THE BLIND SIDE opened in theaters on the weekend of November 20th, and has remained steadily at the top of box office charts ever since. During its opening weekend, the film grossed $34,510,000, undoubtedly the highest-grossing of Sandra Bullock's romcom-riddled career. Originally marketed to an "older female audience", the marketing team switched gears after the film's release when they realized it appealed to kids, jocks, and dads, as well. Who knew! What's especially rare about this movie's ticket sales is the film's steadily-increasing profits: during its second weekend in theaters, it earned an estimated $40 million.

The movie is a drama sports film written and directed by John Lee Hancock, who based the story on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game by Michael Lewis. The actor Quinton Aaron stars as Michael Oher, a homeless 18-year old who struggles to get by at a Christian school. He is adopted by the Tuohys (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) along with their two zany kids, a Christian family who try to help him succeed as a football player. 

Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock star in football movie, THE BLIND SIDE.

The film has received a 58 percent approval rating among top critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but its rating among t-meter critics is much higher. Reviewers who dislike the film tend to frown upon the film's lame and short-sighted portrayal of the black lead, Michael. Steven Cole from THE GLOBE AND MAIL, for example, writes, "What a drag that, one year into Obama's presidency, American films remain so careful about depicting black actors. There are more around, to be sure..Still, not one of them is at all interesting. It's almost as if directors hurry past the black actors' scenes, afraid of making a mistake" (more). A.O. Scott writes that Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock) coaches Michael "as if the young man were a 300-pound robot she had reprogrammed with the flip of a switch." Scott also writes that THE BLIND SIDE is "interested only in [Michael's] world as an occasion for selective charity" (more). 

James Berardinelli of REELVIEWS, however, disagrees. He gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and contends that the film is meant to be a straightforward and uplifting tale, not a radical social commentary. "Some will doubtlessly dismiss THE BLIND SIDE as another example of a heroic white person saving a black victim but, although there is an element of truth in that perfunctory description, it misses the point. This is more about simple human decency and economic disadvantage than it is about racial inequality," he writes.

Betsy Sharkey of the LOS ANGELES TIMES also praises the film and particularly Sandra Bullock's performance as the confident, tough-loving Leigh Anne: "This is Bullock's movie," she writes. "She is Leigh Anne to such a degree you forget you're watching one of the best-known actresses around."