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Box Office Breakdown: 30 Days of Night Sucks Up the Competition

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Touchstone, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Horror, Comedy, Sports, Lists, New Releases,

30 Days of Night

I never thought I would ever find myself writing this:  ‘A Josh Hartnett-led film has opened at #1.’  Of course, he did have a little help from a vampire or two..

The horror film, , had an impressive debut for what was actually an unimpressive weekend.  With only $16 million, the Alaskan-set vampire flick beat out a host of movies filled with Oscar-nominated stars.  Ben Affleck’s well-reviewed directorial debut, , opened up in 6th place.  , starring are-they-or-aren’t-they-dating Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, barely cracked the Top Ten.  Meanwhile, placed a dismal 15th despite the presence of Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro (and promotion on Oprah).

The success of 30 Days and the surprise return of - which placed 8th even though it was only in 564 theaters - clearly spells out the audience’s need for some Halloween fare.  This bodes well for the release of which opens next weekend.  (Yay!)

 

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In Theaters this Weekend (10/19)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, FOCUS, Miramax, New Line, Sony, Drama, Horror, Independent, Political, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,

Gone Baby Gone

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases,

Evil Dead 2 posterThis Tuesday brings the release of some great titles, new and old.  As expected, the studios are rolling out some Halloween-inspired classics, filled with zombies, vampires and serial killers; though sadly, only Blu-ray supporters seem to be taking advantage of the upcoming holiday.

HD DVD studios chose instead to use this week to re-release a bunch of titles that were previously only available in those obnoxious HD DVD/DVD Combo discs.  You know, the $40 releases that were appealing to neither the HD owners nor the standard-definition owners?  Those of you who rightly refused to make such a silly purchase can now have some great HD titles for a lower price, thanks to Warner Home Video coming to its senses.  Any of the following films with an asterisk (*) in the title are the re-released versions.

Check out this Tuesday’s HD DVD and Blu-ray releases after the jump.

To see this week’s standard-definition DVD releases, click here.
To see this week’s TV-On-DVD releases, click here.

 

Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007


Couples With The Worst On-Screen Chemistry

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lucasfilm Ltd., Casting, Lists,

Star WarsChemistry, schmemistry.  If you know people are going to be watching your movie anyway—does it really matter?  Whaddya say, ?

Film advertising company Pearl & Dean polled 3,000 British moviegoers to see which couples they felt had the worst on-screen chemistry.  Based on the results, it’s hard to say whether or not those opinions had any affect on the eventual box office receipts.  While I completely agree that Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen fizzled as secret-lovers, I don’t know that the movie’s storyline (or final numbers) could have improved with a different twosome.

Take a look at the poll results and see what you think.  Which couples would you add to this list?  Three pairings that come to my mind:  / Nick Nolte (I Love Trouble), Julia Roberts/ Brad Pitt (The Mexican) and Julia Roberts/ John Cusack (America’s Sweethearts).

  1. Natalie Portman & Hayden Christensen - Stars Wars: Episode II
  2. Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck - Gigli
  3. Keira Knightley & Orlando Bloom -
  4. Madonna & Adriano Giannini - Swept Away
  5. Catherine Zeta-Jones & Sean Connery - Entrapment
  6. Andie MacDowell & Hugh Grant - Four Weddings and a Funeral
  7. Kate Beckinsale & Ben Affleck - Pearl Harbor
  8. & - Eyes Wide Shut
  9. & -
  10. & - Titanic

DVD Review: Zodiac

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Paramount, Action, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thrillers, New Releases, DVD Reviews,

Zodiac posterDavid Fincher’s slow, introspective thriller was released on DVD last week.

In the late 1960s, the San Francisco Chronicle receives one of the first letters from the Zodiac killer, a partial cipher detailing the gruesome deaths of his first victims and his intention to kill again.  What begins as a unique gimmick attached to senseless murder becomes a calculated plan to confuse and manipulate San Francisco police and news media, leaving the city in a state of panic.  Robert Graysmith, a young cartoonist for the Chronicle, grows obsessed with the Zodiac and, with the help of some local detectives, sets out to uncover the truth behind his identity.

Please read FilmCrunch’s full Zodiac review.

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Box Office Breakdown: 300 Loses Steam, Remains Strong

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Period, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Sandra Bullock

Just like the Spartan forces, the movie 300 was bound to lose steam.  But that doesn’t mean it won’t still take out a round of movies on its way down!  Here’s the breakdown for the past weekend:

1. 300, Warner Bros., $32,877,328
2. Wild Hogs, Disney, $19,058,871
3. Premonition, Sony, $17,558,689
4. Dead Silence, Universal, $7,842,725
5. I Think I Love My Wife, Fox Searchlight, $5,674,802
6. Bridge to Terabithia, Disney, $5,192,153
7. Ghost Rider, Sony, $4,176,658
8. Zodiac, Paramount, $3,287,560
9. Norbit, Paramount, $2,766,593
10. Music & Lyrics, Warner Bros., $2,272,317


Box Office Breakdown: 300 Tears It Up

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Music, Mystery, Period, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

300

Ghost Rider and Wild Hogs step aside.  Throngs of men in need of a testosterone-laden movie were apparently craving more than just motorcycles.  According to the latest box office numbers, what they really needed were swords.  And blood.  And Spartan women. 

Trapped inside a crowded theater this weekend, I knew 300 would be successful.  But who could have guessed it would be this big??  The latest movie to be based on a Frank Miller graphic novel raked in nearly $71 million.  That’s the largest opening for a movie in March…ever.  Additionally, it was the 3rd largest opening for an ‘R’ rated movie (right behind The Matrix Reloaded and The Passion of the Christ).

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Zodiac Review: Fincher’s Tour de Force

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Paramount, Adaptation, Drama, Mystery, Thrillers, Filmmaking, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,

Zodiac PosterAfter a five-year hiatus, director David Fincher is back with Zodiac, a slow, introspective thriller written by James Vanderbilt and based on books by Robert Graysmith and official police files chronicling the notorious San Francisco serial killer.

In the late 1960s, the San Francisco Chronicle receives one of the first letters from the Zodiac killer, a partial cipher detailing the gruesome deaths of his first victims and his intention to kill again.  What begins as a unique gimmick attached to senseless murder becomes a calculated plan to confuse and manipulate San Francisco police and news media, leaving the city in a state of panic.  Robert Graysmith, a young cartoonist for the Chronicle, grows obsessed with the Zodiac and, with the help of some local detectives, sets out to uncover the truth behind his identity.

Zodiac stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, and Chloe Sevigny.  Rated R.

Click to continue reading Zodiac Review: Fincher’s Tour de Force


Are the Signs Good for Zodiac?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Paramount, Warner Bros, Drama, Thrillers, Box Office, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,

Zodiac

Jake Gyllenhaal returns to the big screen with sure success in Zodiac, a low-key thriller centering around unsolved murders in California from 1968 to 1969. The star-studded cast in this 2007 movie includes Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, Mark Ruffalo (Rumor Has It, Just Like Heaven) as Inspector Toschi, Anthony Edwards as Inspection Armstrong, and Robert Downey as Paul Avery. The Zodiac killer’s numbers were not what made the case so chillingly unforgettable – only five known victims fell to the serial killer’s wicked ways. The Zodiac took his killing one step further, even going so far as to mock police and public alike with strange, coded messages in the newspapers. The case was moved to the inactive files of the San Francisco Police Department in 2004, and to this day it remains unsolved. For many reasons, the self-named Zodiac is one killer that has captured public imagination time and again. The 2007 movie Zodiac, which was given a whopping four stars by TV Guide reviewers, should not be confused with the movie The Zodiac (neither the 1971 or 2006 versions). The chilling tale in Zodiac will be neither gory nor horrific, but rather lead viewers through a darker, more mellow version of fear.

Read More | TV Guide

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