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.
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| Variety
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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Read More | Variety
In Theaters This Weekend: October 2, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- Capitalism: A Love Story** (R): starring Michael Moore (directed by Michael Moore)
- The Invention of Lying (PG-13): starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill (directed by Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson)
- Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3D (G): starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger (directed by John Lasseter)
- Whip It! (PG-13): starring Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis (directed by Drew Barrymore)
- Zombieland (R): starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone (directed by Ruben Fleischer)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 2, 2009
Zombieland and the Red-Band Trailer
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Horror, Comedy, Trailers, Upcoming Releases
Combine I Am Legend with a little Natural Born Killers, some 28 Weeks Later, and a giant heaping of Shaun of the Dead, and you might just get Zombieland.
In this new film from Ruben Fleischer, survivors of a zombie plague journey across the country to an amusement park. (Because we should always feel safe in a land of clowns.) The horror comedy stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin and features cameos from Bill Murray and Mike White.
It’ll be time to “nut up or shut up” on October 9.
Read More | Zombieland
Box Office Breakdown: Burn After Reading Smokes Past Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Lionsgate, Picturehouse, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Around this same time last year, Tyler Perry was beating George Clooney in a battle at the box office. Now the Sexiest Man Alive is having his day.
This past weekend, cineplexes were kept busy with a handful of new releases. Although each film had a chance of reaching #1, Burn After Reading - starring Clooney, Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand - emerged as the eventual winner. But the news wasn’t so bad for the other three contenders. Theatergoers clearly starving for fresh material placed all four wide release entries into the chart’s four top slots.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Burn After Reading Smokes Past Competition
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Bangkok Dangerous Tops Dismal Weekend
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists
Eek. And I thought a $14 million weekend was bad.
Seven days ago, Tropic Thunder reached the #1 spot despite an unimpressive box office turnout. This week, Bangkok Dangerous accomplished that same achievement—with only $7.7 million dollars.
While number crunchers weren’t expecting stellar numbers (kids are back in school, football’s back gone), the underwhelming response to Nicolas Cage‘s latest film was a bit surprising. Not only did the film industry have its worst weekend of 2008, Bangkok had the lowest take for any first-placed flick in five years. (Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star topped with $6.6 million in 2003.)
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Tropic Thunder Makes It Three for Three
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Musicals, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
At any other time of the year, a $14 million take would probably get you a decent ranking in the Top Ten. This holiday weekend, that box office total was enough to put Tropic Thunder into first place. Again.
Despite a new Vin Diesel entry, the Ben Stiller comedy led the top of the pack for the third weekend in a row. (If it reaches that mark a fourth time, it will have officially reached Dark Knight territory.) Meanwhile, Babylon A.D. settled for second place with only $11.5 million in ticket sales. I’m guessing the sci fi film’s reviews - in particular, the one from the movie’s own director - might have had something to do with the disappointing turnout.
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Read More | Yahoo! Movies
Box Office Breakdown: Tropic Thunder Wins the Death Race
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Although it was widely believed that (hunky) Jason Statham would emerge as this weekend’s winner, Tropic Thunder somehow managed to hold its ground. The comedy, which only raked in $16.2 million during this outing, became the third movie this year to make a repeat appearance at #1. (The other two films were those giant blockbusters called Iron Man and The Dark Knight.)
Overall, this was an unimpressive weekend for films. Theatergoers probably confused (like me) by Joan Allen’s participation only poured $12.6 million of their dollars into Death Race. Meanwhile, The House Bunny became this week’s highest-grossing chick alternative (Sorry, Sisterhood!) with its $14.5 million gross.
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Read More | Variety
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