Potter Still #1, Tangled Secured #2 Box Office Chart

           Last weekend the wizard sequel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 won a narrow victory and held onto the top spot at the North American box office over a busy Thanksgiving holiday frame with $49.1M in its second weekend of release, according to final studio figures. Tumbling an expected 61% from its debut, the Warner Bros. smash raised its ten-day domestic tally to an impressive $219.1M. Compared to the last installment to open on a November Friday - 2005's Goblet of Fire - Hallows opened 22% better but after ten days the lead has been cut to just 9%. Goblet even grossed more on its second weekend when it took in $54.7M over the same turkey session for a 47% decline.


          Hallows still has a shot at breaking the $300M mark domestically, though it's not likely to go much past that. Overseas, the new Potter grossed an estimated $114M boosting the international total to $383M and the global haul to a stellar $602M with South Korea still to come in mid-December.
Disney showed some big muscles with its newest princess tale Tangled which debuted a hair behind in second with $48.8M and a potent $68.7M over the five-day span starting Wednesday. The PG-rated 3D animated film was always expected to have a strong showing in the number two spot but did much better than anticipated with a sizzling $13,535 average from 3,603 locations. 3D surcharges certainly helped. Tangled opened much better than the studio's 2007 princess pic Enchanted which bowed to $34.4M and $49.1M in five days. Reviews were very positive and the road ahead does not have too much competition.

         Moviegoers looking for a more guy-oriented 3D toon chose former number one Megamind which slipped 22% to $12.6M. Paramount has grossed $130.2M to date with its third DreamWorks Animation title of the year.

          Sony's musical Burlesque followed with a mild debut. The Christina Aguilera-Cher combo drew in $11.9M over the weekend and $17.3M across the five-day span. Playing in 3,037 sites, the PG-13 film averaged only $3,934 over the Friday-to-Sunday period and performed exactly like the studio's 2005 turkey weekend musical Rent. That film bowed to $17.1M over the Wednesday-to-Sunday session. Reviews for Burlesque were terrible and the crowd was 69% female.

          Enjoying the smallest dip of any film in the top ten was Fox's runaway train flick Unstoppable which eased just 12% to $11.4M. After 17 days, the Denzel Washington film has taken in a solid $60.4M.

          Coming in sixth was the Viagra comedy Love and Other Drugs which debuted to $9.7M over three days from 2,455 theaters. The Fox release averaged a so-so $3,967 and its five-day total was $13.9M. Starring Brokeback Mountain alums Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, the R-rated film played to adults and was met with lukewarm reviews.

          Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson suffered one of the worst openings of his career with the action pic Faster which debuted in seventh place with $8.5M from 2,454 locations for a mild $3,473 average. The CBS Films release played to an adult male crowd and grossed $12M over its five-day holiday debut which was even with the three-day launch of the actor's animated dud Planet 51 from last November. Faster cost $24M to produce with CBS kicking in half the amount plus domestic marketing costs. But unlike other films in the marketplace right now, the R-rated film actually saw daily increases from Wednesday thru Saturday so audiences do seem to be liking it.

         The Warner Bros. comedy Due Date followed with $7.2M, off just 20%, for a $84.9M cume. Dropping 27% was the Russell Crowe pic The Next Three Days with $4.7M for Lionsgate upping the ten-day total to $14.4M. Morning Glory rounded out the top ten with $3.9M, down 25%, giving Paramount $26.3M to date.

         Debuting with spectacular results in platform release was the Oscar hopeful The King's Speech which bowed to $355,450 from a mere four theaters for a scorching $88,863 average. The Weinstein Co. release starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush earned strong reviews and expands to more cities in the weeks ahead.

#	Title	Nov 26 - 28				Weeks		Cumulative	Distributor
1	Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows Part 1	$ 49,087,101				2		$ 219,056,129	Warner Bros.
2	Tangled	48,767,052				1		68,706,298	Buena Vista
3	Megamind	12,575,778				4		130,218,934	Paramount
4	Burlesque	11,947,744				1		17,300,213	Sony
5	Unstoppable	11,432,903				3		60,442,621	Fox
6	Love and Other Drugs	9,739,161				1		13,901,532	Fox
7	Faster	8,523,153				1		12,002,840	CBS
8	Due Date	7,167,885				4		84,861,008	Warner Bros.
9	The Next Three Days	4,683,123				2		14,392,072	Lionsgate
10	Morning Glory	3,910,058				3		26,340,571	Paramount
11	127 Hours	1,708,883				4		4,420,168	Fox Searchlight
12	Fair Game	1,560,189				4		5,958,797	Summit
13	Red	1,375,685				7		86,117,412	Summit
14	For Colored Girls...	1,362,287				4		36,564,364	Lionsgate
15	Skyline	1,141,440				3		20,215,790	Universal
16	The Social Network	707,153				9		90,423,986	Sony
17	Secretariat	647,172				8		57,547,263	Buena Vista
18	The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest	390,888				5		4,011,260	Music Box
19	Despicable Me	363,090				21		249,724,650	Universal
20	The King's Speech	355,450				1		355,450	Weinstein Co.

Blu-ray 23rd November Releases

The Expendables (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Lionsgate / 2010 / 104 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: November 23, 2010 

Overall Grade Recommended

Genres: Action packed

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Dolph Lundgren
Director: Sylvester Stallone


Plot Synopsis: They might be expendable, but they sure are durable: The Expendables is crammed with well-traveled action heroes, called to a summit meeting here to capture some of that good old ultraviolent '80s-movie feel. Star-director Sylvester Stallone rides herd as the leader of this mercenary band, which includes Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Stallone's old Rocky V nemesis Dolph Lundgren. Mickey Rourke, looking like a car wreck on Highway 61, plays the tattoo artist who communicates the gang's assignments to Stallone; throw in Terry Crews and Ultimate Fighting champ Randy Couture, and you've got a badass crew indeed. The specifics here involve a Latin American island where US interests have mucked up the local politics beyond repair--but when Sly's eye is caught by the feisty daughter (Giselle Itie) of the local military jefe, a simple job gets complicated. Adding to the B-movie flavor of the enterprise, we've got Eric Roberts and Steve Austin bouncing around as badder-than-the-bad guys, plus Bruce Willis popping in for a one-scene bit, and… well, perhaps another unbilled cameo. The violence doesn't reach the frantic pace of Stallone's last Rambo picture, but it builds to a pretty crazy crescendo in the final reels, during which each cast member gets to show his stuff. Although Stallone's face looks younger than it did in the first Rocky movie, his line delivery is more sluggish than ever, and what lines! The dialogue is stuck in the '80s, too. Although it's pretty ham-handed throughout, The Expendables is likely critic-proof: the audience that wants to see this kind of body-slamming throwdown isn't going to care about the niceties. Let the knife throwing begin.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary
• Inferno: The Making of 'The Expendables' (HD, 92 min.) – By far this is one of the best, most intensive Making Of features out there.
• From the Ashes: Postproduction (HD, 26 min.)
• Comic-Con 2010 Panel (HD, 46 min.)
• Deleted Scene (HD, 1 min.)
• Gag Reel (HD, 5 min.)
• Marketing Archive (HD)

Eat Pray Love [Blu-ray]

Sony / 2010 / 140 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: November 23, 2010

Genres: Romance, drama

Starring: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardam
Director: Ryan Murphy


Plot Synopsis: Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) is a modern woman on a quest to marvel at and travel the world while rediscovering and reconnecting with her true inner self in Eat Pray Love. At a crossroads after a divorce, Gilbert takes a year-long sabbatical from her job and steps uncharacteristically out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life. In her wondrous and exotic travels, she experiences the simple pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of love in Bali. Based on an inspiring true story, Eat Pray Love proves that there really is more than one way to let yourself go and see the world.

Disc Features:

• The Beginning of the Journey (HD, 15 min)
• Praying in India (HD, 15 min)
• Finding Balance (HD, 12 min)
• Music Video (HD) 
• Trailers (HD)—Rounding out the package is a collection of previews for 'Salt,' 'The Other Guys,' 'Mother and Child,' 'Easy A,' 'Welcome to the Rileys,' 'Tamara Drewe,' and 'Grown Ups.'

Other releases/ Back catalog releases:

The Complete Metropolis [Blu-ray]

The Search For Santa Paws (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Madea's Big Happy Family: The Play [Blu-ray]

The Hunting Party [Blu-ray]

I'm Still Here [Blu-ray]

Flipped [Blu-ray]

Countdown to Zero [Blu-ray]

Fire & Ice - Dragon Chronicles [Blu-ray]

Human Weapon: Complete Season 1 [Blu-ray]

Potter & Buddies Rules Box Office Worldwide!

          Last weekend, Wizard fans united and sent the much-hyped fantasy sequel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 soaring to the number one spot with a massive opening weekend of $125M, according to final studio figures, making it the highest-grossing debut ever in the seven-film series. Launching ultrawide in 4,125 theaters, including a record 239 IMAX locations, the dark PG-13 adventure averaged a sensational $30,307 per site and ranks as the sixth best opening weekend of all-time behind The Dark Knight ($158.4M), Spider-Man 3 ($151.1M), The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($142.8M), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($135.6M), and this year's Iron Man 2 ($128.1M). IMAX accounted for 10% of the opening weekend tally with $12.4M with many upcoming shows already sold out.
          For the wizard franchise, it was the best debut of any kind. The highest Friday-to-Sunday opening before was $102.7M for 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which launched on the same November Friday while the top gross for the first three days of release was $107M for the last installment, 2009's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which bowed on a Wednesday in the summer. Ticket price increases helped set a new franchise record as Hallows, Goblet, and 2001's original Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone each sold roughly 16 million tickets on opening weekend. The fan base has remained relatively constant but moviegoers pay more for a stub with every film.
          Still, it was a monumental performance and ranks as the second best ever outside of the busy summer tentpole season behind just New Moon which attacked this very weekend last year. Deathly Hallows even performed the same way throughout the weekend with a 38% Friday-to-Saturday drop compared to Moon's 42%. Both franchises are based on wildly popular books with fans obsessed with coming out on the first day, especially for Thursday night post-midnight shows. The new Potter banked an incredible $24M for those showtimes.
          Looking at the daily journey, the first half of the two-part finale exploded on Friday with $61.7M including midnight shows, fell sharply to $38.2M on Saturday, and dipped 34% to $25.1M on Sunday, according to Warner Bros. The turnout was extremely front-loaded with the opening day tally accounting for a whopping 49% of the weekend haul. Similarly, New Moon's first day was 51% of the three-day figure and it tumbled by 70% on the second weekend despite it being the Thanksgiving holiday.
          Reviews were mostly positive for the new wizard tale and cast and crew made the usual rounds for their global publicity push including glitzy premieres on both sides of the Atlantic in London and New York. David Yates directed as he did for the last two installments and his final offering, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is set to open next summer on Friday, July 15, in 3D two weeks after the third Transformers pic and a week before Captain America: First Avenger both of which will also be in 3D. The studio had wanted to make Part 1 in 3D but was unable to complete the conversion in time to make a product good enough for the fans.
Overseas, the latest installment was as gigantic as expected and grossed a colossal $205M from 54 countries and 91 markets resulting in a monstrous $330M global launch over the first weekend. The last film Prince bowed mid-week and debuted to $394M worldwide but over five days. Deathly Hallows set a new all-time opening weekend record in the U.K. with a $29.4M haul. Other notable bows included $22.6M in Germany, $14.8M in Australia, $14M in Japan, $12.9M in Russia, $11M in Italy, $10.2M in Mexico, and $10.6M in China.

         The 3D animated film Megamind was booted from the top spot after two weeks at number one and finished the weekend in a distant second place. DreamWorks Animation's latest hit held up reasonably well dropping 45% to $16M pushing the 17-day tally across the century mark to $109.3M. Paramount is still on a course to hit the $150M mark although Disney will unleash the rival 3D toon Tangled on Wednesday to give families another major option over the extended Thanksgiving holiday session.
         Fox enjoyed an encouraging second weekend take for the Denzel Washington actioner Unstoppable which dropped 43% to $13M. The runaway train pic has taken in a solid $41.9M in ten days and is headed for the $75M vicinity.
Finishing in fourth place was the R-rated road trip comedy Due Date which declined by 42% to $8.9M. Warner Bros. has taken in $72.4M in 17 days and should end up in the $90-100M range depending on strength over the long Thanksgiving holiday.
          Audiences gave the cold shoulder once again to Russell Crowe whose latest film The Next Three Days flopped opening to only $6.5M. The PG-13 film about a teacher who desperately tries to break his wife out of prison averaged a weak $2,517 from 2,564 locations giving Lionsgate its worst debut in almost two years. Elizabeth Banks co-starred and Liam Neeson contributed a one-scene cameo while Oscar winner Paul Haggis directed. Crowe's last film - the expensive summer epic Robin Hood - barely inched its way over the $100M mark in North America and his recent adult dramas have mostly opened in the $13-14M range.
          Paramount's TV industry comedy Morning Glory fell a moderate 44% in its second weekend grossing $5.2M to boost the ten-day total to a soft $19.8M. The Rachel McAdams film looks to end with $32-34M. Fellow sophomore Skyline completely fell apart thanks to poor buzz. The Universal release dropped 70% to $3.6M for a cume of $17.8M in ten days. With a reported production budget of $10M, plus plenty more for marketing, the alien flick could end with $21-23M. Summit's action hit Red grossed $2.5M, off 50%, for a $83.6M total.
          Falling 65% to $2.3M was Lionsgate's For Colored Girls... which has banked $34.4M to date. Jumping into the top ten for the first time was the CIA thriller Fair Game which expanded in its third frame from 175 to 386 theaters collecting $1.5M. The average for the Summit release was a mild $3,772 and the sum rose to $3.7M.

#	Title	Nov 19 - 21				Weeks		Cumulative	Distributor
1	Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows Part 1	$ 125,017,372				1		$ 125,017,372	Warner Bros.
2	Megamind	16,012,831				3		109,313,429	Paramount
3	Unstoppable	13,005,855				2		41,867,769	Fox
4	Due Date	8,912,182				3		72,431,594	Warner Bros.
5	The Next Three Days	6,452,779				1		6,452,779	Lionsgate
6	Morning Glory	5,200,233				2		19,823,136	Paramount
7	Skyline	3,560,985				2		17,772,760	Universal
8	Red	2,483,043				6		83,589,965	Summit
9	For Colored Girls...	2,299,956				3		34,439,653	Lionsgate
10	Fair Game	1,455,819				3		3,724,546	Summit
11	Secretariat	971,909				7		56,378,503	Buena Vista
12	Paranormal Activity 2	945,460				5		83,583,230	Paramount
13	The Social Network	935,677				8		89,244,464	Sony
14	127 Hours	916,533				3		1,902,336	Fox Searchlight
15	Saw 3D	846,029				4		45,287,175	Lionsgate
16	Jackass 3D	737,351				6		116,094,442	Paramount
17	Life As We Know It	536,379				7		51,630,962	Warner Bros.
18	Guzaarish	488,121				1		488,121	UTV
19	The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest	401,819				4		3,433,116	Music Box
20	Inside Job	338,938				7		2,139,393	Sony Classics

Harry Potter Casting Big Box Office Spell This Week!

          This week, Wizard magic invades the global box office with the highly anticipated launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, the first half of the big finale in the $5.4 billion-grossing mega-blockbuster series. The PG-13 entry brings back the same formula as it adapts the first part of the final book of the series with director David Yates at the helm. He commands the last four of the eight-film franchise including the next Hallows which will arrive in 3D next July to conclude the saga.


          The last three installments have each displayed slight improvements in their total grosses due mostly to rising ticket prices. 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a Friday opener in November just like Hallows and the first two chapters, ended its domestic run with $290M. The next two shifted to Wednesday bows in mid-July with 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix rising to $292M while 2009's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince climbed to $302M. The audience seems finite but massive, and newcomers are not likely to join the party this late in the game.

         The last two pics make for bad comparisons because of the mid-week bows and summer release dates. That would make Goblet the best one to compare the new film's potential to. Its Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend stood at a towering $102.3M which was the fourth highest debut in history at the time. It included 66 IMAX venues back then while Hallows invades almost quadruple that amount with 239 large-format sites which are already selling out shows coast to coast so more will be added into the treasure chest this time. The overall theater count of 4,125 is 300 more than Goblet's, but lower than Phoenix and Prince's which hovered around the 4,300 mark.

          Warner Bros. has been spending lavishly for weeks advertising Deathly Hallows everywhere as if it were launching a new franchise. Advance ticket sales have been moving along at a record pace and this installment has generated more excitement because of how it symbolizes the end of an entertaining era for millions of wizard fans. As usual, repeat business may occur within the opening weekend. Reviews have been quite good, then again critics are routinely giving thumbs up each time. Competition will be less than for the last two installments which were in the thick of summer tentpole season, but on par with what Goblet dealt with five Novembers ago.

• Release Date:November 19th, 2010
• Starring:
  • Bill Nighy
  • Emma Watson
  • Richard Griffiths
  • Harry Melling
  • Daniel Radcliffe
• Director:David Yates
• Writer:Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling
• Studio:Warner Bros. Pictures
• Genre:Adventure, Family, Fantasy
• Official Site:harrypotter.com
• Rating: for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sexuality.
• Runtime:2 hours 27 minutes

Blu-ray 16th November Releases

Avatar (Three-Disc Extended Collector's Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray]

20th Century Fox / 2009 / 174 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: November 16, 2010 

 

 

 

 

Genres: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Drama

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: James Cameron

Plot Synopsis: A reluctant hero. An epic journey. A choice between the life he left behind and the incredible new world he's learned to call home. Return to James Cameron's Avatar - the greatest adventure of all time.

Disc Features:

 This extended collector's set includes more than eight hours of bonus features.

Disc 1: Three Movie Versions

Original Theatrical Edition (includes family audio track with objectionable language removed)

Special Edition Re-Release (includes family audio track with objectionable language removed)

Collector’s Extended Cut with 16 additional minutes, including alternate opening on earth

Disc 2: Filmmaker's Journey

Over 45 minutes of never-before-seen deleted scenes

Capturing Avatar documentary

A Message from Pandora

Screen tests, on-set footage, and visual-effects reels

Disc 3: Pandora's Box

Interactive scene deconstruction: Explore 17 scenes at three levels of production

Pandorapedia: Comprehensive guide to Pandora and Avatar

Original script and screenplay

The Last Airbender (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Paramount / 2010 / 103 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: November 16, 2010 

 

 

 

 

 

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Family

Starring: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel
Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Plot Synopsis: Experience the thrilling live-action adventure based on the hit Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Join Aang, an extraordinary boy with incredible “bending” powers, as he journeys through an exotic land filled with magical creatures and powerful friends. As the Avatar, he is the only one who can end the age-old conflict between the four nations: Air, Water, Earth and Fire. An inspirational journey, The Last Airbender is exciting entertainment for the entire family!

Disc Features:

• Feature Film
• Discovering The Last Airbender (nine-part documentary in HD)
• Inspirations – Co-creators of the show and M. Night Shyamalan give insight into the inner journey the characters take
• Spirituality – Explore the deeper spirituality that colors The Last Airbender
• Heroes – Aang, Katara and Sokka journey together to save the world; behind-the-scenes piece provides a closer look at these characters and the actors
• Greenland – With sub-zero shoots on glaciers and frozen rivers just a few hundred miles from the North Pole, travel with the filmmakers to Greenland to meet the locals and experience the magnificent landscapes captured for the powerful opening of the film
• World – The sets, props, costumes and make-up that helped bring to life four unique nations in the film, each with a distinct look and style
• Action – With the film’s “bending” rooted in Martial Arts, uncover Shyamalan’s process with Noah Ringer to create complex, heart-pounding action sequences
• Effects – Closer look at the jaw-dropping cinematography and special effects that were created to blend seamlessly with ILM’s computer generated imagery
• Music – Longtime creative collaboration between M. Night Shyamalan and composer James Newton Howard is celebrated in the film’s sweeping score
• Finale – The journey culminates in one breathtaking moment on the ice wall
• Siege of the North (HD) – Get transported to the frozen realm of the Northern Water Tribe and the largest indoor film set ever built on the U.S. east coast
• Origins of the Avatar (HD) – Birth of the mythology from the original co-creators of the animated show, Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzk. Concept art from the popular series provides further perspective into how the story would eventually reincarnate into an epic feature film
• Katara for a Day (HD) – Spend a day on the set with Nicola Peltz
• Deleted Scenes (HD)
• Gag Reel (HD)
• Avatar Annotations (Picture-in-picture on select scenes) – insights with cast and crew

Disney's A Christmas Carol (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Disney/Buena Vista / 2009 / 96 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: November 16, 2010

Overall Grade Highly recommended






Genres: Animation, comedy, family, adventure

Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and Steve Valentine
Director: Robert Zemeckis


Plot Synopsis: From Walt Disney Pictures comes the magical retelling of Charles Dickens’ beloved tale — Disney’s A Christmas Carol, the high-flying, heartwarming adventure for the whole family, starring Jim Carrey. When three ghosts take penny-pinching Scrooge on an eye-opening journey, he discovers the true meaning of Christmas -- but he must act on it before it’s too late. Complete with spirited bonus features, this exhilarating and touching Disney classic is destined to be part of your holiday tradition, adding sparkle and heart to all your Christmases yet to come.
 
Other releases/ Back catalog releases:

The Night of the Hunter (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Modern Times: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]

The Twilight Zone: Season 2 [Blu-ray]

The Tournament [Blu-ray]

Lottery Ticket [Blu-ray]

The Extra Man [Blu-ray]

National Geographic: Great Migrations [Blu-ray]

Ancient Aliens: Season One [Blu-ray]

The World at War [Blu-ray]













16 Wishes [Blu-ray]

The Lightkeepers [Blu-ray]

Special Ops [Blu-ray]