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
Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Weekend for Twilight
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Independent, Musicals, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Although Disney features typically find a place at the top of the pack, the studio’s cute puppy was outmatched by a hot vampire this weekend. After pulling in $35.9 million on Friday ($7 million of which was earned at midnight), Twilight went on to suck up nearly $70 million in total. The film’s first day take alone was enough for Summit Entertainment to immediately greenlight a sequel. (A script for New Moon had already been in the works.)
The Stephenie Meyers adaptation - which was originally slated to premiere on December 12 - undoubtedly owes Warner Bros. partial credit for its success. Had the studio not chosen to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until next year, Twilight would most likely have debuted in fewer theaters. The Catherine Hardwicke film also wouldn’t have become the highest opener ever for a female director. (Deep Impact, helmed by Mimi Leder, took home $41.2 million in 1998.)
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In Theaters This Weekend: November 21, 2008
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Bolt (PG): starring John Travolta, Susie Essman, Miley Cyrus (directed by Chris Williams and Byron Howard)
- Twilight (PG-13): starring Kristin Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Cam Gigandet (directed by Catherine Hardwicke)
- The Betrayal* (NR): (directed by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath)
- I Can’t Think Straight* (PG-13): starring Lisa Ray, Sheetal Sheth, Gabrielle Amies (directed by Shamim Sarif)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: November 21, 2008
Sequel News: Hulk, Wall Street, Evil Dead and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, New Line, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases,
Here’s the latest scoop on the sequel buzz spreading across Hollywood:
Hairspray: Earlier this summer, New Line announced plans to produce a Hairspray follow. Unfortunately, the studio - which has already asked John Waters to write a treatment - may have a major casting issue to deal with. In a recent interview with Australia’s Sunday Herald Sun, John Travolta said he wasn’t looking forward to putting Edna Turnblad’s fat suit back on. “I think once is enough. I did it and I did it well but I’m not a big sequel guy,” the Look Who’s Talking Too star claimed. No other stars from the original cast have yet been confirmed for the new musical.
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Top 5 High School Movies
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Classics, Drama, Musicals, Comedy, Home Entertainment,
Disney’s Camp Rock will soon delight tweens and teens with tuneful summer fun. The cable network hopes to re-capture the success of High School Musical…but is this movie truly the pinnacle of cinematic high school fun? Isn’t it possible to strive for higher in the high school movie genre? Check out my list of the Top 5 High School Movies, and find out if your favorite made the cut.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Sean Penn as a stoner and Jennifer Jason Leigh as a budding young slut - what says high school quite like that? This uproariously funny cult classic will absolutely never go out of style (I think it has something to with Judge Reinhold). The music and fashion might be dated, sure, but certain truths always remain despite the years that pass.
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FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: MGM, New Line, Universal, Adaptation, Drama, Musicals, Period, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, DVD Reviews, Full Episodes, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,
In this episode of FilmCrunch, Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, along with the DVD release of Premonition. Neil also hits us with a 60 second review of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. All that, plus your typical dose of hilarity, in this episode.
Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.
2008 Golden Globe Nominations (Film)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Awards, Lists,
Assuming the ongoing writers’ strike doesn’t put a wrench into everyone’s plans, the 65th Annual Golden Globes ceremony is scheduled to air on Sunday, Jan. 13th. (The NBC telecast will come just 9 days prior to the Academy Award nominations.)
Here are the most notable omissions/additions in this year’s list of film honorees:
- Atonement led the nominations with seven; Charlie Wilson’s War came in second with five.
- Musicals (Sweeney Todd, Across the Universe, Hairspray) dominated the Comedy/Musical category.
- Cate Blanchett received two acting nominations (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, I’m Not There).
- Philip Seymour Hoffman was also a double-nominee (The Savages, Charlie Wilson’s War)
- Hoffman’s Savages co-star, Laura Linney, was not nominated for her performance.
- The Kite Runner was nominated in the Foreign Film category.
- Javier Bardem was the only actor nominated from No Country for Old Men.
- Into the Wild was left out of all major categories.
(Click below for the full list of film nominees; click here for the TV nominations.)
Click to continue reading 2008 Golden Globe Nominations (Film)
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