THIS has been a crazy week at Hollywood’s box office! We all know just how sick many people are of politics, but it seems as though people are also sick of human beings. Well, at least those going to the movie theatre last week.

Bouncing into the number one spot is Disney’s new animated blockbuster detective story about a cute, little, long-eared rabbit; a foxy con artist or I should say, a con artist fox; and the animal city they live in where they are concerned about prejudice and police brutality. Imagine that!

It gets better when 14 different species of animals go missing in the film’s title city

Zootopia and it is up to the optimistic young rabbit, who, by the way, is the first of her species to make it into the police force, to find just one of these missing animals as she stumbles upon a larger conspiracy.

Zootopia may be a children’s film, but adults can enjoy and relearn what was taught to them in primary school: ‘Be nice to each other’. This animated film nicely brought in close to US$80 million in the US and Canada alone in its first week! And it ain’t over.

London Has Fallen, sequel toOlympus Has Fallen and produced by Focus Features, starring the handsome and beleaguered by bad reviews, Gerard Butler as presidential bodyguard, Mike Banner, was a weak second. It brought in a paltry US$23 million playing in 3,490 theatres. Rounding out the top three is the mega hitDead Pool by Fox which, in its third week, was knocked from the top spot byZootopia to number 3. This Marvel Comic character has found great success on the big screen, bringing in close to US$313 million and is still showing in 3,624 theatres. It is also the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever.Dead Pool is the eighth film in the X-Men franchise. Revenge hasn’t been this funny in a long time and it seems like it’s just getting better.

In a very distant fourth place is Tina Fey’s

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, a Paramount production that has only brought in a mere US$8 million. Tina Fey is a very talented writer, producer, comedian and, based upon her popularity and comedic brand, there were hopes for a much better opening. But the funny lady failed to deliver. There was much talk that the film about a broadcast journalist in a war zone was not a comedy but a ‘dramedy’ that makes war difficult to laugh at. Tina Fey was really trying to take on something that’s proven very difficult for a comedian and that is to be recognised as a serious dramatic actor. The film is a flop but she is not a fail.

And then in fifth place there’s Lionsgate’s,

Gods of Egypt. Mired in controversy regarding it’s lack of diversity in its casting, this film failed from the start. Here you have a BIG-budget fantasy adventure based in Egypt, but mostly all of the main characters are white, Australian, Swedish, French and English, playing Egyptians. Lionsgate came under a great deal of Internet scrutiny with many accusing them of whitewashing the story or race bending, meaning it’s an African story but they chose not to cast Africans or dark people in any of he lead roles just because they could. The film’s director Alex Proyas took responsibility by saying: “… It is clear that our casting choices should’ve been more diverse. I sincerely apologise to those who are offended by the decisions we made.”

And he wasn’t alone in making a statement. Lionsgate issued the statement: “We recognise that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance, we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity for which we sincerely apologise. Lionsgate is deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of our audiences. We have, can and will continue to do better.”

I certainly hope they do just that and truly consider reflecting the people of the places where their films are taking place. Considering the audience too might help, because the audience response was clear – nobody went to see the movie!

Gods of Egypt was officially named the first box office bomb of 2016! Starring Gerard Butler fromLondon Has Fallen, now surrounded by a cast of other white Europeans playing Egyptians wrapped in horrible reviews, no amount of sandals and swords could save this film which took in much less than the US$25 million Lionsgate was hoping for. With a BIG budget of US$140 million, the film was only able to scrape together US$14 million after screening in 3,117 theatres.

Dropping down to number 8 is the bear-mauled, fur trapper, left for dead, driven by revenge and winning the Oscar award for Best Film,

The Revenant (FOX) starring, finally, Oscar-winning Best Actor, Leonardo DiCaprio!The Revenant is fortunate to have a popular animal in the angry bear, who is still bringing in audiences along with the Oscar love audiences are showing the film and DiCaprio. But the film needs a reported US$400 million to break-even, bringing in only US$176 million so far.

So, I guess we could just say that when it comes to predicting what will be a hit, how and if it will make or made any money, nobody knows a blessed thing!

Raiders of the Lost Ark was rejected by every studio in Hollywood. Nobody wanted it except Paramount, and who knows why they said yes.Star Wars, the mightyStar Wars, nobody wanted that film either but look at where it is now. And even with winning Oscar awards a plenty, sometimes a film still doesn’t make any money! And then, out of the blue, a little, long-eared bunny rabbit comes jumping onto the screen and everything changes!

There are no rules to art and making movies, so enjoy some this weekend.