‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Tops Weekend Chart, Starts March To Oscars

November 24, 1:55 PMAtlanta Movies ExaminerRyan McNally

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Oscar season has officially begun, and it’s about time. This week’s chart includes two major Oscar players (Slumdog Millionaire, Rachel Getting Married), along with several others (Changeling, Bolt) that should contend in at least a few categories. And although Twilight raked in an impressive $70 million, mediocre reviews (44 tomatometer) and lackluster audience response (5.3 IMDB) left it just outside our Top 10 chart (an average of box office, critics’ reviews and audience response**) for the weekend of Nov. 21-23.

1) Slumdog Millionaire (NR). The feel-good drama with the funny name has been cited by Oscar prognosticators as a major force in this year’s Oscar race. It needed only 32 screens (and a whopping $31,000-per-screen average) to hit #1 on our chart, as critics swooned (an 85 metacritic score, top among the box office Top 20) and audiences agreed (8.3 user rating on IMDB, also #1 among the B.O. Top 20).

2) Role Models (1). After years of flying just under the radar with supporting turns in films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, writer/star Paul Rudd is finally hitting it big, and his newfound stardom is well-earned. Check out the underrated The Shape Of Things (2003) to see Rudd doing great work in a more dramatic role.

3) Bolt (NR). Miley Cyrus continues her march toward world domination, this time by teaming with John Travolta in voicing one of the top-rated (84 tomatometer) animated pics of the year. $27 million at the box office ain’t too shabby either.

4) Changeling (2). The Angelina Jolie period piece has held steady at the box office, presumably helped by outstanding word-of-mouth (8.1 IMDB rating). If the response from the Academy is equally positive, the film’s Oscar chances may be revived despite mixed critical reviews.

5) Quantum Of Solace (4). Though it hasn’t (for most) lived up to the high expectations set by Casino Royale, Daniel Craig’s second Bond film is still running slightly higher at IMDB (7.2 to 7.1) than GoldenEye, which was Pierce Brosnan’s top-rated entry in the Bond franchise.

6) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (3). Although overshadowed this week by the better-reviewed Bolt, this animated pic has done well across the board, especially for a sequel, and its $16 million weekend gross has brought its total ($137 million) within shouting distance of the film’s budget (a whopping $150 million).

7) Zack And Miri Make A Porno (5). Talk about finding a niche … Kevin Smith’s last five films have all grossed between $24 and $31 million, with Porno currently standing at $29.3 mil.

8) Rachel Getting Married (6). Going indie has proven a wise choice for director Jonathan Demme. Among IMDB users, the film is neck-and-neck with Philadelphia as his second-best narrative movie, behind the classic The Silence of the Lambs.

9) The Boy In The Striped Pajamas (9T). Early buzz claimed this Holocaust flick was a critical bust, but it’s tallied a solid 64 at Rotten Tomatoes (9^th among the B.O. Top 20), though its metacritic score (55) is weaker.

10) Synecdoche, New York (NR). After building up a cult following with his mind-bending screenplays for films such as Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Charlie Kaufman makes his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York. With a #4 ranking at both Metacritic and IMDB among the Top 20 B.O., it cracks our Top 10 despite grossing just $343,000 (albeit on only 111 screens).

**Tired of reading about the latest dumb action flick, lame gross-out comedy or played-out torture porn horror pic that took home the box office crown? Wish the media balanced out screaming headlines about box office winners with more stories about “the top reviewed films” or the “films audiences loved the most”?

I’m with ya. And that’s why I’ve devised a new ranking system (see list above) that combines critics’ reviews, audience response and, yes, box office to deliver a comprehensive list of what’s hot in theaters in each weekend.