Box Office Breakdown: Hangover Hangs on for Another Win

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Remakes, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

This is one hangover that’s taking a while to recover from.
For the second week in a row, the must-see comedy of the summer has taken the top spot at the charts. The Hangover, which already had a greenlighted sequel prior to its debut, raked in another $32.7 million over the weekend. The film has now earned over $100 million and given Bradley Cooper his second #1 entry of the year. (His first was February’s He’s Just Not That Into You.)
Sitting in third place this week (right behind Up), was The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, a remake of a 1974 version starring starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. The action thriller, which had Denzel Washington working with director Tony Scott for the fourth time, pulled in a respectable $23.3 million. Meanwhile, Imagine That, Eddie Murphy’s latest stinker, earned $5.5 million in wide release. That gross bests the premiere of Meet Dave by approximately $200,000.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Hangover Hangs on for Another Win
Read More | Variety
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Box Office Breakdown: The Hangover Rises Above Up

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

Unlike most Mike Tyson fights, The Hangover‘s win was no knockout.
After a back-and-forth battle with Up, Todd Phillips’ film about an eventful bachelor party edged out the animated pic by less than $1 million. Hangover - which features no major stars (unless you count the boxer) - grossed nearly $45 million on its opening weekend. That’s the third best debut for an R-rated comedy ever. (Only Sex and the City and American Pie 2 have done better.)
Meanwhile, a project actually featuring an A-lister became the summer’s first stinker. Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell, Anna Friel and Danny McBride, earned a sad $18.8 million over the past three days. Although that amount was good enough for third place, the film cost an estimated $100 million to make.
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Read More | Yahoo! Movies
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.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Disney/Pixar Flying High with Up
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
Chace Crawford set to play Ren McCormack in Footloose remake

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Paramount, Musicals, Remakes, Casting, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,
Chace Crawford has landed the lead role of Footloose, grabbing the spot that Zac Efron turned down. Paramount Pictures has confirmed that Chace, a Gossip Girl star, has signed on to play Ren McCormack (originally played by Kevin Bacon) in the forthcoming musical remake, following weeks of speculation. As we noted, Zac Efron originally had the part, but turned it down because he didn’t want to be permanently typecast as someone who could only act in musicals. No other casting info has been officially announced, but rumor has it that Miley Cyrus is in the running to land the female lead of Ariel Moore, originally played by Lori Singer. Amanda Bynes and Hayden Panettiere have also auditioned for the lead female spot. Footloose is scheduled to hit theaters in July 2010.
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.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Narrow Victory for Angels & Demons
Read More | Variety
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.)
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Read More | Variety
Star Trek Premiere Latest Victim of Swine Flu

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Sony, Adaptation, Drama, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Upcoming Releases,
Now that residents of Mexico are sticking as close to home as possible, movie studios are having to readjust their international calendars.
Earlier this week, 20th Century Fox chose to indefinitely postpone the premiere of Wolverine. Now Paramount is following suit with the debut of Star Trek. That sci-fi prequel had been scheduled to open on May 8.
Unless the swine flu situation plateaus soon, other blockbusters could be added to the casualty list. Sony is currently monitoring events for the May 15 release of Angels & Demons. Meanwhile, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - another Fox release - could also be pushed from its May 22 slot.
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Drawn to Obsessed

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Musicals, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

It was a battle between two Dreamgirls stars at the box office this weekend.
After back-to-back roles in music-related dramas, Beyonce Knowles proved she could deliver without having to sing a note. Obsessed, a thriller produced for approximately $20 million, pulled in nearly $29 million for a 1st place finish. The film, also featuring two NBC stars (The Office’s Idris Elba and Heroes’ Ali Larter), more than doubled last week’s champ, 17 Again.
Meanwhile, an Academy Award winner and an Iron Man joined forces for a surprising fourth place finish. The Soloist, costarring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., didn’t even cross the $10 million mark. Although it was once considered as a pre-Oscars release, the film’s debut grossed less than last week’s nominee-filled entry, State of Play.
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Read More | Variety
Leonard Nimoy: Back on Trek?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Paramount, Adaptation, Science Fiction, Sequels, New Releases,

Nearly two decades have passed since Leonard Nimoy, the most famous half-Vulcan in Hollywood, has portrayed his iconic role. Fans have to wait only two more weeks to see Nimoy reprise the role of Spock.
Nimoy returns to the role in the new Star Trek movie, the eleventh in the franchise and the first to feature a very young Captain Kirk and crew. He will play opposite Zachary Quinto, who plays the younger version of Mr. Spock (whose first name can’t be pronounced).
This will also mark the very first time Leonard Nimoy has played Spock without co-star William Shatner at his side. Shatner’s Kirk will not be making an appearance in the new Star Trek flick. Paramount, expecting big success for the movie, has already ordered up a sequel (which will bring the number of Trek movies up to an even dozen).
Nimoy says it’s “too earily to speculate” whether he’ll appear in that sequel, and whether or not he’ll appear in that sequel with William Shatner. Still, he says, “I don’t say ‘never’ anymore.”
Read More | MSNBC
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