Klady By Leonard KladyKlady@moviecitynews.com
Advance to the Rear
Comedy ruled as the debut of Couples Retreat shattered expectations with an estimates $35.2 million opening to lead weekend ticket sales. The film had the unusual good fortune of being the only new national release in a session that includes holiday Mondays in Canada for its Thanksgiving as well as some Eastern states that celebrate…
Read the full article »Daze of the Dead
Zombieland sprung to life to lead weekend ticket sales with an estimated $24.8 million. The session also saw good results of $12.6 million for a 3-D combo of the Toy Story films but there were lesser signs of stamina for the comic The Invention of Lying of $7.3 million and a $4.8 million tally for…
Read the full article »I Want to Live ’til Monday
A trio of new titles couldn’t catch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for the weekend box office crown. Cloudy was hardly overcast as it dipped a modest 20% in its sophomore session to gross an estimated $24.4 million. But it was disappointing returns for the freshman class. The science-fiction thriller Surrogatesranked second with $14.7…
Read the full article »Whether Report
Kid-lit fave Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs claimed bragging rights in the weekend box office race with an estimated $30.3 million debut. The frame was rife with new entries including three other national releases that bowed to tepid commercial response. The black comic The Informant!ranked second with $10.5 million trailed by the darkly romantic…
Read the full article »The Weekend of Tears
The Gridiron Gang ascended, comparatively speaking, to weekend prominence with an estimated opening gross of $14.7 million. Three other films made their national debuts and followed in the rankings with the period whodunit The Black Dahlia bowing to $10.5 million; the animated baseball pic Everybody’s Hero was next with $6 million and the thirtysomething comedy-drama…
Read the full article »The Weekend Report: September 13, 2009
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % change Theaters Cume I Can Do Bad By Myself Lions Gate 24.0 (10,650) New 2255 24 9 Focus 10.4 (6,280) New 1661 14.8 Inglourious Basterds Weinstein Co. 6.5 (2,010) -44% 3215 104.2 All About Steve Fox 5.7 (2,530) -49% 2265 16.01 The Final Destination WB 5.5 (2,020) -55% 2732 58.3…
Read the full article »125 Days of Summer
The Labor Day holiday session saw a slight dip from 2008 revenues but, regardless of how one slices the pie, the final season tally experienced a box office upturn. Initial summer returns add up to approximately $4.36 billion for an improvement of 4.8%. The last gasp of summer had a trio of new national releases…
Read the full article »The Weekend Report: September 6, 2009
Weekend Estimates: September 4-6, 2009 Title Distributor Gross (averag % change Theaters Cume The Final Destination WB 12.5 (3,990) -55% 3121 47.7 Inglourious Basterds Weinstein Co. 11.1 (3,310) -42% 3358 91.3 All About Steve Fox 10.8 (4,810) – 2251 10.8 Gamer Lionsgate 8.9 (3,560) – 2502 8.9 District 9 Sony 6.8 (2,160) -34% 3139 101.1…
Read the full article »Flight Fright
The debut of The Final Destination (we can only hope) usurped the competition to lead weekend ticket sales with an estimated $28.4 million. The penultimate summer weekend included two additional national preems. Another old pal, Halloween II, opened in position three with $17.2 million but there was little nostalgia for Taking Woodstock with a $3.7…
Read the full article »Natzi Schmooks
The alphabetically/historically challenged Inglourious Basterds quashed the Hun with an estimated $38.4 million to lead weekend movie going. The session’s other wide and limited releases were grappling with considerably more downbeat returns. The family targeted Shorts was sixth in the lineup with $6.5 million and the youthful romance Post Grad just tagged position 10 on…
Read the full article »Property Values
The less than huggable E.T.s of District 9 led weekend box office viewing with an estimated $36.8 million. A clutch of new film releases with varying commercial potency buoyed ticket sales including the romantic sci-fi of The Time Traveler’s Wife that ranked third with $19.3 million. There were passable returns for the comic perspective on…
Read the full article »The Weekend Report: August 9, 2009
Weekend Estimates: August 7-9, 2009 Title Distributor Gross (averag % change Theater Cume G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Par 56.6 (14,120) – 4007 56.6 Julie & Julia Sony 19.6 (8,320) – 2354 19.6 G-Force BV 9.7 (2,790) -45% 3482 86 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince WB 8.9 (2,570) -51% 3455 273.8 Funny People Uni…
Read the full article »LOL
A modicum of laughter propelled Funny People to the top of the weekend box office chart with an estimated $23.2 million. The frame also saw a complete miss for the family targeted Aliens in the Attic of $7.7 million and an OK $3.3 million for the thriller The Collector. The session also included a flood…
Read the full article »Gee Whiz!
The rodents of G-Force proved to be mighty mites as they usurped King Potter for the box office crown with an estimated $32.2 million. Two other film debuts figured near the top of the charts. The template rom-com The Ugly Truth ranked third with $27.3 million and the generic chiller The Orphan followed in the…
Read the full article »HP and the Full-Blooded Dish
It was all Harry 24/7 as the sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, stormed the box office with an estimated $79.7 million box office ($159.9 million for 5½ days). It was the most fierce debut in the series history (inflation unadjusted) and all the more incredible in light of a paucity of Imax…
Read the full article »Bru-Maybe
Fabulous! Brüno, everyone’s favorite Austrian fashionista, led weekend ticket sales with an estimated $30.2 million. The frame’s other national bow, I Love You, Beth Cooper received considerably less affection with a $5 million opener and in Quebec local hero De Pere en flic had a huge debut of $1.8 million that cracked the domestic top…
Read the full article »Nice Age 3
It was a box office photo-finish for Independence weekend with sequels to Transformers and Ice Age going toe-to-toe and estimates giving the former a slight edge of $42.4 million to the latter’s $42.1 million. The session’s other major release was vintage gangster opus Public Enemies, which was next in the lineup with $26.1 million. Other…
Read the full article »Transformers: Triumph of the Risen
The tracking was great … just not this seemingly boffo. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen smashed the competition with an estimated weekend gross of $110.8 million and a five-day near record gross of $200 million. That left the frame’s other wide release — the decidedly femme-centric, weepy My Sister’s Keeper — picking up scraps of…
Read the full article »Wedding Bell Green
The Proposal was an offer the audience couldn’t refuse as the romantic comedy romped to an estimated $34.4 million debut to gain weekend bragging rights. The frame’s other national freshman — the caveman comedy Year One — grunted $20.1 million to finish fourth overall. New titles in limited or regional release had a few bright…
Read the full article »Festival in …
They don’t have car shows in Detroit. But in Los Angeles — a once near-moribund venue for alternative cinema — the landscape is rife with celebrations of the seventh art. The unprepossessing-sounding Los Angeles Film Festival is one of two annual events (the other, AFI Fest, unspools in November) that at least on paper strive…
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