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
You have to wonder whether Tom Cruise is just a wee bit jealous of his friend’s success…
This weekend, Will Smith not only smashed the box office debut of Cruise’s Lions for Lambs, he pounded everything in his path. I Am Legend - 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 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The final installment in the Lords trilogy brought in $72.6 million back in 2003.
Although Alvin and the Chipmunks 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, The Golden Compass. 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: Juno. The comedic charmer earned an impressive $35,686 per screen. Meanwhile, Legend (which opened in 3566 more theaters) averaged only $21,411. Take that, Fresh Prince!
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‘The Dark Knight’ Trailer
Posted by David Onda Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Drama, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Trailers, Upcoming Releases
“Let’s put a smile on that face.” Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are well aware that the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, opens this summer starring Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as The Joker. Well, the brand-new full-length Dark Knight trailer debuted this weekend prior to Will Smith’s I Am Legend, along with a couple new movie posters (pictured on the right). WB has released the non-bootlegged, high-quality trailer, so check it out after the jump. Anyone who doubted Ledger as The Joker is now eating their words and it’ll certainly put a smile on your face.
Update: Check out the SIX-MINUTE The Dark Knight preview after the jump.
Click to continue reading ‘The Dark Knight’ Trailer
Clooney Back in Director’s Chair
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Warner Bros, Adaptation, Political, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Rumors, Upcoming Releases
George Clooney may take another turn in the director’s chair, this time with a Warner Bros. flick. Honestly, I cast a dubious eye upon Clooney’s directorial skills – until I saw Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Now, I have a feeling the politically-themed Farragut North could become a surprise hit, especially if the rumors prove true and Leonardo DiCaprio winds up in the film. Negotiations are under way, which bodes well. The film is an adaptation of the upcoming Broadway play, which itself is loosely based on the 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean. Clooney and DiCaprio, if negotiations go well, could also serve as producers on the movie. The play will open in 2008, just before the presidential election.
Read More | Yahoo News
‘The Terminator’ Returns In 2009
Posted by David Onda Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Filmmaking, Scripts, Upcoming Releases
The Terminator said he’d be back, and by golly, he wasn’t kidding. Warner Bros. has acquired the distribution rights to Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, the fourth film in the Terminator series. Set to begin production in 2008 and hit theaters in the summer of 2009, Salvation is being touted as a franchise jumpstart which will be told over a three-movie span.
It has been nearly 5 years since the last Terminator film, Rise of the Machines, hit theaters and Salvation is planned to be a movie of equal size and budget. With the script completed, producers are hinting at a general plot – set in the future during a full-scale war between man and machines. The new trilogy will involve characters from the first films but will be presented in a fresh setting beyond the world fans were introduced to in the original trilogy.
Glorified music video director McG has been tapped to direct while the door has been left open for Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger to make a cameo. Next year will mark another big event for the Terminator franchise as the long-awaited The Sarah Connor Chronicles makes its television debut on FOX. The series picks up where T2 left off and stars 300’s Lena Headey as the kick-ass Connor. Whether sci-fi fans will take to the series is yet to be seen, but there is little doubt in my mind that this franchise still has legs.
Read More | ComingSoon.net
Box Office Breakdown: It’s Super To Be Bad
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Books, Lists, New Releases
The Judd Apatow train is bound to hit a roadblock at some point—but for the time being, it’s full steam ahead. Superbad opened impressively with over $30 million this weekend making it the third Apatow-related project in a row to accomplish this feat (the others being Talledega Nights and Knocked Up). This is, of course, not taking into consideration the uber-sleeper hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Meanwhile, there was nothing super about Nicole Kidman’s latest outing. The Invasion, the latest version The Body Snatchers, scared up a dismal $5.9 million (and that’s despite Daniel Craig’s hunky presence). But I predict a much stronger outing for these two later this year with The Golden Compass.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: It’s Super To Be Bad
Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Not Yet Tuckered Out
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Pirates, Ocean’s, Bourne and now Rush Hour 3. All six three-quels premiered directly at the top of the heap this summer.
Unfortunately, a six-year gap between the second and third Rush installments may have led to what some would consider slightly disappointing receipts. On any other occasion, a $50 weekend would be something to brag about. But considering it pales to the $67.4 million brought in by the 2001 predecessor, it’s only worth a pat on the back.
But really, the Disappointment of the Week honor should really fall on Cuba Gooding Jr. When you’re accepting rejected scripts from the man who played Norbit, you have to wonder where it all went wrong (two words: Chill Factor). Sadly, Daddy Day Camp was originally slated to be a straight-to-video release but somehow tested well enough to be released in theaters. Who knows? Maybe Gooding can pull a Halle and go straight-from-Oscar-to-Razzie.
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Box Office Breakdown: Bourne Breaks Bank
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Music, Musicals, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Matt Damon may still be vying for People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ title—but he has one thing that George Clooney and Brad Pitt don’t have: the biggest debut for an August opening ever.
The Bourne Ultimatum‘s $70 million take improved upon the previous Bourne installments and gave Damon his largest weekend to date (and that’s including all three Ocean’s movies).
Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan should be happy that she’s holed up in rehab again—though seeing her movie kicked out of the Top Ten would have probably sent her there anyway. Apparently theatergoers can only handle one movie about Bratz at a time…
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Box Office Breakdown: A Homerun For Homer
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Looks like Homer ain’t gonna be needing a deal on donuts anymore….
With a $74 million opening weekend, The Simpsons Movie debuted higher than most of the animated features released…ever. Only the two Shrek sequels did better. Quite a head-shaking number since we can still see the series for free on television. But viewers from every single Springfield in the US—plus a thousand other cities out there—love the family so much, they were willing to pay for more. Especially when it comes with nudity.
What theatergoers aren’t willing to pay for is more Lindsay Lohan. I Know Who Killed Me placed a dismal 9th, possibly due to lack of promotional work by the star. How ironic that in the end it was Lindsay who was responsible for killing the movie and possibly her career.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Political, Religious, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
Question: When is being the #1 movie just not enough? (Hint: You have three chances to answer this question correctly).
Answer(s):
- When the critics don’t really have anything good to say about you
- When you made less than 1/2 of what your predecessor did on opening weekend
- When it cost over $175 million just to create you
Apparently having God on your side doesn’t guarantee you heavenly box office numbers. Evan Almighty, the follow-up to 2003’s Bruce Almighty, failed to bring in a large congregation this past weekend. Although it did better than the rest of the flock, it’s $32 million take paled in comparison to Bruce’s $68 million opening. And then there’s that glaring $175 million bill…
Of course, we shouldn’t feel so badly about Steve Carell’s career. I have a feeling that God is providing for him in other ways.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
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