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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Box Office Breakdown: Juno Makes An Impressive Surge
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Come Wednesday morning, the box office chart saw very few changes at the top. That’s not to say the five-day holiday weekend didn’t have any notable moments at all:
- Strong word of mouth helped boost last week’s #10, Juno, up five whole spaces. The movie - already in it’s 4th week - continues to soar despite its fairly limited release. It’s $15,788 per screen average even topped National Treasure’s $14,232.
- Golden Globes buzz also contributed to the success of seven-time nominee Atonement. Although it only placed 14th overall, the romantic weeper scored a $15,764 average.
- Alvin and the Chipmunks outmuscled last week’s #2, I Am Legend. The family-friendly flick traded spots with the Will Smith blockbuster thanks to its $2.5 million edge.
- The Debaters narrowly missed a place in the Top Ten despite its connection to both Denzel Washington and Oprah. You heard it right - the talk show host’s touch does not always mean gold.
- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story followed up its disappointing debut with another out of tune performance. The musical satire plummeted five spots all the way down to #13.
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Box Office Breakdown: Book of Secrets a National Hit
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
This holiday weekend introduced a slew of big-ticket features in our cineplexes. It also brought us a wide cast of former Oscar-winners competing for our theater dollars. By Monday, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Johnny Depp, Hilary Swank and Oscar-nominee John C. Reilly had all made entries into the Top Ten - but it was Nicolas Cage who wound up striking gold.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets earned $45 million, an increase of $10 million over the 2004 original. This was the second hit for Cage this year, following the critically-panned Ghost Rider. In addition to having the weekend’s best gross, Secrets also had the best average of any movie over those three days. Although Charlie Wilson’s War‘s fourth place was respectable (especially for a politically-based film these days), its $3760 per screen take clearly set it apart from this week’s champ. In contrast, Juno earned an $11,184 average for an impressive 10th place finish.
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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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‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Gets CGI Treatment
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: 20th Century Fox, Adaptation, Animation, Family, Musicals, Upcoming Releases,
I still remember Saturday mornings watching Alvin and the Chipmunks, the cartoon, on TV. I even remember the special show the series did about the Berlin Wall – truly heady stuff for a show designed only for children. Every year around this time, you’ll hear their Christmas tune on the radio. Now, someone has taken the bold step to answer the question which plagues my generation: does Alvin still want a hula-hoop?
Okay, that’s not really the burning question. A better question would be, what madman thought a live-action version of the chipmunks would work? And WHY? But like it or not, the live-action version of Alvin and the Chipmunks is indeed coming to theaters, and as soon as December 14. What can fans expect from this barely-publicized flick?
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‘Thundercats’ Movie Finds a Director in O’Flaherty
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Science Fiction, Scripts, Upcoming Releases,
Last month, FilmCrunch told you about some up-and-coming movies based on classic cartoons; one of the more exciting endeavors just edged closer to fruition. H-O-O-O-O!
Seasoned videogame art director Jerry O’Flaherty—best known for his work on such games as Gears of War, Unreal Tournament 3 and Command and Conquer—will cut his directing teeth on the big-screen, computer-animated adaptation of the classic 80s cartoon Thundercats. O’Flaherty recently told Variety why he has what it takes to bring the idiosyncratic cartoon to the silver screen:
“It feels like a natural thing for me to step into. Games have come so far now. The last four years of my life have been about bringing the energy of filmmaking into the videogame experience”The creative but often repetitive (everything’s fine; bad guy lures good guy into trap; good guys save the day, thwarting bad guys; it all ends with a moral and a good laugh) television show followed a group of feline/human hybrids fleeing from their destroyed home planet Thundera. Upon their arrival on Third Earth, the Thundercats are met with unclear opposition from the immortal Mumm-Ra and his gang of other … animals resembling humans.
The script, penned by Paul Sopocy, will focus on the leader of the Thundercats, Lion-O, as he grows, trains and comes to lead the crew. IMDB has the project listed with a 2010 release, but at this point no further information has officially been released.
I may be crazy, but I’m really looking forward to this movie. I was a big fan back in the day and gave the series a second glance after its DVD release—a move that ultimately caused my inner child to cry as I asked him, “What the hell were you thinking?!” But the cat-campy animated series will likely share success with the other recent 80s revival Transformers, which relied on a fan base of twenty- and thirty-somethings with heretofore disillusionment and low expectations.
Mediocrity, H-O-O-O-O!
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| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Geeks Fight Off Statham, Jet Li
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
No, you are correct. Superbad is one of the few movies that has managed to stay at #1 for more than one week this summer. The movie that only cost $20 million to make now shares the Two-Timers title with Spider-Man 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End. (And I’m guessing those movies cost a bit more to produce).
Not only did the high-schoolers hold back the action-packed War (starring Jason Statham and Jet Li), but so did the aging Bourne Ultimatum and British goof Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean’s Holiday).
Unfortunately, the Top 5 was so testosterone-laden that it didn’t leave any room for the film adaptation of The Nanny Diaries. I’m wondering if more women were eager to see that hunky Statham than be reminded of their bratty kids waiting at home…
1. Superbad, Sony, $18,044,369
2. The Bourne Ultimatum, Universal, $12,472,215
3. Rush Hour 3, New Line, $11,706,643
4. Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Universal, $9,889,780
5. War, Lionsgate, $9,820,089
6. The Nanny Diaries, Weinstein Co., $7,480,927
7. The Simpsons Movie, Fox, $4,317,689
8. Stardust, Paramount, $3,872,560
9. Hairspray, New Line, $3,265,384
10. The Invasion, Warner Bros, $3,093,428
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.
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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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