Box Office Breakdown: Optimus Is In His Prime
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Political, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
We knew that a Michael Bay/ Steven Spielberg venture would be a hit—so what really is there left to say? Well, did you know that this is Bay’s biggest opening since 2001’s awful Pearl Harbor ($59.1 million)?? Did you know that Shia LeBeouf is the first leading man (he just turned 21, so is a leading man) to have two movies reach the top spot this year?
Moving on…how about that awful showing for License to Wed? Not that I predicted much for the film—but ouch. Question is: which Office actor fared worse in this summer’s box office? Steve Carell who starred in an obscenely expensive Evan Almighty—a movie that at least managed #1 berth? Or John Krasinski whose movie clearly looked like a bomb from the get-go but came with low expectations? That may be something for Dwight Schrute to sort out…
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Box Office Breakdown: Yippee-Kay-Yay Ratatouille!
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Bruce Willis and Co. may have managed to steer clear of gigantic robots—but they somehow overlooked a group of pesky rats. Live Free and Die Hard was conveniently positioned one week ahead of this summer’s most anticipated blockbuster…yet squarely in the path of a rodent’s bite. Nevertheless, the aging John McClane still proved that he can get the job done and earn his keep.
Meanwhile, Ratatouille chewed up the competition with a $47 million dollar debut, although it surprisingly foraged less than most of its Pixar elders (only A Bug’s Life and Toy Story started off lower). What it did manage to do was help boot Surf’s Up out of the Top 10 leaving room for another Shia LeBeouf feature to transform the landscape in just a matter of days…
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Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Political, Religious, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Question: When is being the #1 movie just not enough? (Hint: You have three chances to answer this question correctly).
Answer(s):
- When the critics don’t really have anything good to say about you
- When you made less than 1/2 of what your predecessor did on opening weekend
- When it cost over $175 million just to create you
Apparently having God on your side doesn’t guarantee you heavenly box office numbers. Evan Almighty, the follow-up to 2003’s Bruce Almighty, failed to bring in a large congregation this past weekend. Although it did better than the rest of the flock, it’s $32 million take paled in comparison to Bruce’s $68 million opening. And then there’s that glaring $175 million bill…
Of course, we shouldn’t feel so badly about Steve Carell’s career. I have a feeling that God is providing for him in other ways.
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Box Office Breakdown: Silver Surfer Scores the Gold
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories:
Like Ocean’s Thirteen, critics rated Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer better than its predecessor. And like Ocean’s, Fantastic found its way on top of the ever-revolving box office heap. With help from a more family-friendly rating (down from PG-13 to a PG), the superhero clan raked in $2 million more in its opening weekend than its 2005 turnout.
But it takes more than just a PG to win viewers over—it apparently takes Jessica Alba in a skin-tight outfit…and the prim and proper Nancy Drew had to learn that the hard way. The latest incarnation of the beloved character only placed 7th despite the numerous times Julia Roberts’ name had been dropped these past few weeks. BTW—I feel incredibly bad that daddy Eric Roberts has been continuously trumped by his more famous sister. Emma is HIS daughter after all.
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Box Office Breakdown: Lucky Number 13
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Independant Films, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Having exhausted all their sequel choices, theater patrons quickly moved on to the latest offering: Ocean’s Thirteen. Despite general indifference for the series’ second movie, Steven Soderbergh and friends faced down the unlucky number and rolled the dice again. Their gamble paid off well this weekend when they took down Captain Jack Sparrow and his mates
Of course, viewers who crave the comfort of familiarity can still manage to have discerning taste. Eli Roth’s Hostel: Part II only rounded enough voyeurs to rank a mediocre 6th place. Here’s to hoping that the era of grisly horror movies is once again over…
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Box Office Breakdown: Knocked Up Delivers A Winner
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Lionsgate, Picturehouse, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Viewers in dire need of some raunch helped make Knocked Up a strong 2nd this weekend.
Katherine Heigl’s stomach bumped past several family-friendly sequels of late and brought a fresh dose of adults-only fun into the box office. Although it didn’t surpass the strong swashbucklers in Pirates, Knocked has already grossed enough money to cover its entire production budget. Something few other movies on this list could probably say. With strong word of mouth, director Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin) may soon be adding another summer sleeper to his bedpost.
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Box Office Breakdown: Sparrow vs. Spidey
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Yo, ho…whoa.
As predicted, Captain Jack Sparrow’s resurrection raked in serious booty helping the Pirates franchise score another box office record. The Memorial Day Weekend crown was snatched away from last year’s holder, X-Men: The Last Stand.
But one thing POTC: At World’s End did not do was take back the title for any three-day weekend. It’s $139.8 million dollar domestic take fell a bit short from the $151 million raised by Peter Parker et al.
Other notables this week? The impressive showing by Waitress. The small movie, starring Keri Russell, has been receiving great reviews and viewers must be taking notice. Ranking 5th in a busy holiday weekend is definitely something to be proud of. And what about those Wild Hogs? After exiting the Top Ten weeks ago, it made one final surge. Apparently motorcycles, leather and holiday weekends go hand-in-hand.
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Box Office Breakdown: Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
I believe somewhere out there Justin Timberlake is crediting himself for this…
Two weeks ago, Spider-Man 3 broke box office records for a debut weekend. Now Shrek the Third gets the honor for ticket sales of an animated feature (beating the animated record established by Shrek 2). The $121 million take is the third largest opening for any movie…right behind Spidey 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
Of course in just seven days, I’m sure Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will enter the picture to reclaim the title for its franchise. Or at the very least, make the most money for a movie with a monkey in it..
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Box Office Breakdown: Rabid Zombies Barely Get A Bite
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign Language, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Compared to it’s record-breaking debut ($150 million), Spider-Man 3‘s recent weekend take ($58 million) may seem like a dramatic fall. But when your worst is still six times higher than your closest competitor’s best, who cares??
The biggest surprise this week? Not the ho-hum performances of 28 Weeks Later or Georgia Rule. After weeks and weeks in the Top 10, Blades of Glory and Are We Done Yet? have finally left the building!
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Box Office Breakdown: Viewers Get Caught Up In A Sticky Web
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Let’s see if it’s possible for me to say something terribly surprising…
Spider-Man 3 scored the largest domestic debut for a movie ever ($59.8 million on Friday). Two days later, it broke the box office record for the highest grossing weekend ever ($151 million). Both records were previously set by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
With no strong competitors next week, Spidey is bound to stay on top. But all things could change in just a matter of weeks when Shrek rolls into town (May 18th). And let’s not forget about that Captain Jack Sparrow. May 25th could be the day that the third Pirates installment sails in to reclaim the box office booty.
1. Spider-Man 3, Sony, $151,116,516
2. Disturbia, Paramount, $5,844,363
3. Fracture, New Line, $3,696,060
4. The Invisible, Disney, $3,261,374
5. Next, Paramount, $2,892,335
6. Lucky You, Warner Bros., $2,710,445
7. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $2,619,654
8. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $2,409,106
9. Hot Fuzz, Focus, $2,219,346
10. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $1,744,619
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