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Box Office Breakdown: The Golden Compass Lacks Luster
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
A Narnia-esque adaptation partnered with a holiday release date and an A-list cast should have conjured box office magic for The Golden Compass. Surprisingly, this weekend’s release from New Line Cinema brought in barely enough money to cover the film’s catering budget.
Compass, based on Philip Pullman’s children’s series His Dark Materials, was Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig’s second disappointing collaboration this year (the first being The Invasion). While it was enough for a first place finish, the $25 million debut was hardly impressive given the film’s $180 million price tag.
In other news, holiday flick This Christmas remained in third place while the critically-panned Fred Claus bumped up two spaces from last week. Meanwhile, Juno and Atonement did well with their very limited releases.
Be looking for the highly-promoted I Am Legend (and Alvin and the Chipmunks) to enter next week’s charts.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Golden Compass Lacks Luster
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Box Office Breakdown: Jessica Alba Can’t Keep Audiences Awake
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
There’s nothing like a good snub to restore your faith in moviegoers.
Although Awake was the only new wide release this past weekend, discerning audiences kept it from succeeding by default. (NOTE: Cute squirrels will always trump Jessica Alba.) The movie, also co-starring Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen, opened with a dismal $6 million - less than half of what Alba’s last stellar film, Good Luck Chuck, did. (The latter opened at $13.7 million.) I wonder if this currently makes Jessica Biel the most successful Jessica out there.
Aside from Awake’s entry, the rest of the Top Ten changed very little from last week. Enchanted refused to budge from its perch and earned another $16 million over the past three days. Meanwhile, Beowulf surged back up a notch, trading spots with holiday flick, This Christmas.
Although the box office numbers were unspectacular overall, we can expect big changes in just a few days; that’s when New Line’s The Golden Compass makes its debut.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Jessica Alba Can’t Keep Audiences Awake
What’s in ‘The Mist’?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: MGM, Adaptation, Horror, New Releases,
Actual mist is created with suspended droplets of moisture, and is not to be confused with fog (which has greater visibility) or haze (which is a different color altogether). And Stephen King, pop kitsch horror writer-turned movie mogul, is not to be confused with a writer who actually offers some value. If weather phenomenon frighten you and you’re at all interested in seeing yet another movie about losing visibility and being beset by scary occurrences, go see The Mist. If you started to get bored with King, stay away.
So, here’s the setup. Bunch of people living in Maine, everyone’s just doing their thing. All of a sudden, a strange mist (not a fog, mind you, a mist) rolls into town. Frightened and dismayed, citizens hole up in a grocery store to escape this ever-encroaching mist. How likely is that, honestly? You’re out and about, you’re shopping, a thick mist rolls in. Do you lock the doors, batten down the hatches and wait it out? Or do you just take your groceries home? Honestly now. Anyway, the film takes place
entirelyin the grocery store and features CGI effects which at least saves the movie from being a complete waste of time. Did I mention there are some sort of weird monsters living in the mist? Mist monsters?
Click to continue reading What’s in ‘The Mist’?
Hollywood Reporter
In Theaters This Weekend (11/30)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Mystery, Period, Political, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
- Awake (R): starring Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard (directed by Joby Harold)
- Badland* (R): starring Jamie Draven, Linda St. George, Linda Naney (directed by Francesco Lucente)
- Chronicles of an Escape* (R): starring Rodrigo De La Serna, Pablo Echarri (directed by Adrian Israel Caetano)
- Divine Intervention* (R): starring Wesley Jonathan, Jazsmin Lewis, James Avery (directed by Van Elder)
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly* (PG-13): starring Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner (directed by Julian Schnabel)
- Oswald’s Ghost* (NR): (directed by Robert Stone)
- Protagonist* (R): starring Hans-Joachim Klein, Mark Pierpont, Joe Loya (directed by Jessica Yu)
- The Sasquatch Gang* (NR): starring Jon Gries, Jeremy Sumpter, Justin Long (directed by Tim Skousen)
- The Savages* (R): starring Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco (directed by Tamara Jenkins)
- Sex and Breakfast* (R): starring Macaulay Culkin, Alexis Dziena, Eliza Dushku (directed by Miles Brandman)
- Teeth* (R): starring John Hensley, Jess Weixler, Hale Appleman (directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein)
*limited and/or gradual release
How Manhunt 2 Toned Down to an M Rating
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: PlayStation 3, Politics, PSP, Survival Horror, Take2, Wii,
Some questions were asked after Rockstar announced that it had adjusted the content of its violent horror title Manhunt 2 to warrant an M rating from the ESRB rather than the unsellable AO it had previously been given. California Senator Leland Yee was one person asking such questions.
Since much of the public’s information about the original content in Manhunt 2 came from IGN’s Matt Casamassina’s hands-on with the game prior to rating, it’s only fitting that he plays the modified version heading to retail and reports on what the differences are.
Primarily, Casamassina says, the game has taken the controversial murder animations and added some blur and darkening effects to obfuscate the actions, making the action less identifyable. Casamassina is disappointed with the changes:
[It’s] unfortunate because both everything else is unchanged and because these death strikes are what gamers will want to work toward; they’re the pay off for a job well done, but now the pay off is not nearly as rewarding.
It’s worth noting that one maneuver in which the player removes an enemy’s testicles with a pair of pliers has been completely excised from the game, but aside from these adjustments the game is still extremely dark and graphically violent according to Casamassina’s estimation.
Bioshock Arrives to High Praise
Posted by Max Dickey Categories: Action, First Person Shooters, PC, Reviews, Xbox 360,
With Halo 3 just a month away, its promotion and hype engines are running at an almost deafening volume. The buzz has been so loud that Bioshock, an Xbox 360 and PC shooter set amidst the ruins of a rapidly declining utopia, snuck up on us more or less under the radar. Now that it’s here, though, it looks like a sure winner, featuring a compelling story, unmatched graphics, and a fantastic overall experience.
Bioshock takes place in the underwater colony known as Rapture. Built as a haven for the best and the brightest members of society, Rapture has become a cesspool of insane former virtuosos who are all hopelessly addicted to a DNA-altering drug called Adam. Apparently not satisfied with their natural gifts, the denizens of Rapture used Adam to supercharge their intellects and multiply their talents. Unfortunately, everyone became dependent on the substance, and if one doesn’t get enough, he loses his mind and his face falls off. Sounds quaint, doesn’t it? As your character explores Rapture, he’ll run across a variety of violent junkies called splicers, as well as enormous armored supersoldiers called Big Daddies. While standard weaponry can hold off splicers, fighting Big Daddies is a strategic affair. Attempting a frontal assault is suicide, so your character needs to get smart and use the supernatural powers granted by Adam to take them down. Yep, you’re using Adam, too. Are you going to end up a hopeless, addicted mess like everyone else? Who knows, but the engrossing storyline has a fair share of twists that could lead you anywhere.
Bioshock hits stores everywhere tomorrow, so be ready. It looks to be one of the season’s best buys.
Read More | GamePro
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, $3,838,916
Box Office Breakdown: Blades Has The Cutting Edge
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Period, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
It really shouldn’t have been hard to predict that a Will Ferrell movie—or frankly a better movie—would take the top spot away from those fightin’ turtles. Audiences simply love watching him mock their beloved sports. It’s also worth nothing that TMNT sunk so low…it was even surpassed by the old fave, 300. Cowabunga?#$%!
Here’s how the rest of the weekend broke down:
1. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $33,014,202
2. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $25,123,781
3. 300, Warner Bros., $11,434,437
4. TMNT, Warner Bros., $9,232,362
5. Wild Hogs, Disney, $8,662,893
6. Shooter, Paramount, $8,364,413
7. Premonition, Sony, $5,213,264
8. The Hills Have Eyes II, Fox Atomic
9. Reign Over Me, Sony, $3,835,022
10. The Last Mimzy, New Line, $3,815,600
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