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.

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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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Mamma Mia Sequel? Here We Go Again

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Universal, Family, Music, Musicals, Sequels, Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Rumors, Upcoming Releases

Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried recently confirmed that a sequel to the successful flick is in the works. So what’s the bad news? It, too, will feature ABBA music. Well, we can’t have it all.

“I will do it,” Seyfried reported. “And I know Meryl’s [Streep] game as well, so bring it on.”

Get ready for the sing-along.

Read More | Perez Hilton

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Remake News: Predator, Highlander and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Paramount, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Classics, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Music, Remakes, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Rumors, Upcoming Releases, Videos

Predator: Who better to play the new Arnold Schwarzenegger…than Adrien Brody? The Oscar winner (The Pianist) was recently announced as the star of Predators, a reboot of the 1987 sci-fi thriller. The movie, which is being produced and co-written by Robert Rodriguez, will have Brody leading the group being hunted down by alien trackers. Others cast in the Nimrod Antal film include Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walt Goggins and Danny Trejo. The production will debut on July 9, 2010.

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Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Escape to Couples Retreat

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Family, Independent, Music, Political, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists

Depending on how you look at the numbers, the winner this weekend was either Couples Retreat or Paranormal Activity.

In the comedy corner, we have a Peter Billingsley-directed film that earned $35.3 million and a first-place finish. The movie - which combined the efforts of Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Jason Bateman - pulled in the best numbers for any Columbus Day weekend entry ever. It also gave Vaughn his 2nd best opening behind The Break-Up.

Meanwhile, on the horror front, Paranormal Activity made a huge splash despite being in limited release. The Blair Witch-esque movie scared up a shocking $49,000 per screen average. It also raked in nearly 500 times more than its budget. (It only cost less than $16,000 to produce.)

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Read More | Variety

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: October 13, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Horror, Music, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

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

• Adoration: DVD, Blu-ray
• American Violet: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Craft: Blu-ray
• Drag Me to Hell: DVD, Blu-ray
• Every Little Step: DVD
• Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Blu-ray
• Happy Birthday to Me: DVD
• Land of the Lost: DVD, Blu-ray
• Natural Born Killers (Director’s Cut): DVD, Blu-ray
• The Proposal: DVD, Blu-ray
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut: Blu-ray
• The Stepfather: DVD
• Stop Making Sense: Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

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In Theaters This Weekend: October 9, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Sony, Universal, Adaptation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Music, Remakes, Comedy, Sports, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Couples Retreat (PG-13): starring Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau (directed by Peter Billingsley)
• Adventures of Power* (PG-13): starring Adrian Grenier, Jane Lynch, Jimmy Jean-Louis (directed by Ari Gold)
• Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story* (NR): starring Eddie Izzard (directed by Sarah Townsend)
• Bronson* (R): starring Tom Hardy, Matt King, James Lance (directed by Nicolas Winding Refn)
• The Damned United* (R): starring Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall (directed by Tom Hooper)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 9, 2009

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Original Fame Director Speaks Out Against Remake

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: MGM, Music, Musicals, Remakes, New Releases, Trailers, Videos

Maybe Fame does live forever. Though the remake has premiered, some are still nostalgically looking to the past. One of the contributors to the original film project, Sir Alan Parker, has gone on record to speak out against the newly-remade movie.

Fame, which was released in 1980 and quickly became a classic, recently arrived in the UK. It was originally directed by Parker, who said that seeing the remake was “a bit like being mugged.” You see, apparently he was never consulted about the new version of the film, which Sir Alan sees as something of a slight. Calling the project “dreadful,” he says of the situation, “such are the realities of Hollywood manners and American copyright law.”

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Read More | The Telegraph

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Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists

Watch out, vampires…there’s still life in the other undead.

Although he was previously known as a director for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ruben Fleischer now has a new title: box office champ. This past weekend, Ruben saw his first major feature, Zombieland, attack the competition with a $24.7 million debut. The movie - which only cost approximately $24 million to make - had the highest open for any zombie-themed flick since Dawn of the Dead in 2004.

Meanwhile, another director had an entirely different result with her debut feature. Whip It, a roller derby comedy helmed by Drew Barrymore, rolled into 6th place finish with only $4.7 million. (When your film’s been topped by Pixar entries from 10+ years ago, there might have a problem.) Hopefully in a few more weeks, the Ellen Page vehicle will at least cover its $15 million production tab.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland

Read More | Variety

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