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.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Bucket List Rises to the Top
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For coverage of the 2008 Golden Globe Award Winners, please click here for the list of winners on TV Envy.
Weinstein Co. Settles With Writers Guild
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Weinstein Company, Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Corporate Shakeups, Filmmaking,
As expected, the agreement reached last week between United Artists and the Writers Guild of America has paved the way for other deals. The Weinstein Company, headed by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, just finalized their own contract with the union late Friday. (Like the UA arrangement , this settlement does not apply to distributor MGM.)
Titles recently connected to the indie company include The Great Debaters, The Mist and Awake.
Reuters
Vanessa Hudgens Moves Toward Mainstream Success
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Disney, Music, Musicals, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases,
With some stars, it’s all over once Disney gets their hooks into you. Just take a look at Tim Allen, who once had a highly promising comedy career. But High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens won’t fall victim to the teen trap - at least, not yet. The songbird is slated to star in Will, a movie about two very different high school students who form a bond because of a shared love of music.
Wait a minute. That sounds a little familiar…isn’t that the exact plot of the High School Musical movies? Maybe Hudgens isn’t breaking out of her teen queen role after all. In this version, Hudgens plays the popular girl (Sam) who falls for the school outcast. Together with others who don’t quite fit in, they form a rock band.
Shooting for the flick is slated to begin in February, and I’m already bored with the whole project.
Hollywood Reporter
Role Refill: Kate Winslet Subs for Kidman
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Period, Romance, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
Although an unexpected pregnancy is usually a producer’s worst nightmare, Nicole Kidman’s recent announcement couldn’t have come at a better time. Her decision to drop out of The Reader, an adaptation of a 1995 novel, allowed the filmmakers to cast their original choice: Kate Winslet.
Winslet, who had expressed interest in Reader a while back, couldn’t commit due to a scheduling conflict. (She was busy filming Revolutionary Road with her Titanic co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, and director-husband, Sam Mendes.) That was when Nicole Kidman stepped in. Months down the road, their roles have reversed. With her work on Road now complete, Kate is free to star opposite Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient) as an older woman who has an affair with a teen in Post-WWII Germany.
Given Kidman’s role in 2004’s unsettling Birth, this whole thing may have worked out for the best. One movie about a relationship with a much younger man is really enough.
Variety
‘Cloverfield’ Ready for Big Box Office Debut
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Paramount, Horror, Thrillers, Box Office, New Releases,
Scheduled to open January 18, the big-budget sci-fi thriller Cloverfield stands to make a box office killing. At least, that’s the hope. The Paramount release doesn’t have a lot of big-name stars, but teaser trailers have been running for months now and strong promotion generally creates ticket holders. Unique shooting techniques and hard-core action make Cloverfield compelling and serve to give viewers the feeling of being in the story - something that worked well for movies using similar techniques (like The Blair Witch Project).
The movie sets the stage by introducing all the characters while putting viewers right in the mix. One friend plans a journey to Japan to find his own identity and way in the world, as others make a tape for him so he can hold happy memories close. But Cloverfield is about no happy party - for soon enough, terror strikes. In this way, this film is very much like any other horror movie ever made.
What’s different about Cloverfield? Lots of money, slick production, and in-your-face glimpses of the monster give this film a polished feel often lacking in other horror flicks. The movie strives for a natural, authentic feeling sure to keep viewers right on the edge. And the monster, it’s said, is well worth the wait.
Hollywood Reporter
It seemed like a fairly simple issue to resolve. It looked pretty cut-and-dry. But that was back in November, when the Writers Guild first went on strike. More than two months later, the picture is much more grim.
Now, LA businesses are out $1 billion and stand to lose another $80 million when the Golden Globes don’t go forward as planned. Now, the strike is affecting more than House, 24, and all those others. Now, it’s cutting into the award shows.
But, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences isn’t going down that easily. Scheduled for Feb. 24, a spokesperson for the Oscars said things are being planned and arranged as they traditionally have been in the past - and that the show will go on with or without writers. Meanwhile, the Guild has denied the use of film clips and past Academy Award broadcasts, and says no writers will work the event. Should this show also be canceled, LA will lose an estimated $130 million more in revenue.
E! Online
HD DVD Owners Lose New Line, HBO
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: New Line, Warner Bros, Home Entertainment, Technology,
Just days after Warner Home Video announced it was abandoning HD DVD owners, others have chosen to jump ship.
HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment will both be following their distribution partner’s lead and go completely Blu-ray. Up until now, the two companies had been releasing high-definition titles under both formats.
Those with the Toshiba system should probably make a point of purchasing The Sopranos (Season 6) and Pan’s Labyrinth to keep in their HD DVD time capsule.
Hollywood Reporter
In Theaters This Weekend: January 11, 2008
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Music, Sequels, Comedy, Lists, New Releases,
If you are looking for movies with long titles, this is your weekend. Two of them are opening this Friday:
- The Bucket List** (PG-13): starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes (directed by Rob Reiner)
- First Sunday (PG-13): starring Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan, Katt Williams (directed by David E. Talbert)
- In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (PG-13): starring Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Burt Reynold (directed by Uwe Boll)
- The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (G): starring Mike Nawrocki, Phil Vischer (directed by Mike Nawrocki)
**now in wide release
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 08, 2008
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, Buena Vista, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, New Releases,
This week marks the release of the first batch of high-definition DVDs since on-the-fence Warner landed decidedly on the Blu side; I must admit, as an HD DVD man, the day feels a bit colder than normal. But no matter—the format war is far from over.
On a lighter note, both formats have some exciting titles to speak of, including the Blu-ray release of one of my favorite movies from 2007, Sunshine; Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning film, The Pianist, on HD DVD; and the long-awaited special edition of David Fincher’s Zodiac, also on HD DVD. The DVD release from July contained nary a special feature, so this two-disc director’s cut ought to please those Fincher fans waiting for a decent version.
Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 08, 2008
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