This weekend’s box office returns for the major openers–“The Expendables 2,” “ParaNorman,” “Sparkle,” and “The Odd Life of Timothy Green”–were solid but not spectacular, certainly not the surprisingly strong numbers that “The Bourne Legacy” and “The Campaign” posted last weekend. The Sylvester Stallone/Arnold Schwarzenegger action ensemble pic predictably claimed the #1 slot, but it fell over 16 percent from its predecessor’s opening, for a $27.8m tally.
The only true sensation of the weekend was “2016: Obama’s America,” the conservative doc anchored by writer Dinesh D’Souza and executive produced by Gerald Molen (“Schindler’s List”). It earned $1.2 million from just 169 sites, for 13th place and a strong per-theater-average of $7,391 in its third major expansion. Those numbers aren’t as gigantic as what you’d typically see from a Michael Moore-directed project, but they are certainly the biggest we’ve ever seen from a conservative-POV doc. Rocky Mountain Pictures didn’t offer screeners for the film, but I will get a chance to see it when it comes to San Diego next Friday and will report back with a review.
Check out the full top 10 chart below…
| No. | Title | Weekend | Per Theater Average | Total |
| 1 | “The Expendables 2” | $28.8M | $8,670 | $28.8M |
| 2 | “The Bourne Legacy” | $17.0M | $4,535 | $69.6M |
| 3 | “ParaNorman” | $14.0M | $4,085 | $14.0M |
| 4 | “The Campaign” | $13.4M | $4,112 | $51.7M |
| 5 | “Sparkle” | $12.0M | $5,348 | $12.0M |
| 6 | “The Dark Knight Rises” | $11.1M | $3,529 | $409.9M |
| 7 | “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” | $10.9M | $4,199 | $35.1M |
| 8 | “Hope Springs” | $9.1M | $3,854 | $38.8M |
| 9 | “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” | $3.9M | $1,407 | $51.8M |
| 10 | “Total Recall” | $3.5M | $1,438 | $150.1M |
Source: Box Office Mojo
If you are not a political wonk, or did not do your due diligence to learn for whom you voted (if you are one of the 53%), or you are curious as to why a growing number of voices from “Tea Party” movement supporters to leading economists speaking so vehemently against this president, then you need to see this movie.
If you are a political wonk and/or an avid news reader from many sources (not just MSNBC or comedy channel’s “The Daily Show) or a fan of contemporary politics books, you most likely know the contents of this movie but seeing what you know in context is enlightening; tying together all you have learned on your own.
If you are one of the millions of Americans who blithely casts your vote on nothing more than surface impressions or outward appearances of the candidates, you NEED to go to this movie. You will either reinforce your reasons for not following politics and casting votes without knowledge of the candidate, or you eyes will open wide with wisdom, leaving you fraught with dread.
If you are one of the millions of Americans who do not vote, well just keep to that practice. You are what “democracy” looks like — let people who choose to reason and search for truth make the big decisions. You are also responsible to turn away the hoard of Obama supporters lead to your house by his new App software, explaining you are not voting this year.
All of this information was available in 2008, it was just not tied nicely with a bow for easy consumption. As a wonk myself, I enjoyed it mostly because the theater was packed, giving some measure of hope that My Fellow Americans will not be fooled again.