Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.Play Video
Box Office Breakdown: Batman Smokes Pineapple Express
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
Disney,
New Line,
Sony,
Universal,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Animation,
Drama,
Family,
Musicals,
Science Fiction,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Thrillers

Pineapple Express’ strong open last week made number crunchers wonder: Would this be the week Batman was finally taken down? Unfortunately, breaking the record for ‘Any Wednesday in August’ doesn’t necessarily mean a movie will succeed on Friday or Saturday or Sunday. And despite Pineapple‘s promising start (the movie grossed $12.1 million on its first day), the comedy found itself smoked by the Caped Crusader.
The Dark Knight’s recent $26 million take has now pushed the film past $441 million. When the sequel passes Star Wars‘ $461 million (which should happen shortly), it will become the #2 film of all time. By staying on top for the fourth weekend in a row, Knight has also accomplished something that hasn’t been done since 2003’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
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Box Office Breakdown: The Dark Knight Fights Off the Mummy
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
20th Century Fox,
Disney,
Sony,
Universal,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Animation,
Family,
Music,
Mystery,
Romance,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Box Office,
Lists,
New Releases

It was a close one. A very close one. But after a tight contest, The Dark Knight once again emerged as the box office winner this weekend.
Although it initially appeared as if The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was going to bring Batman down, the three-quel lost steam at the end. The film, which grossed $40.4 million over the past three days, narrowly lost out to Knight and wound up being the lowest performer in its series. (The Mummy opened at $43.4 million in 1999 while The Mummy Returns scored $68 million in 2001.)
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| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: The Dark Knight Hits $300 Million
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
20th Century Fox,
Disney,
Sony,
Universal,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Drama,
Family,
Musicals,
Romance,
Science Fiction,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Box Office,
Lists,
New Releases

Despite the combined forces of Ferrell/Reilly and Duchovny/Anderson, Team Bale/Ledger could not be slowed down.
This past week, The Dark Knight added a few more records to the franchise’s box office mantle:
- The film became the fastest movie ever to surpass the $300 million mark. (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest crossed that line in 16 days; Knight did it in 10.)
- The sequel is now predicted to break $400 million in approximately 18 days. Shrek 2 took 43 days to the same in 2004.
- IMAX theaters also continue to benefit from the blockbuster’s success. Another $4.6 million was grossed over the weekend.
- It’s now believed the latest Batman installment could soar to $500 million - making it only the second movie to do so. Domestically, Titanic ($601 million) still reigns as the box office champ. (The original Star Wars pocketed $461 million while Shrek 2 earned $436 million.)
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| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Record-Breaking Weekend for The Dark Knight
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
20th Century Fox,
Disney,
Sony,
Universal,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Animation,
Drama,
Family,
Musicals,
Science Fiction,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Box Office,
Lists,
New Releases

Okay, let’s not beat around the bush. We all know The Dark Knight was huge. But how big exactly was it? Let’s break the numbers down:
- The film grossed approximately $158.3 million, beating the record set by Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million) last year. The total already comes within reach of Tim Burton’s Batman. (The $251.2 million grosser has been the best earner in the franchise so far.)
- Knight pulled in $18.5 million during its Friday midnight screenings alone. The previous record holder was 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ($16.9 million).
- The movie had the best Friday total ever: $67.8 million.
- The sequel earned $6.2 million from IMAX showings alone. That number, again, beat Spider-Man 3 ($4.7 million).
- In one weekend, The Dark Knight grossed more than the last three Batman installments made in their opening weekends combined.
- The Christopher Nolan feature, along with the strong performance from Mamma Mia!, helped the industry attain the best box office weekend ever. Mamma‘s $27.6 million outperformed last year’s Hairspray ($27.5 million) to become the biggest musical opener ever.
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| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: The Golden Army Raises Hell
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
Picturehouse,
20th Century Fox,
Disney,
Picturehouse,
Paramount,
Sony,
Universal,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Animation,
Drama,
Family,
Science Fiction,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Box Office,
Lists,
New Releases

Apparently moviegoers were simply not interested in meeting anyone named Dave.
This past weekend, Eddie Murphy’s latest effort debuted in a disappointing 7th place. Fox’s Meet Dave pulled in only $5.2 million, the third worst opening total for the comedian. (Holy Man pulled in $5.1 million in 1998; The Adventures of Pluto Nash scraped up $2.2 million in 2002.)
Dave‘s poor performance gave two other entries plenty of room at the top of the charts. Hellboy II: The Golden Army earned approximately $11 million more than the original 2004 film. The sequel’s $34.5 million haul also narrowly edged out last week’s winner, Hancock, and gave director Guillermo del Toro a first place berth. Meanwhile, the Journey to the Center of the Earth‘s $21 million was good enough for third place.
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| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Hancock Soars to #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
Picturehouse,
Columbia Pictures,
Disney,
New Line,
Paramount,
Sony,
Universal,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Animation,
Drama,
Family,
Romance,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Box Office,
Lists,
New Releases

For theatergoers, the Fourth of July holiday has come to mean fireworks, barbecues....and now Will Smith. This past weekend, the powerhouse’s latest blockbuster, Hancock, took in over $62 million giving Smith his eighth straight #1 debut. In total, the Sony Pictures production grossed nearly $104 million during a 5 1/2 day period.
In addition to being Will’s second-best opener ever (I Am Legend set his record), Hancock was the actor’s fifth movie to reach first place over the same holiday weekend. (Men in Black, Men in Black II, Independence Day and Wild Wild West were the other four.) The Peter Berg film also became the third best July 4th grosser behind Transformers and Spider-Man 2.
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| Variety
In Theaters This Holiday Weekend (7/2)
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
Columbia Pictures,
IFC Films,
Magnolia,
Sony,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Documentary,
Drama,
Family,
Foreign,
Independent,
Romance,
Comedy,
Lists,
New Releases

Here are some possible suggestions for your three-day weekend:
- Hancock (PG-13): starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman (directed by Peter Berg)
- Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl** (G): starring Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Glenne Headly (directed by Patricia Rozema)
- Diminished Capacity* (NR): starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda (directed by Terry Kinney)
- Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson* (R): starring Johnny Depp, Hunter S. Thompson, Sonny Barger (directed by Alex Gibney)
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Will Smith’s Nepotism Streak Continues
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
Columbia Pictures,
Drama,
Casting,
Upcoming Releases
First, he introduced son Jaden to theatergoers in The Pursuit of Happyness. Then he let daughter Willow take on a much smaller role in last year’s I Am Legend. Now another kid will be participating in a Will Smith movie: Connor Cruise.
Yes, I know. Connor is not exactly related to Will. (He’s actually Tom Cruise’s adopted son.) But that doesn’t make the whole situation smell any less nepotistic to me.
In Seven Pounds, Will Smith stars as a man who affects the lives of seven strangers. Connor, in a minor part, will play a younger version of the main character.
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| People
Box Office Breakdown: Cloverfield Attacks the Charts
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
20th Century Fox,
FOCUS,
Disney,
Fox Searchlight,
Paramount,
Sony,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Animation,
Drama,
Family,
Horror,
Independent,
Period,
Romance,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Books,
Lists,
New Releases

Final numbers for the three-day weekend revealed what many had suspected: Cloverfield toppled New York and the competition. The strong numbers were a result of Paramount’s smart marketing. In addition to the eerie trailers, the film debuted in January - usually a fairly quiet month for decent films. Cloverfield’s $46 million take has already covered the movie’s budget (estimated at around $25 million). That dollar amount also earned the Matt Reeves flick the title for best MLK and January opener ever.
Although 27 Dresses raked in $20 million less than the horror flick, Katherine Heigl had nothing to cry about. Thanks to more strategic marketing - this time by Fox - the film was able to take advantage of those looking for something less dark. Dresses was originally scheduled to debut last week but was repositioned so it could open during the busy weekend.
Unfortunately, female focus on the romantic comedy didn’t help the female-filled Mad Money. The movie - co-starring Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes - cashed out in 8th place. This makes two disappointing debuts in a row for the Cruise Clan (the first being Tom’s Lions for Lambs). Let us not forget that Katie opted to do this film instead of the Batman sequel for her post-Tom movie return. Come to think of it, maybe it was for the best. I could just hear Tom telling us now that if he had known Heath was doing drugs, he would have cured Ledger himself.
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Box Office Breakdown: The Bucket List Rises to the Top
Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories:
20th Century Fox,
FOCUS,
Disney,
Sony,
Universal,
Warner Bros,
Action,
Adaptation,
Adventure,
Animation,
Drama,
Family,
Horror,
Music,
Period,
Romance,
Science Fiction,
Sequels,
Comedy,
Thrillers,
Box Office,
Lists,
New Releases

After placing 23rd last week, The Bucket List - starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman - soared 22 spots to take the #1 spot this past weekend. It seems a simple case of addition was all that was needed to accomplish this feat. Up until now, the movie had only been playing in 16 theaters total; it expanded to nearly 3000 on Friday. Bucket’s impressive finish was not only a win for 70-year-olds everywhere, it was a win for director Rob Reiner. His biggest opener had been 1992’s A Few Good Men. (That film grossed $15.5 million.) Maybe Reiner should write Jack into all his films.
Debuting at #2 was the latest Ice Cube comedy. First Sunday, co-starring Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), earned an impressive $8000 per screen average. That was the best median performance for any movie in this week’s Top Ten. (There Will Be Blood, this week’s #17, averaged $14,421 over the past three days.)
Will this yesterday’s Golden Globes have any effect on Sweeney Todd’s financial future? After only 4 weeks in release, the dark feature dropped off the chart and landed at #12. Assuming theatergoers are still interested in watching potential Oscar nominees, I’m guessing the win for Best Comedy/Musical will give the movie a nice boost next weekend.
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