The biggest box office for a sports movie ever...

This past weekend a record was made at the box-office, and that was that John Lee Hancock's movie The Blind Side now has the title of the highest box-office gross for any sports movie...ever. And that's of any sport...football, baseball, boxing, wrestling, and so forth.

The new top 5 looks something like this...

1. The Blindside (2009) $164 million & Counting (*The Blind Side came in #3 in it's 5th week)
2. The Waterboy (1998) $161 million
3. The Longest Yard (2005) $158 million
4. Jerry Maguire (1996) $153 million
5. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) $148 million

I think this is one of the surprises of the season. When I initially saw the preview for this real-story inspired movie I thought this movie is what America is looking for at the cinema, so am not surprised.

But I certainly know that studios have to be having conversations about this film, based on Michael Lewis' book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game has become such a success.

Clearly the success is not just that it's a sports movie, because there have been other less successful sports movies.

I think Hollywood wants to credit the success to Sandra Bullock claiming her entertainer of the year and giving her critical buzz, maybe even an Oscar nomination. But it can't just be Bullock, because as of this weekend, this film has grossed more than the popular romantic comedy earlier this year The Proposal ($163.9 million).

I think it's a story that connects with a lot of people, not because they have adopted an over-weight person without a family, but because this act of Christian love and giving is something that is attracted and a desire of people's hearts.

Hollywood doesn't really produce to many contemporary dramas that aren't rated R, and for something to tell a real story, but be not drenched with violence, foul language and sex, is meaningful to people.

This film could have some ripples, if not in the way some respond to the film, but also in some movies that pop-up on the Hollywood calenders in the next couple years.

Side note: Not everyone loves this film -- there is a series of dramatic responses to this film in my first post on this film: Check out those strong comments here.

Side note #2: If you enjoyed this film, may I recommend you check out The Rookie, another sport-themed movie about Baseball directed by John Lee Hancock. This is a moving film about the real-life story of Jim Morris, a baseball player with a short-lived career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The film stars Dennis Quaid.