Sunday, July 31, 2011



          Last weekend, the fourth and final super hero film of the summer arrived and like its predecessors, Captain America: The First Avenger also debuted at number one although this one had to defeat the Harry Potter juggernaut in the process. Fellow freshman entry Friends With Benefits, a new sex comedy starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, debuted in third place. In between was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 which suffered a steep fall in its second weekend but still posted a near-record ten-day cume. The overall box office was robust thanks to the recent wave of franchise films.
          The final piece of the Avengers puzzle fell into its place as Captain America scored a muscular opening weekend with $65.1M from 3,715 locations for a powerful $17,719 average, according to final studio figures. It almost reached the $65.7M bow of the season's first comic book pic Thor from the first weekend of May. Both were Marvel films distributed by Paramount and presented in 3D. The extra dimension did not prove to be too popular for Captain America as only 38% of the weekend take came from 3D screens whereas Thor's rate was a much higher 60%. With Captain being the ninth 3D film this summer alone, with more still to come, audiences have been growing tired of the format and have become more choosy in selecting which films truly warrant the extra cost.
         The super soldier easily beat out the $53.2M opening of last month's Green Lantern which was also in 3D as well as the $55.1M of the 2D pic X-Men: First Class which like Captain was a period film. Studios took a big risk programming four super hero origin films into a three-month period. Thor has done the best with $180.1M to date and over $445M worldwide while X-Men performed moderately well with $144.2M.  Captain America should approach Thor's domestic tally although it could be less popular overseas. All three are Marvel projects. The big-budget Green Lantern from DC Comics was the sole casualty with $113.9M to date and little traction from its international openings so far. Next summer is sure to be a record breaker for comic book movies with top characters like Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Hulk all returning to the big screen in The Dark Knight Rises (July 20), The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3), and The Avengers (May 4).
          Directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) and starring Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), Captain America skewed to adult men as expected with exit polls showing that the audience was 64% male and 58% over 25. The PG-13 film scored generally positive reviews from critics. Friday kicked off with $25.7M including $4M from Thursday night's midnight grosses and all-day showings Thursday at a San Diego theater during Comic-Con. Saturday dropped 15% to $21.9M and Paramount saw a 21% Sunday slide to $17.4M. An encouraging A- CinemaScore could be good news for the days and weeks ahead. Thor and X-Men, which both did better with critics, each earned a B+ while Green Lantern scored a B.
          After breaking almost every box office record in the industry, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 took an understandable freefall in its second weekend since most fans came out already in the first week for the can't-miss franchise closer. The Warner Bros. title tumbled 72% to $47.4M boosting the ten-day total to $273.5M. Only studio stablemate The Dark Knight has ever grossed more in the first ten days with $313.8M in July 2008. The last Voldemort pic Part 1 fell 62% in its second weekend, but that tally was helped by Thanksgiving and a Friday that was a day off for most people.
          Past July Potter films also saw large declines in the second weekend only to stabilize in subsequent weekends with 40-50% declines. The second Hallows is likely to be more front-loaded but the final domestic tally may still end up in the $360-380M range which would give it a shot at surpassing the newest Transformers to become the highest-grossing film of 2011.
          Overseas, the wizard film was still doing gangbusters. The international weekend brought in an astounding $120.2M, down 62%, boosting the cume to a jaw-dropping $559M That puts the 12-day global haul at a mesmerizing $832.5M. With China still to open on August 4, the final Potter may be able to reach the $1.2 billion mark by the end of its run.
          The R-rated romantic comedy Friends With Benefits opened in third place with $18.6M following a long line of raunchy laughers this summer. Though a commendable debut, the figure did not reach the levels of this season's past offerings like Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher, and Horrible Bosses which all bowed in the $26-32M range. Averaging $6,364 from 2,926 theaters, the Justin Timberlake-Mila Kunis pic about pals that try to keep feelings out of a sex-only relationship may have seen some of its target audience stay away thanks to its similarity to No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher which basically offered the same story six months ago. That R-rated film bowed to $19.7M on its way to $70.7M. The Friends debut was still good though and reviews were better with many critics highlighting the chemistry between the two leads.
          Adult women made up the primary audience as studio research showed that 62% of the crowd was female while 56% was over 25. The CinemaScore grade was a decent B+. Strong word-of-mouth will be needed as each of the next three weekends will see a new comedy contender for adults enter the marketplace with Steve Carell's Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Change-Up starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, and the Ben Stiller-produced 30 Minutes or Less.
          Placing fourth with $12.1M was the year's top-grossing film Transformers: Dark of the Moon which declined by 44% in its fourth battle. The Paramount release has now grossed a brawny $325.8M and is on course to end its domestic run with $350-360M. Shooting with actual 3D cameras has helped it win over more audiences than action films converted in post-production as 3D shares of this weekend's grosses were 50% for the latest Autobots pic compared to 42% for Potter and 38% for Captain America.
          With China re-opening its doors to American films this weekend, Transformers scored a record $40M debut - the best ever for a U.S. picture there. That led the international frame which delivered an estimated $62M allowing the overseas total to climb to $556.6M which represented a new company high for Paramount outside of North America. The latest Michael Bay effort has now grossed a stunning $882.4M worldwide and has Japan opening this coming weekend which will help it pass the billion dollar barrier.

          Despite the arrival of a new R-rated comedy, the workplace laugher Horrible Bosses held up well again in its third frame dipping only 33% to $11.9M for a 17-day cume of $82.6M. Warner Bros. will probably see a larger gross with this title than it will with its big-budget gamble Green Lantern which is heading for a $115M final.
          Three kidpics with small declines followed. The Kevin James comedy Zookeeper dipped only 29% to $8.7M and has banked $59.2M in 17 days for Sony. The Disney/Pixar vehicle Cars 2 followed with $5.7M, off just 33%, for a $176.4M cume. In its sophomore frame, the G-rated toon Winnie the Pooh slipped only 34% and grabbed $5.2M. The ten-day total for Disney is $17.6M.

# Title Jul 22 - 24


Weeks
Cumulative Distributor










1 Captain America: The First Avenger $ 65,058,524


1
$ 65,058,524 Paramount
2 Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows Part 2 47,422,212


2
273,539,281 Warner Bros.
3 Friends With Benefits 18,622,150


1
18,622,150 Sony
4 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 12,051,735


4
325,841,185 Paramount
5 Horrible Bosses 11,884,319


3
82,566,703 Warner Bros.
6 Zookeeper 8,702,055


3
59,206,255 Sony
7 Cars 2 5,655,857


5
176,375,295 Disney
8 Winnie the Pooh 5,162,046


2
17,594,297 Disney
9 Bad Teacher 2,610,925


5
94,365,688 Sony
10 Midnight in Paris 1,804,662


10
44,783,206 Sony Classics










11 Bridesmaids 1,325,985


11
163,832,870 Universal
12 Larry Crowne 1,019,475


4
34,327,405 Universal
13 Mr. Popper's Penguins 935,068


6
63,500,820 Fox
14 Super 8 760,042


7
124,235,102 Paramount
15 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 670,258


2
2,003,930 Eros
16 The Tree of Life 555,573


8
11,038,150 Fox Searchlight
17 Monte Carlo 475,973


4
21,772,588 Fox
18 Beginners 425,205


8
4,607,418 Focus
19 Green Lantern 381,612


6
113,920,209 Warner Bros.
20 X-Men: First Class 348,046


8
144,210,364 Fox
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Blu-ray 19th July Releases

Limitless (Unrated Extended Cut) [Blu-ray + Digital Copy]


20th Century Fox / 2011 / 105 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: July 19, 2011




Genres: Suspense, thriller

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, Abbie Cornish
Director: Neil Burger

Plot Synopsis: Bradley Cooper (The A-Team) and two-time Academy-Award® winner Robert De Niro, star in this provocative and action-packed thriller with unlimited surprising twists. Eddie Morra (Cooper), a burnt-out writer, discovers a top-secret pill that unlocks 100% of his brain’s capacity. He instantly acquires mind-bending talents and mesmerizing visions that bring him big money, beautiful women and limitless success. But his dream life soon becomes a waking nightmare, as the drug’s brutal side effects take their toll and Eddie finds himself entangled with a cunning Wall Street power broker (DeNiro) who wants everything Eddie has… and more.

Disc Features:
  • Audio Commentary with Director Neil Burger
  • A Man Without Limits (HD, 4 min)
  • Taking it to The Limit: The Making of Limitless (HD, 12 min)
  • Alternate Ending (HD, 5 min)

  • Theatrical Trailer
Other releases/ Back catalog releases:









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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Harry Potter Global Box Office Domination Around The Globe






(Reuters) - The eight Harry Potter movies have earned more than $7 billion at the box office, Warner Bros said, cementing their place as the biggest grossing series ever.
Although the total does not take into account inflation, and attendance figures have generally declined throughout the series according to some analyses, the franchise has been a major success for the Hollywood studio.
          Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, called the tally a "stunning achievement." Warner made all eight of the Harry Potter movies which are closely based on the seven novels by British author J.K. Rowling. The studio decided to split the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," into two movies, the second of which hit theatres on July 15. It is the first of the boy wizard stories to be available in 3-D.
The end of the franchise raises questions about what might take its place at Warner and in Hollywood generally, although a senior Warner executive has said the studio would rely partly on its DC Comics unit to fill the void.
Fellman said in a statement that Warner had also reached the $1 billion box office mark in North America for the 11th straight year.
Warner Bros gave the following global box office grosses for the Harry Potter movies:
* "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone" (2001) - $974,755,371
* "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002) - $878,979,634
* "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban " (2004) -$796,688,549
* "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire " (2005) -$896,911,078
* "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007) - $939,885,929
* "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince " (2009) - $934,416,487
* "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" (2010) - $955,417,476
* "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" (2011) - $640,200,000 (after first week of release)
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato). Source from www.reuters.com


# Title Jul 15 - 17


Weeks
Cumulative Distributor










1 Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows Part 2 $ 169,189,427


1
$ 169,189,427 Warner Bros.
2 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 21,328,545


3
302,878,797 Paramount
3 Horrible Bosses 17,777,464


2
60,149,603 Warner Bros.
4 Zookeeper 12,330,512


2
42,382,978 Sony
5 Cars 2 8,407,529


4
165,389,754 Disney
6 Winnie the Pooh 7,857,076


1
7,857,076 Disney
7 Bad Teacher 5,152,447


4
88,457,639 Sony
8 Larry Crowne 2,664,550


3
31,719,560 Universal
9 Super 8 1,970,377


6
122,287,359 Paramount
10 Midnight in Paris 1,876,588


9
41,778,698 Sony Classics










11 Bridesmaids 1,722,205


10
161,329,580 Universal
12 Mr. Popper's Penguins 1,368,355


5
61,473,016 Fox
13 Green Lantern 1,359,133


5
112,789,166 Warner Bros.
14 Monte Carlo 1,318,448


3
20,110,471 Fox
15 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 960,548


1
960,548 Eros
16 X-Men: First Class 635,586


7
143,455,857 Fox
17 The Tree of Life 626,723


7
10,090,489 Fox Searchlight
18 The Hangover Part II 504,803


8
251,881,953 Warner Bros.
19 Pirates of the Caribbean: OST 493,155


9
237,353,634 Disney
20 Kung Fu Panda 2 460,755


8
160,074,529 Paramount
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Blu-ray 12th & 15th July Releases

Rango (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Paramount / 2011 / 107 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: July 15, 2011

Overall Grade 4.5 out of 5 Highly recommended




Genres: Animation, western

Starring: Johnny Depp and Timothy Olyphant
Director: Gore Verbinski

Plot Synopsis: An animated Western with a chameleon as the hero is an unlikely concept, but Rango is a great film thanks to its witty mix of parody, intriguing characters, and sophisticated humor. When a common pet chameleon who's suffering from an identity crisis crashes headfirst into the stereotypically classic Western town of Dirt, he has the unique opportunity to completely reinvent himself. Dubbing himself Rango, the chameleon boasts of his own heroism and creates a spiral of deception that lands him an appointment as sheriff of a town in crisis. The question is, can one unprepared and completely unqualified chameleon possibly change this little town's future for the better? And how do road kill, enlightenment, and the Spirit of the West figure in to the equation? The animation looks great in this film and kids will love the goofy characters and crazy scenarios. But adults will find the film intriguing on a whole different level because of its comic parody of the iconic classic and spaghetti Western genres and the skilled balance of action, romance, and adventure. Kudos to director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) and the talented voice cast, among them Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, and Bill Nighy, for an award-worthy film. Some kids ages 7 to 9 may find the film rather dark and the action a bit too intense, but kids 10 and older should be fine as long as parents don't object to the PG rating (some rude humor, language, smoking, and action)

  • Audio Commentary
  • Real Creatures of Dirt (HD, 22 min)
  • Deleted Scenes (HD)

  • Storyboard Reel — Available only on the theatrical version, this Bonus View picture-in-picture track shows storyboard images and runs over the movie, allowing viewers to compare pre-production sketches with the end result.
  • Breaking The Rules: Making Animation History (HD, 49 min) — Broken into two parts, this short documentary is a highly-informative behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. Part one starts with a talk on the script's origins and story's evolution, but spends the majority of the time on character drawings and development, storyboard sketches and many rough CG sequences. The second segment then shifts to ILM's involvement and the extensive work that went into finalizing the animation, bringing life to the film with a particularly interesting look at the cameras used and the cinematography. The entire making-of doc is a great watch, especially for anyone with a passion for animated features.
  • A Field Trip to Dirt (HD)
  • Trailers (HD)
  • Bonus DVD (SD)


The Lincoln Lawyer (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Lionsgate / 2011 / 116 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: July 12, 2011

Overall Grade 3.5 out of 5 Recommended movie



Genres: Legal thriller, drama

Starring: Marisa Tomei and Matthew McConaughey
Director: Brad Furman

Plot Synopsis: Smooth operator Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey) zips around Los Angeles in his chauffeured Lincoln town car, cutting deals and finding clients on the road. Then he lands a doozy: a rich real-estate heir (Ryan Phillippe) accused of the brutal assault of an escort. At first, the case looks like a breeze, but odd details start nagging at Haller until he recognizes an ugly connection to an earlier case--and realizes he's been set up in the strangest way. There are some deep implausibilities in The Lincoln Lawyer, but they hardly matter. This is a movie that cruises on charm and smart casting, from McConaughey as a man whose glib polish is betrayed by a streak of doubt, down to the detectives (solid performances from Bryan Cranston, Michael Paré, Michaela Conlin, and others) and lowlifes (Katherine Moennig as an unlucky hooker, Shea Whigham as a lazy snitch) that flesh out the legal world. Every character pops out, clean and distinct; this sort of web-of-deceit story line, full of twists and turns, depends on the audience clearly connecting all the players. Some moments get overstated or maybe don't make complete sense, but the zippy pace carries the audience over those bumps. The Lincoln Lawyer could easily turn into a television series, a sort of Rockford Files-esque mixture of procedure and puzzle making. Also starring Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Frances Fisher, John Leguizamo, and Josh Lucas as the prosecuting attorney who gives McConaughey some competition in the chiseled-looks department.

Insidious [Blu-ray]

Sony / 2010 / 103 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: July 12, 2011 

 Overall Grade 3.5 out of 5 Can't be missed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genres: Thriller, suspense

Starring: Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne
Director: James Wan

Plot Synopsis: For most of its first half, Insidious creeps along in top form as a classical haunted house movie, seething with chilling riffs and cinematic idioms that embrace the best elements of the genre. Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell (the cocreative team that unleashed the Saw franchise onto unsuspecting moviegoers in 2004) create a genuine sense of foreboding that many audiences may experience as the kind of imagery vaguely recalled from actual nightmares. Shadowy figures are glimpsed behind curtains or are barely visible through darkened windows, with the tension building from something that is only halfway there. Or maybe that something is all the way there and we just can't make it out clearly enough through the haze of our gathering dread. There aren't any cheap thrills or phony scares; the menacing tone is measured and well earned and doesn't have to rely on things jumping out of the darkness. The terror often comes from what we don't see, or rather what we're afraid we're about to see. It's a simple story about a young family--Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) and their three small children--settling into a new home. Again following classical form, there's a presence in the house that either doesn't want them there, or needs them to stay for the evilest possible reasons. When 8-year-old Dalton (Ty Simpkins) falls into an unexplained coma after a spooky encounter in the attic, Renai starts seeing the above-mentioned figures lurking around the house, sometimes none too subtly. Though the goings-on are unexplainable, no one acts crazy and Josh believes that his wife's bizarre encounters are real. Like any sensible people who believe they've taken up residence in a haunted house, they move. But the spookiness moves with them and the menace gets worse as months pass and Dalton remains unconscious without reasonable medical cause. Since things can't stay unexplained forever, the plot begins to intrude, especially when a geeky pair of paranormal investigators (Angus Sampson and writer Leigh Whannell) provide some slightly out-of-kilter comic relief. Fortunately their boss (Lin Shaye) is a bona fide psychic who's all business, and she determines that the ghosts, or demons, or whatever they are want Dalton, not the house or its other inhabitants. As the explanations continue, it's revealed that the little boy has the gift of astral projection and his spirit has left his body without really knowing it's gone. If he doesn't come back soon he'll be lost forever, taken by the strongest of the creepy phantoms, a blood-red fiend who provides the most terrifying moments of half-glimpsed horror. It turns out that Dalton inherited his gift from Dad, who has repressed his own childhood encounters with out-of-body flight, but must revisit the dark limbo where all the specters lurk in order to reunite his son's body and soul.
All this narrative sometimes gets in the way of the sinister unknowns that started the story, but there are still plenty of frights to maintain a consistently disturbing tone (and without a drop of blood or gore). Wan and Whannell preserve the less-is-more strategy to fine effect, honoring the legacy of a timeless horror style while ably stamping it with their own unique imprimatur. Whether or not you have a personal history of nightmares, there are plenty of willies to go around in the eerie confines of Insidious--an apt title for a movie whose ideas and images invade the mind with scary and spectral imagination.

Disc Features:

  • Horror 101: The Exclusive Seminar (HD, 10 min) — Director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell explain their creative process and aspiration for the movie, sharing their devoted love to the horror genre.
  • On Set with Insidious (HD, 8 min)
  • Insidious Entities (HD, 7 min)
  • Trailers (HD) — The collection includes theatrical previews for 'Priest,' 'Quarantine 2: Terminal,' 'The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,' 'Battle: Los Angeles,' the 'Breaking Bad' television series and a promo for Blu-ray products.
 

Arthur (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Warner Brothers / 2011 / 110 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: July 15, 2011





Genres: Comedy, Romance

Starring: Russell Brand, Jennifer Garner, Helen Mirren
Director: Jason Winer

Plot Synopsis: Russell Brand reinvents the role of lovable billionaire Arthur Bach, an irresponsible charmer who has always relied on two things to get by: his limitless fortune and lifelong nanny Hobson (Academy Award® winner* Helen Mirren) to keep him out of trouble. Now he faces his biggest challenge: choosing between an arranged marriage to ambitious corporate exec Susan (Jennifer Garner) that will ensure his lavish lifestyle, or an uncertain future with the one thing money can’t buy – Naomi (Greta Gerwig), his true love. With Naomi’s inspiration and some unconventional help from Hobson, Arthur will take the most expensive risk of his life and learn what it means to be a man in this re-imagining of the beloved Oscar®-winning* romantic comedy Arthur.

Other releases/ Back catalog releases:








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