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.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Marley & Me Ends 2008 on Top

Read More | Variety

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Revolutionary Road Another Hit for DiCaprio and Winslet?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Paramount, Adaptation, Drama, Romance, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews

Eleven years ago, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet made film history in Titanic - truly, an on-screen pairing even more epic than Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. With Revolutionary Road, the two are reunited.

But despite this star power, many critics aren’t raving about Revolutionary Road. MSNBC called the flick “another sinking ship,” to poke a little fun at the Titanic history of this on-screen couple. The same review goes on to call the movie a “dreary film adaptation” and says both main characters are “thoroughly mediocre, uninteresting people.”

The Associated Press calls the film “brutally tedious,” hardly high praise. Many reviewers are comparing the subject matter of the film to a watered-down version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the look of the piece to TV series Mad Men.

Somewhere in the middle of it all are DiCaprio and Winslet, whom - everyone seems to agree - both delivered great performances. If nothing else, the film is worthwhile for these two alone. And not all the reviews are negative - Variety calls the flick “constantly engrossing.”

That’s hopeful, right?

Read More | MSNBC

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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.)

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Say Yes to Jim Carrey

Read More | Variety

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Remake News: Buck Rogers, Romancing the Stone, The Crow and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Upcoming Releases

Buck Rogers: Could Twiki be the one that makes us forget Wall-E? Frank Miller (300) is now aiming to tackle another period for his next big-screen adaptation. If Odd Lot Entertainment is able to secure the rights to Buck Rogers, Miller will write and direct a much “darker” version of the sci-fi tale. Rogers, which began comic serial back in the 1920s, told the story of a United States Army Air Corps officer who found himself in the 25th century long after an gas exposure incident. Buck has already been the subject of a radio program, a movie serial and a two television programs (including the NBC production starring Gil Gerard).

Click to continue reading Remake News: Buck Rogers, Romancing the Stone, The Crow and More

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Twilight’s Taylor Lautner Talks About Possible New Moon Replacement

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Adaptation, Drama, Romance, Sequels, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Rumors, Upcoming Releases

If Taylor Lautner’s really at risk of losing his job, the Twilight actor is not going to go down without a fight. Or at least an extra push-up.

In an interview last week with MTV, the 16-year-old addressed rumors that he may be left out of the upcoming sequel. According to a recent report in Entertainment Weekly, the studio was looking to find someone else to tackle Jacob Black’s beefier role in New Moon. Since that time, Michael Copon (Scorpion King 2) and Ben Barnes’ (Prince Caspian) names have been thrown out as possible replacements. (Copon has even gone so far as to imply on his own Facebook page that he was already given the role.)

Click to continue reading Twilight’s Taylor Lautner Talks About Possible New Moon Replacement

Read More | MTV Movies

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Casting Corner: Harrison Ford, Reese Witherspoon, Gerard Butler and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Paramount, Universal, Drama, Period, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Upcoming Releases

Harrison Ford: Indiana Jones will be soon be revisiting comedy in a film co-produced by J.J. Abrams. The 66-year-old will star as a news anchor recruited to work on a low-rated morning talk show. Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes) is in talks to play the producer who must handle Ford and his rival/cohost. No start date has been announced for Morning Glory.

Click to continue reading Casting Corner: Harrison Ford, Reese Witherspoon, Gerard Butler and More

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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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2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations (Film)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Fox Searchlight, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Period, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Awards, Lists

Although last January’s Screen Actors Guild Awards were spared from the writers’ dispute, SAG is facing its own strike this year. Regardless, the awards season must go on. Next month’s event - scheduled to air on Sunday, January 25th on both TNT and TBS - will come just three days after the Oscar nominations are announced.

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

• Doubt led this year’s crop with three nominations. Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button came in second with two nods each.
• Richard Jenkin was honored for The Visitor while Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) was left off.
• Heath Ledger added another nom to his belt. Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for his turn in Tropic Thunder.
• Kate Winslet was named for both The Reader and Revolutionary Road. Leonardo DiCaprio was left empty-handed.
• The Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road and The Reader were all left out of the Best Ensemble categories.

Click to continue reading 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations (Film)

Read More | Screen Actors Guild Awards

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Mamma Mia! Surpasses Titanic’s UK Record

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Universal, Adaptation, Musicals, Romance, Comedy, Box Office

Even though The Dark Knight is still far from surpassing Titanic’s box office record, the 1997 blockbuster did just see one of its titles sink.

Just days after receiving several Golden Globe nominations, Mamma Mia! broke a 10-year old UK record. The musical - having now earned over £69.1 million ($105.8 million) - is officially the top grossing movie in the United Kingdom. By the time Titanic had completed its run in 1998, it had raked in £69 million.

The Universal Pictures entry means Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (a.k.a. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) has now been pushed to third place. That film went on to gross £66,096,060 after it was released in 2001.

Read More | The Hollywood Reporter

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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.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Day The Earth Stood Still Stands Tall

Read More | Variety

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