ROTTEN TOMATOES: "V" is for Victory (at the weekend box office)

"V" is for Victory (at the weekend box office)

by Scott Weinberg | March 20, 2006

Not even remotely surprising is the fact that the new Natalie Portman action epic "V for Vendetta" was #1 at the weekend box office, as it's a title that's been talked up and touted for about half a year now. The $50+ million project opened a few months later than expected, but it still did so in fairly impressive fashion. The Wachowski/WB production hauled in an estimated $26.1 million from 3,300 theaters, giving "Vendetta" the #1 spot by more than 10 million bucks.

Clocking in at second place was Paramount's rom-com "Failure to Launch," which added an extra $15.8 million to its $48.4 million total. Third place went to another hanger-on, the Disney remake "The Shaggy Dog." The mutt made another $13.6 million, putting its total right around $35.8 million.

A first-weekend newcomer hit the scene in fourth place: DreamWorks' gender-switch teen-com "She's the Man" made about $11 million from 2,600 theaters. Rounding out the top 5 was Searchlight's "The Hills Have Eyes," which tumbled nearly 50% from last week. ($8m weekend; $28.7m total)

Limited releasers saw some good news and some bad news. Fox Searchlight's "Thank You for Smoking" debuted in five theaters and earned $52,000 per, while Sidney Lumet's "Find Me Guilty" showed up in 439 theaters and made only $1,430 per. Yowch.

Next weekend's big releases include Universal's crime thriller "Inside Man," Lionsgate's "Larry the Cable Guy" movie, and Disney's PG-13 horror flick "Stay Alive."

As always, the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office Page is open and awaiting your perusal.

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(1-20 of 35 posts) | Reply

Paul_Is_Drunk writes:
on Mar 20 2006 03:49 AM

Am I the only one hoping that it would have done better than that?

(Reply to this)

Elixir writes:
on Mar 20 2006 04:31 AM

you dont think thats a good number?

i believe it will have lasting power.

(Reply to this)

Hieremias writes:
on Mar 20 2006 06:02 AM

I don't think V was marketed properly, but positive word-of-mouth should help its longevity. I certainly have been singing its praises since I saw it on Saturday.

(Reply to this)

SydeX writes:
on Mar 20 2006 06:21 AM

Good box office or not, just the fact that the movie has spread its point and people have aknowledge it is what makes it worth of seeing and 10 years from now its gonna be a cult classic which reshaped our modern day of thinking.

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Hieremias writes:
on Mar 20 2006 06:44 AM

"...classic which reshaped our modern day of thinking."

That... I doubt. A single movie isn't going to reshape "our modern way of thinking", especially a movie based on a comic book.

Entertaining, but come on.

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jumpshed writes:
on Mar 20 2006 07:56 AM

[b]Rotten Tomatoes: sponsered by V for Vendetta[/b]
Thanks mainly due to Rotten Tomatoes hype (see the slew of news articles), I went to see V for Vendetta. Hate to play devil's advocate but I was pretty underwhelmed by this film. It was at best average but more than usual downright bad.

I don't think it really deserves any more news articles Scott. I know your a big fan but I think you've advertised the film enough.

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sfsilver writes:
on Mar 20 2006 08:27 AM

[b]Positive word of mouth[/b]
I agree that strong word of mouth is going to make this a consistent performer over the next few weeks. Jumpshed's negative reaction aside, I found it to be one of the most thoroughly satisfying movie experiences of recent memory. It was very entertaining, good performances, great script with witty literate dialogue, a political point of view I could really sink my teeth into, visually stunning, and didn't insult me by relying on special effects to entertain, yet the effects it used particularly the big finale sequence were top notch.

I'm not a comic geek at all, and I will be telling everyone to see it.

(Reply to this)

t-joint writes:
on Mar 20 2006 08:55 AM

After films like American Splendor, Ghost World, Road To Perdition, Sin City, and A History Of Violence you'd think comic book movies would not so easily be instantly lumped into one simple shlocky "good guy/bad guy superhero in tights" theme anymore. Not only that, but also have a little less of a stigma attached to them and the medium as a whole be respected for simply being another method of storytelling. Still, after the mangling of three other Moore creations, I suppose a bit of cautious restraint was called for for this film. Glad to see V not only lived up to expectations, but that people are getting its message.

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nogard64 writes:
on Mar 20 2006 09:04 AM

[b]WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE SMOKING!!![/b]
After watching it I realized why it was delayed and its the same reason why most movies get delayed cuz it sucks! This is what I've posted already before about the movie.

Should have been B for boring!
it was a snooze fest! If you wanna watch politics just turn on the evening news! For a action hero, V sure rambled on and on and on and on! If I was a bad guy I would have begged him to kill me instead of listening to his long speeches. The only plus was of course Natalie Portman, and I really enjoyed the knife time slow mo action (instead of bullet time) it was pretty cool really, kinda reminded me of Neo shooting up the Federal building in Matrix. Other than that it was so predictable and boring.

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TheIceGhost writes:
on Mar 20 2006 09:21 AM

You also have to keep in mind that V is a R rated movie. So, an R rated, sci-fi political comic book film with no real star power (unless your counting the geek fest people have over Natalie) raked in that money, it's really pretty damn good. It was an awesome movie, and I say this as a Moderate leaning towards Conservative. It was funny, well made, thought-provoking and "vivacious" :) . I can see why people didn't like it though, either for it's political agenda, its lack of action for being makerted an action movie (although the stuff that was in there was awesome), or because it might have simply been over some peoples' heads. Overall for me I give it 4 outta 5 stars, and I can guarentee that you'll be seeing some V's running around this Halloween.

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nogard64 writes:
on Mar 20 2006 09:29 AM

the movie just didn't work because in order for the audience to relate to a character, relate to his struggle and strife. We need to see something called Acting, and in order to act, 90% of it is in the actors face, to sell the movie to sell the story it all in the actors face. Its was like watching a pro basketball player play with out no arms, I felt bad for Hugo. Just imagine Hoffman playing Capote the whole time with a mask on. The movie was very reminescent of The Crow which worked because Brandon Lee wore a makeup mask. And you can still see the emotions in his eyes and face.

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 20 2006 09:34 AM

haha I just reminded myself of Jon Lovitz thespian character on SNL, "its was ACTING!" haha

(Reply to this)

lovelykeira writes:
on Mar 20 2006 11:51 AM

V was definitely a dissapointment, I'm glad that Thank You For Smoking did well though, hopefully it will expand to my town now. I am looking forward to Inside Man which looks pretty tight.

(Reply to this)

CrazyGhost78 writes:
on Mar 20 2006 12:52 PM

In reply to this comment (#832482)
Congrats, you've just proven you've got the mental capacity of an 11 year old! I'm still the ripe young age of 15, but I loved the film. "Oh my god, the slo-mo knives were so cool!!!!" The film has smarts. It has plot. I'm sorry is this, whats the word.... PLOT threw you off, but don't worry, The Chronicles Of Riddick is always waiting for you, with nothing but slow motion action and free of the burden of a plot.

V for Vendetta is a great movie. It's not going to change our modern way of thinking or anything, but it's a great film, if you're really stretching it, a cautionary tale, and it proves the Wachowskis only had a momentary writing f*** up with the last two matrix films, (unfortunate it was then, that could have been a legendary trilogy,) but between Bound, the original Matrix, and this, you can't tell me they aren't brilliant. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next Wachowski movie, and I'll (cautiously) look towards James' next one too.

(Reply to this)

VML writes:
on Mar 20 2006 01:14 PM

In reply to this comment (#832484)
Are you saying that Hugo Weaving wasn't acting in V for Vendetta?! He was! Just because he did not show his face throughout the whole movie does not mean he wasn't acting. He had to rely on voice acting and physical movement to portray V. Your comment is like saying that voice actors (who tend to be underappreciated) are not actors. Weaving did a very good job at playing V, in my opinion.

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SIRxxxTMG writes:
on Mar 20 2006 01:19 PM

I've told nearly everyone I know to see this god damn movie. Yes, its that good.

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 20 2006 01:20 PM

In reply to this comment (#832487)
haha wow I guess I have time to waste on you, atleast a couple seconds. When you have taken 4 film/media classes then come back and speak to me. What plot are you talking about? Man gets revenge, cop discovers reason for revenge! Wow I've never seen that coming. its the same old tiresome "plot" been there done that, seen it, and forget it deal. haha funny you mention Chronicles of riddick cuz I would have prefer that over V easily. heck even stealth was more entertaining. Heck I can't wait for Snakes on the plane now cuz I'm sure thats better than V.

And the funny thing is now everyone thinks its the W brothers attempt to attack
the Bush Admin (cuz they are so rebellious and so cutting edge! too bad everyone from green day, System of the down, madonna, should I go on and on has already done so). also too bad the book was written and relased in the early 80's. The book has as much to do with Bush as a red Apple is to red meat. oh dear why do I waste my time?

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 20 2006 01:23 PM

In reply to this comment (#832488)
hmmm let me know when you get that Oscar for voice acting ok bud???

Are you effing serious??? Do you know how hard it is to act? And to use your face as a pallete? Wow I love it cuz once you get people talking you can really see the idiots and the incompetent and the ill informed people come out.

(Reply to this)

Paul_Is_Drunk writes:
on Mar 20 2006 01:57 PM

This thread has been brought to you by nogard64...

...bringing you his opinions, all the time, because his is the only opinion that mattters. C'mon, you've made 5 of the 20 posts so far. Are you desperate for attention, or are your friends tired of listening to you rant about this movie? Because I am.

Oh, and do your homework. This is based on a comic book mini-series from 1989. And even that was (surely) inspired by 1984. If you feel it is an attack on the Bush administration than it was either deliberately planned 17+ years ago, or you don't realize that themes of oppressive governments are common throughout the history of narrative art. See Star Wars for an obvious example.

I'm done with this thead, because I have a life to go live. I have a feeling you are not. Have fun picking fights with every person to casually view this thread and get upset with your ignorance. I"m sure you'll enjoy the attention.

Oh, and ask your teacher to help you learn how to spell.

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 20 2006 02:45 PM

In reply to this comment (#832492)
haha yeah I did do my hw and yeah I looked it up! He started writing in back in 1981! So maybe you should look that up too. And actually that was my point exactly, if you actually read what I wrote, the movie the THEME is not about the Bush admin, its a theme that been played out and over used non stop, look at THX 1138 just a quick example. And maybe your right! Maybe I dont have a life, maybe this is it, maybe I've made RT my life and I've made stomping out the idiots on here my life, is that ok with you? Can you live with that? Cuz if not I can I'm fine with it! Movies and films has been a hobby a love of mine before i can even speak, so if you wanna bring it I'm ready man!

PS I think this place is called rotten tomatoes, not spelling tomatoes if you wanna check my spelling then your the one who truly has no life.

(Reply to this)

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