Casting Corner: Harrison Ford, Reese Witherspoon, Gerard Butler and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Paramount, Universal, Drama, Period, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:
Harrison Ford: Indiana Jones will be soon be revisiting comedy in a film co-produced by J.J. Abrams. The 66-year-old will star as a news anchor recruited to work on a low-rated morning talk show. Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes) is in talks to play the producer who must handle Ford and his rival/cohost. No start date has been announced for Morning Glory.
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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: Atonement Joins Juno in Top Ten
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
When the final numbers were tallied on Monday, something exciting happened at the top of the charts. After a very close race, Juno surpassed I Am Legend for the second place finish. (National Treasure was tops for its third week in a row.) Already in its fifth week, the comedic charmer continued its steady climb up the box office ladder. After gaining five spots last week, Juno rose another two spots this weekend. (A wider release contributed to this feat.) If the movie continues at its current pace, it is expected to be the most successful film from Fox Searchlight. Sideways grossed $71.5 million while last year’s darling, Little Miss Sunshine, earned $59.9 million.
Meanwhile, another praised film is slowly making an ascent in its fifth week. Atonement, starring ribby Keira Knightley and James McAvoy (the man who has replaced Ewan McGregor), made its first entry into the Top Ten. Although the Golden Globe-nominated drama is only being seen in about 1/6 of the theaters Treasure is in, Atonement had a per screen average of $8687. In comparison, the Nicolas Cage film only had a $5332 median.
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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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In Theaters This Weekend (12/21)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Charlie Wilson’s War (R): starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman (directed by Mike Nichols)
- National Treasure: Book of Secrets (PG): starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren (directed by Jon Turteltaub)
- P.S. I Love You (PG-13): starring Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow (directed by Richard LaGravanese)
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (R): starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen (directed by Tim Burton)
- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (R): starring John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig (directed by Jake Kasdan)
- Steep* (PG): starring Ingrid Backstrom, Doug Coombs, Shane McConkey (directed by Mark Obenhaus)
*limited and/or gradual release
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Buena Vista, DreamWorks, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases, Upcoming Releases,
As the autumn season pulls the coats from our closets, warms our chocolate beverages, and turns our leaves from a verdant green to a rusty orange, the movie studios give us another reason to spend a comfy evening at home: summer blockbusters on DVD. And what better way to view these visual—if not always plausible—delights than in high definition?
The coveted two-disc special edition of Transformers releases this week on HD DVD, much to the chagrin of Blu-ray loyalists; without a major exclusive release, they’ll simply have to make do with some mediocre thrillers.
But aside from the inferior cinematic fare, the first and second volumes of Showtime’s Masters of Horror series is out just in time for Halloween. The anthology show gives modern horror directors a full hour to play without the restrictions of an MPAA rating or television censorship. Although it failed to garner much critical acclaim, the show ended up being quite successful and achieved what some could perceive to be cult status.
Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007
FilmCrunch 056: Deja Vu, Hot Fuzz, Night at the Museum, Freedom Writers
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: 20th Century Fox, Touchstone, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, DVD Reviews, Full Episodes, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,
In this episode of FilmCrunch, Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review the theatrical releases of Hot Fuzz, Deja Vu, and Freedom Writers, as well as the DVD release of A Night at the Museum.
Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.
Box Office Breakdown: Oscar Winners Fail to Prevail
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
DISTURBIA [di-stur’-bee-uh), noun:
A rare state that occurs when three previous Oscar winners (e.g. Berry, Swank, Tarantino) struggle to remain in the Top Ten. This anomaly often coincides with the meteoric rise of a 20-year-old star (e.g. Lebeouf).
1. Disturbia, Paramount, $22,224,982
2. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $13,826,386
3. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $12,467,155
4. Perfect Stranger, Sony, $11,206,163
5. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $8,952,686
6. Pathfinder, Fox, $5,001,214
7. Wild Hogs, Disney, $4,676,734
8. The Reaping, Warner Bros., $4,567,478
9. 300, Warner Bros., $4,454,355
10. Grindhouse, Weinstein Co., $4,331,372
Box Office Breakdown: Metal Blades Take Down Machine Gun Leg
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Not even the combined directing muscle of Team Tarantino/Rodriguez could take away the gold medal from Team Ferrell/Heder. Despite the publicity onslaught, Grindhouse didn’t even score a silver. Heck, it didn’t even make the medal platform. But I guess it could have been worse. Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank not only placed fifth—but she too was beat out by a family friendly Ice Cube. I think it’s now safe to say that the plagues have officially commenced..
1. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $22,522,330
2. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $16,715,437
3. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $14,262,724
4. Grindhouse, Weinstein Co., $11,596,613
5. The Reaping, Warner Bros., $10,025,203
6. 300, Warner Bros., $8,368,382
7. Wild Hogs, Disney, $6,644,971
8. Shooter, Paramount, $5,856,494
9. TMNT, Warner Bros., $4,825,445
10. Firehouse Dog, Fox, $3,838,916
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