Everybody knew Marley and Me, Bedtime Stories, and Benjamin Button would all be easy sells to moviegoers — and with cumulative grosses of $107 million, $85 million, and $75 million respectively, they’re all doing fine business in theaters — but can there be any doubt the box-office story of the holiday season is United Artists’ Valkyrie (which is actually really good!)? No! Following its impressive $30 million four-day Christmas opening, Tom Cruise’s madcap Nazi adventure held strong at the box office this weekend with $14 million for a total $60 million, meaning it’ll almost certainly earn back its reported $75 million production budget domestically (to say nothing of the movie’s prospects overseas, where the only reason they consider Tom Cruise weird is because he’s not morbidly obese like other Americans). So were the bad buzz, reshoots, and release-date changes all just clever viral marketing? And how long until they announce a sequel?
HOT DIGGITY DOG! ‘Marley & Me’ Still #1, ‘Bedtime Stories’$2 2, ‘Benjamin Button’$2 3 [Deadline Hollywood Daily]