The Monica Edwards Weblog

In Theaters This Weekend (5/9)

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, Magnolia, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Noir, Political, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• Speed Racer (PG): starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman (directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski)
• What Happens in Vegas (PG-13): starring Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz, Rob Corddry (directed by Tom Vaughan)

• America the Beautiful* (R): starring Gerren Taylor, Ted Casablanca, Eve Ensler (directed by Darryl Roberts)
• Before the Rains* (PG-13): starring Linus Roache, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose (directed by Santosh Sivan)
• Bloodline* (NR): (directed by Bruce Burgess)
• The Fall* (R): starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell (directed by Tarsem Singh)

  Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (5/9)

  
  
  • Tools:
  • Permalink
  • Comments (0)
  • Digg This
  • Share on Facebook
  • Email this story

Box Office Breakdown: Forbidden Kingdom Kicks Past Forgetting Sarah

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Independent, Period, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Favorable reviews and Judd Apatow’s association helped Forgetting Sarah Marshall nab a second place finish this past weekend.  While some may have expected the adult comedy to debut at #1, the movie was unfortunately inaccessible to large segment of ticket buyers.

Meanwhile, Marshall‘s R-rated raunch allowed fellow new entry The Forbidden Kingdom to edge right past it.  The action film, which brought martial artists Jackie Chan and Jet Li together for the first time, earned $21.4 million—just enough for the win.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Forbidden Kingdom Kicks Past Forgetting Sarah

Read More | Variety

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

In Theaters This Weekend (4/18)

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Magnolia, MGM, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Horror, Period, Political, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• 88 Minutes (R): starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski (directed by Jon Avnet)
• The Forbidden Kingdom (PG-13): starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Yifei Liu (directed by Rob Minkoff)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R): starring Jason Segal, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis (directed by Nicholas Stoller)

  Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (4/18)

  
  
  • Tools:
  • Permalink
  • Comments (0)
  • Digg This
  • Share on Facebook
  • Email this story

Box Office Breakdown: Fans Make a Date with Prom Night

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Satire, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

1. Prom Night, Sony, $20,804,941 (avg. $7,706)
2. Street Kings, Fox Searchlight, $12,469,631 (avg. $5,055)
3. 21, Sony, $10,470,173 (avg. $3827)
4. Nim’s Island, 20th Century Fox, $9,111,667 (avg. $2,590 )
5. Leatherheads, Universal, $6,276,665 (avg. $2265)
6. Horton Hears a Who, 20th Century Fox, $5,920,566 (avg. $1845)
7. Smart People, Miramax, $4,092,465 (avg. $3700)
8. The Ruins, Dreamworks/Paramount, $3,385,395 (avg. $1203)
9. Superhero Movie, MGM, $3,216,247 (avg. $1273)
10. Drillbit Taylor, Paramount, $2,044,988 (avg. $927)

(You can review last week’s numbers here.)

Read More | Variety

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Box Office Breakdown: Leatherheads Sacked by Competition

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Romance, Satire, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Despite George Clooney‘s role as actor and director, Hollywood’s powerful A-lister still couldn’t get his film all the way to the end zone.

Leatherheads, also starring John Krasinski and Renee Zellweger, came up short this past weekend found itself in third place.  Although it looked like the football film was going to fare much better, Nim’s Island made a last minute score to snag second place.  Previous winner, 21, made it two weeks in a row even with a $10 million loss.

The only other new film to enter the recent Top Ten was The Ruins.  The film adaptation of the Scott Smith book scared up just over $8 million.

Meanwhile, two other movies had great turnouts despite their limited showings.  My Blueberry Nights - featuring Norah Jones, Jude Law and Natalie Portman - averaged $12,358 over 6 theaters.  The 58th place finisher, The Flight of the Red Balloon, did even better.  The foreign-languaged film soared to a $17,611 average while premiering on only 2 screens.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Leatherheads Sacked by Competition

Read More | Variety

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

Box Office Breakdown: Tyler Perry Produces Another Hit

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Period, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

This past Easter weekend, Tyler Perry proved once again that he has the Midas touch.  Although his latest venture, Meet the Browns, only came in second, the film bested Horton Hears a Who! with its per screen take.  Perry’s film averaged $10,011 per theater—thousands better than Horton‘s performance ($6208).  The latter movie was also showing in twice as many locations.

But the Dr. Seuss adaptation wasn’t the only film to snare a prize away from the writer/actor/director.  Under the Same Moon - a small feature from The Weinstein Company - entered the Top Ten with an impressive $10,414 average.  While Browns was being shown on 2006 screens, Moon was showing on only 266.  The movie, co-starring America Ferrera, wound up being the top domestic scorer ever for a Spanish-languaged film.

In other chart news, Owen Wilson’s Drillbit Taylor debuted at #4 while another Asian horror remake, Shutter, took in $10.5 million for a third place finish.  Films booted out of this week’s Top Ten were Semi-Pro, Doomsday, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Tyler Perry Produces Another Hit

Read More | Variety

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

In Theaters this Weekend (3/21)

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Documentary, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Music, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, Upcoming Releases

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• Drillbit Taylor (PG-13): starring Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, Josh Peck (directed by Steven Brill)
• Shutter (PG-13): starring Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, David Denman (directed by Masayuki Ochiai)
• Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns (PG-13): starring Tyler Perry, Angela Basset, Jennifer Lewis (directed by Tyler Perry)

• Boarding Gate* (R): starring Asia Argento, Kim Gordon, Michelle Yeoh (directed by Olivier Assayas)
• The Grand* (R): starring Woody Harrelson, David Cross, Shannon Elizabeth (directed by Zak Penn)
• The Hammer* (R): starring Adam Carolla, Ozzie Castillo, Heather Juergensen (directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld)

  Click to continue reading In Theaters this Weekend (3/21)

  
  
  • Tools:
  • Permalink
  • Comments (0)
  • Digg This
  • Share on Facebook
  • Email this story

Box Office Breakdown: Horton Hears a Who Has Largest 2008 Debut

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists

Thankfully, Jim Carrey‘s embarrassing stint on American Idol wasn’t all in vain.

Horton Hears a Who earned $45 million dollars over the past weekend, trouncing the competition.  Although the kid-friendly flick has had the biggest opening of 2008 so far, the film falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to Dr. Seuss adaptations.  How The Grinch Stole Christmas opened with $55 million back in 2000; A Cat in the Hat took in $38.3 just three years later.

Horton‘s premiere also made a nice statement for non-Pixar related films overall.  This animated movie found itself in fifth place behind other cartoon debuts.  (Disney’s Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars and Ratatouille rank one through four.)

The only other new entries in this week’s Top Ten were the mixed-martial arts pic Never Back Down and the post-apocalyptic thriller Doomsday.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Horton Hears a Who Has Largest 2008 Debut

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story

In Theaters this Weekend (3/14)

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• Doomsday (R): starring Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell (directed by Neil Marshall)
• Horton Hears a Who (G): starring Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett (directed by Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino)
• Never Back Down (PG-13): starring Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Djimon Hounsou (directed by Jeff Wadlow)

• Flash Point* (R): starring Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Collin Chou (directed by Wilson Yip, Donnie Yen)
• Funny Games* (R): starring Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt (directed by Michael Haneke)

  Click to continue reading In Theaters this Weekend (3/14)

  
  
  • Tools:
  • Permalink
  • Comments (0)
  • Digg This
  • Share on Facebook
  • Email this story

Box Office Breakdown: Theatergoers Take a Trip to 10,000 BC

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

One year ago, 300 pulled in an astounding $70 million dollars.  This past weekend, another period drama grossed exactly half that much.  Half, schmalf—it was still enough for a win.

Warner Bros.’ 10,000 BC easily topped its futuristic competitors with a $35 million take over this last weekend.  The total was leaps and bounds better than the amount produced by second place finisher, College Road Trip.  The Disney flick, starring Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone, rang up only $13.6 million.

Meanwhile, last week’s #1, Semi-Pro, was already showing signs of fatigue.  The basketball comedy fell to 5th place and earned a disappointing $5.7 million.  Does this mean the Will Ferrell sports era is finally over?

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Theatergoers Take a Trip to 10,000 BC

Read More | Yahoo! Movies

• Tools:
• Permalink
• Comments (0)
• Digg This
• Share on Facebook
• Email this story