Posts Tagged ‘Sanctum’
Sunday, February 20th, 2011
I Am Number?
There was little to salute as the weekend portion of the President’s holiday frame saw movie going once again register box office and admission declines. A trio of new films opened to modest response including the action-thriller Unknown, which led the field (though it could slip to second for the four-day period) with an estimated $21.9 million. Also new were the teen-oriented chiller I Am Number 4 , with $19.4 million to slot third, and the comedy sequel Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son in position five with $16.4 million.
There were also a tsunami of niche and exclusive bows including new Hindi and Telegu movies from India. But neither 7 Khoon Maaf nor Katha Screenplay Darsakakatvam provided more than a ripple of interest. Best of the limited releases was the non-fiction The Last Lions with $49,400 at four venues and Spanish Oscar submission Even the Rain, which grossed $52,600 from eight screens. And the fistful of exclusive bows was largely non-vigorous, though the doc I Am generated an encouraging $10,100 in its solo flight.
The absence of an 11th hour Oscar surge didn’t help the situation, though two contenders — The King’s Speech and Black Swan — managed to pass the $100 million threshold. Still, the failure of most late calendar releases to find Academy favor and the wave of new releases pushing out front-runners trends toward a serious re-thinking in theatrical exploitation for award season movies.
The four-day weekend should generate roughly $175 million and that translates into a 28% drop from President’s weekend 2010. It’s a more modest 4% erosion from the prior weekend. A year ago the trio of freshmen comprised of Valentine’s Day, Percy Jackson and The Wolfman debuted to respective grosses of $63.1 million, $38.7 million and $35.6 million.
Unknown skewed dramatically older with exits indicating 89% of its ticket buyers older than 25-years old. Surprisingly, I Am Number 4 also went slightly older with 53% plus 25s and Big Mommas had a 50/50 split. Also unexpected was Number 4’s 57/43 split that favored men and only 26% of its audience identified as teens.
The past six months has certainly seen a listing toward what the industry views as an older audience. The combination of the majors’ historic slowness at responding to change in the marketplace and decades of reliance on young males to propel special effects movies into the box office stratosphere is about to face a major challenge in May.
If you build it … will they come? Stay tuned.
___________________________________
Weekend Estimates – February 18-20, 2011
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
Unknown |
WB |
21.9 (7,190) |
NEW |
3043 |
21.9 |
Gnomeo and Juliet |
BV/eOne |
19.6 (6,490) |
-23% |
3014 |
50.6 |
I Am Number 4 |
BV |
19.4 (6,160) |
NEW |
3154 |
19.4 |
Just Go With It |
Sony |
18.3 (5,150) |
-40% |
3548 |
60.8 |
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son |
Fox |
16.4 (5,810) |
NEW |
2821 |
16.4 |
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never |
Par |
13.6 (4,370) |
-54% |
3118 |
48.5 |
The King’s Speech |
Weinstein Co. |
6.5 (3,100) |
-11% |
2086 |
103.2 |
The Roommate |
Sony |
4.0 (1,870) |
-50% |
2160 |
32.6 |
The Eagle |
Focus |
3.4 (1,490) |
-61% |
2296 |
14.9 |
No Strings Attached |
Par |
3.1 (1,570) |
-47% |
1966 |
66 |
True Grit |
Par |
2.4 (1,660) |
-36% |
1465 |
164.2 |
Sanctum |
Uni |
1.5 (1,110) |
-73% |
1377 |
21.8 |
The Fighter |
Par/Alliance |
1.5 (1,990) |
-30% |
759 |
87.9 |
The Green Hornet |
Sony |
1.5 (1,170) |
-60% |
1265 |
95.1 |
Black Swan |
Fox Searchlight |
1.3 (1,970) |
-39% |
656 |
101.5 |
The Rite |
WB |
1.1 (1,030) |
-67% |
1048 |
31.3 |
The Mechanic |
CBS |
1.0 (1,090) |
-68% |
952 |
27.9 |
Cedar Rapids |
Fox Searchlight |
.93 (9,120) |
207% |
102 |
1.3 |
Barney’s Version |
eOne/Sony Classics |
.80 (2,850) |
90% |
323 |
4.3 |
Tangled |
BV |
.55 (1,410) |
-32% |
389 |
194.1 |
Biutiful |
Roadside |
.52 (3,640) |
-10% |
143 |
3 |
Tron: Legacy |
BV |
.43 (1,380) |
-22% |
312 |
170.4 |
Yogi Bear |
WB |
.41 (570) |
-47% |
725 |
97.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$139.30 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
-28% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
-4% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
Blue Valentine |
Weinstein Co. |
.32 (1,370) |
-45% |
235 |
8.8 |
The Company Men |
Weinstein Co. |
.29 (1,210) |
-44% |
242 |
3.5 |
Another Year |
Sony Classics |
.22 (1,820) |
-33% |
121 |
2.5 |
7 Khoon Maaf |
UTV |
.19 (2,470) |
|
76 |
0.19 |
The Illusionist |
Sony Classics |
.19 (1,790) |
-37% |
106 |
1.5 |
Even the Rain |
Vitagraph |
52,600 (6,570) |
|
8 |
0.05 |
The Last Lions |
National Geo |
49,400 (12,350) |
|
4 |
0.05 |
Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam |
Supreme |
36,700 (1,930) |
|
19 |
0.04 |
Immigration Tango |
Roadside |
14,400 (380) |
|
30 |
0.01 |
En terrains connus |
eOne |
12,600 (1,050) |
|
12 |
0.01 |
I Am |
Paladin |
10,100 (10,100) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Brotherhood |
Phase 4 |
8,800 (8,800) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
The Chaperone |
IFC |
6,900 (690) |
|
10 |
0.01 |
Putty Hill |
Cinema Guild |
4,500 (4,500) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Vanishing on 7th Street |
Magnolia |
3,200 (3,200) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – 2010
Distributor |
Gross |
Market Share |
Paramount (8) |
236.4 |
21.60% |
Sony (9) |
216.8 |
19.80% |
Universal (5) |
131.8 |
12.00% |
Buena Vista (4) |
114.3 |
10.40% |
Weinstein Co. (3) |
90.6 |
8.30% |
Warner Bros. (10) |
87.9 |
8.00% |
Fox Searchlight (3) |
66.6 |
6.10% |
Fox (4) |
47.4 |
4.30% |
CBS (2) |
27.4 |
2.50% |
Relativity (2) |
24.6 |
2.20% |
Focus (2) |
12.9 |
1.20% |
Sony Classics (5) |
5.9 |
0.50% |
Other * (49) |
33.5 |
3.10% |
1096.1` |
100.00% |
* none greater than 0.45% |
Tags: 7 Khoon Maaf, Another Year, Barney's Version, Big Mommas: Like Father, Biutiful, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Brotherhood, Cedar Rapids, En terrains connus, Even The Rain, Gnomeo and Juliet, I Am, I Am Number 4, Immigration Tango, just go with it, justin bieber: never say never, Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam, Like Son, No Strings Attached, Putty Hill, Sanctum, Tangled, The Chaperone, The Company Men, The Eagle, The Fighter, The Green Hornet, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, The Last Lions, The Mechanic, The Rite, the roommate, Tron - Legacy, True Grit, Unknown, Vanishing on 7th Street, Yogi Bear
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | 1 Comment »
Sunday, February 13th, 2011
Bieber Pitch
By Leonard Klady
It was Sandler by a nose over the teen sensation. The rom-com Just Go With It emerged with an estimated $30.8 million while the 3D concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never was right behind with $30.4 million. In a session energized by new releases the animated Gnomeo and Juliet charted third with $25.3 million and the Gladiator-lite The Eagle slotted in position five with a drab $8.3 million.
The frame also featured a clutch of incoming niche and exclusive debuts. Bollywood entry Patiala House was the best of the newbies with $352,000 at 80 venues and on the Pinoy circuit Bulong had an OK $25,300 at six locales. Testing the waters with 15 screens, the comic Cedar Rapids found the temp conducive with a $302,000 tally.
There was also good response to the Oscar shorts tour with a first stop of $237,000 and the pacifist doc Mooz-lum had an impressive $12,000 per location average of $12,000, The single screen bow of another doc, Vidal Sassoon, looked and dressed good with $13,800.
Following a month of box office declines revenues experienced dramatic upturns that have finally put smiles on the folks in the distribution and exhibition sector.
Pundits were confident that the Sandler – Aniston pairing in Just Go With It would generate a $30 million plus opening salvo that would easily outdistance any threat from Justin Bieber’s concert foray. The latter movie was pegged at $25 million to $28 million and was the clear winner on opening day Friday with close to a $3 million edge of $12.4 million.
However, whereas the pubescent fan base proved to be first day fanatics, the older Valentine romantics were dominant for Saturday date night. The Bieber group declined by 13% while the Gos expanded by 42%. Both films skewed female with the concert crowd comprised of a whopping 84% and 67% under 25 according to exit polls. The comedy crowd was 58% distaff and 60% comprised of plus 25%. Never Say Never also registered a very potent 84% attendance for its stereoscopic playdates.
That still left plenty of room for the family audience that embraced Gnomeo and Juliet. Largely underserved in recent weeks, trackers underestimated its appeal with predictions in the range of $16 million to $20 million. The Eagle was the poor cousin in the mix and largely negative reviews didn’t help improve a lackluster response.
Overall revenues pushed to roughly $150 million for an eye-popping 73% boost from the prior weekend. It was also an impressive 32% improvement from 2010. Last year’s freshmen thrust was provided by first and third ranked Dear John and From Paris with Love with respective opening salvos of $30.5 million and $8.2 million.
Obviously with so much incoming fare the crowd of Oscar contenders – even the most resilient – lost a significant number of screens. And if on-going appeal is any kind of indicator, The King’s Speech contingent would be well advised to brush up on their elocution. It sputtered an insignificant 5% erosion despite the loss of 321 theaters.
Weekend (estimates) February 11 – 13, 2011 |
|
|
|
|
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (avg) |
% chng |
Thtrs |
Cume |
Just Go With It |
Sony |
30.8 (8,680) |
NEW |
3548 |
30.8 |
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never |
Par |
30.4 (9,790) |
NEW |
3105 |
30.4 |
Gnomeo and Juliet |
BV |
25.3 (8,450) |
NEW |
2994 |
25.3 |
The Roommate |
Sony |
8.3 (3,290) |
-44% |
2534 |
26 |
The Eagle |
Focus |
8.3 (3,630) |
NEW |
2296 |
8.3 |
The King’s Speech |
TWC |
7.3 (3,230) |
-5% |
2263 |
93.8 |
No Strings Attached |
Par |
5.6 (2,030) |
-30% |
2756 |
59.8 |
Sanctum |
Uni |
5.1 (1,830) |
-46% |
2789 |
17.5 |
True Grit |
Par |
3.8 (1,820) |
-19% |
2072 |
160.3 |
The Green Hornet |
Sony |
3.6 (1,730) |
-39% |
2090 |
92.3 |
The Rite |
WB |
3.1 (1,410) |
-44% |
2207 |
28.7 |
The Mechanic |
CBS |
3.1 (1,630) |
-42% |
1886 |
25.3 |
The Fighter |
Par/Alliance |
2.1 (2,030) |
-25% |
1049 |
85.6 |
Black Swan |
FoxSrchlght |
2.1 (1,980) |
-37% |
1069 |
99.3 |
Dilemma |
Uni |
1.0 (800) |
-70% |
1242 |
47.6 |
Tangled |
BV |
.77 (980) |
-58% |
784 |
193.3 |
Yogi Bear |
WB |
.74 (670) |
-67% |
1111 |
96.6 |
Blue Valentine |
TWC |
.57 (1,450) |
-28% |
393 |
8.2 |
Tron: Legacy |
BV |
.55 (1,510) |
-60% |
364 |
169.7 |
127 Hours |
FoxSrchlght |
.54 (1,500) |
-50% |
359 |
16.8 |
Biutiful |
Roadside |
.52 (2,740) |
-19% |
190 |
2.2 |
The Company Men |
TWC |
.51 (1,840) |
-7% |
277 |
3 |
Barney’s Version |
eOne/SPC |
.44 (4,400) |
-11% |
119 |
3.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
$144.10 |
|
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
32% |
|
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
73% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
Patiala House |
Hari |
.35 (4,400) |
|
80 |
0.35 |
Another Year |
Sony Classics |
.34 (1,970) |
-23% |
236 |
2.2 |
The Illusionist |
Sony Classics |
.32 (1,540) |
70% |
205 |
1.15 |
Cedar Rapids |
FoxSrchlght |
.30 (20,150) |
|
15 |
0.3 |
2011 Oscar Shorts |
Magnolia |
.24 (3,880) |
|
61 |
0.24 |
Mooz-lum |
Peace-Films |
.13 (12,000) |
|
11 |
0.13 |
Gaganam |
Big Pictures |
96,700 (6,400) |
|
16 |
0.1 |
Bulong |
ABS |
25,300 (4,210) |
|
6 |
0.03 |
Poetry |
Kino |
18,300 (6,100) |
|
3 |
0.02 |
Payanam |
Big Pictures |
15,400 (1,490) |
|
9 |
0.02 |
Vidal Sassoon: The Movie |
Phase 4 |
13,800 (13,800) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Carancho |
Strand |
12,900 (4,300) |
|
3 |
0.01 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Feb. 10, 2011) |
|
|
|
|
Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
|
|
|
Paramount (7) |
184.7 |
20.60% |
|
|
|
Sony (8) |
157.6 |
17.50% |
|
|
|
Universal (5) |
121.9 |
13.60% |
|
|
|
Buena Vista (3) |
83.9 |
9.40% |
|
|
|
Warner Bros. (10) |
81.3 |
9.10% |
|
|
|
Weinstein Co. (3) |
78.8 |
8.80% |
|
|
|
Fox Searchlight (2) |
62.4 |
6.90% |
|
|
|
Fox (4) |
46.6 |
5.20% |
|
|
|
Relativity (2) |
24.5 |
2.70% |
|
|
|
CBS (2) |
22.6 |
2.50% |
|
|
|
Alliance (5) |
5.3 |
0.60% |
|
|
|
Other * (49) |
27.7 |
3.10% |
|
|
|
|
897.3 |
100.00% |
|
|
|
Tags: 127 Hours, Barney's Version, Biutiful, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Dilemma, Gnomeo and Juliet, just go with it, justin bieber: never say never, No Strings Attached, Sanctum, Tangled, The Company Men, The Eagle, The Fighter, The Green Hornet, The King's Speech, The Mechanic, The Rite, the roommate, Tron - Legacy, True Grit, Yogi Bear
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | 1 Comment »
Saturday, February 12th, 2011
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never|12.2|3965|NEW|12.2
Just Go With It|9.3|3548|NEW|9.3
Gnomeo and Juliet|6|2994|NEW|6
The Eagle|2.7|2296|NEW|2.7
The Roommate|2.8|2534|-60%|20.2
The King’s Speech|1.8|2263|-22%|88.3
No Strings Attached|1.7|2756|-43%|55.9
Sanctum|1.4|2789|-62%|13.7
True Grit|.95|2072|-38%|158
The Green Hornet|.85|2090-51%|89.6
Also Debuting
Cedar Rapids|77,700|80
2011 Oscar Shorts|53,200|15
Mooz-lum|43,600|11
Gaganam|22,500|14
Bulong|7350|6
Vidal Sassoon: The Movie|5250|1
Poetry|4300|3
Payanam|3600|9
Carancho|3200|3
Tags: 2011 Oscar Shorts, Bulong, Carancho, Cedar Rapids, Gaganam, Gnomeo and Juliet, just go with it, justin bieber: never say never, Mooz-lum, No Strings Attached, Payanam, poetry, Sanctum, The Eagle, The Green Hornet, The King's Speech, the roommate, True Grit, Vidal Sassoon: The Movie
Posted in Friday Box Office Estimates, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Friday Estimates – February 11, 2011
Sunday, February 6th, 2011
Where Have All the Avids Gone …
Long Time Passing
The debut of The Roommate led an anemic field at the weekend box office with an estimated $15.5 million. Second ranked was another newcomer – the 3D adventure Sanctum – with a disappointing $9.2 million.
Anticipating steep Sunday admission drops from the Super Bowl both national and niche debuts were generally directed to strong single quadrant audiences. Opening day-and-date with Mainland China, the Sino version of What Women Want generated a dull $58,900 at 29 venues; the family oriented The Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec struggled to $51,300 at 27 screens in Quebec; and the inspirational Midway to Heaven was stuck in the middle with $42,400 at 10 playdates. Best of the new exclusives was American indie Cold Weather with a $14,800 tally on a single screen.
Continuing the first quarter cold spell ticket sales experienced double digit declines that have left both the exhibition and distribution sectors in a very blue funk.
The Roommate, a remake in all but name and credit of Single White Female, bucked recent viewing trend with exit polls showing strong younger appeal. Its 65% female crowd was not unexpected and its 61% under 21 makeup was encouraging … at least for an opening weekend gross that was largely predicted by tracking pundits.
Sanctum wasn’t as lucky with, again, a distaff skewing set of viewers, albeit largely plus 25s. The sizzle was all about its stereoscopic qualities and reviewers skewered its artistic elements. Still tracking indicated a bow of $10 million to $12 million that audiences weren’t willing to make come true.
Overall business fell short of $90 million for a 20% decline from the prior weekend. It was a slightly steeper 22% drop from 2010 when the $30.5 million opening of Dear John toppled Avatar’s reign with that film taking the bridesmaid spot with $22.8 million.
The industry is now inured to Super Bowl’s clobber but the more serious concern is the sudden disappearance of the avid audience that falls between ages 17 and 25. Recent movie releases are largely being blamed with no relief in sight for the first quarter of 2011 and certainly no possibility of Oscar fare bringing up the slack.
The official line is that the avids will return but somewhere in the dark recesses are concerns that a significant portion of that audience has opted out of the theatrical experience in favor of new technologies and platforms. Theater owners are buckling down for additional experimentation in “windows” that will cut into their bottom line.
Historically the majors have been slow to respond to change and if logically an aging population would suggest adopting more mature content, don’t expect that penny to drop for three to five years. Independents could move in to fill the gap though one can be certain their deep pocket brethren will out spend them to ensure market share dominance rather than address real business issues.
___________________________________
Weekend Estimates – February 4-6, 2011
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
The Roommate |
Sony |
15.5 (6,130) |
NEW |
2534 |
15.5 |
Sanctum |
Uni |
9.2 (3,300) |
NEW |
2787 |
9.2 |
No Strings Attached |
Par |
8.3 (2,730) |
-38% |
3050 |
51.7 |
The King’s Speech |
Weinstein Co. |
8.1 (3,150) |
-27% |
2584 |
83.9 |
The Green Hornet |
Sony |
6.3 (2,070) |
-44% |
3033 |
87.4 |
The Rite |
WB |
5.6 (1,880) |
-62% |
2985 |
23.7 |
The Mechanic |
CBS |
5.3 (1,970) |
-53% |
2704 |
20 |
True Grit |
Par |
4.8 (1,650) |
-36% |
2902 |
155 |
Dilemma |
Uni |
3.4 (1,340) |
-40% |
2545 |
45.7 |
Black Swan |
Fox Searchlight |
3.4 (1,710) |
-34% |
1977 |
95.9 |
The Fighter |
Par/Alliance |
2.9 (1,730) |
-27% |
1662 |
82.4 |
Yogi Bear |
WB |
2.3 (1,260) |
-28% |
1807 |
95.4 |
Tangled |
BV |
1.8 (1,330) |
-28% |
1369 |
192 |
127 Hours |
Fox Searchlight |
1.4 (1,510) |
-36% |
899 |
15.7 |
Tron: Legacy |
BV |
1.4 (1,320) |
-46% |
1040 |
168.8 |
Little Fockers |
Uni |
1.2 (910) |
-52% |
1355 |
146.5 |
Blue Valentine |
Weinstein Co. |
.79 (1,760) |
-33% |
450 |
7.3 |
From Prada to Nada |
Lionsgate |
.69 (2,640) |
-38% |
261 |
2 |
Biutiful |
Roadside |
.63 (3,560) |
38% |
177 |
1.4 |
Country Strong |
Sony |
.61 (640) |
-52% |
948 |
19.8 |
The Company Men |
Weinstein Co. |
.55 (2,380) |
-17% |
231 |
2.3 |
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader |
Fox |
.53 (1,030) |
-40% |
514 |
102.6 |
Gulliver’s Travels |
Fox |
.67 (1,030) |
-42% |
495 |
41.14 |
Another Year |
Sony Classics |
.48 (2,030) |
55% |
236 |
1.7 |
Barney’s Version |
eOne/Sony Classics |
.43 (3,570) |
-13% |
119 |
2.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$84.70 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
-22% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
-20% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
The Illusionist |
Sony Classics |
.19 (2,850) |
46% |
68 |
0.77 |
Incendies |
eOne/Seville |
.14 (3,050) |
30% |
47 |
2.8 |
Rabbit Hole |
Lionsgate |
.12 (890) |
-32% |
131 |
1.7 |
What Women Want |
China Lion |
58,900 (2,030) |
|
29 |
0.06 |
Adele Blanc-Sec |
Seville |
51,300 (1,900) |
|
27 |
0.05 |
Midway to Heaven |
Excel |
42,400 (4,240) |
|
10 |
0.04 |
Cold Weather |
IFC |
14,800 (14,800) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Troubadours |
PBS |
13,200 (4,400) |
|
3 |
0.01 |
Waiting Forever |
FreeStyle |
8,700 (2,900) |
|
3 |
0.01 |
The Other Woman |
IFC |
5,800 (2,900) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
Top Domestic Grossers – 2010
Distributor |
Gross |
Market Share |
Paramount (7) |
163.5 |
20.90% |
Sony (7) |
130.7 |
16.70% |
Universal (4) |
103.7 |
13.30% |
Buena Vista (3) |
79.6 |
10.20% |
Warner Bros. (10) |
70.1 |
9.00% |
Weinstein Co. (3) |
66.2 |
8.50% |
Fox Searchlight (2) |
55.7 |
7.10% |
Fox (4) |
45.1 |
5.80% |
Relativity (2) |
24.1 |
3.10% |
CBS (2) |
15.1 |
1.90% |
Alliance (5) |
4.9 |
0.60% |
Other * (46) |
22.3 |
2.90% |
781 |
100.00% |
* none greater than 0.4% |
Tags: 127 Hours, Adele Blanc-Sec, Another Year, Barney's Version, Biutiful, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader, Cold Weather, Country Strong, Dilemma, From Prada to Nada, Gulliver's Travels, incendies, Little Fockers, Midway to Heaven, No Strings Attached, Rabbit Hole, Sanctum, Tangled, The Company Men, The Fighter, The Green Hornet, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, The Mechanic, The Other Woman, The Rite, the roommate, Tron - Legacy, Troubadours, True Grit, Waiting Forever, What Women Want, Yogi Bear
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | Comments Off on The Weekend Report – February 6
Sunday, February 6th, 2011
The Roommate|15.5|NEW|15.5
Sanctum|9.2|NEW|9.2
No Strings Attached|8.3|-38%|8.3
The King’s Speech|8.1|-27%|83.9
The Green Hornet|6.3|-44%|87.4
The Rite|5.6|-62%|23.7
The Mechanic|5.3|-53%|20
True Grit|4.8|-36%|155
The Dilemma|3.4|-40%|45.7
Black Swan|3.4|-34%|95.9
Tags: Black Swan, Dilemma, No Strings Attached, Sanctum, The Green Hornet, The King's Speech, The Mechanic, The Rite, the roommate, True Grit
Posted in Estimates, MCN Weekend | Comments Off on Weekend Estimates — February 6
Saturday, February 5th, 2011
The Roommate |6.3|2534|NEW|6.3
Sanctum |3.5|2787|NEW|3.5
No Strings Attached|2.9|3050|-34%|46.3
The King’s Speech|2.3|2584|-20%|78.1
The Rite |1.9|2985|-64%|20
The Mechanic|1.8|2704|-51%|16.5
The Green Hornet|1.7|3033|-40%|82.8
True Grit|1.4|2902|-28%|151.7
Dilemma |1.1|2545|-35%|43.4
Black Swan|1|1977|-26%|93.5
Also Debuting
What Women Want|25,200|29||25,200
Midway to Heaven|17,900|10||17,900
Adele Blanc-Sec|14,300|27||14,300
Cold Weather|5,100|1||5,100
Troubadours|4,100|3||4,100
Waiting Forever|2,800|3||2,800
The Other Woman|1,800|2||1,800
* in millions
Tags: Adele Blanc-Sec, Black Swan, Cold Weather, Dilemma, Midway to Heaven, No Strings Attached, Sanctum, The Green Hornet, The King's Speech, The Mechanic, The Other Woman, The Rite, the roommate, Troubadours, True Grit, Waiting Forever, What Women Want
Posted in Friday Box Office Estimates, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Friday Estimates — February 5
Friday, February 4th, 2011
Sanctum (One and a Half Stars)
U.S./Australian: Alister Grierson, 2011
In Sanctum, a terrible movie shot in an amazing natural wonder, six hapless characters/explorers, mostly Australian, are trapped in the Esa-Ala caves of Papua, New Guinea. Those Esa-Ala caves, at least, are really something. One of the world‘s largest underground cave systems, they’re captured here both by state-of-the-art 3D cameras that keep prowling past the stony walls, diving into the rivers, and by microphones that pick up every natural sound, every splash, every dying scream, and, unfortunately, every line of dialogue.
(more…)
Tags: Inspector Bellamy, Sanctum, The Mechanic
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, MCN Weekend Reviews, Movie City News, Movie Review, Reviews | 2 Comments »
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