The story centers on the late Jay Moriarity and his quest to ride the iconic Northern California break known as Mavericks, where winter swells bring in treacherous waves the size of five-story buildings. Moriarity trained for more than a year under mentor Frosty Hesson, and in the process the two forged a unique relationship that ultimately transformed both their lives. Moriarity’s story remains an inspiration to surfers around the globe, who’ve coined the phrase, “Live like Jay.”(Variety).

No word yet on who could possibly be tapped to star in the dramatic tale. Walden Media have backed up a few features for years, their most recent ones being Tooth Fairy and the upcoming family film Ramona and Beezus.

The some what more surprising part within the box office goes to the $12 Million that went to Touchstone Pictures’ When In Rome. Clearly not loved by all critics, the power of random romantic comedies dumped in the dull months still continues to show it’s power within the droves of audiences just wanting to watch anything. The Tooth Fairy did not get the love for itself or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson like Twentieth Century Fox expected from this film, only making $26 Million in two weeks despite it’s $48 Million price tag. Maybe if little kids were not feeding the money making monster like Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, this fantasy-like tale would have more staying power. Here’s the rest of the box office below from Box Office Mojo.:

Weekend Box Office (January 29-31)

1. Avatar  ($30 M)
2. Edge of Darkness  ($17.1 M)
3. When In Rome  (12 M)
4. Tooth Fairy  ($10 M)
5. The Book of Eli  ($8.7 M)
6. Legion  ($6.8 M)
7. The Lovely Bones  ($4.7 M)
8. Sherlock Holmes  ($4.5 M)
9. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel  ($4 M)
10. It’s Complicated  ($3.7 M)

It’s February and you know what that means? Huge buckets full of commercialism, which is perfect for anything having to do with a sappy sort of subject matter. Speaking of sappy, the latest Nicholas Sparks inspired tale Dear John creeps up on the big screen this week along with From Paris With Love. In limited theaters this coming Friday is Frozen, District 13: Ultimatum and The Shinjuku Incident along with a New York release of The Red Riding Trilogy which is expected to expand to Los Angeles on February 12th.

What a surprise, James Cameron’s Golden Globe winning feature Avatar managed to topple the competition in the weekend box office for the sixth week in a row with $36 Million. The mammoth of a movie at this point is not showing any signs of stopping, already making its way towards the top spot in the all time domestic grosses. Some people are pissed off just purely because it’s James Cameron against himself with Titanic in the number one spot, but it’s still entertaining to a point. Avatar holds about $552 Million while Titanic has $600 Million. At this rate, it can easily be obtained with the newest feature taking the top spot.

Then we go onto the realm of worldwide (inflated) grosses, where it’s looking pretty close. Titanic carries $1.842.9 Billion in gross worldwide, while Avatar is inches away with only $1, 836.1 Billion. At this rate, by this time next week Avatar could be the reigning champion which would further solidify James Cameron as the absolute king of the box office.

Now onto the other films that were released this week, the first of them being the Lionsgate feature Legion. The post-apocalyptic tale that involves some bad ass angels took in a solid $18.2 Million, which is fairly good despite the mixed reviews that have been fluttering about already for the Paul Bettany starring feature. Dwayne Johnson sported his new silk pajamas the best that he could, but unfortunately not good enough as Tooth Fairy only managed to make about $14.5 Million, despite the fact that it’s the latest kid-friendly feature to come out in theaters and could easily have taken the dim spotlight away from The Spy Next Door.

Then last goes to the inspirational and based-on-a-true-story tale of Extraordinary Measures which managed to not capture many hearts in theaters as it only took in $7 Million. Here’s the rest of the weekend box office provided by Box Office Mojo.:

Weekend Box Office (January 22-24th)

1. Avatar  ($36 M)
2. Legion  ($18.2 M)
3. The Book of Eli  ($17 M)
4. The Tooth Fairy  ($14.5 M)
5. The Lovely Bones  ($8.8 M)
6. Sherlock Holmes  ($7.1 M)
7. Extraordinary Measures  ($7 M)
8. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel  ($6.5 M)
9. It’s Complicated  ($6.1 M)
10. The Spy Next Door  ($4.7 M)

We are winding down to the last weekend in January before we go into the sickening and romantic month of February, or at least a particular day. The releases for the weekend include the limited one of After Dark Horrorfest 4 – 8 Films to Die For, Off and Running and a New York and Los Angeles release of Saint John from Las Vegas that is expected to expand on February 12th. The rest of the mainstream releases include Edge of Darkness and When in Rome.

Derek Thompson (Johnson) is ‘The Tooth Fairy,’ a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids. When Derek discourages a youngster’s hopes, he’s sentenced to one week’s hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first, Derek “can’t handle the tooth” – bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers’ homes…doing what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.

Tooth Fairy is knee deep under Twentieth Century Fox and comes out on January 22nd. Here’s the exclusive clip below from Coming Soon.:

(January 8th)

Daybreakers

Jon: While the vampire genre is do for a comedown, I think this film looks pretty fun. It has a feeling of a Blade movie, with a twist, and after hearing Willem Dafoe say: “We’re the folks with the crossbows” I was instantly sold. Now, this use of a blue tint like Underworld is getting on my nerves, but my faith is restored after reading Serena Whitney’s early TIFF review here. See It

Donny: I’m totally with Jon on this one. The Spierig brothers seem to have their fingers on the pulse of horror fans the world over and I’m ready to see them rock the shit out of the vampire genre. See It

Youth in Revolt

Jon: I’ll admit that Michael Cera’s so-called charm is on my last damn nerve, yet this might be a breakout/satirical spin on his persona. A Fight Club for the artsy nerd types even has gotten me excited for it. See It

Donny: I don’t love Michael Cera, but I’m stoked about this flick. The trailer is fun, so if the flick delivers the goods that the trailer promises it will I’m totally there. See It

(January 15th)

The Spy Next Door

Jon: Just when you thought Jackie Chan might be back after seeing The Forbidden Kingdom, here he comes with this goofy piece. Ugh. Remember the Tuxedo? Why does this look like it’s unofficial sequel? I’m sure the laziest of Chan fans will eat it up, but Skip It

Donny: This is pretty scary, Jon and I don’t usually agree this often, but I’m gonna agree with him again and say that this flick doesn’t interest me in the slightest. I’m gonna recommend  skipping it because my kids are gonna surely drag me into the theatre to see it.

The Book of Eli

Jon: I loved From Hell, the Hughes Brothers last directed film. With this film’s original screenplay, and a kick all ass trailer, all levels of interest are piqued. Denzel. Oldman. Kunis. Great cast, neat premise (is it some sort of Biblical journey?), and an ORIGINAL idea should be an instant see it.

Donny: What Jon said. See It

(January 22nd)

Legion

Jon: With silly looking special effects, maybe the premise of man versus angels will win us over. That crazy old lady is served for a hilarious joke, a nice bait and switch, yet my non-critic friend always forewarns of a new Dennis Quaid film. I don’t find him to be that bad. But with this month’s prior films-potentially better films-one genre film has to suffer, and I think this will be that one. Skip It

Donny: I want to see this flick strictly because of the whole killer angels sent by God to exterminate the puny humans angle. It seem so wrong it’s sweet. See It

The Tooth Fairy

Jon: The Rock has instant charisma, yet why is he always in goofy (the word of the month) films? This looks family friendly enough, as well as an unofficial sequel (another theme of the month) to The Game Plan. I doubt if there’s much to rally for or against on this one, yet the family market is slim this month, so expect decent box office numbers. Skip It.

Donny: Someone besides me is gonna see this flick because I’m definitely going to skip it.

Extraordinary Measures

Jon: I think this one feels like a wanna-be Oscar film that didn’t happen, as it is fishing for sentimentality. Big, bold, cliched dialogue should not hurt the older crowd from catching a drama this month. Seemingly based on a real story, one family will do whatever it takes to fund a researcher’s new treatment that could potentially save their children. Skip It.

Donny: I am going to disagree with Jon on this one. I think this flick looks like it could deliver the drama goods. See It

When in Rome

Jon: Donny’s imaginary girlfriend Kristen Bell stars in a film he’ll have to take his wife too. We laugh and point our single man fingers at him. Hey, Ms. Bell is hot, but this looks-word of the month-goofy. Directed by Daredevil‘s Marl Steven Johnson, this is the type of flick I’m happy to announce I’m single to. If I have a date this month, we’re doing something…else. Enjoy boss! Skip It.

Donny: Jon is right. Kristen Bell is my imaginary girlfriend and I am positively going to take my wife to see this flick. See It

Edge of Darkness

Jon: I love revenge. At one point in the trailer, I expected Mel Gibson to yell “give back my son!” (a Ransom reference.) It looks solid and grim. With the SAG strike in 2008, this film barely came to be, but with The Departed‘s screenwriter doing a polish and Mel in front of the camera again, I’m expecting some good, twist-y, fun. See It

Donny: I am so ready to see Mel in another revenge flick! This one has been on my radar for a while now, it has a solid script, great cast, and Mel in front of the camera. See It

Not really a stacked month, but expect films that were in limited release to trek out into your market this month. Luckily, us at Killer Film will be covering these films and more, so keep it here for their reviews! Feel free to leave comments below or email us!

The film is being directed by “Journey to the Center of the Earth” helmer Eric Brevig. The script is penned by scribes Jeffrey Ventimilia and Joshua Sternin who both co-wrote the Twentieth Century Fox film “Tooth Fairy”. Initial filming is set to start as early as next month.

Source: THR