Archive for the ‘Box Office’ Category
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Deals, Box Office, Distribution, Cinematical Indie
Deals. Scott Caan stars in Mercy, which has been picked up by IFC Films, according to indieWIRE. Caan, who also wrote and produced, plays a romance novelist “who doesn’t believe in love.” Until, I’m sure, he meets the right woman, possibly the beautiful and mysterious title character (Wendy Glenn). Caan’s real-life father, the legendary James Caan, plays his fictional father. Mercy will close this year’s Gen Art Film Festival, which Erik Davis recently explained is the coolest thing ever. The film will be available on demand on April 28 before opening theatrically in New York and Los Angeles.
Also due in theaters this spring: Jean-Luc Godard’s original, daring, influential Breathless. For the first time in its 50 years of existence, the film has been restored, making the new wave look new again. After debuting at the inaugural TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood next month, it will open at New York’s Film Forum on May 28 before rolling out nationally, courtesy of Rialto Pictures. I first saw Breathless at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles many moons ago, and it left me stunned, so I’m very happy that a new generation will be able to experience Breathless the way it was meant to be seen.
Online / On Demand Viewing. If you’re not ‘mock-doc’ averse, you’ll want to take a look at What the Funny?, a new web series by Lynn Shelton that’s debuting exclusively on Babelgum this week. Shelton made the bromance male relationship flick Humpday, so she knows a little bit about dry and humorous. The first episode is up, and if you like it, you can look forward to ten more episodes in the days ahead.
After the jump: a secret, a prophet, and dolphins.
Continue reading Indie Roundup: ‘Mercy,’ ‘Breathless’ (Yeah, That One)
Filed under: Documentary, Foreign Language, Independent, Thrillers, Deals, SXSW, Box Office, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what’s new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured clockwise, from upper left: Dr. Portnoy: Provacateur, Erasing David, Crying With Laughter, Centurion.
Online / On Demand Viewing. Have you had your fill of Jay Leno and late night TV programming fiascos? Me too! Still, the premise of Dr. Portnoy: Provacateur sounds refreshing. Debuting exclusively on Hulu, the new web series revolves around artist Michael Portnoy, who, as a talk show host, promises to ‘get down to the bottom of what makes his guests tick.’ Actor Alan Cumming, musician Melissa Auf Der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins), and John Cooper (Director of the Sundance Film Festival) are among the guests who subject themselves to scrutiny in the six-episode series.
Austin, Texas will become the center of the independent film world when South by Southwest (SXSW) gets underway next week, and you can share in the festivities without leaving the comfort of your own home. Two SXSW titles, David Bond’s documentary Erasing David (a man tries to disappear and is hounded by private investigators) and Justin Molotnikov’s thriller Crying With Laughter, will be available via iTunes and Amazon VOD during SXSW, according to indieWIRE, and will then be available on demand via multiple cable systems on April 1.
Deals. Our friends at indieWIRE also reported on two acquisitions this week. Heading for the big screen is Neil Marshall’s sword and sandal thriller Centurion, courtesy of Magnet (read further observations by Elisabeth Rappe and watch the exciting trailer right here at Cinematical), while Leon Gast’s celebrity photog doc Smash His Camera heads to the small screen on HBO.
After the jump: a ghost, a prophet, and a steal at the box office.
Continue reading Indie Roundup: ‘Dr. Portnoy,’ SXSW On Demand
Filed under: Box Office
OK. So James Cameron’s Avatar is the all-time box office champion, and even if you adjust for inflation, it’s still the #15 all-time box office champion, which is nothing to sneeze at. Everyone knows that it displaced the former #1 hit, Titanic, which was also by Cameron. But what was #1 before Titanic? Or before that? What makes all these films similar, or different? I thought it would be fun to go back over the all-time box office champs and pick them apart to see what makes them tick.
One of the very first blockbusters was The Birth of a Nation (1915), which apparently earned about $10 million back on its $100,000 budget. That was big money in those days, but that movie no longer appears on the top 100 “adjusted for inflation” chart. The next big blockbuster was Gone with the Wind (1939), which — adjusted for inflation — is still #1. It’s a genuine phenomenon, and it still has the power to wow audiences, although it’s that high on the list mainly because it was re-released every few years, earning a tidy profit on top of its profit. Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956) and William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) both came close, but didn’t quite make the record.
Continue reading Comparing the All-Time Box Office Heavyweights
Filed under: Box Office
This past weekend saw the biggest opening ever for Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese as Shutter Island led the pack. Here’s the top five:
1. Shutter Island: $41 million
2. Valentine’s Day: $16.6 million
3. Avatar: $16.2 million
4. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief $15.2 million
5. The Wolfman: $9.9 million
We’ve got two new releases this week, dividing the box office between humor and horror.
Cop Out
What’s It All About: In this comedy Bruce Willis plays a veteran police detective whose valuable baseball card is stolen. Since the card is the only way he can pay for his daughter’s wedding, he and his partner (played by Tracy Morgan) must track it down.
Why It Might Do Well: Director Kevin Smith’s movies have made me laugh more often than not.
Why It Might Not Do Well: This is Smith’s first film that he hasn’t scripted himself. Will the magic still shine through?
Number of Theaters: 3,100
Prediction: $23 million
The Crazies
What’s It All About: In this remake of a George A. Romero film from 1973, a small town experiences terror when one by one its residents are gripped a sudden murderous insanity.
Why It Might Do Well: While not technically a zombie movie, this looks more like one that the original, and between recent vampire and werewolf flicks the zombies need to be represented.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Horror remakes have had a less than awesome track record.
Number of Theaters: 2,400
Prediction: $14 million
Filed under: New Releases, Box Office
Distributors’ apparent reluctance to take on Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese’s venture into genre filmmaking, made for an unusually dead weekend at the box office. Shutter Island’s take, while certainly robust, isn’t the sort of number that would normally strike fear into the heart of studio executives, and I don’t think anyone expected it to do much better than it has; why everyone else made way, therefore, isn’t entirely clear. But Paramount capitalized, and fans of Scorsese’s creepy, beautiful thriller should be pleased. $40 million is a personal best opening weekend for Scorsese, well ahead of the previous #1, The Departed. Whether it can top The Departed to become Scorsese’s highest-grossing movie remains to be seen, as it obviously won’t have the benefit of the fabled “Oscar boost,” but $130 million is not out of the question by any means.
Most of the holdovers took a pretty big hit this weekend; even Avatar saw its biggest drop-off to date (around 30%). Suffering the most were Valentine’s Day and The Wolfman, both of which saw business fade to the tune of 70%. For Valentine’s Day, this is a side effect of Warner Bros’ cute stunt of opening the film on Valentine’s Day. For Wolfman, I suspect, the problem is bad reviews and poor word-of-mouth. Valentine’s Day will eke past $100 million next weekend before petering out; The Wolfman likely will not hit $70 million.
The full top 10 after the jump.
Continue reading Weekend Box Office: Hollywood Makes Way for Scorsese
Filed under: Box Office, Fandom
For all the money the Twilight franchise is making, how much of it actually has to do with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson? This March, exactly one week apart, both Stewart and Pattinson will be releasing a pair of movies that are arguably the biggest since they’ve been wrapped up in all things Twilight. Prior to this, Stewart watched Adventureland gross a measly $16 million, while Pattinson’s Little Ashes didn’t even cross the $500,000 mark.
But that was back in 2008, and one would think the heat on these two has grown since then — especially with the release of a second Twilight film, New Moon, which went on to break records in 2009. Now the two actors are back for another round of solo efforts, with Pattinson debuting Remember Me on March 12th and Stewart rockin’ out in The Runaways on March 19th (I’m not counting The Yellow Handkerchief because it’s way too small to do any sort of damage). To be fair, Remember Me comes from Summit Entertainment and, as such, is fortunate enough to be carrying the first trailer for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. The Runaways, meanwhile, has a handful of mediocre Sundance reviews and a much talked-about make-out scene between Stewart and Dakota Fanning. As far as gimmicks go, I’m scoring this one as Pattinson: 1 Stewart: 0.
Even with all that, I still can’t see these two films making a ton of money (Remember Me has the better shot, in my opinion). And if they don’t, should we begin to re-evaluate just how popular K-Stew and R-Patz are? If neither of these two can step away from Twilight and help a movie earn at the box office, then what’s the point? Why the obsession? How can they be superstars and not be superstars at the same time? It just doesn’t make sense.
Who do you think is the bigger box office draw when it comes to solo efforts? Do they need each other to succeed, or do they simply need better material to work with?
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Deals, Box Office, Distribution, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what’s new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured from left to right: Le Refuge, Countdown to Zero, and Picture Me.
Deals. It was another busy week of acquisition activity. Here’s a quick rundown, with details courtesy of our friends at indieWIRE.
- Strand Releasing picked up Francois Ozon’s Le Refuge. Isabelle Carre stars as woman impregnated by her late boyfriend; she ‘develops a strong bond with her boyfriend’s brother.’ Oh, the French! Look for it in theaters this spring.
- Magnolia Pictures grabbed the documentary Countdown to Zero, directed by Lucy Walker, a Sundance premiere that “follows the escalating global nuclear arms crisis.” A fall release is in the works.
- IFC Films acquired Duncan Ward’s satire Boogie Woogie, set in the contemporary London art scene. The cast is impressive, including Danny Huston, Stellan Skarsgard, Heather Graham, Alan Cumming, Christopher Lee, Charlotte Rampling, and Amanda Seyfried. It hits video on demand systems on April 21 and theaters on April 23.
- Strand Releasing also will distribute Picture Me, a doc by Ole Schell and Sara Ziff that goes behind the scenes of the high fashion modeling world. With the successful release last year of fashion-related docs The Last Valentino and The September Issue, this could be a sleeper. Strand will send it down the runway this summer.
- Paladin accounced plans for its release of Great Directors, a documentary by Angela Ismailos that “celebrates films and filmmaking by interviewing ten of the world’s most acclaimed living directors.” Conversations with the likes of Bernardo Bertolucci, David Lynch, Stephen Frears, Agnes Varda, Ken Loach, Liliana Cavani, Todd Haynes, Catherine Breillat, Richard Linklater and John Sayles. “Top markets” will get the film in late spring.
After the jump: religious differences at the box office.
Continue reading Indie Roundup: ‘Le Refuge,’ ‘Zero,’ ‘Picture Me’
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Distribution, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Movie Marketing
So, who is going to win the battle of the insulted mercenaries? Will it be Warner Bros or Fox? Jeffrey Dean Morgan or Bradley Cooper? Zoe Saldana or Sharlto Copley? Patrick Wilson or Chris Evans? Based purely on Twitter and Cinematical commenters, The Losers are in the lead. They certainly have the advantage of release dates, but never count out the name recognition of The A-Team. After all, easy marketability is the whole point of a remake.
No matter who walks away with the crown, it’s the humble moviegoers who are the winners. Not only do we get two popcorn movies to choose from, but we’ll get to watch the box office battle for free!
Continue reading ‘The Losers’ vs. ‘The A-Team’ — Who Will Suffer?
Filed under: New Releases, Box Office
Shawn Levy over at The Oregonian is trying hard to make the best out of the fact that the by-all-accounts awful Valentine’s Day did monster business over President’s Day — and, yes, Valentine’s Day. Levy arrives at the wistful notion that “[b]uying a movie ticket is a leap of faith” — which he uses both to buttress the superiority of the critical perspective (the critics have seen the film; when they handed over the cash, the ticketbuyers haven’t), and subtly deflect the criticism that he’s condescending — taking a “leap of faith,” after all, seems beyond reproach.
Yet, as Levy himself acknowledges, Valentine’s Day did so well at least partially because New Line had the staggeringly brilliant idea to release it on or around Valentine’s Day. (The estimates have Sunday the 14th as the best day for the movie by a wide margin.) This is a little depressing, from the American-public-as-cattle point of view. Of course, the star-studded cast likely also had something to do with the movie’s success. In any case, $66 million, beating the previous President’s Day record holder, Ghost Rider, by $14 million.
The weekend’s other debuts fared okay. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief opened to $39 million over four days — Lemony Snicket money, nothing spectacular, but not too bad for a new, off-brand kid fantasy franchise (especially one as bland as Percy turned out to be). It ended up in a virtual tie with The Wolfman, Joe Johnston’s expensive horror flick. There, $36 million has to be considered middling; buzz on The Wolfman dropped like a rock once people actually started seeing the flick last week.
The Avatar tally is up to $661 million. Which is, y’know, pretty good.
The full 4-day top 10 after the jump.
Continue reading Weekend Box Office: ‘Valentine’s Day’ Sets a Record on President’s Day
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Deals, Box Office, Distribution, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what’s new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured from left to right: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, The Tillman Story, Only When I Dance.
Deals. The week after Sundance saw a mini-flurry of distribution deals, all as reported by our friends at indieWIRE. IFC grabbed Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which world premiered at Sundance. Directors Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg told Cinematical that their film “takes the audience on a year long ride with Joan Rivers in her 76th year of life … [peeling] away the mask of an iconic comedian [and] exposing bare the struggles, sacrifices and joy of living life as a ground breaking female performer.” The doc will be released later this year.
Another Sundance doc, Amir Bar-Lev’s The Tillman Story, went to The Weinstein Company. Pat Tillman left the NFL to serve in the military after 9/11, only to be killed by friendly fire. Cinematical’s Eric D. Snider included it as one of The 10 Sundance Films You Need to Watch For, noting: “I didn’t talk to anyone who saw it who didn’t love it.” As is often the case with the Weinsteins, release plans are not yet known.
Only When I Dance, directed by Beadie Finzi, has been acquired by Film Movement. The company intends to release the drama, in which two Brazilian teens dream of dancing their way out of poverty, via video on demand and in theaters this summer.
After the jump: more deals and releases for next month, plus indie box office!
Continue reading Indie Roundup: ‘Joan Rivers,’ ‘Tillman Story,’ ‘Dance’
