With my new monthly preview of upcoming films for the subsequent month, I thought it only appropriate to back through my 2011 Spring Preview month by month and share my wrap-up thoughts. So, here you have January.

January 7-9, 2011

SEASON OF THE WITCH

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “None. This is one of those classless remakes that have plagued Hollywood for a number of years. And with Nic Cage involved, you can bet it’s going to be hokum.”
Box Office Prediction: $40 M
Box Office Results: $24.8 M
Thoughts: [Flop] Commercial flops are no surprise when Nic Cage is involved. Not only has he lost his artistic merit, but his money-grubbing paycheck hunting leads him to more and more abysmal movies. That this managed to flop with no new competition that weekend has to be disappointing to the studio who may finally stop giving Cage roles.

January 14-16, 2011

THE DILEMMA

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “None. The cast itself turns me off and with Ron Howard behind the camera of such a broad comedy, I have little hope.”
Box Office Prediction: $75 M
Box Office Results: $48.5 M
Thoughts: [Flop] Ron Howard is not known for his comedies and when pushed up against the teen-boy-positioned Green Hornet, there was no chance. To add insult to injury, the film was made for $70 million and didn’t come close to making that back.

THE GREEN HORNET

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “Low. The preview makes this look absolutely unbearable. The humor is cliched and the acting minimal. Yet, I’ll still end up stuck watching it with friends.”
Box Office Prediction: $70 M
Box Office Results: $98.8 M
Thoughts: [Unexceptional] While I would say a near-$100 million finish is nothing to sneeze at, the budget was $120 million, making the result a bit more disappointing. Still, it performed above my expectations which I guess makes it something of a success even if it’s not a good movie at all.

BARNEY’S VERSION

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “None”
Oscar Results: Thanks to its week-long qualifier in 2010, the film picked up a Best Makeup nomination but nothing else.
Expectations: What I Said: “Low. The concept isn’t too bad and there are some fine names in the cast, but I don’t expect anything.”
Box Office Prediction: $12 M
Box Office Results: $4.4 M
Thoughts: [Minor Flop] With no major stars and a minor tech Oscar nomination, this result really isn’t that surprising.

EVERY DAY

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “None. Despite having a few notable names, the film looks miserable.”
Box Office Prediction: $25 M
Box Office Results: $.04 M
Thoughts: [Major Flop] No one seemed to have heard about the film. No one seemed to have done much advertising for the film. And the actors may not have even realized they were in this colossal failure.

January 21-23, 2011

NO STRINGS ATTACHED

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “Low. Despite the presence of the talented Natalie Portman, the untalented Ashton Kutcher and unexceptional premise don’t hold much promise.”
Box Office Prediction: $60 M
Box Office Results: $70.7 M
Thoughts: [Minor Success] The only film released in January that could be termed a true success, No Strings Attached made nearly triple its production budget at the box office. Still, with those actors it could have gotten higher.

THE WAY BACK

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “Could have been, but it doesn’t seem like it found a footing with critics.”
Oscar Results: The film did end up with a qualifying run for the Oscars, but like Children of Men before it, it was far too late to be of any use. However, unlike Children of Men, the film didn’t have nearly the critical support.
Expectations: What I Said: “Modest. I like the idea, I like the cast and the trailer isn’t too bad.”
Box Office Prediction: $15 M
Box Office Results: $2.7 M
Thoughts: [Minor Flop] For a film that didn’t manage any Oscar nominations and didn’t do a lot of advertising, a $2.7 million finish isn’t awful, but the $30 million production budget tells us the film failed.

THE COMPANY MEN

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “It wouldn’t have been pushed back if it were an actual contender.”
Oscar Results: January is the kiss of death month.
Expectations: What I Said: “Modest. A film pushed this far out isn’t necessarily going to be great, but the concept isn’t too discouraging.”
Box Office Prediction: $15 M
Box Office Results: $4.4 M
Thoughts: [Flop] I previewed this originally for fall and then re-previewed it for Spring. My commentary on fall has already posted, so I don’t feel the need to say more now.

January 28-30, 2011

THE MECHANIC

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “None. With Jason Statham, it isn’t likely to be good.”
Box Office Prediction: $80 M
Box Office Results: $29.1 M
Thoughts: [Flop] Nothing makes me more excited than watching a horrible actor fail to sell a film at the box office. Statham was never a box office draw and this proves it. If he doesn’t have a solid film to pose through, then there won’t be an audience.

THE RITE

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “Anthony Hopkins seems to be having the same disappointing career trajectory as Nicolas Cage. This looks like yet another religious horror nothing.”
Box Office Prediction: $60 M
Box Office Results: $33.0 M
Thoughts: [Flop] January isn’t exactly the best month to release horror films. So, even though the religious horror genre has plenty of fans, they just didn’t want to pick up this mess.

BIUTIFUL

Oscar Prospects: What I Said: “Javier Bardem was supposed to be one of 2010’s big Lead Actor contender, but his potential never materialized.”
Oscar Results: It’s amazing what a couple of months can make. I made these comments well before the Oscar nominations came out and it turns out Bardem actually was one of the big contenders for a Lead Actor nomination. His film was even nominated for Foreign Language film. How’s that for success?
Expectations: What I Said: “Unknown. I haven’t seen a trailer for the film, so I have no idea what to expect.”
Box Office Prediction: $10 M
Box Office Results: $5.0 M
Thoughts: [Unexceptional] An indie foreign lingo film earning $5 million is fairly decent, but with a Lead Actor nomination, that total should have been higher.

FROM PRADA TO NADA

Oscar Prospects: None
Expectations: What I Said: “None. A low-budget riches-to-rags story doesn’t seem that exciting.”
Box Office Prediction: $15 M
Box Office Results: $3.0 M
Thoughts: [Minor Flop] No one had heard of the film or seen much in the way of advertising, so it was no surprise the film flopped. But, without many recognizable names, that would have been expected even if they had flogged the film harder.