Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.Play Video
New Moon Already Breaks Box Office Record
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Adaptation, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Box Office, New Releases, Rumors
We all knew that the opening for New Moon was going to be big, but did we actually think it was going to beat out The Dark Knight and Harry Potter? Well, it did.
Rival studios reveal that the latest Twilight film took in an estimated $23-$24 million in midnight screenings alone; this surpasses The Dark Knight‘s $18.4 million record as well as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince‘s $22.2 million. Summit Entertainment has not yet released an official number.
With a record like that, who’s to say that the vampire-werewolf crew can’t tag-team against Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen‘s current #1 spot of the year, at its $108.9 million weekend opening? With Twi-hards’ dedication, they might even give The Dark Knight a run for its money—its weekend opening did $158.4 million at the box office.
Let’s be honest here—who needs viral marketing when you have Edward Cullen and Jacob Black?
Read More 
| Deadline Hollywood
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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
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
Paranormal Activity May Get Sequel
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Paramount, Horror, Independent, Mystery, Thrillers, Box Office, Filmmaking, New Releases, Rumors
Its first week in national release, Paranormal Activity raked in an astounding $22 million, coming to a total of $64 million. For a movie that was made for $15,000 and did those numbers at the box office, you know that those higher-ups will want more out of such a successful franchise.
“We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do ‘Paranormal 2,’ and we’re looking to see if that makes some sense,” Paramount chairman Brad Grey said.
Many fans fear (myself included) that we’ll get another Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 on our hands if a sequel does get made.
Director Orsen Peli seems to be a bit more cautious about the idea: “Even if we had some ideas for sequels, we wouldn’t be talking about them in advance.” When asked if a prequel was a possibility, he slyly replied, “Maybe.”
Check out a short video after the jump of Peli talking about the overwhelming success of the film.
Click to continue reading Paranormal Activity May Get Sequel
Read More | MTV
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
Box Office Breakdown: The Wild Things Are #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, Technology
Who knew a 10-sentence long story could do so well?
It may have taken over three years for Where the Wild Things Are to officially debut, but the long journey was apparently worth the wait. The Spike Jonze project, which was once rumored to be too scary for children, finally unfolded over the weekend and soared to first place. The Maurice Sendak adaptation, which earned approximately $32.7 million, also gave Warner Bros. its best October open ever.
Even though Gerard Butler didn’t bother to promote Law Abiding Citizen during his recent Saturday Night Live stint, the film managed to survive on its own. The actioner, which also starred Jamie Foxx, raked in just over $21 million and won a close race for 2nd place. Meanwhile, word-of-mouth hit Paranormal Activity grossed another $19.6 million and moved up one rung to the third spot.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Wild Things Are #1
Read More | Variety
Toy Story Gets Extended 3D Run
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Animation, Family, Sequels, Box Office, Upcoming Releases, Videos
If your film is still charting in fifth place, why pull the plug now?
Although it was originally slated for a two-week stint, the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 double feature has been given a longer stay. The popular 3D reissuing will now have an indefinite run. (It will most likely be pulled before A Christmas Carol opens on November 6.)
Since being re-released on October 2, the Pixar classics have combined forces for approximately $22.8 million in ticket sales.
Those still unable to relive the experience before it leaves theaters can get their sneak peek of Toy Story 3 above.
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Escape to Couples Retreat
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Family, Independent, Music, Political, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists
Depending on how you look at the numbers, the winner this weekend was either Couples Retreat or Paranormal Activity.
In the comedy corner, we have a Peter Billingsley-directed film that earned $35.3 million and a first-place finish. The movie - which combined the efforts of Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Jason Bateman - pulled in the best numbers for any Columbus Day weekend entry ever. It also gave Vaughn his 2nd best opening behind The Break-Up.
Meanwhile, on the horror front, Paranormal Activity made a huge splash despite being in limited release. The Blair Witch-esque movie scared up a shocking $49,000 per screen average. It also raked in nearly 500 times more than its budget. (It only cost less than $16,000 to produce.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Escape to Couples Retreat
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists
Watch out, vampires…there’s still life in the other undead.
Although he was previously known as a director for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ruben Fleischer now has a new title: box office champ. This past weekend, Ruben saw his first major feature, Zombieland, attack the competition with a $24.7 million debut. The movie - which only cost approximately $24 million to make - had the highest open for any zombie-themed flick since Dawn of the Dead in 2004.
Meanwhile, another director had an entirely different result with her debut feature. Whip It, a roller derby comedy helmed by Drew Barrymore, rolled into 6th place finish with only $4.7 million. (When your film’s been topped by Pixar entries from 10+ years ago, there might have a problem.) Hopefully in a few more weeks, the Ellen Page vehicle will at least cover its $15 million production tab.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Meatballs Rolls to Another Victory
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Period, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
Surrogates was no substitute for meatballs.
Despite competition from a Bruce Willis film, a music-based remake and a sci-fi horror entry, A Cloudy Chance of Meatballs remained the theatergoers’ order of choice for the second week in a row. The children’s book adaptation had Sony dining to the tune of $25 million—over $10 million more than the second place finisher.
Many thought Willis, who hasn’t had a major role since 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard, was on track to take first this weekend. Unfortunately, his hair movie was considered a big letdown given its $15 million gross and $80 million budget. Meanwhile, Fame, a remake of the 1980 hit, had no one feeling like they wanted to live forever. The MGM feature only rung up $10 million for third place.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Meatballs Rolls to Another Victory
Read More | Variety
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