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"Blind"-sided
Published: 11/24/2009 5:14 PM
Last Modified: 11/24/2009 5:14 PM

For two weeks, I kept seeing ads during football games for “The Blind Side,” the movie based on the true story of NFL player Michael Oher and the family that helped this young man with an unfortunate upbringing find happiness, security and success.
I kept thinking that with the emphasis on Sandra Bullock as the sassy, caring mom shown in the commercials, this didn’t look like your average sports movie, despite its placement during football games watched predominantly by men.
It turns out “The Blind Side” is a huge hit, with an opening three-day box-office at $34.5 million, and that success is thanks to women. Centering more on the feel-good story than on sports action, the audience was 59 percent women, according to tracking by the CinemaScore service.
Have women ever dominated a weekend like this past one, with the "Twilight" sequel, "New Moon," making $142 million, and then "The Blind Side" numbers? It's not likely.
The "Blind Side" good fortune is likely to continue, because the film connected with audiences in a rare manner, according to CinemaScore data: “The Blind Side” is only the second film of 2009 to average an A-plus rating from theatergoers leaving screenings, accomplished previously this year only by “Up.”

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Tulsa World Scene Writer Michael Smith (3 years ago)

I can relate to that reaction. I'm watching a commercial for the movie during a game a week ago, my 9-year-old daughter is there, and as soon as it ends she asks if we can go. I would have never figured her for such a film, but she said "It looks like a really good story." Hard to argue with...

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I See Movies for Free

“I was born a poor, black child” … not me, actually, but Steve Martin’s character in the “The Jerk.” That absurd opening line is just one of the absurd number of film facts, quotes and minutiae contained in movie critic Michael Smith’s brain, at his disposal to toss out on a moment’s notice. It’s a key requirement as Tulsa World film critic to know these things. Michael learned a few other life facts along the way (seven years as a Crystal’s Pizza & Spaghetti manager) before attempting journalism and joining the Tulsa World in 1996, where he’s covered everything from a school shooting in Fort Gibson to a tornado in Stroud to witnessing an execution. A little community theater coverage was sprinkled in there, too. Movies engender many of his happiest memories, from standing in line for “Star Wars” and “Grease” at the Southroads Cinema to the James Bond and Pink Panther movies that always premiered at the enormous Continental Theater.

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Past Articles By Michael Smith

2/16/2013		Broken Arrow movie theater moves to discount showings
2/15/2013		Review: 'Amour'
2/15/2013		Review: 'A Good Day to Die Hard'
2/15/2013		Review: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/14/2013		Review: 'Quartet'
2/14/2013		Shirley MacLaine to speak at Osage Casino
2/14/2013		Weekly rewind: February 14
2/14/2013		REVIEW: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/12/2013		Belgian best picture hopeful 'Amour' opens in Tulsa on Friday
2/10/2013		'Die Hard' marathon at AMC Southroads on Wednesday ends with new film
2/9/2013		Review: 'Identity Thief' a stupid movie from stupid idea
2/8/2013		Oscar audit: Critics choices for best picture hold up over time

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