Like fine cheese, these films are ripening

Need a movie recommendation? You could see a new release, but you might be better off with a movie that has been lingering in the theaters for a few weeks. Unexpectedly, some of them are turning into hits.

One is "The Lincoln Lawyer," starring Matthew McConaughey as a lovably shady attorney who works out of his car. Another is "Source Code," the sci-fi thriller with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. Both opened with little fanfare but received surprisingly good reviews and have racked up $53 million and $45 million, respectively.

"Limitless," yet another sci-fi thriller, was trounced by critics, but audiences responded to its story of a slacker (Bradley Cooper) who takes a smart pill and becomes a Wall Street wunderkind. Perhaps thanks to good word-of-mouth, "Limitless" has earned an impressive $74 million over the past six weeks.

The most tenacious survivor of the pre-summer season? "Insidious," a low-budget horror film from the creators of "Saw" and "Paranormal Activity." A haunted-house story with Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, the film was widely panned, with one critic comparing it to "a high school video project." Nevertheless, with few other fright flicks to compete against, "Insidious" has earned a cumulative total of $44 million and looks set to outgross even the much-hyped "Scream 4," according to BoxOfficeMojo.

May 6, of course, "Thor" kicks off a jam-packed summer movie season, followed by the all-female comedy "Bridesmaids" (May 13) and then the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" installment (May 20). That means this week's hangers-on probably can't hang on much longer.