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
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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
Box Office Breakdown: Wall-E and Wanted Both Winners
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Although we haven’t yet reached the 4th of July weekend, theatergoers apparently had plenty of time and money to spend over the past three days. And while a cute robot had the honor of placing first, Angelina Jolie also came out a winner herself.
When the final numbers were tallied, Wall-E and Wanted each wound up grossing over $50 million since Friday. The Disney/Pixar film edged out the action flick by nearly $13 million dollars, but the comic book adaptation had the best per screen average for any entry in the Top Ten ($16,040). Meanwhile, both films forced a few rewrites in the history books.
- Wall-E had the third largest debut for a Pixar film. It’s total fell behind The Incredibles ($70.5 million) and Finding Nemo ($70.2 million).
- The animated comedy also had the best Friday open for any Pixar release.
- The James McAvoy feature topped all R-rated premieres during the month of June.
- Wanted also gave Jolie her largest first weekend ever.
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Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Steve Carell Outsmarts Mike Myers
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Picturehouse, 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Picturehouse, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
What was being billed as a huge comedy showdown turned out to be a pathetic fight. The debut of Get Smart easily outperformed Mike Myers’ live-action return to nab the #1 spot this past weekend.
Smart, starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson, picked up $38.6 million over the past three days - nearly $20 million more than The Love Guru. The big-screen adaptation of the ‘60s television series also averaged $9891 per screen, over twice as much as Guru ($4617) did.
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Variety
In Theaters This Weekend (6/20)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: New Line, Picturehouse, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Period, Romance, Comedy, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Get Smart (PG-13): starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson (directed by Peter Segal)
- The Love Guru (PG-13): starring Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake (directed by Marco Schnabe)
- Brick Lane* (PG-13): starring Tannishta Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Zafreen (directed by Sarah Gavron)
- Expired* (NR): starring Samantha Morton, Illeana Douglas, Jason Patric (directed by Cecilia Miniucchi)
- Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl* (G): starring Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Glenne Headly (directed by Patricia Rozema)
*limited and/or gradual release
Box Office Breakdown: Fred Claus No Match for Jerry Seinfeld
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Political, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
In a shocking turn of events, Bee Movie came buzzing back to life this weekend stealing the #1 spot from recent victor, American Gangster. Bee’s $25 million take also embarrassed the newest comedic entry, Fred Claus.
Although fellow ‘Frat Packer’ Will Ferrell rang bells with November 2003’s Elf, Vince Vaughn couldn’t come close to matching his friend’s $31.1 million debut. The news was especially surprising given Vaughn and director David Dobkin’s recent collaboration on 2005’s Wedding Crashers. Could this mean Vaughn’s only appealing when he’s part of a larger comedic team?
Also noteworthy this weekend was the disappointing performance of Lions for Lambs. Lions wasn’t expected to take in Mission Impossible-esque numbers, but the film did still boast Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and actor/director Robert Redford. As it was, the movie grossed less than any other Cruise-attached wide release in more than 20 years. At least Streep can say this topical film debuted higher than her last attempt (Rendition).
P2, the only other new Top Ten entry, racked up ninth place.
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Box Office Breakdown: A Gangbusters Weekend for Washington, Crowe
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Combine Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington’s star-wattage and you’re bound to get a hit. But did anyone expect a $43 million debut for American Gangster? Why did these Oscar-winners do so well when others have only done okay? How did an R-rated film beat out an animated PG flick? Why didn’t the movie’s long running-time (157 minutes) turn people away?
Gangster’s #1 spot was just one of the film’s many weekend achievements. The movie also marked the biggest opening weekend for both lead actors (Russell’s Gladiator earned $35 million; Washington’s Inside Man grossed $29 million). It also had the 2nd best debut for a drama in November (right behind 2002’s 8 Mile).
Unfortunately, all this good news was lost on comedian Jerry Seinfeld—the hardest working self-promoter of 2007. Even though NBC spent countless hours of airtime sucking up to its former Golden Boy, Seinfeld’s Bee Movie was stung with a 2nd place finish. Although $38 million take is nothing to complain about, I expect next week’s Fred Claus will slide right in to become the week’s best-grossing comedy.
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Box Office Breakdown: Saw Slices Its Way to #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Sony, Touchstone, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
This weekend’s success of Saw IV proved that ‘torture porn’ is very much alive and well…at least right before All Hallows Eve. (Apparently originality is not a prerequisite when you’re in the haunting mood.) The horror series, which took in $55 million domestically when it debuted in 2004, bloodied the competition with its recent $31 million take. It will now likely hit the $80 million mark the last two installments surpassed.
Although Dan in Real Life, lagged behind with only $11 million, the film at least managed to place second. Hopefully Dan will have legs in the weeks to come; it’s a nice counter-programming option for those desperately seeking romance on their date nights. Those hunting for acceptable kids fare may have it a bit harder though—- which probably explains why The Game Plan has remained firmly planted in the Top Five.
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Box Office Breakdown: 30 Days of Night Sucks Up the Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Touchstone, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Horror, Comedy, Sports, Lists, New Releases,
I never thought I would ever find myself writing this: ‘A Josh Hartnett-led film has opened at #1.’ Of course, he did have a little help from a vampire or two..
The horror film, 30 Days of Night, had an impressive debut for what was actually an unimpressive weekend. With only $16 million, the Alaskan-set vampire flick beat out a host of movies filled with Oscar-nominated stars. Ben Affleck’s well-reviewed directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, opened up in 6th place. Rendition, starring are-they-or-aren’t-they-dating Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, barely cracked the Top Ten. Meanwhile, Things We Lost in the Fire placed a dismal 15th despite the presence of Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro (and promotion on Oprah).
The success of 30 Days and the surprise return of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas - which placed 8th even though it was only in 564 theaters - clearly spells out the audience’s need for some Halloween fare. This bodes well for the release of Saw IV which opens next weekend. (Yay!)
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Box Office Breakdown: Tyler Perry vs. George Clooney
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
This weekend saw George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix and Cate Blanchett all fighting for your box office dollars—so who would have thought Tyler Perry would come out the big winner?
Even though two of his last three films opened with impressive numbers, very few predicted the writer/actor/producer/director would topple the competition. Now the number crunchers know better. Though the debut underperformed 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman ($21.9 million) and 2006’s Madea’s Family Reunion ($30 million), Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? still scored $10 million more than its nearest competitor.
Additionally surprising was the lasting success of Disney’s The Game Plan. The film finally dropped one notch to #2 in its third week—also beating out We Own The Night and Michael Clayton. Although kid-friendly fare is rarity these days, the movie’s ability to remain so strong is quite impressive.
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