Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Escape to Couples Retreat
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Family, Independent, Music, Political, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists,
Depending on how you look at the numbers, the winner this weekend was either Couples Retreat or Paranormal Activity.
In the comedy corner, we have a Peter Billingsley-directed film that earned $35.3 million and a first-place finish. The movie - which combined the efforts of Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Jason Bateman - pulled in the best numbers for any Columbus Day weekend entry ever. It also gave Vaughn his 2nd best opening behind The Break-Up.
Meanwhile, on the horror front, Paranormal Activity made a huge splash despite being in limited release. The Blair Witch-esque movie scared up a shocking $49,000 per screen average. It also raked in nearly 500 times more than its budget. (It only cost less than $16,000 to produce.)
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| Variety
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Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
Watch out, vampires…there’s still life in the other undead.
Although he was previously known as a director for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ruben Fleischer now has a new title: box office champ. This past weekend, Ruben saw his first major feature, Zombieland, attack the competition with a $24.7 million debut. The movie - which only cost approximately $24 million to make - had the highest open for any zombie-themed flick since Dawn of the Dead in 2004.
Meanwhile, another director had an entirely different result with her debut feature. Whip It, a roller derby comedy helmed by Drew Barrymore, rolled into 6th place finish with only $4.7 million. (When your film’s been topped by Pixar entries from 10+ years ago, there might have a problem.) Hopefully in a few more weeks, the Ellen Page vehicle will at least cover its $15 million production tab.
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In Theaters This Weekend: October 2, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- Capitalism: A Love Story** (R): starring Michael Moore (directed by Michael Moore)
- The Invention of Lying (PG-13): starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill (directed by Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson)
- Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3D (G): starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger (directed by John Lasseter)
- Whip It! (PG-13): starring Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis (directed by Drew Barrymore)
- Zombieland (R): starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone (directed by Ruben Fleischer)
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Violet Affleck Reads Jane Austen, Among Other Talents
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Warner Bros, Romance, Comedy, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
Jennifer Garner’s three-year-old daughter Violet Affleck reads Jane Austen novels. Her and Ben Affleck must be doing something right if she’s going at that rate.
The Invention of Lying actress is keen for her children—Violet and eight-month-old Seraphina, her kids with husband Ben Affleck—to have a broad range of interests and is already encouraging Violet to read classic literature.
Lynda Obst, who produced new movie The Invention of Lying, revealed, “Most of the time that I did spend with her when it was off-set, Violet was cooking with her, or reading Jane Austen, or doing one of these remarkable things that Violet tends to do. She encourages her kids to be independent. And at the same time not television watchers. Readers. Thinkers. She is kind of old-fashioned. She is a very classic mom.”
Jennifer, 37, admits that she struggles to juggle her career with being a mother, but tries her best: “Every day, you feel like you are off-balance one way or another. You just take it one day at a time. I don’t think anyone has it properly figured out.”
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