'Act of Valor' News: Weekend Box-Office Hit
"Act of Valor," the movie about real-life Navy SEALs, has claimed the weekend's highest earnings opening with $24.7 million.
The military action film beat Tyler Perry's "Good Deeds" as well as "Wanderlust," which starred Jennifer Aniston.
Despite the Oscar Awards Sunday night, movie theaters were filled with viewers who preferred war scenes.
"Act of Valor" sees intense combat scenes with state-of-the-art equipment that features the SEAL stars in training. Distributed by Relativity Media, the film was a surprising and much-needed success.
The financially struggling independent studio topped other production companies by paying $13.5 million for the rights to the movie, according to The Los Angeles Times. Also, Relativity Media contributed several million dollars toward advertising for the movie, including four commercials during the Super Bowl and online material.
Known as the Bandito Brothers, Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh directed "Act of Valor." The film stars Alex Veadov, Roselyn Sanchez, and Nestor Serrano.
"Act of Valor" follows an elite team of Navy SEALs that embark on a covert mission to recover a CIA agent who is being held hostage. The film offers a glimpse into the SEALs' families' lives in the U.S. while the soldiers tour the Philippines, Somalia, Mexico, and many other locations. The SEALs also encounter terrorists who aim to strike America and are forced to engage in combat.
The untrained actors and real-life SEALs performed their own stunts in the film, and although the budget was modest, the production value of "Act of Valor" did not suffer.
The Judd Apatow-produced "Wanderlust," starring Aniston and Paul Rudd, saw a disappointing $6.6 million over the weekend in the box office, while the thriller "Gone" starring Amanda Seyfried opened with a mere $5 million.
Perry's "Good Deeds" received decent opening earnings with $16 million, marking the second-smallest opening for the famed filmmaker and actor.
Also in theaters over the weekend, previously-released films such as "The Vow" and "Safe House" continued to do well. The Oscar-nominated film "The Artist" enjoyed a 23 percent sales increase and $3 million over the weekend.
