This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: September 25, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Classics, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, Upcoming Releases,
These are the high-def releases coming this Tuesday:
Blu-ray
- Black Book (R)—starring Carise van Houten and Sebastian Koch; directed by Paul Verhoeven.
- Gods and Generals (PG-13)—starring Jeff Daniels, Robert Duvall and Stephen Lang; directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
- Gothika (R)—starring Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz and Robert Downey Jr.; directed by Mathieu Kassovitz
- Memoirs of a Geisha (PG-13)—starring Ziyi Zang, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe; directed by Rob Marshall
- Tekkonkinkreet (R)—voiced by Alex Fernandez (English version); directed by Michael Arias
- Underworld (R)—starring Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy and Scott Speedman; directed by Len Wiseman
- The Wild Bunch (R)—starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine and Warren Oates; directed by Sam Peckinpah
- Wyatt Earp (R)—starring Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman and David Andrews; directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: September 25, 2007
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Box Office Breakdown: Chuck and Larry Outmuscle Harry
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy,
Lord Voldemort should be kicking himself. Wizardry, schmizardry. All he needed was a bag of outdated gay jokes to bring young Harry down.
Wedding planners everywhere had expected 7/7/07 to be the biggest wedding day of the year, but it was 7/20/07 that proved to be eventful for comedians Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Their domestic partnership brought in enough guests to outdo Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, though they only gained $2 million more than the Potter juggernaut. Fan support for Sandler movies has always been strong—which is why I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry is his ninth movie to open at #1.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Chuck and Larry Outmuscle Harry
Box Office Breakdown: Competition Schooled By Hogwarts
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Apparently Daniel Radcliffe can bring in the audiences without having to strip…unless that’s what the female theatergoers were secretly hoping for.
Whatever the reason, a record number of voyeurs helped the Hogwarts clan whip up the biggest 5-day total for a non-holiday release. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’s $140 million beat out Shrek 2’s record set in 2004 ($128 million). The film is now on track to be the largest Potter installment to date.
As for why the producers of Captivity chose to open amongst all the recent family-fare is beyond me. And yes, I know that’s why they call it counter-programming. Ironically, while I would have loved to watch Elisha Cuthbert’s character from 24 (the oh-so annoying Kim) be subjected to torture-porn, I really no desire to see her do anything these days. Apparently I’m not alone….which is why the only other film widely-released this week opened in 12th place. Now that’s torture.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Competition Schooled By Hogwarts
Box Office Breakdown: Optimus Is In His Prime
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Political, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
We knew that a Michael Bay/ Steven Spielberg venture would be a hit—so what really is there left to say? Well, did you know that this is Bay’s biggest opening since 2001’s awful Pearl Harbor ($59.1 million)?? Did you know that Shia LeBeouf is the first leading man (he just turned 21, so is a leading man) to have two movies reach the top spot this year?
Moving on…how about that awful showing for License to Wed? Not that I predicted much for the film—but ouch. Question is: which Office actor fared worse in this summer’s box office? Steve Carell who starred in an obscenely expensive Evan Almighty—a movie that at least managed #1 berth? Or John Krasinski whose movie clearly looked like a bomb from the get-go but came with low expectations? That may be something for Dwight Schrute to sort out…
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Optimus Is In His Prime
Box Office Breakdown: Yippee-Kay-Yay Ratatouille!
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Bruce Willis and Co. may have managed to steer clear of gigantic robots—but they somehow overlooked a group of pesky rats. Live Free and Die Hard was conveniently positioned one week ahead of this summer’s most anticipated blockbuster…yet squarely in the path of a rodent’s bite. Nevertheless, the aging John McClane still proved that he can get the job done and earn his keep.
Meanwhile, Ratatouille chewed up the competition with a $47 million dollar debut, although it surprisingly foraged less than most of its Pixar elders (only A Bug’s Life and Toy Story started off lower). What it did manage to do was help boot Surf’s Up out of the Top 10 leaving room for another Shia LeBeouf feature to transform the landscape in just a matter of days…
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Yippee-Kay-Yay Ratatouille!
Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Political, Religious, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Question: When is being the #1 movie just not enough? (Hint: You have three chances to answer this question correctly).
Answer(s):
- When the critics don’t really have anything good to say about you
- When you made less than 1/2 of what your predecessor did on opening weekend
- When it cost over $175 million just to create you
Apparently having God on your side doesn’t guarantee you heavenly box office numbers. Evan Almighty, the follow-up to 2003’s Bruce Almighty, failed to bring in a large congregation this past weekend. Although it did better than the rest of the flock, it’s $32 million take paled in comparison to Bruce’s $68 million opening. And then there’s that glaring $175 million bill…
Of course, we shouldn’t feel so badly about Steve Carell’s career. I have a feeling that God is providing for him in other ways.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
Box Office Breakdown: Silver Surfer Scores the Gold
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories:
Like Ocean’s Thirteen, critics rated Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer better than its predecessor. And like Ocean’s, Fantastic found its way on top of the ever-revolving box office heap. With help from a more family-friendly rating (down from PG-13 to a PG), the superhero clan raked in $2 million more in its opening weekend than its 2005 turnout.
But it takes more than just a PG to win viewers over—it apparently takes Jessica Alba in a skin-tight outfit…and the prim and proper Nancy Drew had to learn that the hard way. The latest incarnation of the beloved character only placed 7th despite the numerous times Julia Roberts’ name had been dropped these past few weeks. BTW—I feel incredibly bad that daddy Eric Roberts has been continuously trumped by his more famous sister. Emma is HIS daughter after all.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Silver Surfer Scores the Gold
Box Office Breakdown: Lucky Number 13
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Independant Films, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Having exhausted all their sequel choices, theater patrons quickly moved on to the latest offering: Ocean’s Thirteen. Despite general indifference for the series’ second movie, Steven Soderbergh and friends faced down the unlucky number and rolled the dice again. Their gamble paid off well this weekend when they took down Captain Jack Sparrow and his mates
Of course, viewers who crave the comfort of familiarity can still manage to have discerning taste. Eli Roth’s Hostel: Part II only rounded enough voyeurs to rank a mediocre 6th place. Here’s to hoping that the era of grisly horror movies is once again over…
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Lucky Number 13
Box Office Breakdown: Knocked Up Delivers A Winner
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Lionsgate, Picturehouse, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Viewers in dire need of some raunch helped make Knocked Up a strong 2nd this weekend.
Katherine Heigl’s stomach bumped past several family-friendly sequels of late and brought a fresh dose of adults-only fun into the box office. Although it didn’t surpass the strong swashbucklers in Pirates, Knocked has already grossed enough money to cover its entire production budget. Something few other movies on this list could probably say. With strong word of mouth, director Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin) may soon be adding another summer sleeper to his bedpost.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Knocked Up Delivers A Winner
Knocked Up a Knockout
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Universal, Comedy, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,
Knocked Up, the comedy from the creator of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, is ready for its June 1 release and enjoying great early reviews. In the hilarious Virgin (2005) Steve Carell played the title role, with his on-screen antics heightened by supporting actors that included Seth Rogen. Rogen is back for the lead in Knocked Up, which centers on slacker Ben Stone. After a night of partying in hip downtown LA, Stone meet Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) and the two share a fleeting night of passion. Thusly, the stage is set for the funny new comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow. Many critics are already saying Knocked Up is even better than The 40-Year-Old Virgin, high praise considering that almost no one is funnier than Steve Carell.
Click to continue reading Knocked Up a Knockout
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