Despite reports of its sluggish slow-pace, The American came out on top of the Labour Day weekend box-office results, earning a total of $16.4M (bumping up its total gross earnings to $19.5M). Surprising some, The American turned out to be something more than just another spy movie. Despite boasting the charismatic George Clooney as its top billing, The American actually has more in common with art-house sensibilities then it does with its spy-thriller predecessors. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise however, since Clooney has been known before to have bordered the lines of art-house cinema and genre-filmmaking in one single movie (take Up in the Air or Michael Clayton as examples). As word spreads (which these days takes no more than 5 minutes), one has to wonder if the name Clooney will have the power and influence to overcome the demands of the high-octane seeking mainstream box-office audience. There’s only one way to find out: patiently wait until this time next week.
As for the No. 2 spot in the Labour Day weekend box-office results, the grindhouse-like Machete filled in nicely with a total sum of $14M. Boasting an epic cast that includes the likes of Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal, Jessica Alba, Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Cheech Martin, and Lindsay Lohan (just to name a few), all under the co-direction of Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Planet Terror), it is a bit surprising that Machete didn’t come out in the No. 1 spot. Having heard a lot of chatter about Machete’s gruesome subject material, I am now left wondering: is it possible for a movie to be too gruesome for the box-office audience? Then again, this was the Labour Day weekend after all; most people were probably outdoors, enjoying the unofficial ending to the summer season. Just as with The American, let’s wait patiently until this time next week.
Here is the completebox-office tally for the Labour Day weekend:
1. The American $16.4M (total gross: $19.5M)
2. Machete $14M (total gross: $14M)
3. Takers $13.5M (total gross: $40M)
4. The Last Exorcism $8.78M (total gross: $33.5M)
5. Going The Distance $8.61M (total gross: $8.61M)
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