Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
Watch out, vampires…there’s still life in the other undead.
Although he was previously known as a director for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ruben Fleischer now has a new title: box office champ. This past weekend, Ruben saw his first major feature, Zombieland, attack the competition with a $24.7 million debut. The movie - which only cost approximately $24 million to make - had the highest open for any zombie-themed flick since Dawn of the Dead in 2004.
Meanwhile, another director had an entirely different result with her debut feature. Whip It, a roller derby comedy helmed by Drew Barrymore, rolled into 6th place finish with only $4.7 million. (When your film’s been topped by Pixar entries from 10+ years ago, there might have a problem.) Hopefully in a few more weeks, the Ellen Page vehicle will at least cover its $15 million production tab.
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| Variety
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No Nudity for Jennifer Garner
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Celebrity Gossip,
Jennifer Garner says “the world deserves better” than to see her naked.
The Invention of Lying actress has vowed never to bare all for a movie role because she doesn’t believe anyone would want to see it. “I will not be taking it all off! Zero percent. No, thank you. The world deserves better. Not interested,” she declared.
The actress’ co-star in the movie, British funnyman Ricky Gervais, agreed with her view - unless he can draft in a body double. “OK, well then, it’s equal. It’s joint equal at, ‘No way! Absolutely no way!’” he told MTV. “There’s no chance of me doing it. Unless I had a stunt one.”
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In Theaters This Weekend: October 2, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- Capitalism: A Love Story** (R): starring Michael Moore (directed by Michael Moore)
- The Invention of Lying (PG-13): starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill (directed by Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson)
- Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3D (G): starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger (directed by John Lasseter)
- Whip It! (PG-13): starring Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis (directed by Drew Barrymore)
- Zombieland (R): starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone (directed by Ruben Fleischer)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 2, 2009
Violet Affleck Reads Jane Austen, Among Other Talents
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Warner Bros, Romance, Comedy, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
Jennifer Garner’s three-year-old daughter Violet Affleck reads Jane Austen novels. Her and Ben Affleck must be doing something right if she’s going at that rate.
The Invention of Lying actress is keen for her children—Violet and eight-month-old Seraphina, her kids with husband Ben Affleck—to have a broad range of interests and is already encouraging Violet to read classic literature.
Lynda Obst, who produced new movie The Invention of Lying, revealed, “Most of the time that I did spend with her when it was off-set, Violet was cooking with her, or reading Jane Austen, or doing one of these remarkable things that Violet tends to do. She encourages her kids to be independent. And at the same time not television watchers. Readers. Thinkers. She is kind of old-fashioned. She is a very classic mom.”
Jennifer, 37, admits that she struggles to juggle her career with being a mother, but tries her best: “Every day, you feel like you are off-balance one way or another. You just take it one day at a time. I don’t think anyone has it properly figured out.”
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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: September 22, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:
- Battle for Terra: DVD, Blu-ray
- Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: DVD, Blu-ray
- Hot Fuzz: Blu-ray
- Lymelife: DVD, Blu-ray
- Observe and Report: DVD, Blu-ray
- Shaun of the Dead: Blu-ray
- Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection: DVD, Blu-ray
- Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection: DVD
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: DVD, Blu-ray
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: DVD, Blu-ray
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: DVD, Blu-ray
Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: September 22, 2009
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Box Office Breakdown: Disney/Pixar Flying High with Up
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
The word “Pixar” always seems to generate smiles, and that’s exactly what Up did for Disney.
Over the weekend, the Cannes Film Festival opener generated $68.1 million, over $40 million more than its nearest competitor. The movie - which was also offered in 3D - also bested last year’s Wall-E (by $5 million) and had Pixar’s 3rd-best debut. (The Incredibles opened to $70.5 million in 2004; Finding Nemo grossed $70.3 million in 2003.)
Friday’s other new wide release, Drag Me to Hell, scared up only $15.8 million for a 4th place finish. Although it originally looked as if the horror film would surpass Terminator Salvation, the final numbers were $8 million below Sunday’s projections.
Another noteworthy mention: Star Trek officially crossed the $200 million mark after only four weeks in release. The Paramount feature is now the first movie of the year to reach that achievement.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Ben Stiller Defeats Christian Bale
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Was it a result of Christian Bale’s rant? The presence of that other science fiction movie? Or the lack of family-friendly fare?
When the dust from the weekend settled, a surprising entry emerged as the winner. Despite the country’s current love for action sequels/prequels, a much calmer feature - Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - was the choice for entertainment this holiday. Ben Stiller’s comedy follow-up raked in $70 million giving the actor his best live-action debut ever. Smithsonian also became the best PG-rated opener for Memorial Day.
Museum‘s victory meant a disappointing 2nd place finish for Terminator Salvation. Although the saga’s fourth installment earned more than T3‘s debut, its $51.9 million gross ($65.3 million since Thursday) put it nowhere near the estimated $200 million budget. The numbers did give director McG, though, his best premiere since 2000’s Charlie’s Angels.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Narrow Victory for Angels & Demons
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Angels & Demons was never as popular as The Da Vinci Code...and its big screen numbers reflected that.
Despite huge success with the overseas box office this weekend (the movie had the 10th best international open ever), the latest Ron Howard/Tom Hanks collaboration barely struck gold domestically. Over the last three days, Angels grossed $46.2 million—just enough for first place. Unfortunately, the Dan Brown adaptation only earned $3 million more than last week’s champ and over $30 million less than the previous installment.
Star Trek, in the meantime, continued on its warp speed pace. The second place finisher pulled in another $43 million and put itself within $3 million of Wolverine‘s overall total. (The Hugh Jackman film, this week’s #3, had a 7-day head start on the sci fi adventure.)
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Read More | Variety
Casting Corner: Simon Baker, James McAvoy, Christina Aguilera and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Miramax, New Line, Universal, Adaptation, Drama, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases,
Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:
Simon Baker: The Mentalist hunk has been added to an adaptation of a Jim Thompson novel. The Killer Inside Me, a tale about a sheriff turned murderer, will feature Baker as a attorney on the hunt for the killer (Casey Affleck). Jessica Alba will star as a prostitute while Kate Hudson will play Affleck’s girlfriend.
Click to continue reading Casting Corner: Simon Baker, James McAvoy, Christina Aguilera and More
Box Office Breakdown: Star Trek Beams Its Way to #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Music, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Based on these numbers, a Star Trek sequel would seem like the logical response.
After a five-month delay, the highly-anticipated J.J. Abrams feature finally unspooled to an eager crowd. And though it didn’t outearn last weekend’s office champ, the science fiction adventure appeared to be in a galaxy far, far away.
Since it’s debut late Thursday night, Trek grossed approximately $79.2 million. (That’s nearly $3 million more than was estimated a day ago, but still $6 million less than Wolverine‘s premiere.) Around $8 million of Paramount’s haul came from IMAX ticket sales alone. (That figure bests the $6.2 million raked in by The Dark Knight last year.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Star Trek Beams Its Way to #1
Read More | Variety
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