Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- The predictions made last week were fairly accurate. "The Lorax" held the first-place spot, a disappointment to second place "John Carter" and its $250 million budget. In third and fourth place were "Project X" and "Act of Valor," respectively. Fifth place went to "Silent House," which was originally assumed to come in third by last week's article.
It is unlikely that there will be any radical rearrangement of the top five list. "21 Jump Street" is clearly poised to come in first. "Lorax" came in first last week with $39 million, followed by "Carter" at $30 million, "Project" at $11 million and "Valor" at $7 million.
#poll
There is enough buffer between each film that they should all retain their positions while shifting down a spot. If the margins were closer, they could potentially have swapped positions based on factors such as competing demographics or genres.
The predictions for St. Patrick's Day weekend are:
1. "21 Jump Street"
"21 Jump Street" is poised for a first-place victory. A remake of the 1980's television show of the same name, "21 Jump Street" faces no significant competition as the only new wide-release this weekend. Featuring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, this R-rated film has already received significant advanced praise.
Both actors bring incredible star power to the film, with Jonah Hill having recently been nominated for an Oscar, while Channing Tatum gained notoriety with a runaway success in "The Vow." The success of this remake will likely be driven by the nostalgia carried by the original series, still famous for launching Johnny Depp's career. The plot is similar in nature to the original, revolving around two police officers who go undercover as students at a local high school.
2. "The Lorax"
"The Lorax" continues to perform well. While likely to be dethroned, another strong showing is in order for this animated Dr. Seuss classic. Having grossed over $120 million so far on a $70 million budget, "The Lorax" has proven itself on track to be the highest performing Dr. Seuss film to date.
3. "John Carter"
"John Carter" is perhaps the most disappointing of the group. Despite having a tremendous budget, it is not performing well domestically. Internationally, however, it is proving to be a much larger hit. "John Carter" debuted with a $70 million opening abroad, while bringing in just $30 million within the states.
4. "Project X"
"Project X" has been compared in some regards to "21 Jump Street," however, the two are not expected to compete with each other. This found-footage comedy revolves around an out-of-control teenage party.
5. "Act of Valor"
"Act of Valor" keeps refusing to fall off the top five list, remaining popular with audiences. Based on its showing last week, it should round out the list one more time in fifth place this week. "Act of Valor" is based on a true story and features real Navy SEALs.
Joseph Irvine is an engineer in Madison, Ala. Currently working on a master's degree at the University of Alabama, Joseph hopes to complete a degree in law at BYU in the near future.
