Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Say Yes to Jim Carrey
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists
How will Will Smith remember Winter Solstice 2008? As the weekend he placed second.
Prior to Friday’s premieres, number crunchers were already predicting a close race between headliners Jim Carrey and Will Smith. Unfortunately for Warner Bros., Yes Man‘s ultimate victory felt slightly hollow. The comedy’s $18.2 million gross was nowhere near the figures Carrey used to generate. (Bruce Almighty‘s premiere earned $68 million in 2003; Liar Liar took in $31.4 million in 1997.) Yes did, though, do better than 2005’s Fun with Dick and Jane. (That film raked in $14.1 million during its open.)
Will Smith didn’t have much to celebrate over the last three days either. His latest film, Seven Pounds, only took in $14.8 million. That’s a number almost unheard of in Smith-land. The drama, directed by Pursuit of Happyness’ Gabriele Muccino, was the actor’s lowest grosser since Ali. (That film earned $14.7 million when it debuted in December 2001.)
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| Variety
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Box Office Breakdown: The Day The Earth Stood Still Stands Tall
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists
Mediocre reviews couldn’t keep The Day the Earth Stood Still from vaulting into first place this weekend.
The sci-fi remake starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly earned $30.5 million over the last three days, more than doubling the take of its nearest competitor. Although Earth had the smallest debut for a #1 film since October 17th (when Max Payne grossed $17.6 million), the Fox feature only cost a reported $80 million to make. It was also the studio’s best open since Horton Hears a Who unfolded in back in March.
The only other new entries in this week’s Top Ten were Nothing Like the Holidays and Milk. Holidays took in $3.5 million and scored itself a 7th place finish. Meanwhile, Milk - which had actually reached #10 before - reentered the charts at #9.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Another Festive Weekend for Four Christmases
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Music, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists
Faced with little competition, last week’s #1 lived to see another win. Four Christmases took in $16.8 million over the last three days - a 46% drop from its first outing - to bring its cumulative total to $69.8 million. The comedy was only one of two films to pass the $10 million mark this weekend.
The only new entries in the Top Ten were Cadillac Records and Punisher: War Zone. Despite a relatively small opening (it only hit 687 theaters), Cadillac averaged $5,015 per theater for a 9th place finish. Meanwhile, Punisher took in a disappointing $4.3 million, less than 1/3 of what the first film did in 2004.
Despite premiering at #22, Frost/Nixon was actually this weekend’s top performer. Ron Howard’s film earned a whopping $60,236 per screen average from only 3 theaters.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Number One for Four Christmases
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Independent, Period, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
Theatergoers still recovering from Thanksgiving had no problem getting into the Christmas spirit this last weekend.
Despite horrible reviews, Four Christmases - a holiday feature starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn - managed to pull in over $31 million over the past three days. (The comedy’s five-day total was $46 million.) That was enough to tame some hungry vampires and give Reese her best opening since Sweet Home Alabama. (The 2002 film had a $35.6 million debut.)
But even with Witherspoon and Vaughn’s combined wattage, Christmases still wasn’t the brightest spot on the box office tree. This weekend’s top performer was actually a political drama with a very limited release. Although it was only seen in 35 theaters, Milk, starring Sean Penn and James Franco, found itself sitting in 10th place. The Gus Van Sant film also averaged $40,385 per theater…nearly $31,000 more than the laugher did per screen.
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Read More | Variety
In Theaters This Weekend: October 24, 2008
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Universal, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Music, Musicals, Sequels, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
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Proposed New Year’s Resolutions for Movie Studio Executives
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Distribution, Filmmaking, Lists, Technology, Trailers, Upcoming Releases
A quintessential holiday morsel:
‘Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la … la la la la
And there must be no shortage of jolliness for big-name film studios as we enter the last days of the year—2007 has been one of the most lucrative in film history. But after the holiday parties end, and the final box-office spreadsheets have been tucked under the pillow (or thrown on the fire), the time comes for rebirth and renewal. After all, the target demographic will be looking for something new, and the critics certainly weren’t impressed with much of this year’s fare. Perhaps everyone can be happy in 2008, as the medium returns to its glory days of content-rich, engaging filmmaking.
Alright, you people aren’t buyin’ it.
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Box Office Breakdown: Will Smith a Legend in December
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Warner Bros, Yari Film Group Releasing, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
You have to wonder whether Tom Cruise is just a wee bit jealous of his friend’s success…
This weekend, Will Smith not only smashed the box office debut of Cruise’s Lions for Lambs, he pounded everything in his path. I Am Legend - the third adaptation of the 1954 Richard Matheson novel - nearly doubled the take of its nearest competitor while breaking the record for a December release. Legend’s $77 million debut surpassed the bar set by Oscar-winner The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The final installment in the Lords trilogy brought in $72.6 million back in 2003.
Although Alvin and the Chipmunks was far behind in second place, its $44 million weekend was nothing to sneeze at. The movie not only exceeded most expectations, it downright embarrassed third place finisher, The Golden Compass. How could anyone possibly explain freaky-looking chipmunks taking down a large polar bear? The latter film only added another $8.8 million to its total, putting it a smidge closer to its $180 million budget. (Granted, it has done better overseas.)
But let’s not be fooled by the large numbers at the top of the charts, the weekend’s most notable turnout was made by #11: Juno. The comedic charmer earned an impressive $35,686 per screen. Meanwhile, Legend (which opened in 3566 more theaters) averaged only $21,411. Take that, Fresh Prince!
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‘The Golden Compass’ vs. Religion: An Opinion
Posted by David Onda Categories: New Line, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Religious, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Books, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews
We saw The Golden Compass this weekend. I’m a guy who loves movies. And as such, I set out Friday night to go see what was supposed to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the holiday season. I saw The Golden Compass despite negative critical response and Catholic protests and without reading any of the three Philip Pullman books off which the film is based. The film was dazzling, imaginative and certainly innovative. After having seen the movie I checked out the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (as well as a few anti-Compass sentiments online) and simply could not believe the garbage I was hearing.
I saw the movie. I watched the fuzzy talking animals. And I tried, with little success, to connect the dots and see how this film was so evil. I tried to pick out the atheistic sentiments. And I tried - really, really tried - to put myself in the Catholic League’s shoes. And honestly - what is the big freakin’ deal?
Ok, I get it - Philip Pullman isn’t exactly going to win “Christian Of The Year.” The allegory within his His Dark Materials trilogy is not exactly what one might call “God friendly.” But why, in a country based on the principals of religious freedom, is this man, this movie, and everyone behind it, being vilified? I’ve read the arguments and I understand what they are saying, but for the life of me (and with all personal religious beliefs set aside), I can’t understand how this one film is going to be detrimental to society?
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Box Office Breakdown: The Golden Compass Lacks Luster
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
A Narnia-esque adaptation partnered with a holiday release date and an A-list cast should have conjured box office magic for The Golden Compass. Surprisingly, this weekend’s release from New Line Cinema brought in barely enough money to cover the film’s catering budget.
Compass, based on Philip Pullman’s children’s series His Dark Materials, was Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig’s second disappointing collaboration this year (the first being The Invasion). While it was enough for a first place finish, the $25 million debut was hardly impressive given the film’s $180 million price tag.
In other news, holiday flick This Christmas remained in third place while the critically-panned Fred Claus bumped up two spaces from last week. Meanwhile, Juno and Atonement did well with their very limited releases.
Be looking for the highly-promoted I Am Legend (and Alvin and the Chipmunks) to enter next week’s charts.
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Read More | E! Online
Box Office Breakdown: Jessica Alba Can’t Keep Audiences Awake
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
There’s nothing like a good snub to restore your faith in moviegoers.
Although Awake was the only new wide release this past weekend, discerning audiences kept it from succeeding by default. (NOTE: Cute squirrels will always trump Jessica Alba.) The movie, also co-starring Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen, opened with a dismal $6 million - less than half of what Alba’s last stellar film, Good Luck Chuck, did. (The latter opened at $13.7 million.) I wonder if this currently makes Jessica Biel the most successful Jessica out there.
Aside from Awake’s entry, the rest of the Top Ten changed very little from last week. Enchanted refused to budge from its perch and earned another $16 million over the past three days. Meanwhile, Beowulf surged back up a notch, trading spots with holiday flick, This Christmas.
Although the box office numbers were unspectacular overall, we can expect big changes in just a few days; that’s when New Line’s The Golden Compass makes its debut.
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