2010 Academy Award Nominations
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Music, Musicals, Period, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Awards, Celeb News, Lists,
After the list of Academy Award nominees were announced this morning, two movies rose to the top of the pack. Avatar and The Hurt Locker - helmed respectively by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow - both lead the field with nine nominations each. Thankfully, the formerly married directors still get along.
Even though this will be the first time since 1943 (when Casablanca won) that ten films will go up for Best Film, this year’s list only revealed a handful of surprises. Those who have been following other ceremonies during this awards season saw very little changes in the acting categories.
Here are some of the noteworthy mentions/omissions from today’s nominations:
- Many had hoped The Hangover, Star Trek and/or (500) Days of Summer would go up for Best Picture. Many were left disappointed.
- Is this the first time Daniel Day-Lewis wasn’t nominated for simply breathing?
- Acting queen Meryl Streep is up now up for her sweet 16th nomination for her role in Julie & Julia. (I believe I will one day see her 20th.)
- Speaking of leading women, there will be three newcomers going up against vets Streep and Helen Mirren (The Last Station): Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)—someone who wasn’t even an actress to begin with!
- Disney/Pixar’s Up will be double-dipping it this year. The feature has been nominated in both the Best Film and Best Animated Film categories.
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Box Office Breakdown: Harry Potter Casts a Big Win
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
After putting up with a frustrating delay, eager Muggles rushed to the theaters this weekend in droves. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince kicked off its extended debut with a record-breaking premiere ($22.2 million) at midnight Tuesday. The series’ sixth installment went on to earn $158 million over five days and officially became the biggest international opener of all time ($237 million).
Despite the numbers, there was one film Half-Blood could not beat: The Dark Knight. At this same time last year, the Batman sequel had also racked up $158 million in sales. But that film did it in only three days.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Bruno Crawls His Way to #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Just like in the fashion world, one day Bruno was hot—the next day he was not.
Even though the comedy did well enough to place first this weekend, it appears the sexually graphic film may have turned some off. Ticket sales for the Sacha Baron Cohen entry dropped 39% between Friday and Saturday, leading many to believe that negative word of mouth played a factor.
In total, Bruno piqued enough interest to raise $30.6 million over three days. While that gross beats Borat‘s $26.5 million debut, the 2006 film later went on to earn $129 million domestically.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Transformers Melts Ice Age’s Hopes
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
This was one heated battle that left Ice Age out in the cold.
Only 24 hours ago, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the animated comedy were estimated to finish in a possible tie. But when the final numbers were computed, last Monday’s champ managed to keep its spot for another round. In just two weeks, the Paramount feature has managed to earn just under $300 million.
But Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs had nothing to complain about. Even though it missed the #1 spot by less than $1 million, the threequel had the best per screen average of any entry in the Top Ten. In total, the movie earned $66.7 million over five days, just shy of what 2006’s Ice Age: The Meltdown grossed over only three days.
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Box Office Breakdown: Transformers Rises Above the Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
It’s not very often when “loud” and “mindless” are deemed good qualities. But in Paramount’s case, it was a recipe for success.
Over the past five days, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen did what most films have been attempting all year: It passed the $200 million mark. (Up just became the first 2009 film to hit $250 million.)
While the Michael Bay film is definitely on track to be one of the most successful entries this year (let’s not forget about Harry Potter), the sequel’s opening still takes second behind last year’s topper. During its opening run, The Dark Knight earned $203.8 million domestically.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Agree on The Proposal
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
It seems a little skin might just go a long way.
After weeks of talking to the media about their joint nude scene, Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds saw their movie take the top spot. Was it a coincidence? Maybe. Whatever the reason, The Proposal became the actress’ biggest opener ever. Prior to this weekend, 2007’s Premonition - a horrible film, btw - had Bullock’s largest debut. (That movie grossed $17.6 million, almost 1/2 less than the romantic comedy.)
Meanwhile, Reynolds is this week’s Bradley Cooper. Sandra’s leading man, like The Hangover star, has just had his second #1 film of the year. (The first being Wolverine.)
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Hangover Hangs on for Another Win
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Remakes, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
This is one hangover that’s taking a while to recover from.
For the second week in a row, the must-see comedy of the summer has taken the top spot at the charts. The Hangover, which already had a greenlighted sequel prior to its debut, raked in another $32.7 million over the weekend. The film has now earned over $100 million and given Bradley Cooper his second #1 entry of the year. (His first was February’s He’s Just Not That Into You.)
Sitting in third place this week (right behind Up), was The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, a remake of a 1974 version starring starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. The action thriller, which had Denzel Washington working with director Tony Scott for the fourth time, pulled in a respectable $23.3 million. Meanwhile, Imagine That, Eddie Murphy’s latest stinker, earned $5.5 million in wide release. That gross bests the premiere of Meet Dave by approximately $200,000.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: The Hangover Rises Above Up
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Unlike most Mike Tyson fights, The Hangover‘s win was no knockout.
After a back-and-forth battle with Up, Todd Phillips’ film about an eventful bachelor party edged out the animated pic by less than $1 million. Hangover - which features no major stars (unless you count the boxer) - grossed nearly $45 million on its opening weekend. That’s the third best debut for an R-rated comedy ever. (Only Sex and the City and American Pie 2 have done better.)
Meanwhile, a project actually featuring an A-lister became the summer’s first stinker. Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell, Anna Friel and Danny McBride, earned a sad $18.8 million over the past three days. Although that amount was good enough for third place, the film cost an estimated $100 million to make.
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Read More | Yahoo! Movies
Box Office Breakdown: Disney/Pixar Flying High with Up
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
The word “Pixar” always seems to generate smiles, and that’s exactly what Up did for Disney.
Over the weekend, the Cannes Film Festival opener generated $68.1 million, over $40 million more than its nearest competitor. The movie - which was also offered in 3D - also bested last year’s Wall-E (by $5 million) and had Pixar’s 3rd-best debut. (The Incredibles opened to $70.5 million in 2004; Finding Nemo grossed $70.3 million in 2003.)
Friday’s other new wide release, Drag Me to Hell, scared up only $15.8 million for a 4th place finish. Although it originally looked as if the horror film would surpass Terminator Salvation, the final numbers were $8 million below Sunday’s projections.
Another noteworthy mention: Star Trek officially crossed the $200 million mark after only four weeks in release. The Paramount feature is now the first movie of the year to reach that achievement.
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Read More | Variety
In Theaters This Weekend: May 29, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, IFC Films, Universal, Yari Film Group Releasing, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Family, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Comedy, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Drag Me to Hell (PG-13): starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver (directed by Sam Raimi)
- Up (PG): starring Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai (directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson)
- The Brothers Bloom** (PG-13): starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz (directed by Rian Johnson)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: May 29, 2009
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