Weekend Box-Office: ‘Chappie’ Wins A Dismal Weekend With Lukewarm Numbers, ‘American Sniper’ Becomes 2014’s #1 Film

Two weeks ago, fanboys hailed Neill Blomkamp as the new messiah; he would lead them into the promised land of a new “Alien” franchise film with Ridley Scott producing and Sigourney Weaver starring. But reviews for Blomkamp’s sci-fi robot film, “Chappie,” hit this week and they weren’t pretty (our review was perhaps a bit more in the middle). Audiences, possibly on the fence as it was — there’s no star in the film aside from Hugh Jackman, who plays a villain — actually paid heed to critics, and while “Chappie” was number one at the box-office this weekend, its $13 million opening is pretty depressing for a film released in over 3,200 theaters. So maybe those “Alien” expectations are now tempered? The rest of the weekend was much the same story for new releases, and it was the worst box-office weekend on record in about three months. Though it wasn’t quite terrible for "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," considering its limited appeal. The movie only...