Box Office Breakdown: MacGruber IS a Bomb
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Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Horror, Independent, Remakes, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
![MacGruber](http://assets.gearlive.com/filmcrunch/blogimages/macgruber_trio.jpg)
Disappointment can come in all shapes and box office sizes.
Shrek Forever After may have earned nearly three times as much than its nearest competitor, but it wasn’t exactly a winner for Paramount or Dreamworks. The film, which grossed $70.8 million in ticket sales, become the first sequel in the Shrek franchise to open below the $100 million mark (and that’s with the help of higher 3-D prices). The comedy did, though, place fourth on the all-time animated debuts list behind Shrek the Third ($121.6 million), Shrek 2 ($108 million) and The Simpsons Movie ($74 million).
Meanwhile, it appears MacGruber will last just as long in theaters as he does in Will Forte’s sketches. Although the character is (supposedly) known for diffusing bombs, he actually helped deliver one this weekend. The latest Saturday Night Live-based comedy - also starring Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe - generated a mere $4 million this weekend. While that number seems (understandably) dismal, there is one positive thing to note: the film only cost approximately $10 million to make.
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Read More | Box Office Mojo
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Sequel News: Romy and Michele, Planet of the Apes and More
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Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, New Line, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Filmmaking, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases, Videos,
Planet of the Apes: The apes will rise again in 2011 when Fox delivers a Planet of the Apes prequel. The movie - currently titled Rise of the Apes - will have photo-realistic apes incorporated into the cautionary tale. The story, written by The Relic‘s Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa, will explain how genetic engineering experimentation lead to the apes’ development. The Rupert Wyatt-directed film will be set in present-day San Francisco.
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Box Office Breakdown: Iron Man Fights Off Robin Hood
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Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Remakes, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
![Robin Hood](http://assets.gearlive.com/filmcrunch/blogimages/robinhood_merrymen.jpg)
Russell Crowe‘s excellent aim couldn’t keep Robert Downey Jr. off target.
Despite increased competition in its second week of release, Iron Man 2 remained firm at the box office. Paramount’s sequel generated another $52 million between Friday-Sunday and vaulted over the $200 million mark domestically.
Meanwhile, Robin Hood‘s arrow was sharp enough for a $36 million bounty, but a bit too dull for a first place finish. The film did, though, earn approximately $74 million in foreign dollars. That topped the $43.1 million overseas debut for 2000’s Gladiator - another Crowe/Ridley Scott production.
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Read More | Box Office Mojo
Box Office Breakdown: Iron Man 2 Soars High Above the Competition
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Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, FOCUS, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
![Iron Man 2](http://assets.gearlive.com/filmcrunch/blogimages/ironman2_computer.jpg)
Only one movie earned over $10 million over this weekend…and only movie scored over $125 million as well.
Iron Man 2 - with help from Mickey Rourke’s powerful weapons - whipped up $128.1 million over the past three days, giving Paramount its biggest open in history. The sequel, which was produced for approximately $170 million, easily improved upon Iron Man‘s $98.6 million premiere in 2008 and nabbed the fifth-largest debut of all time. (The Dark Knight still tops that leader board with its $158.4 million outing.)
Focus Features’ Babies also made news of its own despite coming nowhere near Iron Man 2‘s numbers. The documentary, which was only released in 534 theaters, delivered $2.2 million and a ninth-place finish over the Mother’s Day weekend.
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Read More | Box Office Mojo
Don Cheadle Says Iron Man 2 Was Mostly Improv
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Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Thrillers, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases, Rumors, Scripts,
Much like how Jeff Bridges claimed that he didn’t have a script to work on for the first Iron Man film, actor Don Cheadle (War Machine) says that things haven’t changed for the sequel.
“No, there wasn’t [a locked-in script]... To be honest, We did improv a lot. We were very often sort of on a journey of discovery in the scenes, trying to find out where we were, who we were, what it was going to be.”
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Read More | MTV
In Theaters This Weekend: May 7, 2010
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Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Magnolia, Paramount, Sony, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- Iron Man 2 (PG-13): starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle (directed by Jon Favreau)
- Babies* (PG): (directed by Thomas Balmès)
- Badmaash Company* (NR): starring Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Meiyang Chang (directed by Parmeet Sethi)
- Casino Jack and the United States of Money* (R): (directed by Alex Gibney)
- Happiness Runs* (NR): starring Mark L. Young, Hanna Hall, Jesse Plemons (directed by Adam Sherman)
- Mother and Child* (R): starring Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington (directed by Rodrigo Garcia)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: May 7, 2010
Early Reviews for Iron Man 2
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Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Science Fiction, Sequels, Upcoming Releases,
![Iron Man 2 poster](http://assets.gearlive.com/filmcrunch/blogimages/ironman2_poster.jpg)
While most have you probably decided months ago what you’ll be doing on May 7, there are some who may still be on the fence.
Should you be buying tickets to Iron Man 2 in advance? Or will the movie disappoint like many other blockbuster sequels out there? Here are some of the early reviews:
Hollywood Reporter: “Everything fun and terrific about Iron Man, a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, Iron Man 2 has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines. A film series that started out with critical and commercial success will have to settle for only the latter with this sequel.”
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Scarlett Johansson’s Iron Man Fight
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Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
![Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow](http://assets.gearlive.com/filmcrunch/blogimages/ScarlettJohansson_blackwidow.jpg)
Scarlett Johansson says she fought hard for her role in Iron Man 2.
The 25-year-old actress - who plays sexy Russian spy Black Widow in the superhero movie - admitted she actively campaigned for the part after actress Emily Blunt dropped out because of scheduling conflicts.
“I was a huge fan of the first movie and was quite ‘geek-ed’ out at being part of the second one. I just wanted to be a part of Iron Man so I really researched the comic books and came in with some ideas of my own about how to develop the character. I see her as being determined and ambitious,” she said.
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Robert Downey Jr Has Iron Head
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Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Sequels, Thrillers, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases,
Robert Downey Jr. has an Iron Man head at his house.
The actor - who plays the superhero and his alter-ego Tony Stark in upcoming sequel Iron Man 2 - took the metal mask from the set as a memento but insists his home isn’t too geeky.
Downey - who lives with his film producer wife Susan Levin - said, “I have an Iron Man head at home and various other bits downstairs but my home isn’t a shrine to Iron Man. But I think it’s cool.”
The 45-year-old star can’t wait for fans to see the movie and admits he is immensely proud to play the much-loved Marvel comic book character. He added, “It’s mind-blowing to me because I’d always felt like I wanted to - and could - do something like this. I have probably taken Iron Man 2 more seriously than any other movie I’ve ever done, which is appropriately ridiculous for Hollywood.”
Downey has previously revealed he asked film bosses to let him take one of the superhero’s full suits home: “The producers keep telling me that they’re going to give me a suit with all the bells and whistles but I still don’t have it. I don’t know, maybe I should get it in my contract. It would be great to have one at home - a talking point.”
VIDEO: New Iron Man 2 Trailer Revealed
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Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Paramount, Action, Adventure, Sequels, Trailers, Upcoming Releases, Videos,
Didn’t get a chance to watch Jimmy Kimmel’s after-Oscar special? Good thing we’ve got a clip of the new Iron Man 2 trailer that premiered!
Watch the video above to get a fresh glimpse of one of the year’s most-anticipated flicks.
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