Box Office Breakdown: Tropic Thunder Wins the Death Race
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Although it was widely believed that (hunky) Jason Statham would emerge as this weekend’s winner, Tropic Thunder somehow managed to hold its ground. The comedy, which only raked in $16.2 million during this outing, became the third movie this year to make a repeat appearance at #1. (The other two films were those giant blockbusters called Iron Man and The Dark Knight.)
Overall, this was an unimpressive weekend for films. Theatergoers probably confused (like me) by Joan Allen’s participation only poured $12.6 million of their dollars into Death Race. Meanwhile, The House Bunny became this week’s highest-grossing chick alternative (Sorry, Sisterhood!) with its $14.5 million gross.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Tropic Thunder Wins the Death Race
Read More 
| Variety
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Sing-Along Mamma Mia Coming to Theaters
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Universal, Musicals, Upcoming Releases
UPDATE: You can find info on the selected theaters here.
If you’ve been driving your family crazy with the Mamma Mia! soundtrack, you may get an opportunity to belt your heart out with other ABBA fanatics.
This Labor Day weekend, Universal will deliver a special version of the Meryl Streep movie to select cities. Mamma Mia! The Sing-Along Edition‘s subtitled lyrics will allow audiences to recite the words they probably all know by now.
Interestingly, this same marketing ploy was implemented by New Line last year during Hairspray‘s record-breaking run. As of last weekend, Mamma Mia! was only $2 million away ($117 million) from surpassing the 2007 film on the highest-grossing movie musicals list.
The Sing-Along Edition opens in limited release on August 29.
Read More | Hollywood Reporter
Box Office Breakdown: Dark Knight Struck Down by Tropic Thunder
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists
Despite a somewhat disappointing opening last Wednesday ($6.5 million), Tropic Thunder actually managed to surpass the four-time box office winner. The comedy grossed $25.8 million over the past three days, nearly $10 million more than its caped competitor.
And while Ben Stiller should be happy by his movie’s accomplishment, the Dreamworks/Paramount film still left a lot to be desired. Recent comedies such as Get Smart ($38.6 million) and Step Brothers ($30.9 million) debuted to better numbers. But then those two films didn’t have a distraction like Michael Phelps to contend with.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Dark Knight Struck Down by Tropic Thunder
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Batman Smokes Pineapple Express
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Musicals, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers
Pineapple Express’ strong open last week made number crunchers wonder: Would this be the week Batman was finally taken down? Unfortunately, breaking the record for ‘Any Wednesday in August’ doesn’t necessarily mean a movie will succeed on Friday or Saturday or Sunday. And despite Pineapple‘s promising start (the movie grossed $12.1 million on its first day), the comedy found itself smoked by the Caped Crusader.
The Dark Knight‘s recent $26 million take has now pushed the film past $441 million. When the sequel passes Star Wars’ $461 million (which should happen shortly), it will become the #2 film of all time. By staying on top for the fourth weekend in a row, Knight has also accomplished something that hasn’t been done since 2003’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Batman Smokes Pineapple Express
Read More | Yahoo! Movies
Box Office Breakdown: The Dark Knight Fights Off the Mummy
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Music, Mystery, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
It was a close one. A very close one. But after a tight contest, The Dark Knight once again emerged as the box office winner this weekend.
Although it initially appeared as if The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was going to bring Batman down, the three-quel lost steam at the end. The film, which grossed $40.4 million over the past three days, narrowly lost out to Knight and wound up being the lowest performer in its series. (The Mummy opened at $43.4 million in 1999 while The Mummy Returns scored $68 million in 2001.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Dark Knight Fights Off the Mummy
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: The Dark Knight Hits $300 Million
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Despite the combined forces of Ferrell/Reilly and Duchovny/Anderson, Team Bale/Ledger could not be slowed down.
This past week, The Dark Knight added a few more records to the franchise’s box office mantle:
- The film became the fastest movie ever to surpass the $300 million mark. (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest crossed that line in 16 days; Knight did it in 10.)
- The sequel is now predicted to break $400 million in approximately 18 days. Shrek 2 took 43 days to the same in 2004.
- IMAX theaters also continue to benefit from the blockbuster’s success. Another $4.6 million was grossed over the weekend.
- It’s now believed the latest Batman installment could soar to $500 million - making it only the second movie to do so. Domestically, Titanic ($601 million) still reigns as the box office champ. (The original Star Wars pocketed $461 million while Shrek 2 earned $436 million.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Dark Knight Hits $300 Million
Read More | Variety
MTV Seeks Rocky Horror Remake
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: 20th Century Fox, Classics, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Casting, Filmmaking, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases
Yes, you unfortunately read that title correctly: MTV is seriously planning to remake the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
While I cannot deny how popular musicals have become (i.e. Mamma Mia!, High School Musical, Hairspray), are there not already tons of other musicals to tamper with other than this one? Can producers possibly more cold-hearted than I thought?
On the upside (yes, there’s actually an upside) to this, the executive producer of the original, Lou Adler, is attached to the project, along with BermanBraun and Fox Television Studios. They also plan on using the original screenplay (thankfully!); however, they may incorporate songs not included in the original (what?).
Click to continue reading MTV Seeks Rocky Horror Remake
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Record-Breaking Weekend for The Dark Knight
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Musicals, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Okay, let’s not beat around the bush. We all know The Dark Knight was huge. But how big exactly was it? Let’s break the numbers down:
- The film grossed approximately $158.3 million, beating the record set by Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million) last year. The total already comes within reach of Tim Burton’s Batman. (The $251.2 million grosser has been the best earner in the franchise so far.)
- Knight pulled in $18.5 million during its Friday midnight screenings alone. The previous record holder was 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ($16.9 million).
- The movie had the best Friday total ever: $67.8 million.
- The sequel earned $6.2 million from IMAX showings alone. That number, again, beat Spider-Man 3 ($4.7 million).
- In one weekend, The Dark Knight grossed more than the last three Batman installments made in their opening weekends combined.
- The Christopher Nolan feature, along with the strong performance from Mamma Mia!, helped the industry attain the best box office weekend ever. Mamma‘s $27.6 million outperformed last year’s Hairspray ($27.5 million) to become the biggest musical opener ever.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Record-Breaking Weekend for The Dark Knight
Read More | Variety
In Theaters This Weekend: July 18, 2008
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Music, Musicals, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, Upcoming Releases
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- The Dark Knight (PG-13): starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart (directed by Christopher Nolan)
- Mamma Mia! (PG-13): starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried (directed by Phyllida Lloyd)
- Space Chimps (G): starring Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels (directed by Kirk De Micco)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: July 18, 2008
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