In Theaters This Weekend (6/13)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Documentary, Foreign, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- The Happening (R): starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo (directed by M. Night Shyamalan)
- The Incredible Hulk (PG-13): starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth (directed by Louis Leterrier)
- Chris & Don: A Love Story* (NR): starring Michael York, Don Bachardy, Katherine Bucknell (directed by Guido Santi, Tina Mascara)
- My Winnipeg* (NR): starring Ann Savage, Louis Negin, Darcy Fehr (directed by Guy Maddin)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (6/13)
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Box Office Breakdown: Saw Slices Its Way to #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Sony, Touchstone, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
This weekend’s success of Saw IV proved that ‘torture porn’ is very much alive and well…at least right before All Hallows Eve. (Apparently originality is not a prerequisite when you’re in the haunting mood.) The horror series, which took in $55 million domestically when it debuted in 2004, bloodied the competition with its recent $31 million take. It will now likely hit the $80 million mark the last two installments surpassed.
Although Dan in Real Life, lagged behind with only $11 million, the film at least managed to place second. Hopefully Dan will have legs in the weeks to come; it’s a nice counter-programming option for those desperately seeking romance on their date nights. Those hunting for acceptable kids fare may have it a bit harder though—- which probably explains why The Game Plan has remained firmly planted in the Top Five.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Saw Slices Its Way to #1
Box Office Breakdown: 30 Days of Night Sucks Up the Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Touchstone, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Horror, Comedy, Sports, Lists, New Releases
I never thought I would ever find myself writing this: ‘A Josh Hartnett-led film has opened at #1.’ Of course, he did have a little help from a vampire or two..
The horror film, 30 Days of Night, had an impressive debut for what was actually an unimpressive weekend. With only $16 million, the Alaskan-set vampire flick beat out a host of movies filled with Oscar-nominated stars. Ben Affleck’s well-reviewed directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, opened up in 6th place. Rendition, starring are-they-or-aren’t-they-dating Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, barely cracked the Top Ten. Meanwhile, Things We Lost in the Fire placed a dismal 15th despite the presence of Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro (and promotion on Oprah).
The success of 30 Days and the surprise return of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas - which placed 8th even though it was only in 564 theaters - clearly spells out the audience’s need for some Halloween fare. This bodes well for the release of Saw IV which opens next weekend. (Yay!)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: 30 Days of Night Sucks Up the Competition
Box Office Breakdown: Tyler Perry vs. George Clooney
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
This weekend saw George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix and Cate Blanchett all fighting for your box office dollars—so who would have thought Tyler Perry would come out the big winner?
Even though two of his last three films opened with impressive numbers, very few predicted the writer/actor/producer/director would topple the competition. Now the number crunchers know better. Though the debut underperformed 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman ($21.9 million) and 2006’s Madea’s Family Reunion ($30 million), Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? still scored $10 million more than its nearest competitor.
Additionally surprising was the lasting success of Disney’s The Game Plan. The film finally dropped one notch to #2 in its third week—also beating out We Own The Night and Michael Clayton. Although kid-friendly fare is rarity these days, the movie’s ability to remain so strong is quite impressive.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Tyler Perry vs. George Clooney
Worst Movie Titles of 2007 (So Far)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Lists
This weekend’s Joaquin Phoenix/Mark Wahlberg flick has been driving me batty for weeks—and I haven’t yet seen the film. I don’t even have a problem with the trailer. The movie simply suffers from a horrible case of crap-title-itus.
We Own the Night? Could that be more vague? Instead of envisioning a cops vs. mafia film, all I can see is the now-defunct (yet great) soap opera Edge of Night. And while I understand the film’s title would be explained if I actually watched it, that doesn’t excuse it’s existence. The box office shelf life for movies is extremely short these days; more attention should be paid to the little things. I’m an extremely shallow person who often judges books by their cover. I need a proper teaser.
And believe me—‘craptitleitus’ does not discriminate. Great movies, movies actually worthy of attention, often become victims of this affliction. Poor marketing can affect anything and everyone.
So to honor We Own the Night’s crap-status, I’m going to list my Worst Titles of 2007 (thus far).
Click to continue reading Worst Movie Titles of 2007 (So Far)
In Theaters This Weekend (10/12)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Magnolia, MGM, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Yari Film Group Releasing, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Period, Comedy, Sports, Lists, New Releases
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age (PG-13): starring Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush (directed by Shekhar Kapur)
- The Final Season (PG): starring Sean Astin, Larry Miller (directed by David Mickey Evans)
- Michael Clayton (R): starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson (directed by Tony Gilroy)
- We Own The Night (R): starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg (directed by James Gray)
- Why Did I Get Married? (PG-13): starring Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson (directed by Tyler Perry)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (10/12)
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases
This Tuesday brings the release of some great titles, new and old. As expected, the studios are rolling out some Halloween-inspired classics, filled with zombies, vampires and serial killers; though sadly, only Blu-ray supporters seem to be taking advantage of the upcoming holiday.
HD DVD studios chose instead to use this week to re-release a bunch of titles that were previously only available in those obnoxious HD DVD/DVD Combo discs. You know, the $40 releases that were appealing to neither the HD owners nor the standard-definition owners? Those of you who rightly refused to make such a silly purchase can now have some great HD titles for a lower price, thanks to Warner Home Video coming to its senses. Any of the following films with an asterisk (*) in the title are the re-released versions.
Check out this Tuesday’s HD DVD and Blu-ray releases after the jump.
To see this week’s standard-definition DVD releases, click here.
To see this week’s TV-On-DVD releases, click here.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007
Box Office Breakdown: Metal Blades Take Down Machine Gun Leg
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Not even the combined directing muscle of Team Tarantino/Rodriguez could take away the gold medal from Team Ferrell/Heder. Despite the publicity onslaught, Grindhouse didn’t even score a silver. Heck, it didn’t even make the medal platform. But I guess it could have been worse. Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank not only placed fifth—but she too was beat out by a family friendly Ice Cube. I think it’s now safe to say that the plagues have officially commenced..
1. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $22,522,330
2. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $16,715,437
3. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $14,262,724
4. Grindhouse, Weinstein Co., $11,596,613
5. The Reaping, Warner Bros., $10,025,203
6. 300, Warner Bros., $8,368,382
7. Wild Hogs, Disney, $6,644,971
8. Shooter, Paramount, $5,856,494
9. TMNT, Warner Bros., $4,825,445
10. Firehouse Dog, Fox, $3,838,916
Box Office Breakdown: Blades Has The Cutting Edge
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Period, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
It really shouldn’t have been hard to predict that a Will Ferrell movie—or frankly a better movie—would take the top spot away from those fightin’ turtles. Audiences simply love watching him mock their beloved sports. It’s also worth nothing that TMNT sunk so low…it was even surpassed by the old fave, 300. Cowabunga?#$%!
Here’s how the rest of the weekend broke down:
1. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $33,014,202
2. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $25,123,781
3. 300, Warner Bros., $11,434,437
4. TMNT, Warner Bros., $9,232,362
5. Wild Hogs, Disney, $8,662,893
6. Shooter, Paramount, $8,364,413
7. Premonition, Sony, $5,213,264
8. The Hills Have Eyes II, Fox Atomic
9. Reign Over Me, Sony, $3,835,022
10. The Last Mimzy, New Line, $3,815,600
Box Office Breakdown: Cowabunga!
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
And Xerses thought 300 warriors looked pathetic. Apparently a handful of shells was all it took to take down that clump of shielded warriors. The latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles offering, TMNT, took the top spot away this weekend from powerhouse 300.
Also of note—two movies starring a Wahlberg opened up this week: Shooter with Mark and Dead Silence with Donnie. While neither movie did spectacular, both movies managed to crack the Top 10. Here’s the breakdown for the rest of the contenders:
1. TMNT, Warner Bros., $24,255,205
2. 300, Warner Bros., $19,862,491
3. Shooter, Paramount, $14,523,571
4. Wild Hogs, Disney, $13,850,542
5. The Last Mimzy, New Line, $10,024,819
6. The Hills Have Eyes II, Fox Atomic, $9,686,362
7. Premonition, Sony, $9,562,739
8. Reign Over Me, Sony, $7,460,690
9. Pride, Lionsgate, $3,533,300
10. Dead Silence, Universal, $3,440,415
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