Eastwood doing what he does best….again. GO SEE IT!
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This is classic Eastwood at his finest. This movie would never be made with out Eastwood both starring in it and producing it. Having a dad who served in Korea, it was like they followed him around for the charter of Walt. This hits the nail head on about racism in the USA. From “spooks” to “Fish heads” to Dagos’” no one is left alone. The acting of the support cast, which they are all pretty new to making films, is ok, Clint really carried them well. The question i have is, What will be Spike Lees’ response to a movie legend that had the only “white” role in the majority of the movie? With the exception of the roles of his family, Clint was the only white actor surrounded by a cast of Hmong Vietnamese actors and actresses. This movie was very intense, flat out halirous at times and the ending was bitter sweet. Gran Torino will be added to my DVD collection and worth a second viewing while in the theatre.
I saw this film lastnight. It is simple, surprising, yet complex and great. It accurately reflects the culture I’m from, in Wisconsin. My dad is like Clint, a Korean War vet too. This movie could happen. Hats off to Clint Eastwood again, he is a master at the art of film and telling compelling stories.
Gran Torino was not a good movie, every supporting player was based upon horrible stereotypes: the asian gang in the honda, the mexican gang that didn’t like the asian gang, the group of black guys standing on the corner because of course they had nothing better to do than try to mess with the asian girl, only for her to be saved by, oh gosh, the great racist who’ll give his life for the love of some people he had just called every horible name in the book. Besides the story the acting was bad by every supporting player who even managed to ham the already hammed up dialogue. And clint, who just grunted his way through trying to be the old badass he used to be. I was very dissapointed by this one.
Jmonnnney,
You’re pretty ignorant to gang culture if you don’t believe that they are often segregated by ethnicity and race, also forming the basis for rivalries. I’d love to see you in Detroit telling a gang made up of Mexican-Americans to stop being so stereotypical, as they let out some aggression.
Clint not clint as 2 below. Onmor.
Dude…this movie was awesome. It had everything, with a bittersweet ending.
Great movie
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Gran Torino was a doorway for other races to view that no matter where we are, where we come from, how we live, there is and always going to be a huge negative force field that will bring everyone down. There will always be a positive and negative outlook to all films, this film does it because finally some people can stop asking Hmong people “What is a Hu-Mong?” I do agree that the Hmong people in the film could have contributed to actually acting with real depth. I could have helped out in creating some of the Hmong dialogue, but oh well… what is done is done. However, overall, this film does help break down the discrimination and knock down some doors for the underdogs who people has never heard of before.