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
Box Office Breakdown: The Town Takes the Crown
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
The Town, Ben Affleck’s second directorial feature, surprised analysts this weekend with a win at the box office. The film, which far surpassed Gone Baby Gone’s $5.5 million debut in 2007, earned $23.8 million—a September-best for Warner Bros. The drama, co-starring Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner, also gave actor Affleck his first #1 film—outside of He’s Just Not that Into You—since Daredevil.
Although many had Easy A topping the charts, the film came in a very respectable second place. The Emma Stone-starrer – which only cost $8 million to produce – generated good reviews and a $17.7 million take.
The weekend’s other two new wide releases also landed in the Top 5. The PG-13 horror film Devil raised $12.3 million while Alpha and Omega, a more family-friendly entry, rang up $9.1 million in ticket sales.
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| Box Office Mojo
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Box Office Breakdown: Evil Takes Up Residence at Number One
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Horror, Independent, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
Who says the third time’s the charm?
Resident Evil: Afterlife—the fourth movie in that sci-fi series—topped the box office this weekend with franchise-breaking numbers. The movie, which was offered in 3D, had the best Evil debut to date. (Yes - higher ticket prices did play into this.) Afterlife‘s $26.7 million take surpassed the bar set by Resident Evil: Extinction in 2007. (That outing opened to $23.7 million.)
Since Resident was the only new wide release, the other notable events occurred outside the Top Ten. The Romantics, starring Katie Holmes and Josh Duhamel, opened in limited release with a $45,527 debut. More importantly, the movie averaged $22,764 per theater—the best number for all films over the weekend. In comparison, I’m Still Here—featuring a disheveled Joaquin Phoenix—only had a $5,087 per screen average.
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Box Office Breakdown: The American Defeats Machete
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
Although it lacked Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan and Robert De Niro, The American did have two things Machete didn’t: George Clooney and a box office win.
Despite only grossing $13.2 million over the weekend ($16.3 million since Wednesday), the Focus Features entry hit its target. The movie - which was produced for approximately $20 million - managed to top the Robert Rodriguez-actioner by less than $2 million. The American also became Clooney’s best opener - outside of any Brad Pitt-related project - since The Perfect Storm in 2000.
Machete, based on a trailer included in the film Grindhouse, came very close to matching the earlier movie. The Danny Trejo starrer debuted to a modest $11.4 million—about $200,000 short of Grindhouse‘s premiere in 2007.
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Box Office Breakdown: Takers Takes the (Close) Win
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
Although early reports had The Last Exorcism in first place this weekend, the final numbers told a different story. When the dust finally settled on Monday, Lionsgate’s Takers had squeaked out a slim lead. (Less than $200,000 separated the two films.)
Exorcism, though, did not walk away a loser. The movie “documenting” a priest’s final exorcism earned just over $20 million—and it only cost $1.8 million to produce. The PG-13 flick also surpassed The Unborn‘s 2009 debut ($19.8 million), though it did fall short of The Exorcism of Emily Rose. (That 2005 release opened to $30 million.)
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Box Office Breakdown: The Switch Fails to Light Up
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Miramax, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
Maybe a quick trip to Cougar Town is something Jennifer Aniston could use right now.
Days after blurting out the R-word on television, Aniston is dealing with another ding in her career: the box office disappointment. The Switch, co-starring Jason Bateman, produced only $8.4 million over the past three days while narrowly escaping eighth place. The good news? The movie raised slightly more than Jen’s Love Happens did back in September. The bad news? The comedy earned about $4 million less than Jennifer Lopez’s baby movie, The Back-Up Plan, did in April.
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Box Office Breakdown: Expendables Team Up Against Julia Roberts
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
For some people, eating, praying and loving is the way to go. For others, shooting and fighting is the preferred course of action.
The Expendables, directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, overpowered the competition this weekend with a $34.8 million finish. The combined star power of the cast – which included Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham – helped land the actioner in first place while awarding Stallone his biggest debut to date.
Although Eat Pray Love fell in second with its $23.1 million take, the movie was by no means a disappointment. The Julia Roberts vehicle premiered on par with Julie & Julia’s $20 million kickoff last August. Meanwhile, Roberts earned her best opening numbers in 10 years (outside of the Oceans franchise).
Unfortunately for Michael Cera, it appears the world was simply working against Scott Pilgrim vs. the World The $60 million comic book adaptation only raked in $10.6 million over the past three days.
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Box Office Breakdown: Victory for The Other Guys
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, Technology
Will Ferrell is no longer stuck in the Land of the Lost.
After stinking up the theaters last summer with his science fiction remake, Ferrell has rebounded nicely with The Other Guys. Sony’s buddy-cop flick opened to $35.5 million over the weekend, giving the funnyman his second highest debut ever. (Talledega Nights rang in $47 million in August 2006.) The comedy also performed well for Mark Wahlberg. It was his best outing since Planet of the Apes’ $68.5 million kickoff in 2001.
Unfortunately, 3-D screens and So You Think You Can Dance plugs couldn’t push Step Up 3D further up the charts. The $40 million film only grossed $15.8 million in ticket sales while coming in lower than the first two installments. (Step Up premiered to $20.7 million in 2006 while Step Up 2 the Streets opened to $18.9 million in 2008.)
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In Theaters This Weekend: August 6, 2010
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Disney, IFC Films, Magnolia, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases, Trailers
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- The Other Guys (PG-13): starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes (directed by Adam McKay)
- Step Up 3-D (PG-13): starring Rick Malambri, Sharni Vinson, Adam Sevani (directed by Jon Chu)
- Cairo Time* (PG): starring Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Elena Anaya (directed by Ruba Nadda)
- The Disappearance of Alice Creed* (R): starring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan, Martin Compston (directed by J. Blakeson)
- Flipped* (PG): starring Madeline Carroll, Aidan Quinn, Penelope Ann Miller (directed by Rob Reiner)
- Lebanon* (R): starring Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen (directed by Samuel Maoz)
- Middle Men* (R): starring Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht (directed by George Gallo)
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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: April 6, 2010
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, MGM, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Period, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options today:
- Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans: DVD, Blu-ray
- Cocoon: Blu-ray
- Dreamscape: Blu-ray
- Flight of the Intruder: Blu-ray
- Jade: Blu-ray
- The Lord of the Rings (1978 animated version): DVD, Blu-ray
- The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy: Blu-ray
- The Natural (Director’s Cut): Blu-ray
- Poseidon: Blu-ray
- The Relic: Blu-ray
- The Thomas Crown Affair: Blu-ray
Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.
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In Theaters This Weekend: November 20, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: IFC Films, Magnolia, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- The Blind Side (PG-13): starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron (directed by John Lee Hancock)
- New Moon (PG-13): starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner (directed by Chris Weitz)
- Planet 51 (PG): starring Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel (directed by Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: November 20, 2009
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