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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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| Variety
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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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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
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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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Another Win for Miley Cyrus
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Miley Cyrus got a big treat in her goodie basket this weekend.
Just over a year after breaking a record for Super Bowl weekend releases, the tween idol has made waves again. The 16-year-old’s new film is now the 2nd best Easter opener ever. Hannah Montana: The Movie slowed down last week’s hot property, Fast & Furious, to win the holiday frame. Cyrus’ 2-D offering pulled in $32.3 million and earned the best first-day ever for a live-action G-rated feature.
The only other wide releases last weekend were Observe and Report and Dragonball: Evolution. Although Paul Blart debuted to a surprising $40 million, Seth Rogen’s mall comedy earned only $11 million and a fourth place-finish. (Observe did do slightly better than Zack and Miri‘s $10.1 million premiere.) Dragonball, in the meantime, barely went noticed with its $4.7 million take. That was just enough for a Top Ten appearance.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Vin Diesel Revs His Way Back to #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Vin Diesel’s come a long way in just a short amount of time.
Back in September, the action star’s last film, Babylon A.D, debuted to a disappointing $11.5 million and a 2nd place finish. Seven months later, he’s nearly septupled that amount.
Fast & Furious, the fourth installment of the racing series, pulled in a whopping $70.9 million over the last three days. That gross easily broke the 2009 record set by Monsters vs. Aliens just one week ago. The movie reunited the original’s four stars (Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster) and bested the debut of 2003’s 2 Fast and 2 Furious by over $20 million.
Friday’s only other wide screen release, Adventureland, opened in 6th place with $5.7 million in ticket sales.
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Read More | Variety
SpiralFrog Goes Under
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Music,
Quietly, SpiralFrog stopped croaking last Thursday. The company had been in trouble last year and issued secured notes to borrow about $9 million. Launched in August 2006, the site offered free downloads and featured advertising to pay for the privilege. It launched with Universal and took almost 2 years to add EMI. While the weak economy and having CEO changes may be part of the reason for the demise, it probably didn’t help that the files were DRM-protected.
Read More | cnet
B.J. Novak Gets Us Excited for Inglourious Basterds
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adventure, Drama, Period, Upcoming Releases,
As if the names “Quentin Tarantino” and “Brad Pitt” weren’t already enough for us.
In a recent interview with MTV, B.J. Novak provided an insider’s perspective on Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. (The 29-year-old plays Private First Class Utivich.) Although he admits the WWII-era film is a bit hard to describe, the Office star didn’t have any difficulty heaping praise on one of the “coolest movies” he’s “ever seen or been a part of.”
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Read More | MTV Movies
Remake News: The Thing, The A-Team, East of Eden and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Period, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
The Thing: Universal - apparently feeling the winter blast - has decided to redo the classic John Carpenter film. In the 1982 version, research teams in Antarctica are killed off by a shape-shifting alien. The reimaging, which will be directed by Matthijs Van Heijningen, will be based off the same source material as the Kurt Russell vehicle. Ron Moore, Battlestar Galactica‘s executive producer, is in charge of the script.
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Read More | Hollywood Reporter
Box Office Breakdown: Marley & Me Ends 2008 on Top
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Period, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Aside from a few changes at the bottom of this week’s Top Ten, every single movie remained planted in their positions from last Monday. Since Friday’s new entries (Good, Defiance) were only offered in limited release, there really wasn’t much of a battle.
Over the last three days, Marley & Me tacked on another $24 million and officially crossed the $100 million mark. The Fox adaptation became the 25th film from 2008 to accomplish that. Meanwhile, the only new charter was #10’s Slumdog Millionaire. Although it was only shown in 612 theaters (that’s down two from last week), the Fox Searchlight feature helped push The Spirit down to #13. The probable Oscar contender also earned a better per screen average than all the films ahead of it.
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Read More | Variety
