Box Office Breakdown: Fred Claus No Match for Jerry Seinfeld
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Political, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
In a shocking turn of events, Bee Movie came buzzing back to life this weekend stealing the #1 spot from recent victor, American Gangster. Bee’s $25 million take also embarrassed the newest comedic entry, Fred Claus.
Although fellow ‘Frat Packer’ Will Ferrell rang bells with November 2003’s Elf, Vince Vaughn couldn’t come close to matching his friend’s $31.1 million debut. The news was especially surprising given Vaughn and director David Dobkin’s recent collaboration on 2005’s Wedding Crashers. Could this mean Vaughn’s only appealing when he’s part of a larger comedic team?
Also noteworthy this weekend was the disappointing performance of Lions for Lambs. Lions wasn’t expected to take in Mission Impossible-esque numbers, but the film did still boast Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and actor/director Robert Redford. As it was, the movie grossed less than any other Cruise-attached wide release in more than 20 years. At least Streep can say this topical film debuted higher than her last attempt (Rendition).
P2, the only other new Top Ten entry, racked up ninth place.
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Review: ‘American Gangster’
Posted by David Onda Categories: Universal, Action, Drama, Period, Political, Thrillers, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews
American Gangster is based on the true story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), an African American drug kingpin in 1970s Harlem who smuggles heroin in the caskets of dead soldiers returning from Vietnam. Lucas buys the drug wholesale from the source and sells a more purer form at half the price, effectively putting his competition out of business and making him one of the most powerful men in New York. Russell Crowe plays Detective Richie Roberts, a straight-laced cop who is assigned to solve the city's drug problem.
Bottom line: Ridley Scott turns a spellbinding American story into a riveting three hours of cinema. I foresee Oscar nominations abound for this flick.
Check out my detailed review after the jump and find out which Goonie put out one hell of a performance.
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Box Office Breakdown: A Gangbusters Weekend for Washington, Crowe
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Combine Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington’s star-wattage and you’re bound to get a hit. But did anyone expect a $43 million debut for American Gangster? Why did these Oscar-winners do so well when others have only done okay? How did an R-rated film beat out an animated PG flick? Why didn’t the movie’s long running-time (157 minutes) turn people away?
Gangster’s #1 spot was just one of the film’s many weekend achievements. The movie also marked the biggest opening weekend for both lead actors (Russell’s Gladiator earned $35 million; Washington’s Inside Man grossed $29 million). It also had the 2nd best debut for a drama in November (right behind 2002’s 8 Mile).
Unfortunately, all this good news was lost on comedian Jerry Seinfeld—the hardest working self-promoter of 2007. Even though NBC spent countless hours of airtime sucking up to its former Golden Boy, Seinfeld’s Bee Movie was stung with a 2nd place finish. Although $38 million take is nothing to complain about, I expect next week’s Fred Claus will slide right in to become the week’s best-grossing comedy.
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In Theaters This Weekend (11/2)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, MGM, New Line, Universal, Warner Independant Films, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Comedy, Lists, New Releases
- American Gangster (R): starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe (directed by Ridley Scott)
- Bee Movie (PG): starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger (directed by Steve Hickner, Simon Smith)
- Martian Child (PG): starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet (directed by Menno Meyjes)
- Wristcutters: A Love Story (R): starring Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon (directed by Goran Dukic)
- Darfur Now* (PG): starring Don Cheadle, George Clooney (directed by Ted Braun)
*limited or gradual release
Box Office Breakdown: The Rock Upsets The Heartbreak Kid
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Drama, Family, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Despite what you may have learned in school, Ben Stiller + The Farrelly Brothers does not necessarily equal box office gold.
The team behind There’s Something About Mary took a backseat to last weekend’s winner: The Game Plan. The Heartbreak Kid, a remake of the 1972 Neil Simon comedy, raked in only $14 million. While Mary did open with a smaller gross back in 1998 ($13.7M), it’s doubtful this critically-panned movie will become another sleeper hit for the trio. Thankfully co-star Michelle Monaghan will have the upcoming Gone Baby Gone to wash this disappointment away.
The only other new entries into the Top 10 included the fantasy flick, The Seeker ($3.7M), and the J.Lo-produced dance film, Feel the Noise ($3.1M). Meanwhile, the well-reviewed Michael Clayton pulled impressive numbers in limited release ($46,000 per screen). Expect the George Clooney vehicle to open wide this weekend.
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Box Office Breakdown: The Game Plan Scores the Win
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Drama, Horror, Independent, Musicals, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
The execs at Disney must be loving themselves this week. Not only are are they attached to one of hottest concert tours of the year, they have just taken a surprise win at the box office. Although many had predicted good things for the terrorism thriller, The Kingdom, a simple father/daughter bonding film moved theatergoers this weekend.
At $22.9 million, The Game Plan took in almost $6 million more than the Jamie Foxx/Jennifer Garner vehicle. The movie about a football player who meets the daughter he never knew he had (how exactly is that a Disney storyline?) gave “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson his second best opening (behind 2002’s The Scorpion King).
Meanwhile, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe made its first entry into the Top 10. After several weeks in limited release, the musical—which uses 33 Beatles songs to tell its story—will expand into more theaters come October 12th.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Game Plan Scores the Win
Box Office Breakdown: Resident Evil Fights Off Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Between the cheesy trailer and a cast that includes Ashanti—I never would have predicted much for Resident Evil: Extinction. But given the success of ‘three-quels’ this year, I’m not sure why I was surprised. Extinction nearly doubled the the box office take of it’s nearest competitor (Good Luck Chuck) and had the biggest debut of any Resident Evil installment.
But the real winner this weekend may be Sean Penn’s Into the Wild. The film, based on the Jon Krakauer novel, earned over $51,000 per screen—one of the best averages ever for a movie in limited release. Given the full-hour coverage on Oprah last week, Wild will probably be able to build on its impressive debut. (The film goes nationwide on October 5th.)
Eastern Promises also turned out some promising numbers after its wide release. The film took in nearly $6 million in its second week (though it still underperformed the last David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortensen movie, A History of Violence). I’m hoping word-of-mouth about the fully-naked Mortensen fight scene (did I grab your attention?) will give this film the lasting power it deserves.
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Box Office Breakdown: The Brave One Reaches #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
The Brave One took in nearly $15 million in its debut, making it the #1 film of this past weekend. Although some may consider the gross disappointing for a Jodie Foster film, I choose to think of it as a feat for women.
I decided to do a little research today and came away with some very unsettling news. Since FilmCrunch started reporting Box Office numbers in mid-January, no female-led movie has reached the top of the pack. That’s unless you count Knocked Up with Katherine Heigl, and I don’t. Even then, that was almost 3 months ago.
Kyra Sedgwick, Glenn Close and Mary-Louise Parker made a stand for strong female roles during Sunday’s Emmys—and maybe it’s time that someone finally spoke up for women in film. Until then, I’ll be counting the days until Cate Blanchett makes her royal return in Elizabeth: The Golden Years (out October 12th).
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