— “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” may have been the big opener of the
weekend, but the big story (OK, one of the big stories) now that the
weekend is behind us is just how well M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last
Airbender” did, even as critics belched with displeasure and audiences
didn’t respond much better in post-screening surveys.
“Airbender” netted some wincing critical notices.
And for good reason, as many of those who saw the movie — a fantasy
film about a magical child named Aang and his desire to save the world
while being pursued by evil leaders of the Fire Nation — can attest.
(The Los Angeles Times’
“Airbender’s” “determinedly unsophisticated dialogue” and said that
“nothing about the film’s functional visual effects makes a major
impression.”)
Yet people came to see the film anyway, with the movie grossing in the U.S. a very solid
Even taking just the four-day weekend domestic total of
it’s still an impressive take, the highest three-day U.S. total among
Shyamalan’s last three films. This as the director’s latest entry into
his library of science fiction, fantasy and horror earned some of the
worst reviews of his career. And that’s saying something. Since Night’s
reasonably well-reviewed “Signs” garnered a 74 percent approval rating
on Rotten Tomatoes, the director’s numbers have steadily declined. He
outdid the mediocre 43 percent of “The Village” with the tepid 25
percent of “Lady in the Water,” sank lower with 18 percent for “The
Happening” before a putrid 8 percent for “Airbender.”
Certainly, the “Clash of the Titans” effect was at
work here, as higher ticket prices from a late conversion to 3-D helped
boost the bottom-line gross.
weekends brought the release of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,”
“Hancock,” “Transformers,” “Superman Returns” and “War of the Worlds.”
“The Last Airbender” doesn’t exactly match the pyrotechnics of most of
those films, but absent a
Given all these factors — and the fact that lukewarm
word of mouth (the movie earned a “C” CinemaScore) could mean it ends
its U.S. run quickly — an interesting question reveals itself like
Aang’s telltale tattoos: Has Shyamalan re-established himself as a
director capable of a box-office draw?
The existence of said factors could work against him, but the numbers should prove a powerful weapon. A
It’s an important question for a director who hasn’t
had the clout he once had to get a quirky passion project through the
pipeline and who also is looking to show he’s still reliable enough to
be put in charge of a big budget (about
here, according to some estimates, a budget larger than any he’s
piloted before). And it’s an essential question for “Airbender,” whose
final scene is set up as a tease for a new movie — in fact two more are
waiting in the wings (or Shyamalan’s mind).
In his “Last Airbender” review, a displeased
After these surprisingly good numbers, we wouldn’t be so sure.
———
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