Weekend Boxoffice: "Hoodwinked," "Brokeback" Triumph

Our tip that the CGI remake of "Little Red Riding Hood" would score at the box office is looking smarter and smarter. "Hoodwinked" dropped a tiny 11% this weekend from its opening, showing very good word of mouth. It grossed $11.1 million and is just under $30 mil. It finally faces some family film competition Friday when "Big Momma's House 2" opens, but $50 mil looks likely. That plus DVD sales means this "indie" cartoon (budgeted at less than $15 mil) is a huge success. "Brokeback Mountain" capitalized on four Golden Globes (including Best Drama) to expand to almost 1,200 screens, gross $7.8 mil and hit $42.1 mil total. With Oscar noms coming up, $75 mil now looks in sight, an exceptional total for another modestly budgeted film they said would never play in the heartland. And look at two movies crossing $100 mil this week: "Walk The Line" had every possible advantage, including hot young stars, massive media attention and fondness for Johnny and June Carter Cash. "Fun With Dick and Jane" was a tepid remake that had nothing going for it, no good reviews, no media attention, nothing. Nothing except one thing: Jim Carrey in the lead. And that's why he makes the big bucks.