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Updated the top movies year to date list above. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo did OK with a limited release but I think not good enough to stay on theaters for a couple more of weeks especially with the influx of new releases:Anyway movies opening this week (or have opened already)Feb. 8 - The Woman in BlackFeb. 9 - Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 3DFeb. 10 - The Vow & Safe HouseNext week, Hugo will finally open here on Feb. 15 Ditto The Descendants

February 1-5, 2012 per Box Office Mojo [*]Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - $604,950 [*]Chronicle - $369,565 [*]Underworld Awakening - $205,251 [*]The Darkest Hour - $142,526 [*]The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - $135,484 (41 screens only) [*](local) My Cactus Heart - $134,142 [*]The Grey - $42,272 [*]Man on a Ledge - $37,513 [*]Contraband - $22,538 [*]Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - $9,456 [*]Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows - $8,135 [*]Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 - $5,040 [*]J. Edgar - $413 [*]We Bought a Zoo - $232

My bad, should have been re-issue lol

I thought this would be the week The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo will cross 100 million but it's less than a million away from it anyway.Beauty and Beast 3D will likely end around 50 million which is good

Just 8% drop for Hugo

Since no one is bringing it up, weak start for Big Miracle but for what is worth the reviews are generally good and it got a good cinema score so maybe it could have legs? But it will compete with Journey 2 for the family audience next week plus Star Wars remake is a wildcard

Great numbers for Chronicle and Woman in Black! Every week is doing good so far

Walang anuman

Home Alone! Well it was a childhood classic :DBut before I rarely watch movies in actual theaters (except for local movies my mother drags me along when I was young), always on VHS/VCD/DVD through rentals and before 2011 the average of movies I see in the theaters is 2. Athough since Titanic came along I've always been interested with box office records and the Oscar awards. But last year I got a gig on writing movie reviews for a local website and I was able to attend press screenings and my love for watching movies in the big screen was renewed. And well I also went through a rough period at work that time and watching movies before going home was my escape and well it became a habit

Good cinemascores for them as well, I was slightly worried Chronicle will get a low grade

And one thing though sometimes it bothers me when some of the people's snacks have a strong smell like sandwiches

Most of the time it's 400, they go 500 for "in demand" 3D movie like Harry Potter and Transformers. For "old" movies they reissue on IMAX (when there's no notable new IMAX release) it's 300-350

I for one will catch it since I never watched it in the theaters just on VHS (oh how archaic! haha).Another one to watch for is The Hunger Games, never read the books but I'm feeling the same hype as Twilight was and the books are always sold out in the bookstores. Never watched any Twilight movie but I Will check out The Hunger Games since I love Jennifer Lawrence

Underworld had the 3D advantage and also I think Sherlock Holmes is not really that much of draw here since we are more into superhero/large scale blockbusters. Although I agree the playdate could have been a factor, people don't spend that much after the holidaysI'm really curious how Titanic 3D will perform here, I remember when I was kid this movie had an epic run here like 7 to 8 months in the theaters and the crowd response to the trailer has been positive.

I agree, never experienced that kind of crowd (even for the local movies), the most terrible I think I experienced is kids crying / whining to their parents

Chronicle Feb. 3, 2012 Glorietta, Makati City, Philippines 6 pm screening 70% full (500 seats) - very mixed audience with lots of 20-30s peeps, old men and women , teenagers and families in the crowd Trailers: Hugo - I think the Oscar nominations on this one sparked interest because there was some chatter now unlike before when people are basically silent when this trailer is being shown Machine Gun Preacher Footloose - some reaction when they realized it's the Footloose remake. This movie was supposed to open here last October but it got moved and still has no playdate. Starting to doubt if this will ever be shown here Ghost Rider 2 - some laughs Hoodwinked 2 - really weird to see this one, although I don't recall this movie ever being shown here but it's too late already if they are going to show it here Wrath of the Titans This Means War - some laughs The movie: Both loved & hated the found footage gimick of Chronicle but nevertheless a good film with a strong and intense final act. The actor who played Andrew was terrific, great casting! The crowd seemed bored at first coz I saw some people texting and sleeping but the middle and final act got the people's interest and I could they feel were really into it. As I exit the theater I heard some grumbles of they didn't like it that much (mostly from the older crowd) but there were also good chatter especially with regards to Andrew, he really made an impression. B The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Feb. 3, 2012 Glorietta, Makati City, Philippines 7:45 pm screening SOLD OUT (300 seats) - I think the theater underestimated this movie's appeal because they should have given this the larger theater which I believe it could easily fill up. Man on a Ledge & Journey 2 were on the 500-seater theaters and they were not sold out especially the former. Crowd is mostly made up of young professionals and a lot of people were like me watching it alone (which is unique given that it was a Friday night and usually people watch movies in pairs or groups). A lot of foreign nationals were there too. Trailers: The Amazing Spider-man My Week with Marilyn - some 'wow' from the audience, I think because they are impressed that this movie could be shown here The Vow - strong reaction from the girls and I'm very sure this will make a killing in the box office next week and on Valentines day Machine Gun Preacher John Carter 21 Jump Street - great actions, lots of laughs from the audience The movie: After the opening credits, I heard some applause. Anyway, this is my first encounter with the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo franchise, never saw any of the swedish films or read the book so this is the POV from someone who has no investment or attachment from the source material. I could easily tell how difficult this material is to adapt for the movie because the structure is quite complicated and there are various stories being told here but wow Fincher really pulled it off as he managed to carry this movie to an impressive pace, getting to the meat of the Vanger mystery while serving the other facets of the story (Lisbeth's ordeal, Mikael's libel case) quite well. The Vanger case itself is interesting enough to hold the movie on its own but Lisbeth's story is just fascinating. The crowd was very much into it and I heard a woman sob during the and people cheered when . The crowd responded well with the Lisbeth and Mikael scenes and laughed on parts like Mara indeed deserved her Oscar nomination, she was really great here. Lots of good chatter as I exited the theater. Really glad this one was shown here without cuts A-

^ always love reading your crowd reports Andy Stitzer, your rating system is good

Top Movies for 2012 To Date [uPDATED 2/9/12] [*]Underworld Awakening - $2,147,983 [*]Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows -$1,458,023 [*]Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked -$1,323,147 [*]Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol* - $1,186,413* [*]The Darkest Hour - $724,303 [*]Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - $604,950 - [*](local) A Mother's Story - $574,764 [*](local) My Cactus Heart -$469,311 [*]Chronicle - $369,565 [*]Contraband - $166,418 [*]The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - $135,484 [*]We Bought a Zoo - $131,497 [*]Haywire - $55,483 [*]J.Edgar - $42,542 [*]The Grey - $42,272 [*]Man on a Ledge - $37,513 [*]Coriolanus - $27,332 *Overall gross: $3,968,533It went back to theaters on Jan. 8 and the only foreign movie holdover from 2011

Yeah, I expect this to be big here but I think either The Dark Knight Rises or The Avengers willl top this year. Bourne Legacy will not be in 3D right? Which will benefit The Avengers and Dark Knight Rises has IMAX as well, It could finish a strong #3. But I could be wrong though because the hype right now is insane (I also saw them last weekend shooting in Taft! Too bad I couldn't spot Rachel Weisz! hehehe)

LOTS of movies opened this week:Feb. 1Man on a LedgeThe GreyThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- limited screes though because it's R18 with no cuts and the biggest cinema chain in the country, SM, does not exhibit R18 movies. So expect box office to be a little low on this oneFeb. 2ChronicleJourney 2: The Mysterious IslandNext week due to open are:Feb. 8 - The Woman in BlackFeb. 9 - Star Wars: Phantom Menace 3DFeb. 10 - Safe House & The Vow

January 25-29, 2012 http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/philippines/?yr=2012&wk=4&p=.htm [*]Underworld Awakening - $583,101 [*]The Darkest Hour - $474,412 [*]My Cactus Heart (local) - $256,098 [*]Contraband - $115,120 [*]Haywire - $55,483 [*]Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - $44,913 [*]Alvin and The Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked - $40,990 [*]Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - $40,826 [*]J. Edgar - $36,726 [*]We Bought a Zoo - $6,291

Drew McWeeny, you can really see the passion in his reviews and he's not snarky most of the time. Some critics are snarky just because they think it makes them "edgy"

^ 400 pesos

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island SM Mall of Asia IMAX, Philippines Press Screening, 8pm, January 31, 2012 90% full / 500 seats No trailers but the prologue of Dark Knight Rises was shown before the movie and the crowd applause after it was shown. The movie It's fun enough but I feel like they didn't explore the island enough. Visual effects are generally good save for the chase scene involving bees because it looked so fake. The actors are fine, Luiz Guzman was funny. The crowd reception was okay and I heard some good chatter as I exit the theater. It's basically a by-the-numbers family adventure flick, it's not awful by any means but not memorable either B-

Neeson is a box office star of the midlevel kind but still he's consistent and that's impressive. The Grey's premise is a tough sell so this OW is really good.