Sunday, June 26, 2011

Green Lantern Champs Box Office In A Very Slow Pace.




           Last weekend, the super hero summer continued with the third comic book film of the season debuting at number one as Green Lantern shot to the top of the box office with a less-than-stellar opening weekend of $53.2M, according to final studio figures. The pricey Warner Bros. release averaged $13,935 from 3,816 theaters including ones offering the PG-13 film in 3D with extra surcharges. Although the amount of the weekend take would be welcomed by most films, Lantern carried a reported pricetag of about $200M plus was backed by one of the most expensive marketing campaigns of any summer movie so far.
            Directed by Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Casino Royale), Green Lantern starred Ryan Reynolds as the title character and was panned by critics across the board. Moviegoers also were not impressed as the CinemaScore grade was only a B. Generally, a B+ or better indicates that a large segment enjoyed a film. Poor reviews and bad buzz led to instantly negative word-of-mouth which hurt ticket sales immediately.
           Opening day Friday delivered a solid $21.4M including $3.35M from Thursday night's post-midnight shows. But Saturday fell a disturbing 22% to $16.7M though a slim 9% Sunday decline to $15.1M was helped in part by Father's Day. This summer's well-reviewed super hero films Thor and X-Men: First Class both fared better with audiences. Each dipped by only 8% on Saturday and scored a B+ CinemaScore. More students were out of school for Lantern's opening day, but the Saturday fall was still very troubling.
          With bad reviews, an alarming Saturday decline, and a low audience score, it seems that Green Lantern will burn out quickly at the box office. Even 3D did not help too much as only 45% of the weekend gross came from those screens. That was a lower rate than Thor's 60% and The Green Hornet 's 61% and more in line with the 46% of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides . The Hal Jordan film played as expected to the demographic most familiar with the character - adult men. Males made up 64% of the crowd while 63% were over 25. Generating true excitement with teens and younger adults has been a consistent problem for all Hollywood studios this year.
          For the Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend, Green Lantern managed to fall behind the $55.1M of the recent X-Men reboot from just two weeks ago and was far from the $65.7M bow of Thor from the first weekend of May. Moviegoers may only have an appetite for so many comic book flicks and three big ones within seven weeks may have been too much. Lantern had arguably the biggest character among the three and certainly the most starpower with Blake Lively , Tim Robbins , and the voice of Geoffrey Rush all in the same package. Next month's Captain America will face challenges of its own being another 3D introduction of a new big-screen hero.
         Warner Bros. was keen on developing Green Lantern as a franchise that could spawn lucrative sequels in the years ahead. Those hopes, however, were not crushed this weekend as super hero films are designed to be rebooted over time. Superman, Batman, and The Hulk all saw their movie franchises crash and burn, only to be resurrected later with new directors and lead actors.
         Overseas, Green Lantern debuted in a dozen or so markets - many small - and grossed a moderate $17M with about half of that coming from the U.K. and Russia. As a very American super hero character, it may not generate the types of numbers overseas that recent summer action tentpoles have.
         On the other end of the word-of-mouth spectrum, Super 8 posted a remarkable hold in its second weekend dipping only 39% to $21.5M. Paramount's $50M production has collected a solid $73M in its first ten days and could be headed for the vicinity of $130M allowing it to possibly outgross Green Lantern at the end of the day, at a fraction of the cost. The J.J. Abrams-directed action drama rolled into more of the international marketplace with debuts in 20 more territories for a weekend estimate of $12.5M from 29 total markets led by a number one opening in the increasingly crucial market of Russia. Super 8 is showing that a well-made summer action film with a moderate pricetag can go a long way, even without bells and whistles.
         Jim Carrey 's new family comedy Mr. Popper's Penguins debuted in third place with a respectable bow grossing $18.4M. The PG-rated film averaged $5,524 from 3,339 locations and earned somewhat negative reviews from critics. Females made up 56% of the crowd while 58% was under 25. The Fox release about a man that inherits wacky penguins from his dad increased by a scant 2% from Friday to Saturday and will have Cars 2 from the Pixar juggernaut to compete with next weekend so the road ahead will not be an easy one. But with more children getting out of school for the summer each day this week, midweek sales could be solid.
          The ensemble super hero flick X-Men: First Class finished fourth with $11.9M falling 51% in its third round. Fox has gathered $120.4M in 17 days and is still aiming to end in the $145-150M range. The origin pic grossed an estimated $21.2M overseas this weekend boosting that tally to $163.2M and the global gross to $283M.
         Two big worldwide hits followed. The Hangover Part II fell 43% to $10.1M boosting the domestic cume to $233.1M for Warner Bros. The raunchy sequel collected an estimated $22.4M offshore for a muscular international total of $257.6M. The global gross now stands at $490M surpassing its predecessor to become the world's top-grossing R-rated comedy ever. Paramount's 3D toon Kung Fu Panda 2 grossed $9M, off 45%, giving the DreamWorks sequel $143.7M to date. Overseas, where the Jack Black film ranks number one this weekend, kicked in an additional $52.5M for an international take of $280M to date led by China's exceptional $77M.
         Slipping by a small margin once again, Universal's sleeper hit Bridesmaids dipped 30% to $7.1M lifting the sum to $136.5M. Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides followed with $6.6M, down 39%, for a $220.7M cume from North America. Overseas markets contributed an estimated $25.9M pushing the international take to a towering $731.9M. That makes the Johnny Depp sequel the fourth biggest overseas blockbuster in box office history trailing just Avatar, Titanic, and the final Lord of the Rings pic which it will surpass at the end of this week. With an eye-popping $952M globally, Tides will break the magic $1 billion mark before the end of this month.
         With only a slight expansion, Woody Allen 's Midnight in Paris continued to hold up very well slipping a mere 16% to $4.9M giving Sony Classics $21.4M to date. It could very well double that amount by the end of its run. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer fell apart in its second weekend tumbling 65% to $2.1M for a $11M total.

# Title Jun 17 - 19


Weeks
Cumulative Distributor










1 Green Lantern $ 53,174,303


1
$ 53,174,303 Warner Bros.
2 Super 8 21,472,020


2
73,002,809 Paramount
3 Mr. Popper's Penguins 18,445,355


1
18,445,355 Fox
4 X-Men: First Class 11,933,524


3
120,358,086 Fox
5 The Hangover Part II 10,071,339


4
233,110,617 Warner Bros.
6 Kung Fu Panda 2 9,027,671


4
143,670,468 Paramount
7 Bridesmaids 7,097,735


6
136,450,725 Universal
8 Pirates of the Caribbean: OST 6,646,249


5
220,746,502 Disney
9 Midnight in Paris 4,884,800


5
21,446,614 Sony Classics
10 Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer 2,103,465


2
11,029,307 Relativity










11 The Tree of Life 1,163,923


3
3,900,355 Fox Searchlight
12 Thor 1,145,076


6
176,111,078 Paramount
13 Fast Five 872,160


7
206,816,880 Universal
14 The Art of Getting By 679,160


1
679,160 Fox Searchlight
15 Rio 517,653


9
138,725,044 Fox
16 Beginners 354,948


3
909,124 Focus
17 Water for Elephants 305,177


9
57,192,169 Fox
18 Soul Surfer 243,234


11
42,638,646 Sony
19 Cave of Forgotten Dreams 241,045


8
4,138,016 IFC Films
20 Born To Be Wild 219,833


11
7,240,529 Warner Bros.
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Blu-ray 14th June Releases

Battle: Los Angeles (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Sony / 2011 / 116 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: June 14, 2011

Overall Grade 3.5 out of 5 Superb on Blu-ray




Genres: Sci-fi, Action packed

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan
Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Plot Synopsis: Battle: Los Angeles is a war movie first, science fiction second. It's got it all: a burned-out retiring sergeant who gets drawn back in because, dammit, the Marines need him; the guy who's about to get married; the guy who's still a virgin; the guy suffering from shell shock and who just might crack; the newbie officer with a lot of book learning who you just know is going to freeze under pressure and have to be shepherded by that burned-out sergeant, who learned his lessons on the battlefield… and so much more. There's not a moment in this movie you haven't seen before--the only twist is that the enemy is alien, so whatever shred of concern you might have for raining heavy artillery on a fellow human being can be cheerfully cast aside. But clichĂ©s are clichĂ©s because they are efficient and effective, and despite the profound familiarity of Battle: Los Angeles, there's no denying the movie rips along (though two-thirds of the way through you may have forgotten who was the virgin and who was the shell-shocked guy--but really, does it matter?). The look owes a debt to District 9, a hand-held, vĂ©ritĂ© grittiness, with most of the CGI carefully given a dingy, dirty look so that it meshes with the urban landscape. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) does an impressive job of spitting out ham-fisted dialogue like he really, really means it, while the rest of the cast is suitably generic. This is an unrepentant love letter to the military; many viewers, faced with the unsettling chaos and moral ambiguities of real wars, will find this mythologizing not only soothing, but even moving.

Disc Features:
  • Behind the Battle (HD, 7 min) — A faux making-of short which interviews cast and crew. With behind-the-scenes footage playing in the background, talks are mostly on the plot and the movie's documentary style.
  • Aliens in L.A. (HD, 18 min) — A focused look at the influence and creation of the alien creatures, from CGI animation to physical props on the set. With more revealing behind-the-scenes footage playing throughout, the cast and crew also discuss the mix of on-location shoots versus green-screen optical effects.
  • Preparing for Battle (HD, 5 min) — The cast offers their thoughts on the physically demanding roles and the challenges certain stunts presented.
  • Creating L.A. in LA (HD, 6 min) — Just as the title reveals, filmmakers explain how various locations of Baton Rouge were renovated to look like Santa Monica after the alien invasion.
  • Trailers — Theatrical previews include 'Priest,' 'Das Boot,' 'Insidious,' 'Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown,' ' The Green Hornet,' 'Beastly' and a promo for 3D products.





Red Riding Hood (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Warner Brothers / 2011 / 100 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: June 14, 2011





Genres: Drama, Thriller, Fantasy

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman
Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Plot Synopsis: This is not your grandmother's Red Riding Hood. There's a basket of goodies (not exactly the edible kind), a sweet grandma, a winsome young lass in a beautiful red hood, and a Big Bad Wolf. But there the similarity ends. This Red Riding Hood is shot through the lens of the Twilight films--for wide appeal to the tween and teen audiences, and definitely not a bedtime story for the little ones. Helmed by Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, Red Riding Hood bears a lot of the moody trademarks of the vampire series. Valerie (Amanda Seyfried), the plucky girl in the stunning cape, lives in a tiny medieval village whose geography is not specified--it's just very mountainous and remote. Valerie's heart belongs to her childhood friend Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), but as Red Riding Hood opens, she learns she has been betrothed to Henry (Max Irons). As if that love triangle weren't enough, it seems a dangerous wolf--or is it werewolf?--has been terrorizing the town for years, and its killing sprees have intensified. When the townsfolk kill a wolf, they think they have finally freed their town from tyranny, and throw a giant bacchanal--like Burning Man in the snow. But then Father Solomon (Gary Oldman, in wickedly good form) appears on the scene to tell the villagers they've killed only a gray wolf--not, in fact, the werewolf he knows is the true villain. So the romantic pulls of Valerie, Peter, and Henry play out with a backdrop of true chills and mystery. The atmosphere created by Hardwicke, along with production designer Thomas E. Sanders and cinematographer Mandy Walker, is perfect for a goose-bumpy horror story with teen hearts caught in the balance. The set design of the village, especially, is rich with detail--even the trees in the surrounding forest seem to have branches made of threatening spikes. Seyfried is willful, passionate, and perfect as Valerie, and easily anchors a film that could have spun out. Other standouts include Virginia Madsen, Valerie's mother who has a dark secret in her own past, and Julie Christie as Valerie's rather peculiar grandmother. All Twilight fans, and those who love a good tale of star-crossed (or perhaps full-moon-crossed) lovers will enjoy Red Riding Hood. Just don't go walking in those big bad woods alone.

Disc Features:
"Secrets Behind the Red Cloak" PIP w/ C. Hardwicke, A. Seyfried, S. Fernandez and M. Irons
"Reinvention of Red Riding Hood"
"Red Riding Hood's Men"
"Making of the Score"
"Before the Fur...Making of the CG Wolf"
"Casting Tapes - Casting Shiloh Fernandez"
"Casting Tapes - Casting Max Irons"
"Casting Tapes - Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons"
"Rehearsals - The Dance"
"Rehearsals - The Festival"
"Rehearsals - The Wolf Attack"
"The Wolf - Music Video by Fever Ray"
"Just a Fragment of You - Music Video by Anthony Gonzalez of M8"
"Red Riding Hood in 73 seconds"
"The Wolf Goes to a Hamlet Audition" Easter Egg
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes

Hall Pass (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Warner Brothers / 2011 / 105 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: June 14, 2011






Genres: Comedy

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis and Christina Applegate
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

Plot Synopsis: Anyone familiar with the work of writer-directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, especially There's Something About Mary, will be neither surprised nor shocked by the raunchy, gross-out gags that permeate Hall Pass. But what Farrelly fans might not expect is what comes at the other end of the spectrum--namely, a tender, even sentimental point of view in which marriage is sanctified and even a couple of delusional doofuses end up on the right side of righteousness. Buddies Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) have attractive, loving wives (Maggie and Grace, played by Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate, respectively) and, in Rick's case, a couple of cute kids. But boys will be boys, and after catching their husbands eyeing other women's butts, making rude remarks in front of friends, and so on, the ladies decide to offer them "hall passes"--an entire week during which they can pretend they're not married and do whatever they want, no questions asked, while the wives head for Cape Cod. Rick, for one, is nonplussed; here is a decent guy who refuses to buy beer for his underage babysitter (not to mention resisting her flirtatious come-ons) and generally tries to do the right thing, and he suspects there's more than meets the ear to Maggie's offer (Fred, on the other hand, expects to spend the week scoring young hotties with lines like "You must be from Ireland, 'cos when I look at you my penis is Dublin"). But while Maggie and Grace find themselves courted by some studly minor-league baseball dudes, Rick and Fred mostly just strike out. Their shenanigans are accompanied by a parade of typically sophomoric Farrelly gags: penis jokes (and a couple of real penises), masturbation jokes, scatological jokes, "I'm so stoned" marijuana jokes, and sexual terms (like "eye banging" and "fake chow") that can't be explained on a family website. Some of this is funny, most merely dumb; some viewers will think the humor goes too far, others not far enough. But the overriding impression is that a decade or more past their biggest hits, the Farrellys, who are now in their 50s, have grown up--at least a little.


Other releases/ Back catalog releases:






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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Super 8 Rallied To The Top for 10th-12th June Box Office Charts.




# Title Jun 10 - 12


Weeks
Cumulative Distributor










1 Super 8 $ 35,451,168


1
$ 36,451,168 Paramount
2 X-Men: First Class 24,128,986


2
98,023,335 Fox
3 The Hangover Part II 17,667,329


3
215,727,461 Warner Bros.
4 Kung Fu Panda 2 16,543,166


3
126,813,240 Paramount
5 Pirates of the Caribbean: OST 10,945,764


4
208,873,258 Disney
6 Bridesmaids 10,066,290


5
123,815,865 Universal
7 Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer 6,076,859


1
6,076,859 Relativity
8 Midnight in Paris 5,830,723


4
13,909,196 Sony Classics
9 Thor 2,435,215


6
173,664,723 Paramount
10 Fast Five 1,727,330


7
205,094,205 Universal










11 The Tree of Life 827,009


3
2,361,655 Fox Searchlight
12 Rio 670,101


9
137,780,829 Fox
13 Water for Elephants 478,835


8
56,599,794 Fox
14 Something Borrowed 464,296


6
37,626,409 Warner Bros.
15 Jumping the Broom 458,349


6
36,695,004 Sony
16 Soul Surfer 295,371


10
42,181,380 Sony
17 Cave of Forgotten Dreams 261,390


7
3,727,369 IFC Films
18 Beginners 243,059


2
453,329 Focus
19 Born To Be Wild 204,253


10
6,767,781 Warner Bros.
20 Ready 190,097


2
781,855 Eros
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