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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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 24, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Drama, Family, Horror, Religious, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

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

• Air America: Blu-ray
• Angel Heart: Blu-ray
• Angels & Demons: DVD, Blu-ray
• Blood: The Last Vampire: Blu-ray
• Cujo (25th Anniversary Edition): Blu-ray
• Four Christmases: DVD, Blu-ray
• Frailty: Blu-ray
• Funny People: DVD, Blu-ray
• Ghost in the Shell 2.0: Blu-ray
• Gomorrah: DVD, Blu-ray
• Imagine That: DVD

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 24, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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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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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 17, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, FOCUS, Magnolia, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

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

• Brüno: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Canyon: DVD
• Chasing Amy: Blu-ray
• Clerks: Blu-ray
• Fight Club: Blu-ray
• Galaxy Quest: Blu-ray
• Gone with the Wind (70th Anniversary Edition): DVD, Blu-ray
• How to Be: DVD
• Is Anybody There?: DVD, Blu-ray
• My Sister’s Keeper: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Professional: Blu-ray

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 17, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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Monopoly: The Stupidest Movie Ever?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Universal, Adaptation, Upcoming Releases

(I might normally preface the information I’m about to share with a disclaimer, a statement saying that this is not a joke. The truth is, I’m not so sure about that this time…and frankly, I am truly hoping that it is a joke - perhaps some press stunt or some such thing. In either case…)

According to recent reports, Universal is moving forward with a film based on the popular board game Monopoly. Ridley Scott, who’s behind such movies as Alien and Gladiator is going to direct. But just wait! That’s not even the outlandish part.

Click to continue reading Monopoly: The Stupidest Movie Ever?

Read More | LA Times

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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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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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Casting Corner: Anthony Hopkins, January Jones and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Remakes, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Scripts, Upcoming Releases

Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:

Anthony Hopkins: The Wolfman actor will soon play dad to another large character: Thor. Hopkins has been cast as Odin, father of the title character (Chris Hemsworth) who is sent down to Earth after reigniting an ancient war. The film - which also includes Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston - will open May 20, 2011.

Click to continue reading Casting Corner: Anthony Hopkins, January Jones and More

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Box Office Breakdown: Saw Outdone by Paranormal Activity

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Remakes, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Have audiences seen enough Saw?

Although Jigsaw is known for slaying his competition, the serial killer was no match for Katie Featherstone and Micah Sloat. This weekend, those two unknowns saw their small project, Paranormal Activity, finally top the box office charts. The movie, which was produced for approximately $15,000, reached that position after a steady climb up the ranks. (Aren’t films supposed to go down?) The horror flick also had a higher per screen average than any entry in the Top 10 despite fewer engagements.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Saw Outdone by Paranormal Activity

Read More | Variety

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