Monday Morning Mixer: 'Lego' my box-o

Posted Monday, February 24, 2014 at 11:46 AM Central
Last updated Monday, February 24, 2014 at 1:08 PM Central

by John Couture

We all get it. Mondays are rough. Heck, that's part of the reason we created this little ongoing series of stories.

The MMM always us to get caught up on the weekend in entertainment and ramp up our Monday morning so that we are ready to go for the week. But not all Mondays are created equal.

Tim and I spent the better part of last week at our annual retreat with the movie studios and we learned a lot (physical media isn't going away at all - yay!) and played a lot (never thought my adoration for all things Tropic Thunder would pay off so handsomely). Of course, the downside to all of that fun was that we had to pretty much abandon the site for four days or so and, in the course of things, didn't get to properly finish our Olympics coverage.

That's alright, I hear they come back every couple of years. I'm already getting psyched for our "Hardbodies" medal decisions to coincide with the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016. The only thing standing in the way of then and now is the massive release slate that is 2015.

I would certainly say that the studios are quite aware of just how special 2015 is going to be too. Disney was touting Star Wars and Avengers, Paramount hinted at the upcoming Terminator film and Universal couldn't stop talking about their very impressive 2015 slate that includes Minions, Jurassic World and Fast 7 among others.

So, all of that just to say that I'm sorry. It's going to be a slower than usual buildup this week. But we're back to business as usual. Let's check out that box office.

Box Office 411

I know there has to be a joke in there somewhere about Lego and letting go of the Eggo (box office), but again, it's Monday. Speaking of The Lego Movie, it continued its run at the top of the box office for a third consecutive weekend.

The family friendly animated film earned $31.5 million this frame to push its total box office haul to $183 million. The film is certain to eclipse $200 million this weekend and should end up with around $225 million in box office earnings.

Two newcomers followed next, but with a precipitous drop-off. In second place, 3 Days to Kill earned $12.3 million while Pompeii was a literal and figurative disaster in third place with only $10 million.

3 Days to Kill was actor Kevin Costner's attempt to throw his hat in the older action hero ring, but it looks like he crashed and burned miserably. This result is either good or bad for Liam Neeson and his upcoming film Non-Stop. Either the genre that he helped to launch is dead and his film will only be the final nail in the coffin, or its success will illustrate that he, and he alone, is the king of the geriatric action genre.

Pompeii's struggles at the box office almost certainly dooms 300: Rise of an Empire to a similar fate in a couple of weeks. That sequel was already treading heavily in rising waters, but with the population's lust for sand and sandal films abating, the upcoming film could be an absolute dumpster fire.

Elsewhere, Frozen continued its hot streak at the box office with its 13th consecutive week in the top ten. It earned an impressive $4.3 million this week pushing its total take up to $384 million. I know that Disney would love to get that number up and over $400, but I just don't see it happening. It should sputter out around $394, which is still a ridiculous amount when you think about it.

Quick Hitters

I wasn't going to touch on anything today, but as I was writing this article, very sad news crossed the wire. Actor, writer, director and all-around great guy Harold Ramis passed away this morning.

This one really hits close to home as he was the inspiration behind some of the iconic films that would come to really shape who I have become as an adult. During my adolescent and teen years, I binged on his films such as Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation, Groundhog Day and of course, the grand-daddy of them all Ghostbusters.

The world lost a true visionary and one of the most hilarious human beings today and it will hurt to laugh for a long time. RIP Harold. On that solemn note, I take my leave. Mix Well this week and knock one back for Harold Ramis.