This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: August 11, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Action, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Science Fiction, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists,
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:
- 17 Again: DVD, Blu-ray
- About Last Night: Blu-ray
- Alien Trespass: DVD, Blu-ray
- Blue Thunder: Blu-ray
- Chaos: Blu-ray
- The Class: DVD, Blu-ray
- Cutthroat Island: Blu-ray
- Gigantic: DVD
- I Love You, Man: DVD, Blu-ray
- The Ninth Gate: Blu-ray
- Replicant: Blu-ray
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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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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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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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Box Office Breakdown: Wolverine Claws Its Way to the Top
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Music, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Despite a growing list of hurdles (leaked footage, swine flu, mediocre reviews), X-Men Origins: Wolverine proved it was a force to be reckoned with last weekend. Although it failed to surpass X-Men: The Last Stand (that 2006 entry debuted at $122.9 million), the Fox feature trounced the competition with an $85.1 million open. In other words, Wolverine earned over $20 million more than the other Top Ten entries…combined.
Sitting far back in second place was Ghost of Girlfriends Past, Matthew McConaughey’s attempt to bring a little muscle into the box office. The romantic comedy, costarring Jennifer Garner, grossed $15.4 million on the weekend before Mother’s Day. (That’s less than a million more than what Made of Honor pulled in at this same time last year.) Meanwhile, last Friday’s only other wide release, Battle for Terra, raked in a disappointing $1.1 million for a 12th place finish.
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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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Box Office Breakdown: 17 is the Lucky Number
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Drama, Horror, Music, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Zac Efron may be cute, but he’s no Hannah Montana.
This weekend the Disney veteran got a chance to prove his worth in his first starring role. And though he managed to hit #1, Efron pulled in approximately $8.6 million less than Miley Cyrus did last week. The premiere of 17 Again also opened to $18.3 million less than High School Musical 3 did last October. (Then again, those two family-friendly films were a bit more accessible with their G-ratings.)
Russell Crowe, in the meantime, had far much more to groan about. The Oscar winner found his new movie, State of Play, sandwiched in between the two tween idols. The thriller, costarring Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, earned nearly $10 million less than the age-reversal comedy for a second place finish.
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In Theaters This Weekend: April 17, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, New Line, Universal, Action, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Music, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- 17 Aagain (PG-13): starring Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry (directed by Burr Steers)
- Crank: High Voltage (R): starring Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Clifton Collins Jr. (directed by Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor)
- State of Play (PG-13): starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams (directed by Kevin MacDonald)
- American Violet* (PG-13): starring Nicole Behaire, Will Patton, Alfre Woodard (directed by Tim Disney)
- The Butterfly Tattoo* (NR): starring Duncan Stuart, Jessica Blake, Aidan Magrath (directed by Phil Hawkins)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: April 17, 2009