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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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Read More | Yahoo!

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‘The Golden Compass’ vs. Religion: An Opinion

Posted by David Onda Categories: New Line, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Religious, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Books, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews

Polar Bears = Evil?

We saw this weekend. I’m a guy who loves movies. And as such, I set out Friday night to go see what was supposed to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the holiday season. I saw The Golden Compass despite negative critical response and Catholic protests and without reading any of the three Philip Pullman books off which the film is based. The film was dazzling, imaginative and certainly innovative. After having seen the movie I checked out the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (as well as a few anti-Compass sentiments online) and simply could not believe the garbage I was hearing.

I saw the movie. I watched the fuzzy talking animals. And I tried, with little success, to connect the dots and see how this film was so evil. I tried to pick out the atheistic sentiments. And I tried - really, really tried - to put myself in the Catholic League’s shoes. And honestly - what is the big freakin’ deal?

Ok, I get it - Philip Pullman isn’t exactly going to win “Christian Of The Year.” The allegory within his His Dark Materials trilogy is not exactly what one might call “God friendly.” But why, in a country based on the principals of religious freedom, is this man, this movie, and everyone behind it, being vilified? I’ve read the arguments and I understand what they are saying, but for the life of me (and with all personal religious beliefs set aside),  I can’t understand how this one film is going to be detrimental to society?

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Box Office Breakdown: The Golden Compass Lacks Luster

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Golden Compass

A Narnia-esque adaptation partnered with a holiday release date and an A-list cast should have conjured box office magic for .  Surprisingly, this weekend’s release from brought in barely enough money to cover the film’s catering budget.

Compass, based on Philip Pullman’s children’s series His Dark Materials, was and second disappointing collaboration this year (the first being ).  While it was enough for a first place finish, the $25 million debut was hardly impressive given the film’s $180 million price tag.

In other news, holiday flick remained in third place while the critically-panned bumped up two spaces from last week.  Meanwhile, and did well with their very limited releases.

Be looking for the highly-promoted (and ) to enter next week’s charts.

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Read More | E! Online

Box Office Breakdown: Jessica Alba Can’t Keep Audiences Awake

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Awake

There’s nothing like a good snub to restore your faith in moviegoers. 

Although was the only new wide release this past weekend, discerning audiences kept it from succeeding by default.  (NOTE: Cute squirrels will always trump .)  The movie, also co-starring Star Wars’ , opened with a dismal $6 million - less than half of what Alba’s last stellar film, Good Luck Chuck, did.  (The latter opened at $13.7 million.) I wonder if this currently makes the most successful Jessica out there.

Aside from Awake’s entry, the rest of the Top Ten changed very little from last week.  refused to budge from its perch and earned another $16 million over the past three days.  Meanwhile, surged back up a notch, trading spots with holiday flick, .

Although the box office numbers were unspectacular overall, we can expect big changes in just a few days; that’s when New Line’s makes its debut.

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FilmCrunch 066: Rescue Dawn, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Astronaut Farmer

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: MGM, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Period, Sequels, Comedy, DVD Reviews, Full Episodes, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts

Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep are back with more FilmCrunch video goodness, this time focusing on the theatrical releases of Rescue Dawn and the release of The Astronaut Farmer. Veronica also checks in with her review of and the Order of the Phoenix. This episode kicks off with Veronica and Neil naming what they chose as their most inspirational movies.

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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