This is gonnsa be boring because Magnus mentioned almost all of them already

Though The Call didn't surprise me.

I'll add an odd pick - 20 Feet from Stardom. It has never played in more than 147 theatres and is at around $4.8 million already. Last non-3D doc to get this high in less than 200 theatres was Spellbound ten years ago.

1. Instructions Not Included- Totally came out of nowhere
2. Blue Jasmine- Allen's 2nd biggest film of the last 20 years
3 and 4.Last Vegas and Percy Jackson for making the most out of their openings with great legs and especially a solid earner for Vegas.
5. Wizard of Oz 3D/ Imax- More theaters than the recent Top Gun and Raiders, and a much huger PSA and cracked the top 10. Should have been given a semi wide release.

Considering it was released with minimal fanfare at a time when 3-D is partly losing its luster and only played at most IMAX locations for a few days before losing its screens to A Good Day to Die Hard, I consider Top Gun's 3 million fairly impressive.

And it wasn't a light, audience-friendly comedy like Midnight in Paris was. For what was basically a melodrama it did really, really well and actually stands as one of SPC's biggest films ever. Very impressive run.

I also thought the run for Spring Breakers was pretty impressive, all things considered. Its opening weekend in three theaters outgrossed every movie Harmony Korine had done before, and it actually opened pretty decently in wide release despite mixed reviews and not having much going for it other than "Disney stars gone wild". I never would've expected the movie to make more than a couple million before it opened, let alone $14 million. For a first film from an independent distributor it was a nice start for them.

The Place Beyond the Pines did similarly well in the spring, I think. Initially it felt like the movie was just being dumped since the critical reception was decent at best, but it did really well in limited release and had a solid expansion into wide release, and still stands as one of the stronger platform releases of the year.

Oh, and Enough Said did really nicely for an indie starring two actors primarily known for their TV work but not for headlining movies.

I think Allen got some enormous goodwill thanks to Midnight in Paris. Even From Rome with Love did unusually well for a criticaly not-so-well-received outing from him.

I thought of Enough Said, but Gandolfini's death definitely helped it. Glad that it's a great movie though.

Bigger question, was is the most disappointing run for a smaller film. I think Before Midnight is definitely the one to beat. I don't think anyone ever expected it to be big, but I think a lot of us were expecting at 15+ gross.

That's what she said x2.

Obviously Escape Plan.

Did more than Bullet to the Head and The Last Stand combined, and for the straight-up action genre, it made a respectable gross. Nowadays there is little demand for these movies starring these types of guys. It made more than most Stathams'. It's all positive.

Obviously, LOL. There was nothing impressive about Escape Plan's gross. It's overseas was a saving grace, but domestic??

High concept action films continue to do well. They just aren't mainstream draws anymore. A year ago, I am immensely disappointed that all three films couldn't even make 45 million combined.

A movie that makes less than half its budget back is not impressive by any means no matter how you look at it. Obviously I'm only talking domestic, which is what Magnus is talking here.

Making half your budget back from one country is very impressive, actually.

You have to judge films on the success of similar recent movies. The similar recent movies are The Last Stand and Bullet to the Head (all three were sold on their older star names), and Escape Plan made more than those two combined. That's in the positive direction. That's a success.

Comparing it to all other films and saying it didn't make much is not a fair barometer at all. It was never meant to make as much as Transformers or The Matrix, and nobody thought it would either. I reiterate, making half of your budget from one country is very good, and making a profit from your cinema run is beyond great -- most movies wait until DVD and TV before turning a profit.

no

I'm definitely in agreement with Magnus on the top two.

Instructions Not Included came out of absolutely nowhere. Having grown up in an area with a substantial Latino population, I know that demographic is underserved as far as major movies aimed at them are concerned, but still... this thing went way above and beyond the most generous of pre-release expectations. It also took advantage of a slow time on the calendar, so it was one of those cases of the right movie for the right audience at the right time.

It almost feels like cheating to put The Purge on the list given that it was expected to do well, but with the parameters in place, it's certainly worth mentioning. Universal capitalized big time on a rare gap in the June schedule. We all knew it was going to be pretty well screwed after opening weekend, and the marketing team did a fantastic job of getting as many people as they could there for the opening weekend. Even though next year's sequel won't be a money loser, it's also probably not going to be even nearly as successful as this one.