APEX Hollywood Shortlist: “Dumber” Laughs All the Way to the Bank with Boffo B.O.
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- Universal Pictures, Dumb and Dumber To
Twenty years after the Farrelly Brother’s cult comedy Dumb and Dumber pretty much defined the term “critic proof” by raking in $247.3M worldwide, Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry’s (Jeff Daniels) long-awaited return to the big screen, Dumb and Dumber To (Universal), opened in the top spot at the box office over the weekend with an estimated $36.1M.
Hot on the heels of Dumber’s iconic Mutt Cutts dog van was last week’s number one, Big Hero 6 (Disney), which pulled in another heroic $34.6M, with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar rocketing to third place with $28.3M and a stellar $322.7M worldwide.
- Relativity Media, Beyond the Lights
Also performing well was writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s steamy, backstage drama, Beyond the Lights (Relativity), which debuted in fourth place with $6.2M.
But for real backstage (and onstage!) drama it was hard to beat the network television debut of the Hollywood Film Awards on CBS.
Long known for it’s casual, laid-back vibe – Julia Roberts famously took her shoes off before taking the podium last year, and this year’s Hollywood Documentary Award presenter Johnny Depp appeared to have forgotten the cameras were rolling at all on Friday night – the 18th annual Hollywood Film Awards has long been considered the first stop for serious award season contenders on the road to Oscar glory, and this year’s ceremony did not disappoint.
Winning four HFA’s over the weekend and instantly shooting to the top of Academy member’s must-see lists was the Weinstein Company’s upcoming Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley — both of whom took home HFA’s for their work in the film — Game has been generating strong word-of-mouth since premiering at the Telluride Film Festival in August and is expected to continue racking up award-season kudos when it opens stateside on November 28th.
Also making waves at the HFAs was David Fincher’s unstoppable Gone Girl (Fox) which took home three HFAs (including the coveted Hollywood Film Award for best picture) and claimed the fifth spot at the B.O. with $4.5M and a killer $152.6M to date.