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

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Box Office Breakdown: Marley & Me is the Weekend’s Top Dog

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Political, Religious, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

When it comes to the box office, Jennifer Aniston has no problem pushing best friends (Courteney Cox), exes (Brad Pitt) or former leading men (Jim Carrey) aside.

After a record-breaking Christmas Day, Marley & Me pulled in approximately $36.4 million over the last three days. The PG-rated film, which earned nearly $51 million since December 25, gave Aniston bragging rights and Owen Wilson his best Friday-Sunday gross ever.

Although he eventually lost out to Jen, Brad Pitt really had nothing to complain about. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the weekend’s #3 finisher, had the 2nd best ($12 million) Christmas day opening. Meanwhile, Bedtime Stories - starring Adam Sandler and Courteney Cox - now ranks 3rd ($10.6 million) on the all-time Dec. 25 debuts list.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Marley & Me is the Weekend’s Top Dog

Read More | Variety

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Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Say Yes to Jim Carrey

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists

How will Will Smith remember Winter Solstice 2008? As the weekend he placed second.

Prior to Friday’s premieres, number crunchers were already predicting a close race between headliners Jim Carrey and Will Smith. Unfortunately for Warner Bros., Yes Man‘s ultimate victory felt slightly hollow. The comedy’s $18.2 million gross was nowhere near the figures Carrey used to generate. (Bruce Almighty‘s premiere earned $68 million in 2003; Liar Liar took in $31.4 million in 1997.) Yes did, though, do better than 2005’s Fun with Dick and Jane. (That film raked in $14.1 million during its open.)

Will Smith didn’t have much to celebrate over the last three days either. His latest film, Seven Pounds, only took in $14.8 million. That’s a number almost unheard of in Smith-land. The drama, directed by Pursuit of Happyness’ Gabriele Muccino, was the actor’s lowest grosser since Ali. (That film earned $14.7 million when it debuted in December 2001.)

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Read More | Variety

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In Theaters This Weekend: December 19, 2008

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Yari Film Group Releasing, Action, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Music, Political, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• Seven Pounds (PG-13): starring Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Michael Ealy (directed by Gabriele Muccino)
• The Tale of Despereaux (G): starring Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson (directed by Sam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen)
• Yes Man (PG-13): starring Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper (directed by Peyton Reed)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: December 19, 2008



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Box Office Breakdown: The Day The Earth Stood Still Stands Tall

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists

Mediocre reviews couldn’t keep The Day the Earth Stood Still from vaulting into first place this weekend.

The sci-fi remake starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly earned $30.5 million over the last three days, more than doubling the take of its nearest competitor. Although Earth had the smallest debut for a #1 film since October 17th (when Max Payne grossed $17.6 million), the Fox feature only cost a reported $80 million to make. It was also the studio’s best open since Horton Hears a Who unfolded in back in March.

The only other new entries in this week’s Top Ten were Nothing Like the Holidays and Milk. Holidays took in $3.5 million and scored itself a 7th place finish. Meanwhile, Milk - which had actually reached #10 before - reentered the charts at #9.

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Read More | Variety

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AFI’s Top Films of 2008

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Awards, Lists

This weekend, the American Film Institute released its list of Top Ten Films. Unlike most lists created by the AFI, the selections chosen for this annual category are not ranked - they are simply presented in alphabetical order.

Since the 13-person jury only considers movies with “significant creative and/or production elements from the United States,” critical fave Slumdog Millionaire was not in the running. Meanwhile, Revolutionary Road and The Reader - both Golden Globe nominees - simply weren’t included.

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Read More | American Film Institute

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2009 Golden Globe Nominations (Film)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Awards, Lists

Although a looming SAG strike may threaten next year’s Academy Awards, the Golden Globes ceremony should finally go on as planned. The 66th annual event is scheduled to air on Sunday, January 11th, just 11 days before the Oscar nominations are announced.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions from this year’s list of film nominees:

• Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button both led the field with five nominations each.
• Despite being chosen Best Film by the New York Film Critics, Sean Penn was the only nod Milk received by the HFPA.
• Meryl Streep earned two nominations for her work in Doubt and Mamma Mia.
• Kate Winslet is also up for two awards. Her films - Revolutionary Road and The Reader - are also up for Best Picture.
• Heath Ledger did get a posthumous nomination as expected.
• Although he was recently recognized for his acting work in Gran Torino, director Clint Eastwood (Changeling) was only acknowledged for his musical achievements.

(You can find the full list of film nominees after the jump. Click here for the TV nominations.)

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Read More | Hollywood Foreign Press Association

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New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Choose Milk, Wall-E

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Period, Political, Sequels, Comedy, Awards, Lists

Just last week, the National Board of Review named Slumdog Millionaire its Best Film of 2008. Not surprisingly, that selection isn’t an opinion shared by all.

So which films could eventually be up for the Academy Award come February 22nd? (That is - assuming a possible SAG strike doesn’t halt the ceremony altogether.) Based on the choices just revealed by the New York and Los Angeles film critics, it could be anyone’s game.

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A Christmas Carol Medley: The Many Ways You Can Enjoy Dickens

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Adaptation, Animation, Short Films, Drama, Family, Musicals, Period, Comedy

It’s that time of year when it’s unsafe to enter a department store, when televised specials are vying to offer you the biggest stars and most touching moments. When ancient movies get dredged up for our entertainment. There is one holiday-themed tale which is so predominant, no winter season would be complete without it. This only begs one question: which version will you watch?

A Christmas Carol is one of the most re-made movies in cinematic history - even Disney is in on the action. But the story itself is even older than Hollywood. A Christmas Carol was originally written by Charles Dickens, and first hit the scene way back in 1843. More than one hundred years later, it’s still one of the most widely-recognized holiday stories in history.

And if you want to enjoy this time-honored tale of redemption, you’ll have more than your fair share of opportunity. How many ways can you enjoy Dickens this year?

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Box Office Breakdown: Another Festive Weekend for Four Christmases

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Music, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists

Faced with little competition, last week’s #1 lived to see another win. Four Christmases took in $16.8 million over the last three days - a 46% drop from its first outing - to bring its cumulative total to $69.8 million. The comedy was only one of two films to pass the $10 million mark this weekend.

The only new entries in the Top Ten were Cadillac Records and Punisher: War Zone. Despite a relatively small opening (it only hit 687 theaters), Cadillac averaged $5,015 per theater for a 9th place finish. Meanwhile, Punisher took in a disappointing $4.3 million, less than 1/3 of what the first film did in 2004.

Despite premiering at #22, Frost/Nixon was actually this weekend’s top performer. Ron Howard’s film earned a whopping $60,236 per screen average from only 3 theaters.

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Read More | Variety

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