From Hits: “[Next] week’s chart will probably be topped by Rhino’s soundtrack to the universally adored* Juno, with a projected 70-75k. It should be followed by a still-robust Alicia Keys (J/RMG), who’s headed toward 60-65k, with Radiohead (TBD/ATO/RED) and Mary J. Blige (Geffen) both looking 55-60k-ish. After that comes a big drop, with nine–count ‘em–nine releases all trending toward 25-30k; Yup, a piddly 25k will get you in the Top 10 next week. ” And if you thought that was bad, wait, it looks even worse when you compare it to the numbers from this time last year!
The charts released last Jan. 17 had the Dreamgirls soundtrack in the top spot, and it reached No. 1 by selling only 60,000 copies. So at the top, the numbers seem more healthy–but if you look further down the top 10, the numbers get more comparatively grim; the No. 10 album from that week, Nickelback’s All The Right Reasons, sold 35,000 copies, more than any of the albums that aren’t in the top three.
Rumor Mill [Hits Daily Double]
* FYI: Juno was not universally adored, especially in the section of the universe currently occupied by this writer. Jennifer Garner was quite good, as were pretty much all the adults in the film. But Ellen Page’s character annoyed the crap out of me, although I do wonder if I’d have been as irked if the movie’s opening scene–and anything involving cutesy references to that hamburger phone she had–had been cut out entirely. (Sorry, Rainn Wilson.)
my review of Juno: meh.
I felt the same way. The first 20 minutes made me want to stab something, but by the end of it, I felt pretty blah about the whole thing. It doesn’t yet garner the same amount of disdain as say, Garden State, but I have a feeling in about six months it will.
“Juno” is both thoroughly competent and ragingly insipid. I think the governing dictum was probably “If we have three choices we can make, we choose the quirkiest. If we don’t have a quirky choice, we choose the one that makes you feel edified for caring a bout a pregnant teenager.” That said, I saw a Q&A with the director where he talked an almost unbearably smug, condescending game about “real people” or some other horseshit you could tell his spoiled ass only knew from “How To Be a Democrat 101″ and that pretty much pushed me to being a “Juno” hater.
However, I did like the soundtrack.
SOO over these parade-of-quirk movies. See There Will Be Blood for something way more satisfying.
@futurehorse: I was predisposed to not liking Juno based on the Garden State comparisons. (Ick.) Then I found out that Kimya Dawson did the soundtrack. Now I am certain that I will never, ever see that movie. Thank you, Internets!
a-fucking-men. So glad to see other people found Juno to be overly self-aware and very meh.
Worst part of it: while leaving the movie theatre, the missus and I hear a group of Hot Topic-ed emo 14 year old girls talking about the character of “Juno” and saying “Ohmygod! I want to be her!!”
Yes, they want to be knocked up high school juniors in Minnesota too.
For thos that do not hate Kimya she is playing in Brooklyn on 1/16 at Europa with Karl Blau, Angelo Spencer (her husband) and Cuddles Kovinsky who have an amazing youtube Mockumentary about the band.
I liked it, and I generally despise these movies. So whatever.
You know that scene in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, where that one spy gets his drink poisoned, and proceeds to die, allowing his assailant to scrawl “NO LOVE” on a well-placed piece of paper? I want to do that to Juno.
Liked the movie. Yes, the first 20 minutes of Juno is supposed to be annoying — you’ll notice her quirk is dialed back more and more as the movie goes on.
It’s no Rushmore, but what is?
(As for the soundtrack, I preferred the Barry Louis Polisar track that plays over the opening credits.)
I sense a lot of jealousy in the vitriolic backlash towards Juno. Here’s betting everyone that hates it has an unfinished screenplay lying around that they wish they could ever get around to finishing so that it might be picked up and turned into the indie it film of the season.
You’re all just mad because they made the indie yuppie character an asshole.
@Audif Jackson Winters III: Are you kidding? That was the most realistic thing about the movie!
@JZ13: Oh, hi Diablo.
@maura: Maybe so. I was just thinking, likely readership demo for this site, Medusa and the mirror, etc.
@Ned Raggett:
Diablo’s commented on Jezebel recently actually. Her commenter id is Diablo_Cody.
Doubtless.
It is not a coincidence that JZ13 appeared the same week I was re-reading “Crying of Lot 49.”
She actually seems a lot more open to criticism than Mr. JZ13.
Juno is the perfect movie for people who consider “indie” a genre. Film or music, really.