Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Debut for New Moon

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

After months of endless promotion, New Moon finally opened this weekend to monster-sized numbers. But how exactly did the film compare to the other theatrical giants?

1. Despite earning over $142 million since midnight Thursday, the adaptation’s debut still falls behind The Dark Knight ($158.4) and Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million).
2. The sequel did, though, beat Knight for the best first day open ($72.7 compared to $67.2 million).
3. It had the largest midnight opening ($26.3 million) to date. (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed $22.2 million.)
4. Moon also topped Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire‘s 2005 November debut ($102.7 million).

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Debut for New Moon

Read More | Variety

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In Theaters This Weekend: November 13, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, FOCUS, IFC Films, Sony, Action, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• 2012 (PG-13): starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor (directed by Roland Emmerich)
• Pirate Radio (R): starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans (directed by Richard Curtis)
• Dare* (R): starring Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Ashleigh Springer (directed by Adam Salky)
• The End of Poverty?* (NR): starring Martin Sheen (directed by Philippe Diaz)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox* (PG): starring George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, Meryl Streep (directed by Wes Anderson)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: November 13, 2009

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Box Office Breakdown: Christmas Carol Wins, Precious Soars

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Remakes, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

We’re still weeks away from Thanksgiving, but theatergoers already have Christmas on their minds.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol, the umpteenth version of the Charles Dickens tale, brought the story back to life with a visual rendition. Robert Zemeckis’ latest holiday creation earned over $30 million, surpassing Polar Express’ open by $7 million. Although the Jim Carrey film didn’t come close to its reported $180 million budget, Carol still has weeks to go before Avatar takes over 3D screens.

Meanwhile, a film with no bells or whistles made an impact just outside the Top 10. Precious, Sundance’s Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize winner, broke a record while in limited release. The 12th place entry averaged a whopping $104,025 this weekend over only 18 theaters. That’s the largest per screen average for any film opening in more than 10 locations.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Christmas Carol Wins, Precious Soars

Read More | Variety

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In Theaters This Weekend: November 6, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• The Box (PG-13): starring James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella (directed by Richard Kelly)
• Disney’s A Christmas Carol (PG): starring Jim Carrey, John Cleese, Gary Oldman (directed by Robert Zemeckis)
• The Fourth Kind (PG-13): starring Milla Jovovich, Elias Koteas, Will Patton (directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi)
• The Men Who Stare at Goats (R): starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges (directed by Grant Heslov)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: November 6, 2009

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 3, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Magnolia, Paramount, Sony, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:

• Aliens in the Attic: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Answer Man: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Dead: DVD
• Food, Inc.: DVD, Blu-ray
• Forrest Gump: Blu-ray
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: DVD, Blu-ray
• Howards End: Blu-ray
• I Love You, Beth Cooper: DVD, Blu-ray
• It’s a Wonderful Life: DVD, Blu-ray
• Love Actually: Blu-ray
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Ultimate Collector’s Edition): DVD, Blu-ray

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 3, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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Box Office Breakdown: That Was It for Paranormal Activity

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Period, Remakes, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Based on the numbers from the past week, it looks like This Is It should remain in theaters longer than two weeks. Oh wait - it will.

Since opening late Tuesday night, the concert film has generated a total of $34.4 million domestically - $23.2 million just over the weekend - and approximately $101 worldwide. Although Michael Jackson technically didn’t beat the opener for Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour (that entry earned more over 5 days), This Is It had the best international debut ever for any concert film.

Sony’s win meant a short victory for Paranormal Activity. After a steady climb, and only 1 week at the top, the horror film slipped down to second place. Of course, the word-of-mouth hit has nothing to complain about. Not only has the movie grossed $84.6 million to date, it also had the best per screen average of any Top 10 charter.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: That Was It for Paranormal Activity

Read More | Variety

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Extended Run for This Is It

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Sony, Documentary, Music, New Releases

When does a two-week run ever last for only two weeks?

Earlier this month, the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 double feature was given an indefinite run once it neared its expiration date. Now the forces behind Michael Jackson’s This Is it are also having a change of heart. The documentary, which officially debuted last week, will now remain in theaters through Thanksgiving—that’s approximately 3 more weeks than originally planned. (I’m surprised Sony just didn’t book it for 50 dates like AEG did with Michael’s tour.)

Those still unable to catch This Is It in theaters will likely get tickets to a home version soon. It’s believed the DVD will come out in early 2010.

Read More | Showbiz 411

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In Theaters This Weekend: October 30, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Magnolia, Sony, Adaptation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Music, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Michael Jackson’s This Is It (PG): starring Michael Jackson (directed by Kenny Ortega)  **in theaters now**
• Aladin* (NR): starring Ritesh Deshmukh, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt (directed by Sujoy Ghosh)
• The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day* (R): starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly (directed by Troy Duffy)
• The Fall* (NR): starring Benny Ciaramello, Scott Kinworthy, Erica Shaffer (directed by John Krueger)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 30, 2009

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In Theaters This Weekend: October 23, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Universal, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Amelia (PG): starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor (directed by Mira Nair)
• Astro Boy (PG): starring Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell (directed by David Bowers)
• Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (PG-13): starring John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson (directed by Paul Weitz)
• Saw VI (R): starring Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith (directed by Kevin Greutert)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 23, 2009

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In Theaters This Weekend: October 16, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Warner Bros, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Political, Remakes, Romance, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Law Abiding Citizen (R): starring Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Bibb (directed by F. Gary Gray)
• The Stepfather (PG-13): starring Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley (directed by Nelson McCormick)
• Where the Wild Things Are (PG): starring Catherine Keener, Max Records, James Gandolfini (directed by Spike Jonze)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 16, 2009

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