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.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Steve Carell Outsmarts Mike Myers
Variety
Advertisement
Box Office Breakdown: The Incredible Hulk Pulls in the Green
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,

It looks like ticket buyers are willing to give some things a second chance after all…
Despite horrible reviews for 2003’s Hulk, wary theatergoers turned out in big numbers for the latest big-screen version of The Incredible Hulk. The newest rendition, starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, came in first place after earning $55 million during the past three days. While that total falls behind Ang Lee’s version (that movie debuted with $62 million), it did better than expected. The 2008 update had the best showing for any film over Father’s Day weekend (passing Silver Surfer‘s $58 million) and should also have a longer shelf life thanks to favorable word of mouth.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Incredible Hulk Pulls in the Green
Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Kung Fu Panda Fights Off Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,

Theatergoers in need of more family-friendly fare pushed Kung Fu Panda to the top of the charts this past weekend. The comedy - and its $60.2 million take - was the third best animated opener for DreamWorks Animation (behind the first two Shrek films) and the 8th of all time (just ahead of Cars). Panda was also the first time a Jack Black film debuted at #1.
Meanwhile, another laugher was raking in impressive numbers of its own. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan - the latest production from Adam Sandler - grossed $38.5 million to take second place. Zohan‘s total falls in line with the rest of Sandler’s films from the past 10 years. Since 1998, the actor’s comedic projects have all seen $30+ million opens. (Last year’s I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry took in $34.2 million.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Kung Fu Panda Fights Off Competition
Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Raise Their Glasses to Sex and the City
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Thanks to a mob of high-heeled women, the big-screen adaptation of Sex and the City took in nearly $57 million over the past three days. Pretty impressive considering the film was expected to land somewhere in the $25-$35 million range. But Carrie and Company did just more than score first place, their hard work put them into the record books:
- Sex and the City had the best opening weekend for an R-rated comedy.
- The film’s debut topped any live-action adaptation of a TV show. (The original Mission Impossible raked in $45 million.)
- SATC‘s premiere surpassed all romantic comedies including Hitch ($43.1 million) and Knocked Up ($30.7 million).
- It was the fifth best showing for any R-rated movie ever.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Raise Their Glasses to Sex and the City
Variety
Jake Gyllenhaal is the Prince of Persia
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Adaptation, Adventure, Period, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
Although it was earlier reported that Orlando Bloom was set to star in a new trilogy, it seems that is not the case. It’s just been announced that Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast as the lead in the big-screen adaptation of Prince of Persia.
In the movie, Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a sixth-century prince who must work with a “feisty” princess to prevent a villain from possessing the “Sands of Time.” Gemma Arteron (Quantum of Solace) will be playing Tamina, the woman who joins forces with Dastan.
The fantasy adventure is based off the popular video game that was released in 1989. With both Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean) behind the project, it’s hoped this film will eventually become another franchise.
Production on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is scheduled to begin in July.
Hollywood Reporter
Box Office Breakdown: Prince Caspian Crowned the Winner
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Independent, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Although it failed to reach expectations, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was still mighty enough to take down Robert Downey Jr. this past weekend. The Disney sequel pulled in over $55 million dollars and earned itself a first place finish. Unfortunately, the film’s gross was slightly disappointing given the first installment’s take; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened at $65.6 million back in 2005.
In other adaptation news, Warner Bros.’ Speed Racer continued to fall behind in the race. The colorful adventure slipped another notch into fourth, right behind What Happens in Vegas. Meanwhile, Iron Man‘s $31.8 million total pushed the film past the $200 million range.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Prince Caspian Crowned the Winner
Variety
In Theaters This Weekend (5/16)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Miramax, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Foreign, Independent, Sequels, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG): starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley (directed by Andrew Adamson)
- How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer* (R): starring American Ferrera, Elizabeth Peña, Lucy Gallardo (directed by Georgina Garcia Riedel)
- Reprise* (R): starring Espen Klouman-Hoiner, Anders Danielsen Lie, Odd Magnus Williamson (directed by Joachim Trier)
- Sangre de mi sangre* (NR): starring Paola Mendoza, Jorge Adrian Espindola, Armando Hernandez (directed by Christopher Zalla)
*limited and/or gradual release
Box Office Breakdown: Leatherheads Sacked by Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Romance, Satire, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Despite George Clooney‘s role as actor and director, Hollywood’s powerful A-lister still couldn’t get his film all the way to the end zone.
Leatherheads, also starring John Krasinski and Renee Zellweger, came up short this past weekend found itself in third place. Although it looked like the football film was going to fare much better, Nim’s Island made a last minute score to snag second place. Previous winner, 21, made it two weeks in a row even with a $10 million loss.
The only other new film to enter the recent Top Ten was The Ruins. The film adaptation of the Scott Smith book scared up just over $8 million.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Leatherheads Sacked by Competition
Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Horton Hears a Who Has Largest 2008 Debut
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists,

Thankfully, Jim Carrey‘s embarrassing stint on American Idol wasn’t all in vain.
Horton Hears a Who earned $45 million dollars over the past weekend, trouncing the competition. Although the kid-friendly flick has had the biggest opening of 2008 so far, the film falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to Dr. Seuss adaptations. How The Grinch Stole Christmas opened with $55 million back in 2000; A Cat in the Hat took in $38.3 just three years later.
Horton‘s premiere also made a nice statement for non-Pixar related films overall. This animated movie found itself in fifth place behind other cartoon debuts. (Disney’s Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars and Ratatouille rank one through four.)
The only other new entries in this week’s Top Ten were the mixed-martial arts pic Never Back Down and the post-apocalyptic thriller Doomsday.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Horton Hears a Who Has Largest 2008 Debut
Final Harry Potter Book Will Become Two Movies
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Warner Bros, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Science Fiction, Upcoming Releases,
Even though J.K. Rowling put an end to the Harry Potter series with last year’s final book, the characters will be guaranteed life until 2011.
Although the adaptation for the sixth story (Harry Potter and and the Half-Blood Prince) is still currently in production, plans for the seventh novel have already been announced. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will actually spawn two separate films.
Instead of sacrificing parts of the 784-page tome to accommodate one installment, Warner Bros. will be stretching the series out into the next decade. (Think of it as their family-friendly version of Kill Bill.)
David Yates, the director behind Phoenix, will also be the one behind the last two chapters. He is currently working on getting Prince finished in time for the November 21 release date.
Hollywood Reporter
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.

