February 28, 2012 by Vinnie Leduc
Twitterverse is still chirping about Angelina Jolie’s right leg and J. Lo’s nip-slip-not, Meryl Streep won another Oscar, and LeBron choked under the spotlight yet again. But despite the busy NBA All-Star Weekend and the bonanza of the 84th Academy Awards, it was a Navy SEALs team of no-namers that seized the domestic box office last weekend. Government propaganda piece Wholesome and solely entertainment action flick Act/Call/Medal of Valor/Duty/Honor debuted strongly, significantly above runner-up newcomer Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds and way ahead of newcomers Wanderlust and Gone, both of which didn’t even crack the top five.
Act of Valor‘s success can be attributed to an aggressive marketing campaign that included multiple Super Bowl spots and tie-ins to gaming blockbuster Battlefield 3. Last week‘s champ, Denzel Washington thriller Safe House, barely beat romantic drama The Vow again, but both lost out to another holdover that opened at the same time three weeks ago, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. The family adventure film enjoyed a second straight weekend with an impressively low decrease, but The Vow became the first film of 2012 to cross the $100 million mark domestically with Safe House close behind.
Here were the top five in the domestic box office last weekend via BOM:
- Act of Valor — Weekend Gross: $24.5 million — Total Gross: $24.5 million (new)
- Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds — Weekend Gross: $15.6 million — Total Gross: $15.6 million (new)
- Journey 2: The Mysterious Island — Weekend Gross: $13.4 million — Total Gross: $76.6 million (#4 last week)
- Safe House — Weekend Gross: $10.9 million — Total Gross: $97.6 million (#1 last week)
- The Vow — Weekend Gross: $9.9 million — Total Gross: $102.9 million (#2 last week)
