29 Aug – It seems that films have finally come to a screeching halt, what with the slew of awful movies that saw box office release in the last August weekend (23 - 26 Aug), which were "Premium Rush", "Hit And Run" and "The Apparition". It was so bad that none of them managed to open in the top three, nor even the top five. As such, Simon West's "The Expendables 2" kept its place in the top spot, with a total gross of US$52.2 million, which is trailing behind the original's 10-day total of US$65.4 million. "The Bourne Legacy" and "ParaNorman" also maintained their respective spots in the box office, in that order. In Malaysia, "The Expendables 2" also maintained its seat at first spot, but unlike the U.S., the rest of the top three saw new entries, which are "The Dinosaur Project" and "Premium Rush". Second placer "The Dinosaur Project" is directed by Sid Bennett, and the found footage tale chronicles an expedition into the Congo jungle where a team of explorers stumbles upon a colony of Dinosaurs, following which, their expedition becomes a race for survival. On the other hand, David Koepp's "Premium Rush" is a modern day film set in Manhattan. When daredevil bike messenger, Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) picks up an envelope dirty cop Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) also wants, a high-octane bicycle race soon takes place throughout the city.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, "The Expendables 2" fared much better. While it also kept its last weekend top spot, the sequel has beat the box office numbers of the original in the local box office in just over eight days of release. In second place is Akiva Schaffer's "The Watch", which stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade as a group of men living in the suburbs that come together to form a neighbourhood watch group first as a way to avenge their brutally murdered acquaintance before their activities snowballs into ways to get out of their day-to-day family routines. That is, until they find themselves facing a potential alien invasion. Last but not least, in third spot is Pixar's "The Brave". For Malaysia, new movies that opened last week were "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days", "Diva", "18 Vayasu" and "Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi". For Singapore, new movies that opened last week were "Ek Tha Tiger", "Greedy Ghost", "The Silent War" and "Rock Of Ages".
Box office takings for the weekend just gone (23 August - 26 August 2012)