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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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Box Office Breakdown: Another Win for Miley Cyrus

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Miley Cyrus got a big treat in her goodie basket this weekend.

Just over a year after breaking a record for Super Bowl weekend releases, the tween idol has made waves again. The 16-year-old’s new film is now the 2nd best Easter opener ever. Hannah Montana: The Movie slowed down last week’s hot property, Fast & Furious, to win the holiday frame. Cyrus’ 2-D offering pulled in $32.3 million and earned the best first-day ever for a live-action G-rated feature.

The only other wide releases last weekend were Observe and Report and Dragonball: Evolution. Although Paul Blart debuted to a surprising $40 million, Seth Rogen’s mall comedy earned only $11 million and a fourth place-finish. (Observe did do slightly better than Zack and Miri‘s $10.1 million premiere.) Dragonball, in the meantime, barely went noticed with its $4.7 million take. That was just enough for a Top Ten appearance.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Another Win for Miley Cyrus

Read More | Variety

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Box Office Breakdown: Vin Diesel Revs His Way Back to #1

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Fast and Furious

Vin Diesel’s come a long way in just a short amount of time.

Back in September, the action star’s last film, Babylon A.D, debuted to a disappointing $11.5 million and a 2nd place finish. Seven months later, he’s nearly septupled that amount.

Fast & Furious, the fourth installment of the racing series, pulled in a whopping $70.9 million over the last three days. That gross easily broke the 2009 record set by Monsters vs. Aliens just one week ago. The movie reunited the original’s four stars (Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster) and bested the debut of 2003’s 2 Fast and 2 Furious by over $20 million.

Friday’s only other wide screen release, , opened in 6th place with $5.7 million in ticket sales.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Vin Diesel Revs His Way Back to #1

Read More | Variety

2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations (Film)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Fox Searchlight, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Period, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Awards, Lists

Doubt

Although last January’s were spared from the writers’ dispute, SAG is facing its own strike this year. Regardless, the awards season must go on. Next month’s event - scheduled to air on Sunday, January 25th on both TNT and TBS - will come just three days after the Oscar nominations are announced.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions from this year’s list of film nominees:

  • led this year’s crop with three nominations. Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button came in second with two nods each.
  • Richard Jenkin was honored for The Visitor while Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) was left off.
  • added another nom to his belt. Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for his turn in Tropic Thunder.
  • Kate Winslet was named for both The Reader and Revolutionary Road. Leonardo DiCaprio was left empty-handed.
  • The Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road and The Reader were all left out of the Best Ensemble categories.

Click to continue reading 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations (Film)

Read More | Screen Actors Guild Awards

Box Office Breakdown: Chihuahua Refuses to Kneel Down

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Religious, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio in Body of Lies

Put a couple of Oscar-nominees in a Middle East-based film and what do you get? Answer: Third place.

Despite the star-wattage in Ridley Scott’s new CIA movie, failed to meet expectations this weekend. The Russell Crowe/Leonardo DiCaprio thriller pulled in a surprising $12.9 million for Warner Bros. That turnout is especially low given the film’s reported $100 million budget.

On the flip side, an entry with a relatively small price tag did better than Lies this week. , Sony Screen Gem’s horror contribution, earned $14.2 million and a second place finish. In just three days, the film has already surpassed its $12 million production costs.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Chihuahua Refuses to Kneel Down

Read More | Variety

Casting Corner: James McAvoy, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Miramax, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases

James McAvoy

Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:

It seems as if there isn’t a woman can’t romance. In the past few years, he’s been paired with Gillian Anderson, Keira Knightley, Anne Hathway and, of course, Angelina Jolie. Now the rising actor will be taking on his biggest chemistry challenge yet.

In Gnomeo and Juliet, McAvoy and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) will voice characters in a CGI-animated version of the Shakespeare drama. But those looking for any Montagues or Capulets will be pleasantly surprised. In this version, the lovers will actually come from rivaling families of garden gnomes.

This film, co-produced by Elton John, will also feature music from the Lion King musician. The feature should be completed by 2010.

Click to continue reading Casting Corner: James McAvoy, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage

Read More | Hollywood Reporter

Box Office Breakdown: Fans Make a Date with Prom Night

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Satire, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Prom Night, Brittany Snow

1. Prom Night, Sony, $20,804,941 (avg. $7,706)
2. Street Kings, Fox Searchlight, $12,469,631 (avg. $5,055)
3. 21, Sony, $10,470,173 (avg. $3827)
4. Nim’s Island, 20th Century Fox, $9,111,667 (avg. $2,590 )
5. Leatherheads, Universal, $6,276,665 (avg. $2265)
6. Horton Hears a Who, 20th Century Fox,  $5,920,566 (avg. $1845)
7. Smart People, Miramax, $4,092,465 (avg. $3700)
8. The Ruins, Dreamworks/Paramount, $3,385,395 (avg. $1203)
9. Superhero Movie, MGM, $3,216,247 (avg. $1273)
10. Drillbit Taylor, Paramount, $2,044,988 (avg. $927)

(You can review last week’s numbers here.)

Read More | Variety

‘No Country for Old Men’ Earns Big Honor

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Miramax, Paramount, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Awards, Lists

No Country for Old MenAlthough there’s a large slate of movies yet to be released, the National Board of Review kicked off awards season this week with its list of honorees.  film, , walked away with NBR’s prize for Best Film along with two other categories.

The NBR is not necessarily known for predicting success.  Nevertheless, the group consisting of educators, historians and film industry professionals did select and as its winners last year.

Here’s a list of the 2007 NBR honorees.  Even if you can’t use these selections in your betting pool, you now know which films you should become familiar with:

Disney to Ban Smoking in All Future Releases

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Disney, Miramax, Touchstone, Family, Distribution, Filmmaking

Disney LogoTwo months ago, the MPAA announced that any films submitted for rating would now be scrutinized for instances of cigarette smoking, particularly when it is glamorized.  This new regulation was aimed at keeping these images away from the eyes of young, malleable children, and could affect said film’s rating, though the deciding criteria remains unknown.  Now family-friendly juggernaut Disney has become the first major Hollywood studio to back the MPAA’s anti-smoking decision to help keep cigarettes away from the youth of America.

The decision was made as a result of recent studies exploring the affect current films have on children given the ubiquitous nature of these images — the results don’t look good.  It seems that 90 percent of all films depict smoking, and that children with the highest exposure to these films are three times more likely to try smoking. 

In addition to banning smoking in all upcoming releases, Disney has said it will place anti-smoking public service announcements on any future DVDs that feature smoking, and they are encouraging theater owners to do the same on the big screen.  The company’s two other labels, Touchstone and Miramax, will also be strongly discouraged from producing or distributing movies with images of smoking, though how strong the discouragement remains unclear.

Disney may be taking an important step in the fight against this national health crisis, but film is only a small piece of the pie.  It is up to our government to implement proper anti-smoking education for children — a quick PSA before a movie will do nothing.  And it helps to remember that smoking, unlike violence or sexual imagery, is around children all the time, wherever they go.  The only way to make real change is with parents who feel a need to protect their children.  Light a fire under them, and the problem will smoke itself.

Read More | Reuters

FilmCrunch 042: Ghost Rider, Half Nelson, Flags of our Fathers, The Queen

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, Paramount, Sony, Warner Independant Films, Action, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Period, Political, Thrillers, DVD Reviews, Full Episodes, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts


Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep have another full episode of FilmCrunch for you. In this show we review Ghost Rider, Half Nelson, Flags of our Fathers, and The Queen.


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.


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