MCN Weekend Archive for January, 2014
The DVD Wrapup: Long Day Closes, Downton 4, Cloudy 2, Bad Grandpa
Apart from the Beatles, no artist is as associated with Liverpool as director-writer Terence Davies, whose autobiographical dramas and documentaries go well beyond the impact of the Cavern Club on world culture. Even so, it would be difficult to confuse the Liverpool into which Davies was born and the one in which the Fab Four were raised.
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A very quiet box office weekend with only one new wide release, I, Frankenstein, which pieced together a near-dead $8.1 million opening. Re-expansions of Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years A Slave, and Gravity all did $1.9m-$2m over the weekend. Ride Along is well on its way to being the first $100m domestic grosser for both Ice Cube and Kevin Hart as leads.
Read the full article »Friday Box Office Estimates
Universal continues to sit on top of the chart with 2 genre hits while I, Frankenstein is the only newcomer, not being chased out of town with pitchforks and torches, but not exactly getting the key to the city either. The “Oscar bump” remains soft, with Hustle and Wolf getting the best of it and August: Osage County continuing its mediocre run.
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Blue Jasmine, Prey, Terraferma, Vie De Boheme, Machete, Blue Caprice, Bronies and more.
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: The Wolf of Wall Street
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (Four Stars) U.S.: Martin Scorsese, 2013 “An idea came to me. The thing to do was to skip the heroes and heroines, to write a movie containing only villains and bawds. I would not have to tell any lies then.” —Ben Hecht, describing the genesis of his…
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Buddy comedy Ride Along breezed into the top slot on the Martin Luther King holiday session with an estimated $41.2 million debut (all figures reflect 3-day portion of the weekend). Three other films made national bows with the family animated The Nut Job displaying unexpected strength of $20.5 million and the rebooted Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit submerged below expectations with $16.9 million. The chiller Devil’s Due was further down the list with a spooky $8.5 million.
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Wilmington on Movies: Ride Along
RIDE ALONG (Two Stars) U.S.: Tim Story (2014) Ride Along, which grossed over 40 million dollars in its opening week, is a big, glossy, ultra-predictable buddy cop movie in which costars Ice Cube (Boyz n the Hood) and Kevin Hart (Think Like a Man) and director Tim Story (Barbershop) pull a comedy variation,…
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Enough Said, Spectacular Now, Short Term 12 and more.
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The true-life war zone endurance saga Lone Survivor hit a bull’s-eye in its national debut with an estimated $38.5 million. That left the session’s only wide newcomer, The Legend of Hercules, looking less than buff with $8.7 million, slotting it fourth in the lineup.
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Lone Survivor burst onto the box office scene with what could end up being the biggest January opening ever, depending on how it holds over the weekend. Universal backed away from Oscar ambitions for the film a while ago and set focus on a more traditional audience and it’s paying dividends. Survivor opened about 50% better than last February’s SEAL-focused hit, Act of Valor, which grossed $70m domestically. In the Oscar wars, Wolf and Hustle continue to run neck-‘n’-neck daily, though Hustle remains over $20m ahead in cume after getting a week’s head start. August: Osage County finally goes wide, without much pop.
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Murph the Protector, Ukulele Live, Runner, Badges of Fury, Dreamworld, Godard’s Hail Mary, Killing Fields, Following and more.
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It was the big chill for newcomer Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones as it got iced by Frozen for top spot at the weekend box office. The sole freshman national release bowed to an estimated $18.2 million, roughly $2.5 million behind the animated princess.
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In the final weekend of the holiday, pretty good holds from last Friday overall and the addition of a new title from the Paranormal Activity franchise.
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