This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: April 20, 2010
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Music, Period, Remakes, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists,
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options today:
- 44 Inch Chest: DVD, Blu-ray
- Avatar: DVD, Blu-ray **releases on April 22/Earth Day**
- The Basketball Diaries: Blu-ray
- Batman: Blu-ray
- Batman Forever: Blu-ray
- Batman Returns: Blu-ray
- Cheech & Chong’s Hey Watch This!: DVD, Blu-ray
- Crazy Heart: DVD, Blu-ray
- Fist of Legend: Blu-ray
- Homecoming: DVD
- The Horse Boy: DVD
- The Lovely Bones: DVD, Blu-ray
Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: April 20, 2010
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Box Office Breakdown: Wonderful Start for Alice in Wonderland
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Something tells me we’ll be seeing more collaborations between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton soon.
Alice in Wonderland, the latest project from the famous movie-making team, unfolded to a whopping $116 million over the Oscar weekend. Disney’s 3-D adaptation had the best open ever for a non-sequel and the largest debut for any winter release outside of the holiday season. (And we thought Passion of the Christ‘s $83.8 million looked good six years ago.)
Tim Burton’s entry gave the director his best first weekend to date (compared to the $68.5 million Planet of the Apes grossed in 2001). The movie did, though, come in second to Johnny Depp’s personal high. (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men’s Chest raked in $135.6 million in 2006.)
Alice also topped all 3-D openers…including Avatar. (Granted, James Cameron did have a blizzard to contend with at the time.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Wonderful Start for Alice in Wonderland
Read More | Box Office Mojo
The 2010 Academy Awards: Live Commentary
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards,
When you throw in an extra host, add five more Best Picture nominees, take away the Best Song performances and nominate two formerly married directors—what do you get? A night that will surely be talked about.
Although many believe the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will end with very few surprises, the possibility of an upset is still too great to ignore. Will the box office champ (Avatar) win Best Film as well? Or will The Hurt Locker - or even Inglourious Basterds - take the prize? Is Jeff Bridges a shoo-in for Best Actor…or could BAFTA winner Colin Firth sneak past him? Will Sandra Bullock have to deliver another acceptance speech, or will Meryl Streep take home her first Oscar since 1983?
To find out if the ceremony ends in a world of Hurt or Up in the Air, stay tuned here for the live results!
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Box Office Breakdown: Cop Out Misses Out
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
When is a second place finish considered good news? When it’s the biggest debut you’ve had in your career.
Despite recently being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight and losing out to Shutter Island, Kevin Smith still has something to smile about. His latest directorial project, Cop Out, opened to $18.2 million over the weekend. That figure surpasses his previous best of $11.1 million for 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
And while Bruce Willis has clearly seen better days, he hasn’t in some time. Fortunately, his comedic partnership with Tracy Morgan raised over $3 million more than his last major outing, Surrogates, did last September.
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Read More | Box Office Mojo
Box Office Breakdown: Shutter Island the Weekend’s Top Destination
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Avatar may have finally bested Titanic, but Leonardo DiCaprio still has reason to smile.
Shutter Island, Leo’s latest collaboration with Martin Scorsese, earned $41 million over the past three days—more than twice what it’s nearest competitor pulled in. The gross was not only the actor’s personal best (2002’s Catch Me If You Can earned $30.1 million) but Scorsese’s as well. (The Academy Award winner rang in $26.9 million with 2006’s The Departed.)
Another Oscar-winning helmer, Roman Polanski, also had a bit of success at the box office this weekend. The director, who has been at the center of legal drama recently, saw his film The Ghost Writer rake in $183,009 while in limited release. That amount equates to a $45,000 per screen average.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Shutter Island the Weekend’s Top Destination
Read More | Box Office Mojo
No Best Song Performances at the Academy Awards
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Music, Awards,
If you’ve ever found yourself tuning out during the ritual Academy Awards musical performances, this announcement may come as good news to you: next month’s telecast won’t be featuring any.
To be clear - I should, of course, say the Best Song nominees won’t be performing any. I wouldn’t be surprised if co-producer Adam Shankman threw a musical montage into the broadcast somewhere.
While I can’t say I would entirely miss that portion of the program, it saddens me to think that beautiful songs like “Falling Slowly” (Once) might not get the attention they deserve. And where else could you possibly see “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” performed before a sea of tuxedos?
Click to continue reading No Best Song Performances at the Academy Awards
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Box Office Breakdown: Valentine’s Day Has Rosy Four-Day Weekend
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Music, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Despite receiving less than enthusiastic reviews, Valentine’s Day remained the point of attraction for many romance-minded ticket buyers this weekend. Garry Marshall’s romantic comedy wooed audiences over the holiday period while simultaneously breaking records in the process.
Warner Bros.’ ensemble cast combined their efforts to pull in $63.1 million over the past four days ($56.2 million for just the first three). The feature became the highest-grossing film during any President’s or Valentine’s Day frame while also topping the studio’s list of four-day debuts.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Valentine’s Day Has Rosy Four-Day Weekend
Read More | Box Office Mojo
Box Office Breakdown: Dear John Brings Down Avatar
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Music, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
Dear John—And they didn’t think we could do it. Take that, blue people! XOXO, Savannah
After an exhausting seven weeks at #1, Avatar found itself in entirely new territory: sitting back at #2. Although the film had broken nearly every record in the history books (and padded another $22.9 million to its domestic total), the 20th Century Fox feature ended its win streak nine weeks shy of E.T.‘s mark.
Taking the lead from James Cameron was the latest weeper from author Nicholas Sparks. Dear John - starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried - was the counterprogramming winner during Super Bowl weekend. The romantic drama earned an impressive $30.5 million and came narrowly close to besting the record set during the same sports frame in 2008. (That was when Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour generated $31.1 million.)
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Read More | Box Office Mojo
2010 Academy Award Nominations
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Music, Musicals, Period, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Awards, Celeb News, Lists,
After the list of Academy Award nominees were announced this morning, two movies rose to the top of the pack. Avatar and The Hurt Locker - helmed respectively by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow - both lead the field with nine nominations each. Thankfully, the formerly married directors still get along.
Even though this will be the first time since 1943 (when Casablanca won) that ten films will go up for Best Film, this year’s list only revealed a handful of surprises. Those who have been following other ceremonies during this awards season saw very little changes in the acting categories.
Here are some of the noteworthy mentions/omissions from today’s nominations:
- Many had hoped The Hangover, Star Trek and/or (500) Days of Summer would go up for Best Picture. Many were left disappointed.
- Is this the first time Daniel Day-Lewis wasn’t nominated for simply breathing?
- Acting queen Meryl Streep is up now up for her sweet 16th nomination for her role in Julie & Julia. (I believe I will one day see her 20th.)
- Speaking of leading women, there will be three newcomers going up against vets Streep and Helen Mirren (The Last Station): Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)—someone who wasn’t even an actress to begin with!
- Disney/Pixar’s Up will be double-dipping it this year. The feature has been nominated in both the Best Film and Best Animated Film categories.
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Read More | Oscars
In Theaters This Weekend (12/18)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- Avatar (PG-13): starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver (directed by James Cameron)
- Did You Hear About the Morgans? (PG-13): starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sam Elliot (directed by Marc Lawrence)
- Crazy Heart* (R): starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell (directed by Scott Cooper)
- Nine* (PG-13): starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard (directed by Rob Marshall)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (12/18)
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