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Leonard Klady

By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

Posted Sunday, October 19th, 2008 - Comments Off on Feel the Payne … George
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Feel the Payne … George

While the press beat the Bushes, audiences marched to the multiplex to see the neo-noir Max Payne and the Mark Wahlberg vehicle led the frame with an estimated $18.1 million. W. — Oliver Stone’s rumination on the sitting U.S. president — ranked third overall with $10.5 million; just a heartbeat away from another new release, the warm, family dramaThe Secret Life of Bees, which grossed $10.8 million.

A fourth freshman national release, the teen comedy Sex Drive, lacked momentum with $3.6 million.

Meanwhile limited and regional bows saw some impressive response. In Canada, the epic First World War sagaPasschendaele aggressively pushed forward with a $930,000 box office from 202 theaters. The Hollywood insider comedyWhat Just Happened? green lit $193,000 in 36 exposures, and there were fair returns of $131,000 for the sailing docMorning Light. Bollywood entry Karzzzz had transmission problems with a $45,000 gross at 53 venues, and Madonna’s directing debut Filth and Wisdom divorced a spare $3,700 in a Manhattan solo.

Overall business was essentially flat from last weekend but received a welcome 8% upturn from 2007.

Max Payne entered the session with solid tracking among avids familiar with its video game roots. It had a solid lead in market research studies, performing pretty much as expected.

Slightly better than anticipated was The Secret Life of Bees, based on a warm, fuzzy novel about interracial tolerance back in the 1960s. Decidedly a family film skewing older, it was just a step behind the more kid-friendly Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

The polls also indicated a limited appeal for W. The real life prez’s low approval rating coupled with the filmmaker’s perceived bias kept a significant slice of the audience away. Detractors also appeared lukewarm to a skewering that was all too familiar, and the overall results were middling.

Weekend revenues clocked in with roughly $103 million for a slim 0.7% bump from last weekend. It was, however, 8% improved from 2007, when the bow of 30 Days of Night topped the charts with $16 million and Why Did I Get Married?placed second with $12.2 million.

Toronto Film Festival curtain-raiser Passenchandaele was admired rather than embraced at the event, but the resonances of the bygone time obviously tapped into a sizeable crowd. It’s now finger-crossing time as word-of-mouth will shape on-going commercial endurance.

There’s also considerable nervousness about Sundance-preemed What Just Happened?. The cognoscenti appear to have got the joke but will it play Peoria?

The marketplace is starting to see more and more platforms enter the fray and so far the slow roll out of Rachel Getting Married is getting considerable traction. There are also signs of niche potency for Brit import Happy-Go-Lucky, and evenRockNRolla seems to be tapping into alternative viewers searching something a bit more viscerally inclined.

– Leonard Klady

Weekend Finals – October 17-19, 2008

– – Title Distrib Weekend % Change Theaters Cume Wks
1 New Max Payne Fox 17,639,849 – 3376 17,639,849 1
2 1 Beverly Hills Chihuahua BV 11,422,425 -35% 3239 69,282,569 3
3 New The Secret Life of Bees Fox Searchlight 10,527,799 – 1591 10,527,799 1
4 New W. Lions Gate 10,505,668 – 2030 10,505,668 1
5 4 Eagle Eye Par 7,029,718 -36% 3326 81,021,825 4
6 3 Body of Lies WB 6,824,259 -47% 2714 24,424,928 2
7 2 Quarantine Sony 6,084,580 -57% 2463 24,471,512 2
8 5 Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist Sony 3,693,384 -42% 2241 26,500,875 3
9 New Sex Drive Summit 3,607,164 – 2421 3,607,164 1
10 7 Nights in Rodanthe WB 2,657,440 -41% 2115 36,869,470 4
11 10 Fireproof IDP 2,578,271 -18% 905 20,628,110 4
12 6 The Express Uni 2,191,810 -52% 2810 8,214,570 2
13 9 The Duchess Par Vantage 2,121,588 -36% 1207 9,128,899 5
14 8 Appaloosa WB 2,029,200 -38% 1265 14,326,286 5
15 11 City of Ember Fox 1,730,755 -45% 2023 5,926,753 2
16 13 Religulous Lions Gate 1,446,221 -35% 540 9,068,325 3
17 12 Lakeview Terrace Sony 1,153,588 -56% 1157 38,228,466 5
18 14 Burn After Reading Focus 1,097,546 -48% 708 57,118,919 6
19 New Passchandaele Alliance 835,678 – 202 835,678 1
20 25 Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics 657,646 48% 69 1,693,047 3
21 20 The Dark Knight WB 412,148 -22% 290 527,356,352 14
22 17 The Family That Preys Lions Gate 362,063 -57% 325 37,019,849 6
23 15 An American Carol Vivendi 350,000 -75% 599 6,776,000 3
24 27 Wall-E BV 342,730 -16% 321 222,104,566 17
25 28 Journey to the Center of the Earth WB 259,963 -11% 276 100,830,143 15
26 19 Igor MGM 242,231 -57% 543 18,547,870 5
27 21 Ghost Town Par 207,491 -59% 252 12,888,414 5
28 22 Righteous Kill Overture 193,591 -60% 381 39,228,389 6
29 New What Just Happened Magnolia 192,508 – 36 192,508 1
30 29 Vicky Christina Barcelona MGM 182,297 -28% 109 21,754,183 10
31 32 Mamma Mia! Uni 168,730 -12% 219 143,328,710 14
32 23 My Best Friend’s Girl Lions Gate 152,163 -68% 206 19,151,864 5
33 16 Flash of Genius Uni 138,375 -84% 225 4,234,040 3
34 36 RockNRolla WB 133,679 -8% 22 403,892 2
35 New Morning Light BV 129,295 – 55 129,295 1
36 45 Happy-Go-Lucky Mrmx 107,947 46% 9 217,388 2
37 37 Pineapple Express Sony 107,883 -22% 183 87,857,460 11
38 73 Star Wars: The Clone Wars WB 100,933 288% 234 35,011,371 10
39 24 Miracle at St. Anna BV 97,329 -80% 147 7,756,328 4
40 30 The Women Picturehouse 90,028 -60% 155 26,670,874 6
41 33 Tropic Thunder Par 89,265 -41% 179 109,876,133 10
42 38 Step Brothers Sony 73,434 -39% 141 101,150,357 13
43 40 The Mummy: Tomb of Dragon Emperor Uni 69,133 -36% 170 102,991,942 12
44 New Kotha Bangaru Lokam Great India 69,043 – 13 69,043 1
45 41 Kung Fu Panda Par 65,175 -33% 140 215,638,287 20
46 New Karzzz Adlabs 60,939 – 65 60,939 1
47 72 Disaster Movie Lions Gate 57,188 120% 111 14,174,654 8
48 35 Choke Fox Searchlight 55,490 -62% 64 2,831,900 4
49 44 Tell No One Music Box 55,459 -25% 59 5,844,827 16
50 18 Blindness Mrmx/Alliance 55,165 -91% 73 3,996,561 3
51 54 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure nWave 54,202 7% 25 19,324,624 55
52 31 Billy: The Early Years Rocky Mountain 50,740 -74% 118 320,896 2
53 39 The House Bunny Sony 50,358 -55% 96 48,318,747 9
54 60 Dolphins and Whales 3-D 3D Entertainment 48,136 22% 11 4,888,909 36
55 47 Babylon A.D. Fox 46,998 -22% 86 22,489,779 8
56 42 Get Smart WB 46,840 -39% 71 130,246,343 18
57 51 Deep Sea 3-D WB 45,752 -15% 10 36,637,554 138
58 50 Mirrors Fox 45,302 -19% 68 30,575,158 10
59 43 Hancock Sony 44,165 -41% 80 229,333,038 16
60 46 Death Race Uni 44,041 -37% 93 36,141,571 9
61 53 Forever Strong Crane 43,264 -14% 22 549,352 4
62 48 Fly Me to the Moon Summit 42,949 -26% 53 12,085,870 10
63 59 Call + Response Fair Trade 40,610 2% 7 122,132 2
64 81 Bangkok Dangerous Lions Gate 37,255 117% 104 15,279,680 7
65 52 Man on Wire Magnolia 36,456 -32% 38 2,667,120 13
66 49 Faubourg 36 Alliance 36,091 -37% 22 117,814 2
67 26 How to Lose Friends & Alienate Peopl MGM 35,948 -92% 122 2,725,950 3
68 58 Frozen River Sony Classics 34,514 -14% 50 2,112,984 12
69 56 Elegy IDP 33,239 -26% 37 3,510,091 11
70 55 Traitor Overture 32,178 -31% 82 23,279,981 8
71 69 Magnificent Desolation Imax 31,058 9% 6 26,138,932 161
72 61 Space Chimps Fox 26,805 -30% 72 30,054,058 14
73 77 Space Station Imax 24,761 23% 3 76,639,519 340
74 68 Chintakayala Ravi Ficus 21,232 -30% 16 190,323 3
75 62 Transsiberian First Look 20,730 -43% 22 2,121,376 14
76 57 C’est pas moi, je le jure! Seville 19,657 -54% 18 325,520 4
77 65 Paris Equinoxe 19,645 -38% 9 129,171 3
78 63 Talento de Barrio Maya 18,770 -48% 23 64,180 2
79 74 A Secret Strand 18,503 -23% 6 324,091 7
80 75 Ashes of Time: Redux Sony Classics 18,175 -15% 9 50,619 2
Source: MCN/EDI

Estimates – October 17-19, 2008

Title Distributor Gross (average % chh Theas Cume
Max Payne Fox 18.1 (5,350) – 3376 18.1
Beverly Hills Chihuahua BV 11.3 (3,490) -35% 3239 69.2
The Secret Life of Bees Fox Searchlight 10.8 (6,780) – 1591 10.8
W. Lions Gate 10.5 (5,160) – 2030 10.5
Eagle Eye Par 7.3 (2,260) -33% 3236 81.3
Body of Lies WB 6.9 (2,550) -46% 2714 24.5
Quarantine Sony 6.0 (2,430) -58% 2463 24.4
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist Sony 3.8 (1,690) -41% 2241 26.6
Sex Drive Summit 3.6 (1,470) – 2421 3.6
Nights in Rodanthe WB 2.6 (1,240) -42% 2115 36.8
Fireproof IDP 2.6 (2,910) -16% 905 20.7
The Express Uni 2.2 (800) -51% 2810 8.3
The Duchess Par Vantage 2.2 (1,800) -34% 1207 9.2
Appaloosa WB 2.0 (1,570) -40% 1265 14.3
City of Ember Fox 1.6 (810) -48% 2023 5.8
Religulous Lions Gate 1.5 (2,750) -34% 540 9.1
Lakeview Terrace Sony 1.2 (1,010) -56% 1157 38.2
Burn After Reading Focus 1.1 (1,540) -48% 708 57.1
Passchendaele Alliance .93 (4,600) – 202 0.93
Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics .67 (10,150) 50% 66 1.7
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films $96.90 – – –
% Change (Last Year) – 8% – – –
% Change (Last Week) – 1% – – –
Also debuting/expanding
What Just Happened? Magnolia .19 (5,360) – 36 0.19
Morning Light BV .13 (2,380) – 55 0.13
RockNRolla WB .13 (5,820) -12% 22 0.4
Happy-Go-Lucky Miramax .11 (12,110) 47% 9 0.22
Karzzzz Adlabs 45,100 (850) – 53 0.05
Sagan Equinoxe 8,400 (2,100) – 4 0.01
Frotrunners Oscilloscope 5,900 (5,900) – 1 0.01
Filth and Wisdom IFC 3,700 (3,700) – 1 0.01

Domestic Market Share – To October 16, 2008

Distributor (releases) Gross Mrkt Share
Warner Bros. (25) 1522.2 19.90%
Paramount (15) 1321.3 17.30%
Sony (22) 1030.6 13.50%
Universal (18) 969.4 12.60%
Fox (20) 784.8 10.20%
Buena Vista (13) 721.1 9.40%
Lions Gate (15) 297.2 3.90%
Fox Searchlight (6) 153.7 2.00%
Focus (6) 120.9 1.60%
MGM (14) 104.9 1.40%
Overture (6) 94.4 1.20%
Paramount Vantage (11) 79.9 1.00%
Picturehouse (7) 62.9 0.80%
New Line (4) 61.8 0.80%
Miramax (8) 58.1 0.80%
Summit (3) 46.9 0.60%
Other * (270) 231.6 3.00%
* none greater than 0.4% 7661.7 100.00%

Top Domestic Grossers – To October 16, 2008

Title Distributor Gross
The Dark Knight WB 526,944,204
Iron Man Par 318,338,993
Indiana Jones & Kingdom of the Cry Par 317,023,851
Hancock Sony 229,288,873
Wall-E BV 221,761,836
Kung Fu Panda Par 215,573,112
Horton Hears a Who Fox 154,529,439
Sex and the City WB 152,647,258
Mamma Mia! Uni 143,159,980
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Ca BV 141,682,713
The Incredible Hulk Uni 134,617,678
Wanted Uni 134,512,024
Get Smart WB 130,199,503
Juno * Fox Searchlight 115,568,583
Tropic Thunder Par 109,786,868
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon E Uni 102,922,809
Step Brothers Sony 101,076,923
Journey to the Center of the Earth WB 100,570,180
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan Sony 100,112,110
10,000 B.C. WB 94,819,450
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon