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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First Look: Kate Hudson Sings and Dances in Nine

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Drama, Music, Musicals, Romance, Upcoming Releases, Videos

Back in 2001, Kate Hudson received an Oscar nomination for her role as a band groupie in Almost Famous. Now, the actress is getting her chance to do the singing…and dancing.

In Rob Marshall’s Nine, Hudson plays Stephanie, an American fashion journalist who comes into Guido Contini’s already busy life. Although Vogue writers aren’t usually the ones on the runway, Kate is given the opportunity to shine in a musical production called “Cinema Italiano.”

Nine - also starring Daniel Day-Lewis (Contini), Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Fergie, Sophia Lauren, Marion Cotillard and Judi Dench - will open wide on December 25.

Read More | Just Jared

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Box Office Breakdown: 2012 Has All the Numbers

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

It was the end of the world as we may soon know it, and that had Sony feeling fine.

The premiere of Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster film, 2012, erupted in theaters this weekend with a $65.2 million finish. Although the movie fell short of 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow (that Emmerich project grossed $68.7 million over three days), it now ranks 5th on the international debuts list. (Sorry, Da Vinci Code.) The John Cusack starrer also managed to cover its reported $200 million budget in one week.

Meawhile, Precious continued to pound the pavement in an expanded release. With only 174 engagements, the critically-acclaimed movie earned itself a third place finish and a $33,762-per screen average.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: 2012 Has All the Numbers

Read More | Variety

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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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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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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.

Click to continue reading Remake News: Predator, Highlander and More

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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.)

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Escape to Couples Retreat

Read More | Variety

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