This weekend two new films open in theatres; Fright flick The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins from New Line Cinema and Jason Statham’s latest action bonanza, The Mechanic from CBS Films. So far January’s box office has been significantly lower in comparison to last year and these two films aren’t going to help matters much. I expect the overall box office total for the top 10 films to be the smallest of the year so far, ending a bad month with a dull note.

With only one new wide release, romantic comedy No Strings Attached from Paramount, the box office was down yet again this weekend in comparison to 2010. NSA performed just fine, meeting industry expectations and stole the top spot from last weekend’s champ, Sony’s The Green Hornet. 

The 2011 box office season has gotten off to rough start in comparison to last year and this weekend will continue the trend with only 1 new wide release entering the marketplace; Paramount’s  romantic comedy No Strings Attached starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. With light competition from last week’s #1 film, Sony’s The Green Hornet and Universal’s The Dilemma, NSA should have no trouble topping the charts this weekend.

The 2011 box office received a much needed boost from two high profile releases and two awards contenders that expanded into hundreds of more theatres nationwide this weekend. Sony’s The Green Hornet easily took the top spot on the charts from last weekend’s champ, Paramount’s True Grit. Vince Vaughn’s latest comedy, The Dilemma from Universal opened in 2^nd place to weaker than expected results but it is too soon to declare this one a disappointment as Vaughn’s films tend to hold up very well after they open. 

Believe me… I’m just as surprised as you are by how high I’m scoring The Green Hornet. Ever since seeing the trailer for the first time months ago, I’ve expected this film to be garbage of epic proportions. I’m here to tell you I was completely wrong and delighted to be so. The Green Hornet is a hugely fun, action filled romp that never takes itself too seriously. I know that sometimes lowered expectations for a film can make it seem better than it actually was (and that might slightly be true in this case), but I truly enjoyed most of the movie. It does sag under its own weight for a little while in the middle, but for the most part, Seth Rogen and friends have done the impossible; create a superhero comedy hybrid that works well on both levels.

After an uninspiring start to 2011’s box office last weekend, two new movies aim to get things on the right track. Columbia Pictures 3D superhero flick The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogen flies into theatres and Vince Vaughn and Kevin James team up for Ron Howard directed comedy The Dilemma from Universal. These two films will fare better than they normally would due to the lack of new films occupying multiplexes over the last few weeks. The films will also benefit from Sunday being like a Saturday at theatres as most of the world is off on Monday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. One of these films will surely be at the top of the box office this weekend, the question is which one? 

The box office has gotten off to a slow start as the first new release for 2011 Relativity Media’s Season of the Witch starring Nicolas Cage opened in third place to dismal results. After a lackluster performance in limited platform release, Country Strong from Screen Gems expanded nationwide and placed sixth for the weekend behind a top 5 filled with holiday leftovers. The big story is how Western remake True Grit from Paramount was able to claim the top spot from Little Fockers in its third week of release.   

The first new release for the year 2011 is Season of the Witch from Relativity Media. The supernatural action flick starring Nicolas Cage was actually planned to be released last March, but was postponed due to some needed reshoots. Reshoots or not, Season of the Witch is going to be a nuclear sized box office bomb. Although Witch is the lone new release this weekend, Country Strong from Screen Gems  expands nationwide after a lackluster platform release. Neither of these films are going to have much impact at the box office allowing Universal’s Little Fockers and Paramount’s True Grit to duel for first place for the third weekend in a row.