Going into last weekend, expectations for the adaptation of the first novel in Suzanne Collins' dystopian novel trilogy were huge, but The Hunger Games opened even huger than anyone anticipated, becoming the third-biggest domestic opening of all time.  In its second weekend, the film was facing competition from two new releases, the sequel Wrath of the the Titans and the family-friendly Snow White tale Mirror Mirror.  Though both of those films opened well, they were up against the indomitable The Hunger Games.

While it undertook the task of actually making The Hunger Games, Lionsgate smartly began pumping the film up as an inevitable blockbuster, expertly playing the hype-harmonium on the adaptation of Suzanne Collins's first novel in her dystopian trilogy.  It started a year ago with breathless yet seemingly endless casting talk, it continued over months of official images, and led up to weeks of fevered anticipated and total marketing ubiquity.  It all paid off, as The Hunger Games just opened to an estimated $155.0 million over three days. 

Okay, let's get the bad news out of the way right off the bat: this weekend's box office was down from the corresponding weekend last year, a first in this so-far commercially robust 2012.  Still, it was only down 8% from last year, when Limitless, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Paul all opened.  This weekend had just one wide release, and that one performed excellently.  21 Jump Street opened in first place, while two very different films in limited release got off to promising starts.

This weekend saw the addition of three new wide releases to the movie marketplace, one an expensive would-be franchise starter, one a thriller remake built around a cinematography novelty, and one family-friendly vehicle from an erstwhile stand-up comedian with a predilection towards leather outfits.  Of these three, none were able to really make an impression commercially, and last week's number one movie, The Lorax, once again stood atop the box office heap grooming his Wilfred Brimley-style mustache.  Disney's John Carter, a movie whose budget has been the subject of much hemming and hawing, debuted in second place.

It's Oscar weekend, which means the culmination of months and months of fevered speculation and whatnot.  While The Artist is the subject of Awards Season discussions, four new releases hit nationwide theaters on Friday, and according to estimates, Relativity Media's military actioner Act of Valor won the weekend by a sizable margin.  One of the other new releases performed within expectations in second place, while the other two disappointed in eighth and ninth.

Opening in theaters on February 24th is the new American war film Act of Valor directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. The movie is unique in comparison to other Hollywood action films in that it stars actual active duty U.S. Navy SEALs and U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen, rather than real actors. in addition to the U.S. active duty servicemen featured in the film, the movie also stars actors Roselyn Sanchez (Basic), Nestor Serrano (The Negotiator) and Emilio Rivera (Spider-Man 3). 

IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down with the films directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh to talk about Act of Valor. The two directors discussed their new film, the benefits and the challenges of using actual active duty soldiers, mixing them with real actors, and the movie's authentic high-octane action sequences. 

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The Navy SEALs are some of the most badass individuals to ever walk the Earth, responsible for carrying out the most intricate, precise, and dangerous black ops missions all over the globe.  Rather than rely on actors to provide a portrayal that could never live up to the real thing, the new one-of-a-kind epic film Act of Valor instead stars a group of active-duty SEALs, placing these real-life commandos in a fictionalized story.  The real SEALs provide a never before-seen punch to an original story of globe-spanning adventure, which features some of the most spectacular action set pieces ever committed to film.  Relativity Media released the first trailer today, and it highlights the truly unprecedented access that the United States Navy granted co-directors Mike McCoy and Steve Waugh to create an accurate picture of SEALs get the job done, with weapons and tactics taken directly from reality.

No matter how long or difficult the training endured by actors starring in countless military-themed movies, no performer can possibly do full justice to a real-life special operator, the impeccably trained and impossibly tough personnel responsible for carrying out highly secretive precision covert missions all over the planet.  The new action epic Act of Valor finds a way around that issue of verisimilitude, as it stars for-real active duty Navy SEALs, the most badass commandos the United States Military has to offer.  With a script by 300 screenwriter Kurt Johnstad, co-directors Mike McCoy and Steve Waugh were afforded unprecedented access by the Navy, and the result is a one-of-a-kind action film that takes its heroes across the globe in a race to stop an almost unimaginable threat.

Today, Relativity Media unveiled the very first one-sheet poster for Act of Valor, and its design is evocative and striking in its simplicity and starkness.  Not only that, but the distributor also announced details for a wholly unique event that teams Act of Valor up with the forthcoming videogame Battlefield 3, allowing fans the opportunity to see the movie early and play the game on the big screen.

Since the assassination of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEAL Team 6 in May, there has naturally been a resurgence of interest in the badass exploits of America's special operators.  Luckily, the new action film Act of Valor was made with unprecedented access to the fighting force itself, and even stars a group of active duty SEALs as a team on a global mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.  Directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh from a script by 300 screenwriter Kurt Johnstad, the already completed production has just been acquired by Relativity Media, and Act of Valor will provide all the realistic, SEAL-based action that the public demands in 2012.