'Blind Side' Overtakes 'New Moon' at Box Office
Family-friendly film "The Blind Side" took the No. 1 spot at the box office from "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" this past weekend.
Taking in an estimated $20.4 million over the weekend, "Blind Side" beat vampire flick "New Moon," which took in $15.7 million. Since the two films debuted three weeks ago, "New Moon," without any surprises, had been the reigning champion at the box office for the first two weeks.
But on the third weekend, "Blind Side" surpassed "New Moon" in ticket sales, possibly due to word of mouth promotion, as some entertainment commentators have suggested.
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The inspiring, based-on-a-true-story film has been gaining fans in the Christian community. Reviewers for Christian publications as well as megachurch pastors have been raving about the Hollywood film, which gives credit to the Christian faith for the good deed performed by the Tuohy family.
With unapologetically Christian characters, "The Blind Side" stars popular actress Sandra Bullock as Leigh Ann Tuohy who happens upon an enormous, black teenager in a thin, short-sleeve shirt walking alone at night in freezing temperature on a deserted road. Her son, S.J., who is in the car with her at the time, said he knows the black teen and calls him "Big Mike."
Tuohy gets out of the car and has a short exchange with "Big Mike," whose real name is Michael Oher. She asks him if he has a place to stay that night and after confirming he doesn't, takes him home and offers him the sofa to sleep on.
What was at first a one-night charity case turns into something more as the whole Tuohy family becomes attached to Michael.
The Tuohy's – a wealthy, white family from Memphis – eventually adopts Michael, hires a tutor to help him with his education, and gives him the support he needs to be a star football player and eventually a first-round draft pick in the NFL. Oher now plays for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.
Besides the good deed of the Tuohy family, the film highlights the positive impact the gentle and shy Michael Oher had on his adopted family. He is credited for bringing everyone closer together and filling the missing piece in the family.
MovieGuide, a pro-family, movie review Web site, writes that "The Blind Side" has "a very strong message of Christian faith."
