Officially Top 10 all-time

TF2 has now gone through it's 5th weekend of release, and is now officially in the top 10 all-time in domestic earnings, sitting at #10 and at $379,214,172. It's just a little over $1 million behind the #9 movie, so it should actually pass it with today's (Monday) take. At #8 is Spiderman, which will be just about where TF2 finishes it's run. If it manages to pass it, TF2 won't get too far beyond it, so I'm going to go ahead and predict that when it's all said and done, TF2 will be the #8 movie all-time. TF2 actually is $4 million ahead of where I though it would be at this point, so now I think that it will be right at $388 million after next weekend.

Critics just can't let it go

First things first - TF2 is now sitting at $371,089,745 after 30 days of release, and should finish this weekend close to $380m, keeping it in line to bust 400m. Woot.

Now on to the topic at hand: "professional movie critics" and their hatred of the movie. I just visited msnbc.com, and their resident critic has posted his review of "G-Force" - a movie about guinea pigs who talk like people and are spies. The header of this review is "At least ‘G-Force’ is better than ‘Transformers 2'".

I should mention that this critic, Alonso Duralde, is a complete asshole, and I've thought that about him long before TF2 was released. He seems to enjoy being a prick, as his reviews generally are among the most negative I read about any film. In fact, I don't think I've ever read a review of his where he seemed to actually enjoy the movie - which is odd, because his job is to watch movies. Imagine having a job where you got paid to do something you hated... doesn't make much sense, but to each his own I suppose.

Then there is Lisa Schwarzbaum over at ew.com, who posted a blog a few days ago about TF2. She claims that everyone (italics hers) she has talked to about this movie has said it was awful... and yet wonders how a movie so reviled can be making so much money. She claims to have "hung out" with a family of four who all thought the movie stunk, despite all being Transformers enthusiasts.

Now I don't mean to call Lisa out for being full of shit, but she's kinda full of shit. First off, not only has she not seen TF2, she hasn't even seen TF1. So it doesn't make sense that she'd post a blog about a movie that she hasn't seen. Second - I know several people who have seen TF2, and they all thought it was great. Maybe not great in a "Citizen Kane" sense, but in a sense that they got their money's worth - they were entertained, and highly so. I'm not clamoring for the movie to take Best Picture, but the movie has performed remarkably well, and it's doing so because people enjoy the movie.

So critics, get over it. Lighten up, and learn to enjoy movies.

Harry Potter and the Weekend of Fail

Well, the big bad Harry Potter 6 just had it's first weekend, and despite initial projections that it could possibly challenge Dark Knight and TF2's record of $200m+ gross in 5 days, it actually came nowhere close. Over $40m short. HP movies generally start out strong and then fade out pretty fast, only 1 (the first one) has ever crossed $300m, and reviews are not exactly kind to this latest one. I doubt it's going to get there.

TF2, on the other hand, is now sitting at $363,808,123 after 26 days. After this upcoming weekend is through, it should be right at $375m. It's got a real shot at $400m.

The threat has diminished

Well, the Thursday numbers are out, and TF2's record is still intact. HP6 came about $7 million short - and actually ended up in 3rd place for highest non-opening Thursday gross ever. So for now, it looks as though TF2 is gonna come out on top for the year.

Thursday was also TF2's 23rd day of release, and it hit $350 million, tying it with Pirate Movie 2 for the quickest to that mark. TF2 has lost a little steam, but that's to be expected, as the competition this year is much more prevalent. I think there is still a good chance it hits $400 - $50m in 40 days seems very doable.

Close, but no cigar, Potter dorks!!!

Despite setting a new record for Wednesday midnight showings ($22 million to TF2's $16 million), Harry Potter 6 fell about $4 million short of TF2's opening day record of $62 million. Let's hope HP6 flames out after this weekend, so TF2 can have a shot at $400m.

Quick update

Now that my vacation is semi-over with, here is a quick update on the TF2 numbers. It's now past $300 million in 14 days, which is behind Dark Knight's 10 days but ahead of POTC2's 16 days. Hopefully it can stay ahead of POTC2's numbers and make it to $450m, but Harry Potter is going to be a challenge. We'll see how things are after this weekend.