George Clooney, The American
After falling slightly behind on Friday (as per studio estimates), Anton Corbijn-George Clooney's minimalist thriller/drama The American ultimately topped the first three days of the Labor Day weekend at the North American box office. Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez's action-thriller Machete, the no. 1 movie on Friday, was down two spots by Sunday, when studios released their weekend estimates.
The American, which reportedly cost $20m, collected $12.96m according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. That's on a par with two recent George Clooney vehicles, the Clooney-directed romantic comedy Leatherheads (2008) and Grant Heslov's political satire The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009). Both turned out to be box-office disappointments, cuming in the low $30m range.
Clooney's more successful Up in the Air's first wide weekend generated $11.27m in sales, but the Jason Reitman-directed comedy-drama's longevity had a lot to do with stellar reviews and continuous awards season buzz that went from its late 2009 debut all the way to March 2010.
Up in the Air's domestic total was $83.82m. Needless to say, The American, which mostly received unenthusiastic reviews, won't get near that and will have to fight its way to reach $30m.
Considering Corbijn's brainy, restrained handling of the material, the movie may have a tough time internationally as well, where moviegoers clearly prefer braindead blow'em-up attractions such as The Expendables.
Photo: The American (Giles Keyte / Alliance Atlantis)