Box Office Breakdown: Book of Secrets a National Hit
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
This holiday weekend introduced a slew of big-ticket features in our cineplexes. It also brought us a wide cast of former Oscar-winners competing for our theater dollars. By Monday, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Johnny Depp, Hilary Swank and Oscar-nominee John C. Reilly had all made entries into the Top Ten - but it was Nicolas Cage who wound up striking gold.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets earned $45 million, an increase of $10 million over the 2004 original. This was the second hit for Cage this year, following the critically-panned Ghost Rider. In addition to having the weekend’s best gross, Secrets also had the best average of any movie over those three days. Although Charlie Wilson’s War‘s fourth place was respectable (especially for a politically-based film these days), its $3760 per screen take clearly set it apart from this week’s champ. In contrast, Juno earned an $11,184 average for an impressive 10th place finish.
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In Theaters This Holiday Weekend (12/25)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Mystery, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases
Here are some possible suggestions for your holiday enjoyment:
- Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (R): starring Reiko Aylesworth, Steven Pasquale, Gina Holden (directed by Greg Strause, Colin Strause)
- The Great Debaters (PG-13): starring Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jermaine Williams (directed by Denzel Washington)
- The Water Horse (PG): starring Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, Alex Etel (directed by Jay Russell)
- The Bucket List* (PG-13): starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Serena Reeder (directed by Rob Reiner)
- Honeydripper* (PG-13): starring Danny Glover, Gary Clark Jr., Keb Mo (directed by John Sayles)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Holiday Weekend (12/25)
In Theaters This Weekend (12/7)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, New Line, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Music, Period, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- The Golden Compass (PG-13): starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue (directed by Chris Weitz)
- Atonement* (R): starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saorise Ronan (directed by Joe Wright)
- Billy the Kid* (NR): (directed by Jennifer Venditti)
- Dirty Laundry* (PG-13): starring Loretta Devine, Rockmond Dunbar, Jenifer Lewis (directed by Maurice Jamal)
- Grace is Gone* (PG-13): starring John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Zach Grey (directed by James C. Strouse)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (12/7)
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.
Click to continue reading Review: ‘American Gangster’
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to return for The Fast and the Furious 4?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Action, Sequels, Box Office, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases
Well, audiences waited long enough (through two sequels), and now The Fast and the Furious franchise will reward the faithful with an installment several years in the making. That’s right: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker will finally reunite and reprise their original Fast roles. Maybe. The two are in talks to reprise their roles as Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner, which launched Vin Diesel as a major action star and helped the movie gross more than $200 million worldwide. Walker appeared in 2 Fast 2 Furious, which out-grossed the original, though Diesel could not be swayed from his other movie engagements at the time. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the third installation in the movie series, featured Diesel only briefly and Walker not at all. The fourth movie will feature more cars, more dirty deals, and hopefully more ticket sales than the third (which nearly grossed $160 million but was considered disappointing to Fast fans). The film, yet to be titled, will begin shooting in LA, Mexico and the Dominican Republic next spring. Diesel and Walker are both currently tied to unrelated movie projects, and neither has confirmed accepting a role in the fourth Fast flick.
Read More | E! Online
Jackie Chan Disappointed By ‘Rush Hour’ Films
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: New Line, Action, Comedy, Celeb News
Should we excuse an actor for making a film he didn’t even like—especially when it takes in millions of our theater dollars?
Jackie Chan, who co-starred with Chris Tucker in the Rush Hour series, is now admitting his indifference toward all three installments.
Although he never really understood the humor, the Hong Kong star participated in the original 1998 version in hopes of establishing crossover appeal. Money and ‘fan satisfaction’ were simply the motivators for the next two. Granted, he wouldn’t be the first person to admit he made a sequel for the paycheck—but he may be one of the few to admit he wasn’t a fan of his own work (especially when his movie is still in the theaters). And while the fight scenes might have been too watered down for Chan’s taste, American audiences liked them enough to help each film gross over $137 million or more.
So what do you think about this? Do you believe Chan should leave his preferences/opinions behind if he’s going to make a film in the US? Is it right for him to bash a series he was partially responsible in making? Or do you agree with his perspective on the Rush Hour series overall?
Read More | USA Today
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