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Thor 2 Gets New Writer

Damon Houx — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:21:05 +0000

After making nearly $450 worldwide, Thor was considered successful enough for Marvel to green-light a sequel. But since making that decision, they’ve had a lot of trouble keeping a team together. The latest add-on is screenwriter Robert Rodat (according to Deadline Hollywood), who is reworking the script for director Alan Taylor for Thor 2. The film has a proposed 2013 release date.

Taylor (best known for his work on Game of Thrones) came in to replace Patty Jenkins, who was the original choice to take over the franchise from Kenneth Branagh. When Jenkins left, Natalie Portman publicly complained about the director being let go, even though she’s contractually obligated to appear in the sequel. Rodat is coming in to rework the script originally written by Don Payne. Payne was one of the five credited writers to work on the first film, which suggests he gave the script its last pass. Rodat is best known for Saving Private Ryan, and hasn’t written anything (credited) for the big screen since 2000′s The Patriot.

If this sounds like a mess, it probably is one, but that doesn’t mean the film won’t turn out. If the first film got anything right it was the casting, and everyone is bound to come back, including Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston (if he survives The Avengers), Portman and more. If – however – The Avengers under-performs, expect this to be scuttled. The problem with the sequel is that they likely want to do the second film on a budget, and much of the universe of these movies is in outer space and involves heavy special effects.

Perhaps DVD and Blu-ray and rentals are strong on Thor, because Marvel needs that sort of support to continue with the franchise. Generally making twice as much as you cost is the measurement of a cinematic success, and by that metric the first film was a win. But as sequels often do the same or less business than the first film, Marvel must be a little nervous, especially after all this turnaround. We shall see.

What do you want out of Thor 2?

ScreenCrave’s Top 10 Worst Films and Trends of 2011

Damon Houx — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:08:48 +0000

With year-end worst of lists, it’s rarely fun to pick on films that are dead and buried. Is it really worth rehashing why I Am Number Four or Apollo 18 are bad movies? In five years no one’s going to remember those films, to say nothing of Shark Night or One Day. in fact it’s likely everyone’s forgotten them. What’s much more disappointing and terrible is cinematic good will squandered. And so here is our list of the ten worst films and trends in cinema in 2011:

10. The Artist (as an Oscar Contender)

There’s nothing all that wrong with Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist as a film. A throwback, it attempts to recreate the look and feel of a silent movie with some laughs and some forced melodrama. But as an end of the year film that is now looking like the Best Picture winner to beat, it’s all wrong. The filmmakers don’t seem to really love silent movies and so the film works more as a homage to something they’ve never directly experienced than a period movie. Perhaps that’s the point, but a light soufflé such as this can’t stand the heavier implications of greatness. If it does go on to become one of the best pictures of the year it will join the class of films like Driving Miss Daisy or Crash as “things that seemed like a good idea at the time” or “what the heck were they thinking?” winners. And in a year as rich with cinematic treasures as 2011, that’s just sad.

9. Hall Pass

Bobby and Peter Farrelly have unleashed two terrible cinematic nuggets on us this year. The first would be the trailer for The Three Stooges, but more painfully (and much more feature length) would be Hall Pass. A film that seems to suggest that its filmmakers are on the verge of divorce, Hall Pass is neither unfunny or insightful. The Farrelly brothers had the perfect mixture of gross-out and heart in There’s Something about Mary, and have spent the last decade trying to reproduce the formula. At this point, they should stop.

8. Thor

Though most would argue that The Green Lantern is the lesser of the two, Thor – in some ways – stands in for all these recent films that function more as franchise empire-building than cinema. Routine and poorly staged, Thor falls apart by using one of the most boring conventions of big-budget cinema: the main character can’t use his superpowers for an hour of the film’s running time because it’s too expensive. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are perfect casting, and there’s some beautiful sets, but the end result is a film that exists to get viewers to The Avengers, and there’s nothing so offensive as a film that functions as a trailer for the next one. If The Green Lantern has a saving grace, it’s that it doesn’t seem to inspire future projects as readily.

7. Faithful Adaptations

Speaking of, this year we’ve had films like Harry Potter and Breaking Dawn bifurcate their narratives to supposedly service fans, and we’re about to get David Fincher’s take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, where the book was too successful for Fincher to strip it down to what worked and what doesn’t. We’re in a culture where fans are being spoon-fed adaptions. The end result – while none of these films are terrible in and of themselves – are movies that don’t so much function as films proper but either collections of scenes that add up to a translation of the books – or a cliff notes version – with no sense of pacing. There’s a great scene in the classic film The Bad and the Beautiful where a director tells the producer that you have to choose what are the most important scenes in a film, and it appears that none of these movies have had to make those decisions. And on top of that, it’s simply a craven way to milk more money out of a popular franchise.

6. Another Earth

Another Earth is an art-house film that was a Sundance triumph, and represents the worst sort of pretentious meandering drivel that often passes for deep. “What if there was a parallel Earth where maybe our alternate selves didn’t make the same mistakes?” Maybe you should learn better film-making skills and drop the philosophy 101 courses. It’s also a film that’s hit a lot of best of lists, but it’s painfully obvious narrative suggests that too often low and no budget films get passes for having ideas.

5. The Change-Up

Body swap comedies were the fad in the late 80’s (meaning it spawned about four films), and so perhaps the genre was due for a re-imagining, but the end result feels slapped together, and makes you feel sorry for Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde for appearing in such an empty and mean-spirited comedy. Throw in some over the top feces humor, and CGI nudity, you get one of the least enjoyable comedies in since Hall Pass. There’s nothing so unfunny as an unfunny comedy, and with such talented performers, it’s a travesty.

4. Cowboys and Aliens

With such a talented cast, it’s impressive that Jon Favreau managed to lay such a goose egg. A non-western, Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are wasted in what amounts to a chance for talented people to dress up like cowboys and waste money. The plot is terrible, but more offensively, there’s a good movie in there somewhere. This probably kills the chance for any reasonably budgeted western from the studios for the next three years. Thanks.

3. 3-D

Though 2010 took the cake for terrible 3-D post conversions (last minute jobs like The Last Airbender and Clash of the Titans), we still saw many of the summer’s biggest films in 3-D for little reason other than a ticket price bump. There’s nothing wrong with the format per se, but after a year of bad 3-D in such films as Thor, Fright Night, Conan the Barbarian, Pirates 4, the Greens (Hornet and Lantern) it’s something that needs to be done by people who are paying attention (like Martin Scorsese or – god help us – Michael Bay), and not slapped on to increase ticket sales. As we’ve seen, it often doesn’t help.

2. J. Edgar

With the recent SAG nominations it’s quite possible that J. Edgar will be an awards contender, even though the film died at the box office. There may be a critical divide on this film, as some have noted those over 40 seem to enjoy the film more. But if we are to accept the argument that Clint Eastwood is a truly great director (and the man has made at least two masterpieces), then this Wikipedia page summary of J. Edgar Hoover’s life and times deserves to be lambasted as a terrible work. Bad old age make-up aside, the film never feels like it has a spine so much a collection of J. Edgar’s greatest hits assembled in a way where sum is much less than the parts. Naomi Watts, Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer waste themselves in a film that seems to have been made simply as Oscar bait.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

One of the laziest and least imaginatively staged blockbusters of all time, On Stranger Tides is half baked every step of the way, from its nonsensical plotting to barely awake performances from Johnny Depp. Directed – terribly at that – by Rob Marshall, it was the least successful of the series domestically, and yet crossed a billion dollars worldwide. Which means we’re getting more. What makes this the worst movie of the year is that everyone involved knew they could half-ass it and still make money. And there is nothing so offensive as successful people making crap simply because they know they can get away with it.

What did you like the least about the past year in film?

‘The Avengers’ Full Trailer Has Been Released

traviswoods — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:29:25 +0000

Well, it’s finally here—the trailer for the Marvel Films juggernaut in which they mash together the Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America films into a gargantuan, two-hour plus sandwich of explosions, Robert Downey Jr. quips, unconvincing Hulk CGI, and Scarlett Johansson doing things in tights: The Avengers. Toss in some Nine Inch Nails music, the bad guy with the slick mullet from Thor, and some Sam Jackson action in which Sam Jackson acts all Sam Jackson with that Sam Jackson style (did I mention Sam Jackson is in this? Sam Jackson is in this), and you’ve got just about every single Marvel movie trailer you’ve ever seen, all rolled into one convenient mush for you to slurp up.

Dig the trailer:

So, what do you think? The film is directed by Joss Whedon, the man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Serenity, so there’s a sliver of hope that this won’t simply be a directed-by-committee film which is essentially a checklist of studio-mandated moments that just barely hang together and exist solely to generate ad revenue via action figures, video games, fast food tie-ins, and overseas markets. Oh, who am I kidding—there’s loud rock music, Scarlett Johansson is kicking things, and stuff goes boom real loud. I’ll see you there on opening day.

What do you think of The Avengers trailer?

Source: The AV Club

‘Monster’ Director To Helm ‘Thor 2′?

traviswoods — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:30:19 +0000

Huh—seems as if Marvel Studios is looking to continue their new tradition of having wildly talented directors of dramatic, emotionally searing films direct a movie about a blonde guy with a cape who swings a big hammer real hard. At least, according to Entertainment Weekly, who has it that Patty Jenkins—the woman behind the grueling and harrowingly great Charlize Theron-starring film, Monster—will be taking over the director’s chair from Kenneth Branagh for Thor 2.

So says Entertainment Weekly:

“Jenkins, who is repped by CAA, also directed the acclaimed pilot to AMC’s The Killing, as well as episodes of Entourage and Arrested Development. She would be taking on Thor 2 from the original movie’s director Kenneth Branagh. The film is set to begin shooting next April, with plans to be in theaters by July 2013.

“There was no official confirmation from Marvel about Jenkins, but several sources close to the project said talks are ongoing.”

This could be really interesting, having the director of Monster take over a comic book film—especially if this means that Thor would then be portrayed as an ex-hooker and serial killer who falls into a lesbian love affair with Christina Ricci. I mean, it might be a tough sell, but it’d be memorable, right? Do I have the plot of this thing straight?

What do you think of the Thor 2 news?

New DVD Releases: Thor, Glee, Star Wars

Andrew Payne — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:00:39 +0000

DVD is on overdrive this week with new feature releases, droves of TV on DVD and a couple of special editions too big to ignore.

Yes, Star Wars is here on Blu-Ray, so rev up your comments engines for an assault on George Lucas filled with more vitriol than Jabba had for Han. Yes, even the DVD picks column isn’t safe from the Lucas-hating Trolls!

Check it all out below…

Feature Films

Thor

Why does it always have to start at the beginning?

Thor, by unofficial measures, is the 4,897th comic book super hero movie to come out in the last 6 months. These movies have a variety of directors, storylines, tones, takes and ways of approaching the genre but they all have one thing in common: they all start at the origin story of the superhero.

While that seems like the logical place to begin, it’s often the least entertaining. For the first third of the movie we’re loaded with nothing but exposition, backstory and simply watching a “normal” person. Where’s the fun in that? Not to mention the fact that just about everybody who’s going to see the movie knows the origin of the superheroes anyway – so it’s not even something we need to know.

The other problem with every superhero movie functioning as an origin story is that they become very formulaic. These films aren’t repetitive because they’re about superheroes, they’re repetitive because they’re about the origins of superheroes. There’s only so much new you can do with a structure that’s been repeated so often.

My suggestion: Start in the middle. Once we get to the inevitable Dr. Strange movie, Flash movie or a Hawkman movie, let’s start in the middle. Let’s present the hero as already established as see what happens? It will certainly at least be different.

But if you still like Superhero origin stories, you can buy Thor on DVD.

Or you could check out an awesome Superhero origin story that I missed last week due to labor day – X-Men: First Class on DVD.

Also:

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop – Buy Now
Hesher – Buy Now
Meek’s Cutoff – Buy Now

TV on DVD

“Glee”: Season 2

Much has been written about ‘Glee’s’ Jumping the Shark in season 2, about how it’s lost its way, and how it isn’t fun anymore. But nobody seems to be able to point to the reason for its decline.

I think the reason is very simple: it got away from its core philosophy.

When this show premiered, it was a story about outcasts and underdogs. The “Losers” of the posters. The main characters were all outsiders (with the exception of Finn) and the story was about how they banded together to overcome their being pushed to the fringes.

A lot of fun right? Well, that, I suppose, became unpalatable for somebody involved in the show as those outcast characters were quickly pushed aside to make room for storylines about the cheerleaders, the new hunky football players on the team and to beef up villain Sue Sylvester’s role.

In other words, the show decided it was time to ignore the outsiders so the prettier people could shine. The exact opposite of the intent of the show, and a cruel reminder that the original theme behind the show doesn’t work in the real world, as the creators choose to focus on the characters who are most popular, not with fans, but with the other people at the fictional high school.

All that, and Matthew Morrison continues to be the lead on this show.

But if you liked the show’s second season, you can buy Season 2 of ‘Glee’ on DVD.

Also:

“The Big Bang Theory”: Season 4 – Buy Now
“Blue Bloods”: Season 1 – Buy Now
“Camelot”: Season 1 – Buy Now
“Grey’s Anatomy”: Season 7 – Buy Now
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”: Season 6 – Buy Now
“Outsourced”: Complete Series – Buy Now
“Private Practice”: Season 4 – Buy Now
“Rescue Me”: Season 6 – Buy Now
“Spartacus: Gods of the Arena”: Complete Series – Buy Now
“Supernatural”: Season 6 – Buy Now

Special Edition of the Week

Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray

Oh, Star Wars, fanboys. Will you ever learn? Your little boycott of this DVD set won’t faze George Lucas in any way at all.

Do you understand that there are millions of fans of Star Wars who couldn’t care less that these aren’t the original theatrical versions? Are you aware that there are millions of people who don’t even really know the difference between the Special Editions and the Theatrical Editions?

See, some people just really really like these movies. They don’t care about the money grabbing, the “affront to fans” and everything else that convention attendees discuss. They’ll just rush out to get three of their favorite (and three they put up with) movies on DVD.

And let’s face it, you’re going to Buy the Star Wars Complete Saga on Blu-Ray even with your animus toward Lucas.

Though I suspect many of you will just buy the Original Trilogy on Blu-Ray.

If not, feel free to disagree in the comments.

Also:

Citizen Kane: 70th Anniversary Blu-Ray – Buy Now

And Just So You Know, This DVD Exists…

Keep in mind, Mandy Moore got Because I Said So and License to Wed released in theaters and this went straight-to-DVD. (shudder)

Summer Report Card: Harry Potter and Transformers Win The Box Office

Damon Houx — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:53:30 +0000

Summer officially ends this weekend as Labor Day signals that kids are going back to school, and that temperatures will begin dropping. This was a big summer for movies, with Harry Potter 7.2, Transformers 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4 making more than a billion dollars worldwide. Much of the big money titles were franchise starters or sequels, but there were a few surprises. Check out the top ten (sorta) list…

	Film	Domestic Gross	Opening Weekend	Worldwide Total
1	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2	$372,155,000	$169,189,427	$1,295,555,000
2	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	$349,759,000	$97,852,865	$1,107,482,760
3	The Hangover Part II	$254,325,595	$85,946,294	$581,325,595
4	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	$240,541,782	$90,151,958	$1,039,041,782
5	Fast Five	$209,837,675	$86,198,765	$606,887,938
6	Cars 2	$187,478,906	$66,135,507	$522,078,906
7	Thor	$181,030,624	$65,723,338	$448,512,824
8	Captain America: The First Avenger *	$169,696,000	$65,058,524	$329,153,783
9	Bridesmaids	$168,175,335	$26,247,410	$277,673,198
10	Kung Fu Panda 2	$164,360,000	$47,656,302	$642,450,741
11	Rise of the Planet of the Apes *	$152,224,693	$54,806,191	$312,837,055

*denotes film still in wide release

This should probably be a top ten list, but there’s a number of questionable things to note. Fast Five came out in April, which would technically make it a spring film, though the summer schedule runs from May through August, so it’s hard to say if it should be disqualified by a technicality if the film’s summer season isn’t the general summer season (June through August). On top of that, Rise of the Planet of the Apes will make more than $12 Million dollars by the end of its run, so it will eventually supplant Kung Fu Panda 2 as the number ten picture (or nine picture if you take out Fast Five). Rise could also keep playing to get as high as the #7 or #8 spot – hard to say at the moment how well it will play against the September fare. For those who wish to see my predictions, I made them on Chud.com, where I was (as always) mostly wrong.

Let’s break it down:

8/11 were sequels
10/11 were part of a franchise (Marvel counts)
No picture made over $400 Million, which two of the film’s previous sequels did (Pirates 2, Transformers 2)
7/11 were in 3-D, with three post-converted. There is no strong evidence either way that post-conversion helped or hurt these films.

What did we learn – if anything – this summer? Looking at these numbers, I would say two things: one is that international is now the name of the game, and two is that a number of movies on this list may not have turned a profit.

With the films that crossed the Billion mark, much of that came from international – at least two thirds of the gross was made outside the U.S., and with Pirates it was more than 75% of the final gross. Domestically, Pirates was a modest hit for what it was, but showed a $70 Million decline from the last film – which would suggest that audiences are either growing tired of the franchise or didn’t much care for this one, but with a Billion dollar worldwide total, Disney would be foolish not to make some more.

And though comedies like The Hangover Part II (listed budget $80 Million) and Bridesmaids ($32.5 Milion) were wildly profitable, they didn’t have as much juice internationally. Low budget comedies seemed the way of the summer, with Bad Teacher and Horrible Bosses (along with those two) doing great business, but then came Friends with Benefits, The Change Up and 30 Minutes or Less - all of which either underperformed or flat out tanked. People wanted comedy until they didn’t, but all of those pictures seemed a response to the success of 2009′s The Hangover. That cycle isn’t dead, but it definately took its hits (just as the Judd Apatow rip-offs had their day in the sun).

There were four superhero movies this summer and only two charted. Both had (supposed) budgets around $150 Million, but it’s hard to say if any really made any money. Marvel has been building to making their Avengers movie, and though Captain America was the best of the two, both felt like rush jobs in their game plan to get to their big ensemble picture. Part of this was not so much superhero fatigue, but that these were the second stringers. There was hope for The Green Lantern, but the film itself was not that good, while X-Men: First Class was coming off of two disappointing sequels to that franchise. There may be new life in it, but the second Wolverine film sounds like it’s going to be problematic (it went from having Darren Aronofsky directing and Christopher McQuarrie writing it to less interesting talents). With Christopher Nolan‘s final Batman film coming and the reboots of Superman and Spider-Man coming, we may yet see the end of the superhero cycle of blockbusters.

Which begs the question: What’s the next big thing? Right now studios are so into established brands and sequels, that this summer marks the end of Harry Potter, and Michael Bay‘s involvement with the Transformers franchise suggests were coming to the end of some huge franchises. Of course there’s The Hobbit, and rumors of a fourth Jurassic Park film, and recently we’ve seen a new Die Hard announced. But while Cars 2 was probably way more successful in toy sales than box office, these numbers don’t suggest a lot more sequels from this pack. Thor 2 has been announced, and they’re going to make more Pirates movies, but even though Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Green Lantern have had rumored sequels, currently the numbers may not justify them (even if Rise has already broken even). One of the few “original” films of the summer that wasn’t a comedy was Super 8, which was as derivative and drawing on previously established works as any of the sequels.

We’re also seeing inflated budgets. Next year will bring John Carter, Battleship and Men in Black III, all of which cost way more than $200 Million. I’ve heard rumors that peg the budgets at more than $300, and possibly a lot more. That’s just the scuttle, and not necessarily trustworthy, but it raises the question: how many of these films have to fail for Hollywood to rethink its current strategies? And will we ever see the rise of original content summer movies again?

What was your favorite blockbuster this summer?

First Look At ‘The Avengers’ Leaks, And It’s Horrible

traviswoods — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:57:05 +0000

Well, after months of breathless rumors and conjecture about the film, the first bit of Avengers artwork was released today. The film, set for release on May 4, 2012 and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo as the Incredible Hulk, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, features a supergroup of superheroes saving the earth and learning to work together despite their differences and blah blah blah. What’s more amazing is the horribly cheesy leaked poster, which looks like something you’d find painted on the side of a van in circa 1983 east L.A.

According to Coming Soon, “a promo poster for Marvel’s The Avengers was spotted at the Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas and photographed by ESQ.” And guess what? It looks awful; that said, it’s better and more entertaining than Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Elektra, and Wolverine combined, so it’s not totally without merit, despite the fact that it resembles the front cover of a bargain bin coloring book. But hey, it’s got lightening and a cool hammer and Scarlett Johansson in tights, so I guess that’s kind of cool, too.

What do you think of the poster?

Box Office Predictions: Kung Fu Panda To Fight Hangover For #1

scottschachter — Thu, 26 May 2011 21:00:24 +0000

After last weekend solid debut from Johnny Depp’s POTC: On Strangers Tide, the summer box office season kick into high gear as the 4 day memorial day box office weekend sees the release of the follow up to the mega smash The Hangover with the The Hangover 2, Kung Fu Panda 2 all competing for the top spot.

Jack Black, and gang (Including Angelina Jolie) are back this weekend with the follow up to the box office smash Kung Fu Panda with appropriately titled Kung Fu Panda 2. The original Kung Fu Panda was a solid box office hit grossing nearly $700M worldwide, garnering strong reviews, and appealing to kids, adults and teens alike. Kung Fu Panda2 with it’s solid reviews, funny trailers and a 4 day memorial day weekend to it’s benefit will allow Kung Fu Panda 2′s opening weekend box office gross to soar to new heights. With that said, look for Kung Fu Panda 2 to open strong at # 1.

Competing with Kung Fu Panda 2 comes the sequel to the highest grossing comedy The Hangover with The Hangover 2. Riding a wave buzz The original Hangover opened to solid results, and had astonishing legs nearly grossing $300M no small feet especially for an R-Rated film. Good will amongst audiences having the original cast back will help moviegoers ignore somewhat tepid reviews for The Hangover 2. Opening on Thursday look for The Hangover 2 to open with a solid gross in the #2 spot.

Johnny Depp & cohorts proved last weekend that the POTC franchise is still alive and well, albeit a bit weaker and growing more tired as it’s first weekend grosses were far below the previous two sequels. Reviews were mixed at best for this sequel which has failed to ignite any real buzz. Throw in the strong competition from The Hangover 2 , Kung Fu Panda 2 and POTC: On Strangers Tide should see itself thrown off the ship and the #1 spot to land at # 3 this weekend.

Rounding out the top 5 is the surprise box office hit Bridesmaids which should continue it’s streak of strong weekend holds to come in at #4 , while the box office hit Thor will spend what will most likely be it’s last weekend in the top five and land in the # 5 spot this weekend

And Now For Our Predictions

Kung Fu Panda 2 – Our Prediction: $120-130M – 4 Day Weekend
The Hangover 2 – Our Prediction: $100-110M – 4 Day Weekend
POTC: On Strangers Tide- Our Prediction: $55M – 4 Day Weekend
Bridesmaids – Our Prediction:$20M – 4 Day Weekend
Thor – Our Prediction:$10-11M – 4 Day Weekend
Fast Five – Our Prediction:$7M – 4 Day Weekend
Rio – Our Prediction: $4M – 4 Day Weekend
Something Borrowed – Our Prediction: $3M – 4 Day Weekend
Priest – Our Prediction: $2.5 – 4 Day Weekend
Jumping The Broom – Our Prediction: $2M – 4 Day Weekend.

Weekend Box Office: Pirates of the Caribbean 4 Arrives With A Bang!

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:23:12 +0000

Whoa! Forget the bald bad asses and comic-book heroes, this weekend the pirates have shown who’s truly boss. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides arrived with a bang. The much anticipated Disney sequel is now the film with the highest grossing opening weekend of 2011 (a title that previously belonged to Fast Five). To our surprise, Bridesmaids came in at No. 2, and not Thor. Despite Pirates’ super box office win, Bridesmaids made a solid amount (over $20 million). Thor on the other hand, not so much. Check out the numbers in their entirety below…

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | NEW | Buena Vista | Weekend Gross $90,100,000 | Average Per Theater $21,685 | Total Gross $90,100,000 | Film’s Budget – $250 | Week 1
Bridesmaids | Last Week #2 | Universal | Weekend Gross $21,058,000 | Average Per Theater $7,170 | Total Gross $59,518,000 | Film’s Budget – $32,5 | Week 2
Thor | Last Week #1 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $15,500,000 | Average Per Theater $3,950 | Total Gross $145,406,000 | Film’s Budget – $150 | Week 3
Fast Five | Last Week #3 | Universal | Weekend Gross $10,631,000 | Average Per Theater $2,935 | Total Gross $186,216,000 | Film’s Budget – $125 | Week 4
Rio | Last Week #5 | Fox | Weekend Gross $4,650,000 | Average Per Theater $1,793 | Total Gross $131,647,000 | Film’s Budget – $90 | Week 6
Priest | Last Week #4 | ScreenGems| Weekend Gross $4,600,000 | Average Per Theater $1,606 | Total Gross $23,683,000 | Film’s Budget – $60 | Week 2
Jumping the Broom | Last Week #6 | TriStar | Weekend Gross $3,700,000 | Average Per Theater $2,514 | Total Gross $31,318,000 | Film’s Budget – $6.6 | Week 3
Something Borrowed | Last Week #7 | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $3,425,000 | Average Per Theater $1,314 | Total Gross $31,428,000 | Film’s Budget – $35 | Week 3
Water for Elephants | Last Week #8 | Fox | Weekend Gross $2,150,000 | Average Per Theater $1,135 | Total Gross $52,428,000 | Film’s Budget – $38 | Week 5
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family | Last Week #9 | Lionsgate | Weekend Gross $990,000 | Average Per Theater $1,086 | Total Gross $51,757,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 5

Even though, we’ve got some pretty big films in theaters, and coming out like Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Hangover II, let’s not forget about the smaller films like Hesher which is playing in select theaters, including the Arclight. Also Beginners, which stars Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent, is soon coming to select theaters. Keep your eyes open fellow movie lovers.

What did you watch this weekend?

Box Office Predictions: Pirates To Sail Into #1 Spot

scottschachter — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:14:48 +0000

After last weekend’s strong second weekend win by Thor, comes the release of the 4th Pirates Of The Caribbean film sans Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom. Movie studios have steered clear of opening any new releases this weekend against The Johnny Depp action adventure, while the top ten will be filled out with left overs ranging from Fast Five, Thor, and newly minted summer hit, Bridesmaids.

All eyes are on Johnny Depp and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Strangers Tide and just how big it will open at the box office this weekend. The Pirate films have been one of the best preforming movie franchises in terms of opening weekend box office in recent memory. However, this is the first time the series has relied solely on the drawing power of Johnny Depp and namely his Jack Sparrow character. Can Johnny Depp open Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Strangers Tide to solid numbers? Has POTC fever waned? The answers are yes and most likely no. While the last film in series was a slight under-performer, their are no new movies being opened this weekend, throw in a massive ad campaign, a healthy fan base for Depp and POTC should open strongly in the #1 spot.

Bridesmaids and Thor battle it out for the #2,#3 spots this weekend. Both films have been well liked by audiences as Thor dropped just 47% percent in it’s second weekend a solid showing for a big-budget action flick, while Bridesmaids opened beyond expectations. However, Bridesmaids has topped the daily box office all week long in a neck and neck box office battle with Thor. Both films should take a modest hit from the new Johnny Depp Pirates film as male audiences will rush out to see the action flick, while females will also be lured in by Johnny Depp. In all look for Thor take a another modest second week dip narrowly winning to come in at #2, with Bridesmaids in the #3 spot.

Rounding out the top of 5 will be the summer block buster Fast Five which has been a solid performer since it’s debut last April to land in the #4 spot and is inching it’s towards becoming the first $200M grossing Fast & Furious Film. Rounding out the top 5 is Priest which which will find itself scoring the #5 spot due to lack of any real competition.

And For The Top 10….

Pirates Of The Caribeen: At Strangers Tide: Our Prediction: $90-100M
Thor: Our Prediction:$18M
Bridesmaids: Our Prediction: $17M
Fast Five: Our Prediction: $11-12M
Priest: Our Prediction: $7-8M
Rio: Our Prediction: $5.5-6M
Jumping The Broom: Our Prediction: $4-4.5M
Something Borrowed: Our Prediction: $3.5-4M
Water For Elephants: Our Prediction: $2.7-3M
Soul Surfer: Our Prediction: $1.2M

Weekend Box Office: Thor Wins Again, Bridesmaids Surpasses Expectations

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:01:29 +0000

Based on last weekend’s success, it was obvious that Thor would, once again, be No. 1 at the box office. This weekend saw the release of two polar opposite films — Bridesmaids and Priest. Well known-funny man Judd Apatow was a part of the Bridesmaids’ crew, which stars a handful of the most popular comedic women, like its leading lady Kristen Wiig. The Universal comedy came in after Thor, grossing more than we predicted. The sci-fic action film Priest didn’t do as well as Bridesmaids – coming in at No. 4 (grossing $14.5 million). Fast Five managed to stay above Priest, and is still bringing in solid money, week after week. Check out the actual numbers below…

Thor | Last Week #1 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $34,500,000 | Average Per Theater $8,706 | Total Gross $119,252,000 | Film’s Budget – $150 | Week 2
Bridesmaids | NEW | Universal | Weekend Gross $24,409,000 | Average Per Theater $8,365 | Total Gross $24,409,000 | Film’s Budget – $32,5 | Week 1
Fast Five | Last Week #2 | Universal | Weekend Gross $19,534,000 | Average Per Theater $5,150 | Total Gross $168,780,000 | Film’s Budget – $125 | Week 3
Priest | NEW | ScreenGems| Weekend Gross $14,500,000 | Average Per Theater $5,063 | Total Gross $14,500,000 | Film’s Budget – $60 | Week 1
Rio | Last Week #5 | Fox | Weekend Gross $8,000,000 | Average Per Theater $2,731 | Total Gross $124,968,000 | Film’s Budget – $90 | Week 5
Jumping the Broom | Last Week #3 | TriStar | Weekend Gross $7,300,000 | Average Per Theater $3,587 | Total Gross $25,994,000 | Film’s Budget – $6.6 | Week 2
Something Borrowed | Last Week #4 | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $7,000,000 | Average Per Theater $2,410 | Total Gross $25,647,000 | Film’s Budget – $35 | Week 2
Water for Elephants | Last Week #6 | Fox | Weekend Gross $4,100,000 | Average Per Theater $1,691 | Total Gross $48,476,000 | Film’s Budget – $38 | Week 4
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family | Last Week #7 | Lionsgate | Weekend Gross $2,200,000 | Average Per Theater $1,518 | Total Gross $50,218,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 4
Soul Surfer | Last Week #8 | TriStar| Weekend Gross $1,800,000 | Average Per Theater $1,226| Total Gross $39,200,000 | Film’s Budget – $18 | Week 6

Bridesmaids wasn’t much of a competition for Thor, maybe The Hangover II would’ve been but that’s not for another couple of weeks. However, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides might give Thor a run for its money. Do you think Thor will stay on top this coming weekend, or will Pirates steal the No. 1 spot? The battle of the big blockbuster movies continues.

What did you watch this weekend?

Box Office Prediction: Thor To Triumph Again

scottschachter — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:31:32 +0000

After last weekend solid debut, Thor will attempt to hold strong at number one while facing competition from what many are describing as the female Hangover with Bridesmaids, the horror thriller Priest, and box office hit Fast Five.

The big question this weekend is whether Thor will burn out in it’s second weekend or hold strong and solidify itself as a franchise starter for Marvel? The answer is a mix of both. While Thor opened well, it’s cinema score grade of B+ while good, is nothing to be excited about. Add in modest weekday sales and the road ahead could be somewhat rocky. But, the competition might be what spares it for a week. Bridesmaids, Priest shouldn’t add up to enough to be able to take down Thor. our Prediction, look for Thor to hold on to the # 1.

Looking to be the first break out comedy hit of the summer is Brides Maids. Buzz has been slowly building for this all female film which was written by SNL alum Kristen Wiig who also stars in the film. Bridesmaids could just be what the doctor ordered as female audiences have had nothing to rush out too in months. Throw in the marquee name of Judd Apatow as producer, the comparisons to the Hang Over and solid reviews should enable Bridesmaids to open strong at #2 and possibly hold strong for weeks to come.

After just two weeks Fast Five is on course to become the highest grossing Fast & The Furious film of all time, domestically and globally. Fast Five has been a strong performer during the week,and should it’s gross cut in half to drop to the #3 spot this weekend.

Rounding out the top five is the debut of the horror film Priest which should find itself landing at theatres with Scream 4 whimpering out of theatres. A lack of any real horror entry should allow Priest to open modestly in the #4. Rounding out the top five is Jumping The Broom which opened beyond expectations last weekend, and even scored a solid A grade from cinema score indicting that audiences may keep coming back for more.

The Top Ten

Thor: Our Prediction: $30-32M
Bridesmaids: Our Prediction: $19-22M
Fast Five: Our Prediction:$15- 16M
Priest: Our Prediction: $10-11M
Jumping The Broom: Our Prediction: $8-9M
Something Borrowed: Our Prediction: $6.5-7M
Rio: Our Prediction: $5.5M-6M
Water For Elephants: Our Prediction: $3.5M
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family: Our Prediction: $2M
Prom: Our Prediction: $1.5M

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