January 2011 box office, lowest in 20 years!

The box office tracking website http://www.boxofficemojo.com/ has reported what i expected all along: the year is off to a dismal start! January box office is the lowest in 20 years.

I am not thoroughly surprised by this report. The movies are just so bad. February looks better with a couple of good offerings in "Hall Pass" and "I am Number Four" but otherwise, 2011 is going to be a very rocky year.

Here's Brandon Gray's report...

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January Attendance Was a 20-Year Low
by Brandon Gray

The January box office tallied $754 million, which paled compared to January 2010's record $1.06 billion gross. The January-to-January drop was the steepest on the books at 29 percent, and the gross was the lowest since 2007.

In terms of estimated attendance, January 2011 posted a 20-year low, and not by some slim margin. The month's ticket sales were optimistically estimated at 94 million, and one has to go back to 1995 to find another sub-100-million January.

January's anemic business was a by-product of 2010's whimpering end, but it was also due to the lowest number of new nationwide releases since 1995: there were only nine, compared to an average of 14 per January over the previous 15 years. When the movies aren't broadly appealing or aren't even there, business suffers.

For the first time in decades, the top-grossing movie in January was one originally released in January: The Green Hornet led the month with $79.1 million. The month is usually topped by a holdover from the previous year, and True Grit came close to keeping the streak alive with $78.4 million. Little Fockers was third with $60.3 million, while The King's Speech ($55.4 million) and Black Swan ($50.3 million) rounded out the Top Five.

Individually, Green Hornet fared well for a superhero comedy, while True Grit, The King's Speech and Black Swan were gangbusters for their respective genres (all seemingly enhanced by the lack of competition for screens and attention), but, collectively, their appeal was inherently limited. Hollywood failed to deliver the broadly-appealing entertainments that keep overall business booming. An extreme example of the industry scoring on this front was last January, when Avatar dominated with $312.1 million, followed by Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

"The King's Speech" sweeps the BAFTAs!

I seriously disagree with some of the choices but who am i to question their taste. I guess, i will just have to accept that "The Social Network" will just become one of those great movies never to win an Oscar best picture. "The King's Speech" is a very good movie but i wonder if it will ever be mentioned when i start writing my best film ever list because i know "The Social Network" will be...  Am just bitter! Hahaha!

Here are tonight's winners (some surprises, too!)

Film — "The King's Speech"
British Film — "The King's Speech"
Director — David Fincher, "The Social Network" -- clap, clap!
Actor — Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
Actress — Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Supporting Actor — Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"
Supporting Actress — Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Rising Star — Tom Hardy
British Debut — Writer/director Chris Morris, "Four Lions"
Original Screenplay — David Seidler, "The King's Speech"
Adapted Screenplay — Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"
Film Not in the English Language — "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Music — Alexandre Desplat, "The King's Speech"
Cinematography — Roger Deakins, "True Grit"
Editing — "The Social Network"
Production Design — "Inception"
Costume Design — "Alice in Wonderland"
Sound — "Inception"
Visual Effects — "Inception"
Makeup and Hair — "Alice in Wonderland"
Animated Feature — "Toy Story 3"
Short Film — "Until the River Runs Red"
Short Animation — "The Eagleman Stag"

My BAFTA prediction...

The BAFTAs hand out their trophies tonight, Feb 13, in London.

Here's my prediction:

Best Film: "The Social Network"
I am stubborn. I looooove "The Social Network" and i believe that the events in Egypt will have an influence on how the BAFTA voters cast their votes. "The King's Speech" is a solid and very well-made movie but it's totally irrelevant today. 

Best British Film: "The King's Speech."
If "The Social Network was nominated in this category, it would still be my pick. LOL.

Best Director: David Fincher, "The Social Network";
David Fincher. Period!

Best Leading Actor: Colin Firth
Colin's trophy to lose. Nah. It's his!

Best Leading Actress: Annette Bening
This is a blind pick. Natalie Portman could win but Annette Bening has been busy promoting "The Kids Are All Right" lately that she may have persuaded voters that otherwise would have voted for Portman. Besides, she gave the better performance anyway.

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale
No contest.

Best Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham Carter
What?? No Melissa Leo? Next best bet is Helena Bonham Carter. 

Rising Star Award (voted by the public): Andrew Garfield.
This is borderline idolatry. Kidding!

Best Original Screenplay: "Inception"
Really! It's the best screenplay last year. 

Best Adapted Screenplay: "The Social Network"
Isn't it obvious? Any category with "The Social Network" competing in it my pick will alway be... :)  

Best Film Not in the English Language: "The Secret in Their Eyes"
Should win. Must win. Great narrative. I love it!

Best Animated Film: "Toy Story 3"