Posts Tagged ‘The Illusionist’
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 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, January 16th, 2011
Weekend Estimates – January 14-16, 2010
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
The Green Hornet |
Sony |
33.2 (9,270) |
NEW |
3115 |
33.2 |
Dilemma |
Uni |
17.4 (5,910) |
NEW |
2940 |
17.4 |
True Grit |
Par |
10.8 (3,130) |
-26% |
3459 |
126 |
The King’s Speech |
Weinstein Co. |
9.0 (5,810) |
40% |
1543 |
44.5 |
Black Swan |
Fox Searchlight |
8.0 (3,450) |
-1% |
2328 |
72.9 |
Little Fockers |
Uni |
7.3 (2,140) |
-46% |
3394 |
134.4 |
Tron: Legacy |
BV |
5.7 (2,350) |
-43% |
2439 |
157 |
Yogi Bear |
WB |
5.3 (1,950) |
-21% |
2702 |
82 |
The Fighter |
Par/Alliance |
5.1 (2,100) |
-28% |
2414 |
65.7 |
Season of the Witch |
Relativity |
4.5 (1,600) |
-57% |
2827 |
18 |
Tangled |
BV |
4.0 (1,940) |
-22% |
2048 |
181 |
Country Strong |
Sony |
3.6 (2,550) |
-51% |
1424 |
13.2 |
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader |
Fox |
2.3 (1,340) |
-51% |
1704 |
98 |
Gulliver’s Travels |
Fox |
2.0 (1,220) |
-56% |
1666 |
37.6 |
The Tourist |
Sony |
1.6 (1,150) |
-57% |
1420 |
64.2 |
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, Part 1* |
WB |
1.4 (1,460) |
-42% |
1507 |
289.8 |
Blue Valentine |
Weinstein Co. |
1.4 (5,910) |
93% |
230 |
2.8 |
Megamind |
Par |
.62 (1,820) |
125% |
341 |
145.4 |
The Heart Specialist |
FreeStyle |
.48 (1,140) |
NEW |
422 |
0.48 |
Yamla Pagla Deewana |
Eros |
.43 (5,270) |
NEW |
82 |
0.43 |
How Do You Know |
Sony |
.41 (660) |
-78% |
615 |
29.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$123.70 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
-27% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
15% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
Barney’s Version * |
Sony Class/eOne |
.37 (8,270) |
259% |
45 |
0.8 |
Rabbit Hole |
Lions gate |
.26 (2,620) |
138% |
100 |
0.9 |
Somewhere |
Focus |
.25 (4,680) |
52% |
53 |
0.73 |
Mirapakaya |
Bharat |
.23 (8,820 |
|
26 |
0.13 |
Another Year |
Sony Classics |
.12 (9,380) |
40% |
13 |
0.34 |
Anaganga o Dheerudu |
Blue Sky |
66,500 (2,290) |
|
29 |
0.07 |
The Illusionist |
Sony Classics |
63,400 (9,060) |
92% |
7 |
0.25 |
Aadukalam |
Big Cinemas |
25,600 (4,270) |
|
6 |
0.03 |
Kaavalan |
Big Cinemas |
21,800 (1,680) |
|
13 |
0.02 |
Siruthai |
Bharat |
18,200 (2,020) |
|
9 |
0.02 |
Every Day |
Image |
8,800 (2,930) |
|
3 |
0.01 |
Ong Bak 3 |
Magnolia |
5,500 (1,830) |
|
3 |
0.01 |
A Somewhat Gentle Man |
Strand |
5,100 (5,100) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Tags: a somewhat gentle man, Aadukalam, Anaganga o Dheerudu, Another Year, Barney's Version, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader, Country Strong, Dilemma, Every Day, Gulliver's Travels, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, how do you know, Kaavalan, Little Fockers, Megamind, Mirapakaya, Ong Bak 3, Part 1, Rabbit Hole, Season of the Witch, Siruthai, Somewhere, Tangled, The Fighter, The Green Hornet, The Heart Specialist, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, The Tourist, Tron - Legacy, True Grit, Yamla Pagla Deewana, Yogi Bear
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | Comments Off on The Weekend Report — January 16
Friday, January 7th, 2011
Country Strong|||||Yellow
Season of the Witch |||||Yellow
True Grit |Green|Green|Green|Green|Green
Black Swan|Green|Green|Green|Green|Green
The Fighter|Green|Green||Green|Green
127 Hours |Green|Green|Green|Green|
The Social Network|Yellow|Green|Green|Yellow|Green
Tags: 127 Hours, Black Swan, Country Strong, Season of the Witch, The Fighter, The Illusionist, The Social Network, True Grit
Posted in MCN Critics Roundup, MCN Weekend | Comments Off on Critics Roundup: January 6
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
Haply New Year
True Grit closed the gap with Little Fockers but couldn’t quite overtake the seasonal gag fest. Fockers emerged at the top of the charts with an estimated $26.2 million with Grit a trot behind at $24.5 million.
The closing frame of 2010 provided no new national releases and just two additions to the last gasp of the awards season. The searing drama Blue Valentine provided an opening weekend of $174,000 from four screens while the acclaimed Brit import Another Year bowed on six screens with $117,000.
Estimates for the year peg domestic box office at $10.52 billion, which translates into a 1.5% downturn from 2009. Admissions declined by a more sizable 7% drop largely as a result of premium pricing for 3D and large format movies. Eight of the top 10 top grossing movies of the year fell into that category and 2011 promises even more stereoscopic offerings.
Theater owners are scrambling to convert screens to digital 3D to capitalize in what no one can yet proclaim as either a temporary craze or the future of film going. The enhancements have been a finger in the dike of the eroding audience but with the arrival of 3D home entertainment this year that nagging recession may not abate. And there’s little doubt that the “windows” issue — the time between theatrical and ancillary release — will intensify with exhibition making grudging concessions that can only ramp up bad blood with major suppliers.
This year’s New Year weekend box office experienced a 13% uptick from the Christmas holiday session. However, it was 29% less fulsome than the same period last year when weekend three of Avatar grossed $68.5 million with Sherlock Holmes and Alvin: The Squeakquel adding $36.6 million and $35.2 million respectively.
Adult/awards fare, which includes The Fighter, Black Swan and The King’s Speech — all likely Oscar contenders — held their own with the holiday frivolity. That still leaves seven slots for films as diverse as Toy Story 3 and Blue Valentine in year that most film reviewers have characterized as overall sub-par.
True Grit has already become The Coen Brothers biggest grossing domestic release and actor Jeff Bridges can claim the rare distinction of having two holiday films (Grit, TRON: Legacy) that will gross in excess of $100 million. He’s easily the comeback kid in a year where seemingly more audience-friendly performers (and filmmakers) have taken it on the chin.
__________________________________________________
Weekend Estimates – December 31-January 1, 2010
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
Little Fockers |
Uni |
26.2 (7,380) |
-15% |
3554 |
103.1 |
True Grit |
Par |
24.5 (7,960) |
-1% |
3083 |
86.7 |
Tron: Legacy |
BV |
18.4 (5,480) |
-4% |
3365 |
131 |
Yogi Bear |
WB |
12.6 (3,580) |
62% |
3515 |
65.7 |
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader |
Fox |
10.3 (3,500) |
9% |
2948 |
87 |
The Fighter |
Par/Alliance |
10.0 (3,960) |
32% |
2534 |
46.4 |
Tangled |
BV |
9.9 (3,820) |
53% |
2582 |
167.9 |
Gulliver’s Travels |
Fox |
9.0 (2,910) |
42% |
3089 |
27.1 |
Black Swan |
Fox Searchlight |
8.4 (5,420) |
35% |
1553 |
47.3 |
The King’s Speech |
Weinstein Co. |
7.5 (10,760) |
67% |
700 |
22.7 |
The Tourist |
Sony |
6.7 (2,420) |
25% |
2756 |
54.7 |
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, Part 1* |
WB |
4.5 (2,580) |
32% |
1732 |
283.4 |
How Do You Know |
Sony |
4.5 (1,800) |
28% |
2483 |
24.9 |
Megamind |
Par |
.57 (750) |
56% |
764 |
144.1 |
Unstoppable |
Fox |
.53 (1,180) |
61% |
450 |
79.5 |
The Social Network |
Sony |
.47 (1,890) |
71% |
249 |
93.2 |
Burlesque |
Sony |
.42 (1,270) |
19% |
330 |
37.8 |
Due Date |
WB |
.31 (770) |
10% |
404 |
98.8 |
127 Hours |
Fox Searchlight |
.27 (2,620) |
42% |
103 |
10.4 |
Red |
Summit |
.26 (860) |
44% |
303 |
89.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$153.60 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
-29% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
13% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
Blue Valentine |
Weinstein Co. |
.17 (43,500) |
|
4 |
0.27 |
Another Year |
Sony Classics |
.12 (19,550) |
|
6 |
0.17 |
Somewhere |
Focus |
.14 (17,870) |
20% |
8 |
0.44 |
Rabbit Hole |
Lionsgate |
.13 (3,850) |
52% |
34 |
0.42 |
Casino Jack |
IDP |
79,700 (4,430) |
63% |
18 |
0.23 |
The Illusionist |
Sony Classics |
50,200 (16,730) |
30% |
3 |
0.13 |
Country Strong |
Sony |
42,600 (21,300) |
40% |
2 |
0.12 |
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Dec. 23, 2010)
Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
Warner Bros. (30) |
1900.7 |
18.30% |
Paramount (20) |
1684.9 |
16.20% |
Fox (20) |
1470.5 |
14.10% |
Buena Vista (17) |
1408.5 |
13.50% |
Sony (26) |
1258.5 |
12.10% |
Universal (19) |
844.2 |
8.10% |
Summit (11) |
522.8 |
5.00% |
Lionsgate (16) |
519.6 |
5.00% |
Fox Searchlight (8) |
119.5 |
1.20% |
Overture (8) |
87.5 |
0.80% |
Focus (8) |
75.3 |
0.70% |
CBS (3) |
72.7 |
0.70% |
Weinstein Co. (9) |
72 |
0.70% |
Sony Classics (22) |
59.7 |
0.60% |
MGM (1) |
50.4 |
0.50% |
Other * (324) |
257.5 |
2.50% |
|
10404.3 |
100.00% |
* none greater than .04% |
Tags: 127 Hours, Another Year, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Burlesque, Casino Jack, Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader, Country Strong, Due Date, Gulliver's Travels, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, how do you know, Little Fockers, Megamind, Rabbit Hole, Red, Somewhere, Tangled, The Fighter, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Tourist, Tron - Legacy, True Grit, unstoppable, Yogi Bear
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | Comments Off on Weekend Box Office Report –January 2
Friday, December 31st, 2010
So here’s my list of The Ten Best Movies of 2010, plus Honorable Mentions and a separate list of documentaries. I know it’s customary at this time to write about how awful a year it was, and how I had to struggle to find ten movies worthy of recognition, and how Hollywood is so bankrupt artistically and so bereft intellectually that the mere act of compiling a ten best list has become supremely dubious and morally questionable. But actually, I thought the moves were one of the few good things about 2010. (They’re certainly better than the last election.) And if you couldn’t find ten good ones, you weren’t trying.
(more…)
Tags: 127 Hours, Alice in Wonderland, Another Year, Biutiful, boxing gym, carlos, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, Flipped, Inception, Inside Job Exit Through the Gift Shop, Lebanon, Oceans, Restrepo, Shutter Island, Sweetgrass, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, The Millenium Triology, The Red Riding Trilogy, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, unstoppable, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, White Material, Wild Grass
Posted in Columns, MCN Originals, Movie City News, Wilmington | 1 Comment »
Sunday, December 26th, 2010
Grit and Bear It
Little Fockers and True Grit led the Christmas charge with respective opening debuts estimated at $34 million and $25.5 million that topped weekend movie going. The session also featured a Christmas day bow for the animated Gulliver’s Travels, which netted a two-day gross of $6.9 million.
Bollywood’s seasonal offering Tees Maar Khann rang up an impressive $700,000. However, several other Hindi, Telegu and Tamil releases were non-starters. China’s If You Are the One 2 opened up day-and-date (a first) with its Mainland release and chimed in with a potent $208,000 launch.
The frame also featured a clutch of last-minute releases for award season consideration. Best of the bunch was Venice-prized Somewhere with $148,000 from seven venues. The animated The Illusionist displayed comparable strength with a two-day tally of $52,600 on two screens and a four screen push for Barney’s Version in Canada proved effective with $64,400 (a single U.S. Oscar qualifying run was unreported). Lastly, Country Strong lilted $33,800 from two sneak peeks.
Overall the Christmas session got clobbered with calendar positioning that landed the eve on Friday (expect something similar with New Years). And while an estimated $155 million weekend provided an 11% boost from the prior weekend it translated into a pounding 45% drop from 2009. As the door quickly closes on the year, box office gross has slipped behind the prior year and admissions are approaching close to double digit erosion. A year ago Avatar’s second weekend grossed $75.6 million and debuts of Sherlock Holmes and The Alvin Squeakquel added $62.4 million and $48.9 million respectively.
All that said, tracking wasn’t exactly on target for new entries and holdovers. The third in the Fockers series was expected to render a first weekend of between $40 million and $45 million while the sophomore edition of TRON: Legacy was pegged at $25 million. Conversely True Grit outperformed pundits soothsaying that had it shy of $20 million.
Holiday crowds clearly voted for The Fighter, Black Swan and The King’s Speech as their Oscar favorites. Still there are seven additional slots to fill and the campaigning is apt to intensify in the upcoming weeks.
__________________________________________________
Weekend Estimates – December 24-26, 2010
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
Little Fockers |
Uni |
34.0 (9,610) |
NEW |
3536 |
48.2 |
True Grit |
Par |
25.5 (8,360) |
NEW |
3047 |
36.6 |
Tron: Legacy |
BV |
20.6 (5,960) |
-53% |
3451 |
88.7 |
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader |
Fox |
10.9 (3,240) |
-12% |
3350 |
63.9 |
The Fighter |
Par/Alliance |
8.6 (3,430) |
-29% |
2511 |
27.7 |
Yogi Bear |
WB |
8.4 (2,380) |
-55% |
3515 |
36.3 |
Gulliver’s Travels * |
Fox |
6.9 (2,700) |
NEW |
2546 |
6.9 |
Tangled |
BV |
6.7 (2,590) |
-24% |
2582 |
143.8 |
Fox Searchlight |
6.4 (4,390) |
-23% |
1466 |
28.9 |
The Tourist |
Sony |
5.6 (2,020) |
-35% |
2756 |
41.1 |
The King’s Speech |
Weinstein Co. |
4.6 (6,530) |
317% |
700 |
8.4 |
How Do You Know |
Sony |
3.7 (1,480) |
-51% |
2483 |
15.1 |
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1* |
WB |
3.3 (1,920) |
-34% |
1732 |
273.1 |
Tees Maar Khan |
UTV |
.70 (6,780) |
NEW |
103 |
0.7 |
Due Date |
WB |
.37 (910) |
-71% |
404 |
98.3 |
Unstoppable |
Fox |
.36 (920) |
-80% |
393 |
78.5 |
Megamind |
Par |
.35 (460) |
-49% |
764 |
142.6 |
Burlesque |
Sony |
.33 (660) |
-77% |
501 |
36.7 |
The Social Network |
Sony |
.31 (1,230) |
9% |
249 |
92.3 |
If You Are the One 2 |
China Lion |
.21 (9,040) |
NEW |
23 |
0.21 |
127 Hours |
Fox Searchlight |
.20 (1,720) |
-64% |
115 |
9.8 |
* Christmas Day opening |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$145.90 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
-45% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
11% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
Somewhere |
Focus |
.15 (21,140) |
|
7 |
0.2 |
Rabbit Hole |
Lionsgate |
88,700 (2,610) |
65% |
34 |
0.16 |
Barney’s Version |
eOne |
64,400 (16,100) |
|
4 |
0.06 |
Casino Jack |
IDP |
60,500 (4,030) |
75% |
15 |
0.11 |
The Illusionist * |
Sony Classics |
52,600 (26,300) |
|
2 |
0.05 |
Country Strong |
Sony |
33,800 (16,900) |
|
2 |
0.05 |
The Tempest |
Miramax/Maple |
32,700 (2,520) |
-44% |
13 |
0.19 |
Toonpur Ka Superhero |
Eros |
9,600 (400) |
|
24 |
0.01 |
Isi Life Mein |
Rajshri |
4,500 (250) |
|
18 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Dec. 23, 2010)
Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
Warner Bros. (30) |
1861 |
18.40% |
Paramount (19) |
1634.7 |
16.10% |
Fox (19) |
1442.4 |
14.20% |
Buena Vista (17) |
1349.1 |
13.30% |
Sony (26) |
1239.1 |
12.20% |
Universal (18) |
798.7 |
7.90% |
Summit (11) |
522.2 |
5.20% |
Lionsgate (16) |
519.3 |
5.10% |
Fox Searchlight (8) |
105 |
1.00% |
Overture (8) |
87.4 |
0.90% |
Focus (7) |
75.2 |
0.70% |
CBS (3) |
72.5 |
0.70% |
Weinstein Co. (9) |
65.5 |
0.60% |
Sony Classics (22) |
59.5 |
0.60% |
MGM (1) |
50.4 |
0.50% |
Other * (317) |
253.5 |
2.50% |
|
10135.5 |
100.00% |
* none greater than .04% |
Top Limited Releases * (Jan. 1 – Dec. 23, 2010)
Title |
Distributor |
Gross |
Hubble 3D |
WB |
19,359,509 |
The Ghost Writer |
Summit |
15,569,712 |
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo |
Music Box/Alliance |
11,287,817 |
The Young Victoria * |
Apparition/Alliance |
11,131,232 |
127 Hours |
Fox Searchlight |
9,321,571 |
Get Low |
Sony Classics |
9,106,802 |
Fair Game |
Summit |
8,650,388 |
A Single Man * |
Weinstein Co. |
7,935,872 |
The Girl Who Played with Fire |
Music Box/Alliance |
7,848,496 |
Cyrus |
Fox Searchlight |
7,461,082 |
Babies |
Focus |
7,444,272 |
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus |
E1/Sony Classics |
7,394,171 |
Conviction |
Fox Searchlight |
6,768,063 |
City Island |
Anchor Bay |
6,671,036 |
The Last Station |
Sony Classics |
6,617,867 |
Waiting for “Superman” |
Par Vantage |
6,410,257 |
The Secret in Their Eyes |
Sony Classics |
6,391,436 |
It’s Kind of a Funny Story |
Focus |
6,362,514 |
Winter’s Bone |
Roadside Attraction |
6,237,371 |
Under the Sea 3D * |
WB |
5,732,362 |
* does not include 2009 box office |
Tags: 127 Hours, A Single Man, Babies, Barney's Version, Black Swan, Burlesque, Casino Jack, Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader, City Island, Conviction, Country Strong, Cyrus, Due Date, Fair Game, Get Low, Gulliver's Travels, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, how do you know, Hubble 3D, If You Are the One 2, Isi Life Mein, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, Little Fockers, Megamind, Part 1, Rabbit Hole, Somewhere, Tangled, Tees Maar Khan, The Fighter, The Ghost Writer, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Illusionist, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The King's Speech, The Last Station, The Secret In Their Eyes, The Social Network, The Tempest, The Tourist, The Young Victoria, Toonpur Ka Superhero, Tron - Legacy, True Grit, Under the Sea 3D, unstoppable, Waiting For 'Superman', Winter's Bone, Yogi Bear
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, The Weekend Report | Comments Off on Weekend Box Office Report — December 26
Monday, September 20th, 2010
Another year of TIFF has officially wrapped, the awards have been announced, and everyone’s gone home. It was a really great fest this year with a solid slate, although I can’t say I disagree with those who feel the fest would benefit from cutting their slate a bit to be a little more discriminating. I saw some films that surprised me (The Illusionist, A Night for Dying Tigers), some that were disappointing (Hereafter, Miral) and some that took my breath away with their vision and execution (Black Swan, I Saw the Devil).
(more…)
Tags: 127 Hours, A Night for Dying Tigers, alejandro gonzalez innaritu, andrew garfield, Another Year, Biutiful, Black Swan, darren aronofsky, dirty girl, I saw the devel, Inside Job, James Franco, Javier Bardem, jo-woon kim, lesley manville, Made in Dagenham, miranda richardson, Natalie Portman, Never Let Me Go, Passione, silent souls, The Illusionist, Three
Posted in Festivals, Film Essent, Film Fests, MCN Blogs, MCN Originals, Movie City News, TIFF Originals, Toronto Film Festival, Voynar | 4 Comments »
Saturday, September 11th, 2010
The Illusionist, Sylvain Chomet‘s animated adaptation of an unproduced script by French comedic legend Jacques Tati, is a sad, soulful, touching tale about a vaudeville magician past his prime and his friendship with a young girl.
Chomet, who previously made the excellent The Triplets of Bellville (which referenced Tati’s Jour de Fête), uses his uniquely beautiful hand-drawn animation style to bring the character of the illusionist to life, modeling him after Tati’s famous recurring character Monsieur Hulot in both design and action. (more…)
Tags: Jacques Tati, Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist
Posted in Festivals, Film Essent, Film Fests, MCN Blogs, MCN Originals, TIFF Originals, Toronto Film Festival, Voynar | Comments Off on TIFF Review: The Illusionist
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Twenty-four new feature films to preview in Festival’s main program, the ‘SHOW’
Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Peter Weir to receive Silver Medallion Awards
Special revival programs selected by Guest Director Michael Ondaatje
Telluride, CO – Telluride Film Festival (September 3-6, 2010), presented by the National Film Preserve is proud to announce its 2010 Festival program. Twenty-four new feature films presented by their creators in the Festival’s main program; six programs curated by 2010 Festival Guest Director Michael Ondaatje; twenty-five new short films; plus thirteen documentaries screening in the Backlot program. Celebrating works from over twenty countries, Telluride Film Festival opens Friday, September 3 and runs through Monday, September 6, 2010.
(more…)
Tags: a letter to elia, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Another Year, bernard tavernier, Biutiful, carlos, Charles Ferguson, chico and rita, denis villeneuve, dmitry vasyukov, Errol Morris, fernando trueba, florin serban, happy people: a year in the taiga, if I want to whistle I whistle, incendies, Inside Job, justin chadwick, Ken Burns, lavinia currier, le quattro volte, lee chang-dong, mark cousins, mark romanek, Martin Scorsese, michelangelo frammartino, Mike Leigh, Never Let Me Go, of gods and men, oka! amerikee, olivier assayas, peter weir, poetry, Precious Life, shlomi eldar, Stephen Frears, Sylvain Chomet, Tabloid, Tamara Drewe, telluride film festival, the first grader, the first movie, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, the princess of montpensier, the tenth inning, the way back, tom hooper, Werner Herzog, xavier beauvois
Posted in Movie City News, Press Releases | Comments Off on 37th TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2010 FESTIVAL LINEUP
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