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…
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Daniel Craig, New Director Attached to Latest Bond Film
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Upcoming Releases
I sometimes forget how lucky I am. I have food, shelter, family, friends….and now the opportunity to see the sexy Daniel Craig buttoned up in another suit. Life is good.
It should come as no surprise that Craig was recently confirmed for the next 007 film. His turn as the legendary James Bond helped bring Casino Royale amazing reviews and impressive box office numbers—and made this girl care about the series once again.
Of particular note was the name tapped for the helm of this latest venture: Marc Forster. The acclaimed director—known for his work on Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball and Stranger Than Fiction—will be taking over the reins from Royale director, Martin Campbell. Oscar-award winning screenwriter Paul Haggis (Crash) will once again return to help adapt the screenplay. He also contributed to the Casino script.
Forster recently wrapped work on the film adaptation of a best-selling novel, The Kite Runner. Production on ‘Bond 22’ is set to begin at the end of this year in hopes of a November 2008 release.
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| Reuters
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
Shriek! More Shreks to Come
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Animation, Sequels, Comedy, Upcoming Releases
Although many people have equated the latest Shrek incarnation to tired rehash, I surprisingly enjoyed it despite my expectations. I thought it still managed to inject some original adult humor while being enjoyably light and breezy. But having said all that, I did also tell my FilmCrunch partner, Neil Estep, that the series could go no further. All possible storylines had officially been exhausted. Or so I thought…
Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg recently announced to a crowd in Germany that fans should be expecting a fourth movie. Additionally, we learned that Shrek television holiday special will be created to help complete the deterioration of the series. NOTE TO KATZENBERG: I vaguely remember my husband showing me a very poor quality version of the 1978 Star Wars holiday special…and let me assure you, that did not hold up years later.
For those wondering (as I was) what the next ogre installment could possibly be about, Shrek will apparently be dealing with something from his past. I’m going to take a guess and say that he was hesistant about becoming a dad in the third film because he had secretly fathered other ogres in Far, Far Away. Now that could give me an interesting enough reason to come back for more…
Read More | San Jose Mercury News
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…
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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.
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Box Office Breakdown: Sparrow vs. Spidey
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Yo, ho…whoa.
As predicted, Captain Jack Sparrow’s resurrection raked in serious booty helping the Pirates franchise score another box office record. The Memorial Day Weekend crown was snatched away from last year’s holder, X-Men: The Last Stand.
But one thing POTC: At World’s End did not do was take back the title for any three-day weekend. It’s $139.8 million dollar domestic take fell a bit short from the $151 million raised by Peter Parker et al.
Other notables this week? The impressive showing by Waitress. The small movie, starring Keri Russell, has been receiving great reviews and viewers must be taking notice. Ranking 5th in a busy holiday weekend is definitely something to be proud of. And what about those Wild Hogs? After exiting the Top Ten weeks ago, it made one final surge. Apparently motorcycles, leather and holiday weekends go hand-in-hand.
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Box Office Breakdown: Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
I believe somewhere out there Justin Timberlake is crediting himself for this…
Two weeks ago, Spider-Man 3 broke box office records for a debut weekend. Now Shrek the Third gets the honor for ticket sales of an animated feature (beating the animated record established by Shrek 2). The $121 million take is the third largest opening for any movie…right behind Spidey 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
Of course in just seven days, I’m sure Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will enter the picture to reclaim the title for its franchise. Or at the very least, make the most money for a movie with a monkey in it..
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green
Box Office Breakdown: Rabid Zombies Barely Get A Bite
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign Language, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Compared to it’s record-breaking debut ($150 million), Spider-Man 3‘s recent weekend take ($58 million) may seem like a dramatic fall. But when your worst is still six times higher than your closest competitor’s best, who cares??
The biggest surprise this week? Not the ho-hum performances of 28 Weeks Later or Georgia Rule. After weeks and weeks in the Top 10, Blades of Glory and Are We Done Yet? have finally left the building!
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Rabid Zombies Barely Get A Bite
Box Office Breakdown: Four More Days ‘Til Spidey…
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Mystery, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
With no big movie premieres last weekend (and yes, I am ignoring the fact that Next exists), I’m really not surprised to see that Disturbia once again took the top spot. But we shouldn’t expect that film to be sitting pretty much longer. With Spider-Man 3 about to spin its web at the end of the week, all bets are off. But we still gotta hand it to young Shia—three times at #1 is an incredible feat for any movie these days.
1. Disturbia, Paramount, $9,023,835
2. The Invisible, Disney, $7,717,309
3. Next, Paramount, $7,133,049
4. Fracture, New Line, $6,814,714
5. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $5,164,364
6. Hot Fuzz, Focus, $4,876,867
7. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $4,840,972
8. Vacancy, Sony Screen Gems, $4,112,502
9. The Condemned, Lionsgate, $3,807,595
10. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $3,450,922
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