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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.
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Lindsay Lohan Replaces Katie Holmes

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases

Lindsay LohanNo, Linds isn’t hooking up with Tom Cruise…but she is stepping into the movie role recently vacated by his wife. Lohan will take on the female lead in The Other Side, a role which received heavy input from , who was all set to take on the project.

David Michaels, who will direct the film, said he and Holmes shared many ideas and discussions while Cruise worked on Valkyrie. Funding for the flick fell off for a while, however, and finally Holmes had to bow out of the project. She went on to Broadway and All My Sons.

This left the door open for , whom I guess got the role because of her very wide availability (it’s been a while since Linds had any film work). She’ll join a cast that includes Jason Lee, Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews, Woody Harrelson and Giovanni Ribisi.

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Sequel News: Eclipse, Iron Man 2, Scream and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, New Line, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Sequels, Comedy, Rumors, Upcoming Releases

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Alvin and the Chipmunks: You can look forward to a few new characters in the family-oriented sequel. Chuck‘s Zachary Levi has signed on to play Jason Lee’s cousin in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. (Yes, Squeakquel.) Meanwhile, the furry little guys will be introduced to Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor (a.k.a. the Chipettes) - their female rivals/counterparts.

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Box Office Breakdown: Cloverfield Attacks the Charts

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Books, Lists, New Releases

Cloverfield

Final numbers for the three-day weekend revealed what many had suspected: toppled New York and the competition.  The strong numbers were a result of smart marketing.  In addition to the eerie trailers, the film debuted in January - usually a fairly quiet month for decent films.  Cloverfield’s $46 million take has already covered the movie’s budget (estimated at around $25 million).  That dollar amount also earned the flick the title for best MLK and January opener ever.

Although raked in $20 million less than the horror flick, had nothing to cry about.  Thanks to more strategic marketing - this time by - the film was able to take advantage of those looking for something less dark.  Dresses was originally scheduled to debut last week but was repositioned so it could open during the busy weekend.

Unfortunately, female focus on the romantic comedy didn’t help the female-filled .  The movie - co-starring , and - cashed out in 8th place.  This makes two disappointing debuts in a row for the Clan (the first being Tom’s ).  Let us not forget that Katie opted to do this film instead of the for her post-Tom movie return.  Come to think of it, maybe it was for the best.  I could just hear Tom telling us now that if he had known Heath was doing drugs, he would have cured Ledger himself.

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Box Office Breakdown: The Bucket List Rises to the Top

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson

After placing 23rd last week, - starring and -  soared 22 spots to take the #1 spot this past weekend.  It seems a simple case of addition was all that was needed to accomplish this feat.  Up until now, the movie had only been playing in 16 theaters total; it expanded to nearly 3000 on Friday.  Bucket’s impressive finish was not only a win for 70-year-olds everywhere, it was a win for director .  His biggest opener had been 1992’s .  (That film grossed $15.5 million.)  Maybe Reiner should write Jack into all his films.

Debuting at #2 was the latest comedy.  , co-starring (30 Rock), earned an impressive $8000 per screen average.  That was the best median performance for any movie in this week’s Top Ten.  (, this week’s #17, averaged $14,421 over the past three days.)

Will this yesterday’s Golden Globes have any effect on financial future?  After only 4 weeks in release, the dark feature dropped off the chart and landed at #12.  Assuming theatergoers are still interested in watching potential nominees, I’m guessing the win for Best Comedy/Musical will give the movie a nice boost next weekend.

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Box Office Breakdown: Atonement Joins Juno in Top Ten

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Atonement

When the final numbers were tallied on Monday, something exciting happened at the top of the charts.  After a very close race, surpassed for the second place finish.  ( was tops for its third week in a row.)  Already in its fifth week, the comedic charmer continued its steady climb up the box office ladder.  After gaining five spots last week, Juno rose another two spots this weekend.  (A wider release contributed to this feat.)  If the movie continues at its current pace, it is expected to be the most successful film from .  Sideways grossed $71.5 million while last year’s darling, , earned $59.9 million.

Meanwhile, another praised film is slowly making an ascent in its fifth week.  , starring ribby and (the man who has replaced ), made its first entry into the Top Ten.  Although the -nominated drama is only being seen in about 1/6 of the theaters Treasure is in, Atonement had a per screen average of $8687.  In comparison, the film only had a $5332 median.

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Box Office Breakdown: Juno Makes An Impressive Surge

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Juno

Come Wednesday morning, the box office chart saw very few changes at the top.  That’s not to say the five-day holiday weekend didn’t have any notable moments at all:

  • Strong word of mouth helped boost last week’s #10, , up five whole spaces.  The movie - already in it’s 4th week - continues to soar despite its fairly limited release.  It’s $15,788 per screen average even topped $14,232.
  • Golden Globes buzz also contributed to the success of seven-time nominee .  Although it only placed 14th overall, the romantic weeper scored a $15,764 average.
  • outmuscled last week’s #2, .  The family-friendly flick traded spots with the blockbuster thanks to its $2.5 million edge.
  • narrowly missed a place in the Top Ten despite its connection to both and .  You heard it right - the talk show host’s touch does not always mean gold.
  • followed up its disappointing debut with another out of tune performance.  The musical satire plummeted five spots all the way down to #13.

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Box Office Breakdown: Book of Secrets a National Hit

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

This holiday weekend introduced a slew of big-ticket features in our cineplexes.  It also brought us a wide cast of former Oscar-winners competing for our theater dollars.  By Monday, , , , , and Oscar-nominee had all made entries into the Top Ten - but it was who wound up striking gold.

earned $45 million, an increase of $10 million over the 2004 original.  This was the second hit for Cage this year, following the critically-panned Ghost Rider.  In addition to having the weekend’s best gross, Secrets also had the best average of any movie over those three days.  Although ‘s fourth place was respectable (especially for a politically-based film these days), its $3760 per screen take clearly set it apart from this week’s champ.  In contrast, earned an $11,184 average for an impressive 10th place finish.

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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

I Am Legend

You have to wonder whether is just a wee bit jealous of his friend’s success…

This weekend, not only smashed the box office debut of Cruise’s , he pounded everything in his path.  - 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 final installment in the Lords trilogy brought in $72.6 million back in 2003.

Although 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, .  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: .  The comedic charmer earned an impressive $35,686 per screen.  Meanwhile, (which opened in 3566 more theaters) averaged only $21,411.  Take that, Fresh Prince!

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In Theaters This Weekend (12/14)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Fox Searchlight, Magnolia, Warner Bros, Yari Film Group Releasing, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Musicals, Political, Religious, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

The Kite Runner

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Gets CGI Treatment

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: 20th Century Fox, Adaptation, Animation, Family, Musicals, Upcoming Releases

Alvin and the ChipmunksI still remember Saturday mornings watching , the cartoon, on TV. I even remember the special show the series did about the Berlin Wall – truly heady stuff for a show designed only for children. Every year around this time, you’ll hear their Christmas tune on the radio. Now, someone has taken the bold step to answer the question which plagues my generation: does Alvin still want a hula-hoop?

Okay, that’s not really the burning question. A better question would be, what madman thought a live-action version of the chipmunks would work? And WHY? But like it or not, the live-action version of is indeed coming to theaters, and as soon as December 14. What can fans expect from this barely-publicized flick?

Click to continue reading ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Gets CGI Treatment

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