Monday Morning Mixer: 'Grandpa' baddest of them all

Posted Monday, October 28, 2013 at 10:22 AM Central

by John Couture

If there's one thing that Johnny Knoxville knows how to do, it's to make people laugh while causing bodily harm to himself. So, I guess it really shouldn't be too much of a surprise that he's yet again on top of the box office laughing all of the way to the bank.

This Halloween has been rather odd. I don't know if it's the success of horror films at various points throughout the year or simply a stable of mediocre scary films right now, but this holiday season is going to be more remembered for laughing than screaming.

Maybe that's what we need right now, a few more laughs. One thing I do know, it's causing executives to rethink this whole supposed release calendar.

And that is a good thing.

Box Office 411

Bad Grandpa opened up to a rousing $32 million which was music to the ears of Paramount who found themselves without a Paranormal Activity film during Halloween for the first time in four years. The opening was good enough to take second place out of all of the Jackass films just behind Jackass 3's $50.3 million opening in 2010.

That film went on to make over $117 million at the box office and I'm pretty confident that Bad Grandpa will cross that magical $100 million milestone before it sails off into the sunset glow of DVD and Blu-ray sales.

When someone rises, it means that someone has to fall and finally after three weeks in the top spot, Gravity slips a notch down to second place. I wouldn't feel too bad for the Sandra Bullock/George Clooney film as it took a note from one of Sandy's earlier films and crossed the $200 million mark while you were sleeping.

As we move deeper into November, the competition will ramp up, but we still feel pretty confident that Gravity will reach that $275-$300 million target.

The other new entrant this week was the Ridley Scott-directed film The Counselor. A star studded affair with the likes of Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz, The Counselor fizzled to a fourth place finish with a measly $8 million. Perhaps Ridley Scott should stick to stories set outside of our solar system.

Next weekend, we finally get our eyeballs on Ender's Game. This has been a film that has been impossible to predict give its slightly controversial author and the changing moods of the movie-viewing audience.

Quick Hitters

Baby, ho! It would seem that Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis are expecting their first child together. So yeah, as much as you hate Jason Sudeikis for starring in a movie featuring a stripping Jennifer Aniston, he's also sleeping with Olivia Wilde. It's a nice gig if you can get it.

Lots of old Star Wars news hit the web this weekend. First, one lucky dude hit the jackpot when he bought a laserdisc filled with lost footage from Return of the Jedi. He posting clips on Facebook, so at least he's sharing, right?

Elsewhere, this blooper clip from the original Star Wars is making the rounds. I can't recall seeing it before and it's pretty funny.

If you like Wes Anderson, then you'll love this faux trailer that they created for SNL for a Wes Anderson horror film.

Edward Norton - Movie Trailer (Wes Anderson... by IdolxMuzic

Finally today, Springfield (and the rest of the world - real and animated) bid farewell to Marcia Wallace, the voice of Bart's teacher Ms. Krabappel. This is a fitting tribute.

Until next week, mix well!