This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Buena Vista, DreamWorks, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases, Upcoming Releases,

As the autumn season pulls the coats from our closets, warms our chocolate beverages, and turns our leaves from a verdant green to a rusty orange, the movie studios give us another reason to spend a comfy evening at home: summer blockbusters on DVD. And what better way to view these visual—if not always plausible—delights than in high definition?

The coveted two-disc special edition of Transformers releases this week on HD DVD, much to the chagrin of Blu-ray loyalists; without a major exclusive release, they’ll simply have to make do with some mediocre thrillers.

But aside from the inferior cinematic fare, the first and second volumes of Showtime’s Masters of Horror series is out just in time for Halloween. The anthology show gives modern horror directors a full hour to play without the restrictions of an MPAA rating or television censorship. Although it failed to garner much critical acclaim, the show ended up being quite successful and achieved what some could perceive to be cult status.

Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.

Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007

Box Office Breakdown:  Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

I believe somewhere out there Justin Timberlake is crediting himself for this…

Two weeks ago, Spider-Man 3 broke box office records for a debut weekend.  Now Shrek the Third gets the honor for ticket sales of an animated feature (beating the animated record established by Shrek 2).  The $121 million take is the third largest opening for any movie…right behind Spidey 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

Of course in just seven days, I’m sure Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will enter the picture to reclaim the title for its franchise.  Or at the very least, make the most money for a movie with a monkey in it..

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green

Box Office Breakdown:  Rabid Zombies Barely Get A Bite

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign Language, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Compared to it’s record-breaking debut ($150 million), Spider-Man 3‘s recent weekend take ($58 million) may seem like a dramatic fall.  But when your worst is still six times higher than your closest competitor’s best, who cares??

The biggest surprise this week?  Not the ho-hum performances of 28 Weeks Later or Georgia Rule.  After weeks and weeks in the Top 10, Blades of Glory and Are We Done Yet? have finally left the building!

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Rabid Zombies Barely Get A Bite

Box Office Breakdown:  Viewers Get Caught Up In A Sticky Web

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Let’s see if it’s possible for me to say something terribly surprising…

Spider-Man 3 scored the largest domestic debut for a movie ever ($59.8 million on Friday).  Two days later, it broke the box office record for the highest grossing weekend ever ($151 million).  Both records were previously set by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

With no strong competitors next week, Spidey is bound to stay on top.  But all things could change in just a matter of weeks when Shrek rolls into town (May 18th).  And let’s not forget about that Captain Jack Sparrow.  May 25th could be the day that the third Pirates installment sails in to reclaim the box office booty.

1. Spider-Man 3, Sony, $151,116,516
2. Disturbia, Paramount, $5,844,363
3. Fracture, New Line, $3,696,060
4. The Invisible, Disney, $3,261,374
5. Next, Paramount, $2,892,335
6. Lucky You, Warner Bros., $2,710,445
7. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $2,619,654
8. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $2,409,106
9. Hot Fuzz, Focus, $2,219,346
10. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $1,744,619

Box Office Breakdown:  Four More Days ‘Til Spidey…

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Mystery, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

With no big movie premieres last weekend (and yes, I am ignoring the fact that Next exists), I’m really not surprised to see that Disturbia once again took the top spot.  But we shouldn’t expect that film to be sitting pretty much longer.  With Spider-Man 3 about to spin its web at the end of the week, all bets are off.  But we still gotta hand it to young Shia—three times at #1 is an incredible feat for any movie these days.

1. Disturbia, Paramount, $9,023,835
2. The Invisible, Disney, $7,717,309
3. Next, Paramount, $7,133,049
4. Fracture, New Line, $6,814,714
5. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $5,164,364
6. Hot Fuzz, Focus, $4,876,867
7. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $4,840,972
8. Vacancy, Sony Screen Gems, $4,112,502
9. The Condemned, Lionsgate, $3,807,595
10. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $3,450,922