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Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Box Office PredictionsIt's starting to look like the only way we're going to get the bats out of the top five is to call an exterminator. Chalk up another $26 million for billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and his war on crime as The Dark Knight hangs on to first place for a fourth week in a row. Seth Rogen's stoner comedy came in respectably at second, taking in only $3 million less than the Batman Begins sequel. Here's the break down: 1. The Dark Knight: $26.1 million 2. Pineapple Express: $23.2 million 3. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: $16.4 million 4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: $10.6 million 5 Step Brothers: $9.1 million We've got four new releases this week: Mirrors What's It All About: Directed by Alexandre Aja of High Tension fame, Mirrors stars Kiefer Sutherland as an ex-cop turned security guard who discovers something evil in the mirrors of an old museum. This scare flick is a remake of a Korean movie. Why It Might Do Well: Who doesn't like a good scare, and Sutherland is a strong lead who is familiar to millions thanks to his work on 24. Why It Might Not Do Well: The momentum for Asian horror remakes must be slowing by now, although every time I say that a new one pops up. Number of Theaters: 2,600 Prediction: $12.5 million Continue reading Box Office: Mirrors, Clones and Tropic Thunder Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: New Releases, Box Office The weekend estimates have The Dark Knight taking the top spot for the fourth straight week in another squeaker -- though not as close as last week's victory over The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. It dropped 39% to $26 million, which was good enough to beat the $22.4 million showing for the stoner comedy Pineapple Express. That brings The Dark Knight to $441.5 million, edging out Shrek 2 for third place on the all-time domestic charts. By next weekend, it should pull ahead of Star Wars (its unadjusted numbers, anyway) for second place. Titanic still remains out of reach, or at least it seems that way right now. It's worth noting that Pineapple Express was released on Wednesday (since Wednesday's the new Friday, doncha know), and pulled in $40.5 million over the five days -- a victory for an R-rated stoner comedy. The horribly titled The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, also released on Wednesday, had a $19.7 million five-day on just over 2,700 screens, a reasonably strong showing for a sequel to a niche film that made $39 million in 2005. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor dropped 60% to $16.1 million -- whoops. It looks to top out at around $100 million, which would make it a distant third in the main franchise, though it might beat out The Scorpion King. One of the summer's biggest box office surprises is lurking down at #7 on the weekend chart. Journey to the Center of the Earth continues to suffer only miniscule drops; it's taken in $82 million after five weekends of release, after an opening weekend of only $21 million. That sounds like a ringing audience endorsement of Real-D 3-D to me. The full estimates after the jump.Continue reading Weekend Box Office: Another Weekend on Top for 'The Dark Knight' Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mike Myers has suffered a tricky return to the big screen with new comedy Love Guru.Author: ITN Tags: mike myers the love guru jessica alba justin timberlake flop box office leader hindu lampoon sorry apologise Posted: 05 August 2008 Rating: 0.0 Votes: 0

Mike Myers has suffered a tricky return to the big screen with new comedy Love Guru.Author: ITN Tags: mike myers the love guru jessica alba justin timberlake flop box office leader hindu lampoon sorry apologise Posted: 05 August 2008 Rating: 0.0 Votes: 0

Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Box Office, Cinematical Indie While The Dark Knight battled The Mummy on the mainstream charts, indie fans enjoyed much cooler movies. In its third week of release, Brad Anderson's Transsiberian continued its strong run, raking in $15,100 per-screen at the two locations where it's playing, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. The film has grossed $125,000 so far. Also set in a cold clime, Frozen River, Courtney Hunt's "single mother smuggles illegal immigrants" drama, took in $10,471 per screen at seven locations on its opening weekend. Two other debuting indies had decent results: black and white romantic comedy In Search of a Midnight Kiss made $7,300 at the two theaters where it opened and British comedy Sixty-Six scored $5,700 per-screen at its two engagements. No figures were reported to Box Office Mojo for documentary America the Beautiful or for Japanese melodrama Love and Honor. indieWIRE highlights the success of holdover Man on Wire, James Marsh's completely charming and suspenseful doc, which earned $12,500 per screen at four locations. They also point to the returns of two films in their second week of release: period drama Brideshead Revisited ($5,284 per screen at 94 theaters) and high school doc American Teen ("a rather disappointing" $4,487 per screen at 39 locations). I saw the former on Sunday afternoon (packed, people lined up for the next screening) and the latter on Saturday afternoon (maybe 15-20 people). Different crowds, definitely, but Brideshead Revisited is much more likely to gain as it opens further. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

'The Dark Knight' rules at the box office for a third straight week - and nears the 400-million dollar mark. (Aug. 4)

Filed under: Casting, New Releases, Box Office, Newsstand Beginning with the summer of Surf Ninjas and concluding with last year's Underdog, Vulture has compiled a list arguing that August movies generally blow. Sifting through the titles from the past fifteen years, it's hard to ignore their point. If Bushwhacked, Spawn and The Thirteenth Warrior don't convince you, how about Hollow Man? The Adventures of Pluto Nash? Anacondas? August usually means a lot to America. It's big for vacationers. The sun comes out and everyone gets one last hurrah before the summer recedes for the year. So why would studios dump their worst movies at this time? Maybe it's just a coincidence, but either way, it's hard to say whether or not this August will break the trend. Swing Vote seems to confirm Vulture's dire prediction, but Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder will surely find some appreciative audiences. And we all know The Dark Knight will continue to make bank. However, before you start thinking that a turnaround is on the way, consider the third Mummy movie -- and, once again, Vulture might have something here: Variety has called it "cheeseball stuff." Could that be the codeword for "typical August movie"? It would seem so. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Casting, Deals, New Releases, Executive shifts, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Scripts, Comic/Superhero/Geek Love him or hate him, you've got to hand it to Brett Ratner for keeping his career in motion. Variety brings word that the hustling filmmaker plans to take his Rat Entertainment company from New Line, where it first settled in 1996, to a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures. Ratner says the departure of New Line execs Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne in February convinced him it was time to move on. At Paramount, Ratner will probably get bigger budgets and executives more receptive to his blockbuster-ready concepts. Stating the obvious, Ratner told Variety he "will not be pitching art films. I want to make major tentpole movies." You don't say? Unless you're Scott Foundas, you probably balk at the idea of more Ratner movies populating the mainstream film scene, but the guy does fit the proper archetype of the classic Hollywood powerhouse. A modern day Sammy Glick, he knows how to make movies that bring out the audiences, whether or not they're any good. But maybe that determination means that, one day, Ratner will make a lot of great movies. His planned Hugh Hefner biopic sounds promising -- or at least, appropriate. Still, that's a little ways off. Encouraged by his experience with X-Men: The Last Stand, Ratner decided he wanted to work on a new superhero franchise, so he's adapting Valiant Comics' Harbinger. Also in his queue: Beverly Hills Cop 4, The Incredible Shrinking Man and The Boys From Brazil. Do these projects get anyone excited? Anyone at all? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Comedy, Horror, New Releases, Box Office, Distribution, Exhibition According to a report conducted by Nielsen PreView published today in The Hollywood Reporter, R-rated comedies don't do so hot at the box office. The timing of these findings seems odd, considering that Step Brothers made a solid $30 million last weekend, while analysts are predicting that another summer comedy slapped with the restricted label, Tropic Thunder, will collect at least that much. Right in the middle of those two releases comes Pineapple Express, which, like Step Brothers and Tropic Thunder, has a built-in core audience interested in raunchy masculine humor. The findings of this report suggest that larger audiences don't want to attend R-rated movies, but it's sort of a pointless observation because R-rated comedies are only made for people who want to see them. Everyone else can check out You Don't Mess with the Zohan. Of course, there is the occasional R-rated comedy with cross-over appeal, such as Knocked Up, but studios are probably hesitant to make many of those when a safely PG-13 Juno will suffice. Anyway, it's usually not difficult for Hollywood movies to trim a few vulgarities or the fleeting shot of exposed skin in order to knock down the rating a notch and maximize turnout. Horror films are a different story: They usually make bank with the R-rating intact. Speaking to the 18 and over audience here: Do ratings play any role in the movies you choose to see? Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Remakes and Sequels, Box Office PredictionsLast weekend, the box office exploded with The Dark Knight, which broke the opening weekend record, while Mamma Mia! did what it could in the shadow of bat wings and Space Chimps couldn't reach the top five with its $7.2 million. Matt was almost spot-on with his predictions last week, but I'll try to hold down the fort this week while he's away. The top five totals: 1. The Dark Knight: $158,411,483 million 2. Mamma Mia!: $27,751,240 million 3. Hancock: $14,040,178 million 4. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $12,340,435 million 5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: $10,117,815 There's two new wide releases this week -- one for laughs, and one for those who yearn to believe. Step Brothers What It's All About: It's the typical new-family scenario with a much older twist. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as spoiled adults who live at home and are less than pleased when their parents meet and get married. Quickly, however, they become best friends who indulge in all the fun things kids do. You know, whispering after lights out, making things... But then their folks have had enough and want to kick them out, spoiling their fun. Why It Might Do Well: It's Ferrell and Reilly acting like kids, the bunk beds scene is flipping hilarious, and the two actors have a solid following. Why It Might Not Do Well: The duo's shtick could be getting old, and it still has to face the roaring-forward Dark Knight. Number of Theaters: 2,800+ Prediction: $23 millionContinue reading Box Office: It's Time to Build Bunk Beds! Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action, Animation, Foreign Language, Box Office, Cinematical Indie, Western While The Dark Knight dominated the weekend box office here in the US -- with a little love spared for Mamma Mia! and Transsiberian -- in Asia things looked a little different. The Good, the Bad, the Weird , which was just picked up by IFC for the US, opened in its native South Korea to outstanding returns, according to Variety. The film, a salute to Spaghetti Westerns with a modern twist, is expected to surpass 2.2 million admissions over the weekend, which would make it the fastest to hit that mark this year, beating out police comedy Public Enemy Returns. Its opening day returns put it in the company of previous monster smashes D-War and The Host. We should hear more about The Good, the Bad, the Weird when it plays at Toronto in September. The news is not as good in Japan, where master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated achievement, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, was expected to dominate. Opening on a record number of screens for a local picture (481), Ponyo is said by its distributor to have earned 83% of the total made by Miyazaki's blockbuster Spirited Away, which sounds good. But as reported by Mark Schilling in Variety, those numbers may be misleading. Continue reading Asian Cinema Scene: 'Good Bad Weird' Does Good, 'Ponyo' Not As Good Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

"Dark Knight" breaks weekend box office record with a take of $155.3 million.

Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood's box-office superheroes. 'The Dark Knight' took in a record 155.34 million-dollars in its first weekend, topping the previous best of 151.1 million-dollars for 'Spider-Man 3 in 2007. (July 21)

Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Music & Musicals, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Box Office, Box Office PredictionsIt's a good time to be a cinematic super hero, and Jules Verne proved that his work still has legs 103 years after his death, but Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave died a thousand deaths pulling in a mere $5.2 million and not even making the top five. Here are the totals: 1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: $34.5 million 2. Hancock: $32 million 3. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $21 million 4. Wall-E: $18.7 million 5. Wanted: $11.9 million Three new releases this week, and in the very broadest of terms we have one for the guys, one for the gals and one for the kids. The Dark Knight What's It All About: Do I really need to explain this one? Christian Bale returns to the role of Batman in the sequel to the series rebooting Batman Begins, with Christopher Nolan once again in the director's chair. There's a new crime boss in Gotham City and he's called The Joker (Heath Ledger). The two clash, things blow up, awesomeness ensues. Why It Might Do Well: This will be the movie to beat this Summer. Batman is so ingrained into American pop culture that he's bonded to our collective DNA. Batman Begins grossed $205 million domestically and $371 million worldwide. The Dark Knight is scoring 88% over at Rottentomatoes.com and Cinematical's own James Rocchi had some good things to say about it. Why It Might Not Do Well: There remains the possibility that people with a fear of bats will join forces with those with a fear of clowns and boycott the film, which of course means more popcorn for the rest of us. Number of Theaters: 4,300 Prediction: $125 million Mamma Mia! What's It All About: In this adaptation of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Meryl Streep stars as Donna, a woman preparing for her daughter's wedding, unaware that her little girl has invited three of Donna's former lovers in hopes of learning which of them is her real father. And of course all of this is set to the music of ABBA. Why It Might Do Well: The stage version of Mamma Mia! has been seen by over 30 million people, and I bet a lot of them are waiting to see this movie. Why It Might Not Do Well: While not in direct competition for the same audience, The Dark Knight is going to take a huge bite out of the this weekend's box office. Number of Theaters: 3,000 Prediction: $24 million Space Chimps What's It All About: Animated tale of the grandson of the first chimp in space who is chosen for a dangerous mission to overthrow a despot on an alien world. Insert monkey business joke where applicable. Why It Might Do Well: Kids do love the computer animation. Why It Might Not Do Well: The trailer is remarkably not funny, and I think this one will fade quickly. Number of Theaters: 2,400 Prediction: $5 million At the height of my comic book geekdom in the 70s and 80s, I resigned myself to the fact that comics were the ugly step-cousins of pop culture, meaning that if you weren't into comics you probably looked down on them. Now, if things go as I suspect they will, next week we will see three movies about super heroes in the top five. Truly this is a more civilized age. 1. The Dark Knight 2. Mamma Mia! 3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army 4. Hancock 5. Journey to the Center of the Earth Most of us expected Meet Dave to finish in the top five, so congrats to filmsuki for the week's only perfect score. Here's how everyone did: 1. filmsuki: 16 2. Matt: 13 2. Chris: 13 2. Ray: 13 2. VP: 13 2. AJ Wiley: 13 3. I Eat Robots: 12 3. Alex Fuquharson: 12 3. vega: 12 4. CastleKnight: 11 4. Awesomepants: 11 4. rell: 11 5. Stan: 10 6. lostinafog: 9 6. airtoast: 9 6. Gregory Rubinstein: 9 7. Bradford Oman: 8 8. DarkAgair: 7 8. Romel: 7 8. Prateek S.: 7 9. Mike: 6 10. Goodo: 4 Am I right about how the The Dark Knight will do or do I have bats in my belfry? I suspect both may be true, but let's hear your forecast. Post your predictions for the top five movies in the comments section below before 5:00PM Eastern Time on Friday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action, Classics, Drama, Foreign Language, New Releases, Box Office, Distribution Maybe you've seen them, maybe you haven't, but French thrillers are making a comeback in North America. That's good news for people uninterested in art houses solely for the sake of watching foreign films: You don't have to be a Francophile to appreciate smart, meticulously generated suspense, and that's exactly the appeal of several French movies hitting American theaters this year. A steady mixture of warm reviews and positive word-of-mouth appears to have helped Guillame Canet's breathlessly entertaining drama Tell No One land an impressive $240,858 at 18 locations. Earlier this year, veteran auteur Claude Lelouch, long known for his cinematic explorations of eroticism and lawbreaking, remained thematically consistent with a delightfully complex story of double-crossing novelists and dysfunctional families called Roman de Gare. The movie made over $25,000 on two New York screens when it opened in late April, and eventually pulled in more than $1.5 million after expanding to theaters around the country. It's not hard to argue that Tell No One and Roman de Gare put most recent American thrillers to shame. North America, once the haven of film noir, appears to be outsourcing. As journalist Erica Abeel recently observed in an interview with Canet, "French filmmakers are currently making the best old-style Hollywood thrillers." It's not the first time for a country that has a long history of borrowing from American cinema, and often improving on it. At the beginning of the French New Wave in the early 1960s, former Cahiers du Cinema critics like Jean Luc-Godard discovered Hollywood genre films and decided to make their own loopy versions. The results were often strangely philosophical and experiment works, ranging from Godard's Breathless to Fran ois Truffaut's ambitious Shoot the Piano Player.Continue reading What's the Deal With: French Thrillers in 2008 Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: New Releases, Box Office I guess Eddie Murphy knew something we didn't. I don't know how much the star showing up for the premiere of his own movie would have helped matters, but it couldn't have hurt. The poorly (though not abysmally) reviewed Meet Dave somehow turned out to be Murphy's worst debut weekend grosser since 2002's legendarily bad The Adventures of Pluto Nash, and before that 1998's Holy Man. Actually, Meet Dave's $5.3 million take just barely edged out Holy Man's opening. And that's pretty impressive. I probably shouldn't be too surprised, since even I didn't bother watching the thing, and I see just about everything. Bigger and better-looking films have at the moment cornered every demographic that Dave could have aimed for. Better news for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, whose $35.9 million bow won't set any records this summer, but is a solid improvement on Hellboy's $23 million opening (it would go on to gross $60 million) and good enough for first. On the other hand, Journey to the Center of the Earth's $20.6 million, 3rd place finish has to be considered a mixed success. $11.7 million of that came from the film's 857 3-D locations (significantly less than a third of its total sites). That's not surprising, considering how much the movie was marketed as a 3-D affair; I wonder how many people went in thinking they were going to watch it in 3-D and went home disappointed. (Not receiving a pair of 3-D glasses would have tipped them off, I suppose.) Nothing remarkable going on among the holdovers this week. Hancock dropped 47% in its second weekend and is sitting pretty with a $165 million cume (though recall that it was released two Tuesdays ago). Wall-E lost another 42% and, at $162.7 million after three weeks, it's tracking behind The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, but ahead of every other Pixar offering. The full top 10 after the jump!Continue reading Weekend Box Office: 'Hellboy' Beats 'Hancock'; Eddie Murphy Relives 'Pluto Nash' Permalink | Email this | Comments

Author: bswlatino Added: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:34:24 -0800 Duration: 179www.bswlatino.com - Noticias, Chismes, Musica Y Mas!! Saludos a todos, Pili aqua con las 5 peliculas mas vistas en las salas de cine este pasada semana.

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Box Office, Family Films, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Box Office PredictionsIt was a good weekend at the box office for both of last week's newbies, marking the first time in history that two films opening on the same weekend pulled in over $50 million each. Here's the top five: 1. Wall-E: $63 million 2. Wanted: $50.9 million 3. Get Smart: $20.2 million 4. Kung Fu Panda: $11.7 million 5. The Incredible Hulk: $9.6 million Only one major release this week, but we've also got one going into wider release. Hancock What's It All About: Will Smith plays Hancock, a hard drinking anti-social superhero, and a PR agent played by Jason Bateman sets out to repair Hancock's public image. Why It Might Do Well: Will Smith may not always have the Midas touch (I Am Legend left me cold) but he's got quite a few successful blockbusters under his belt, and people are loving the superhero flicks these days. I've liked Bateman's work a lot since Arrested Development, and I'm always glad to see him. Also, Cinematical's own Kim Voynar has given the film her seal of approval. Why It Might Not Do Well: Unlike most big-budget superhero movies, this one doesn't originate from another media like comic books, so it doesn't come with the core fanbase of an Iron Man or an Incredible Hulk. Also, the 36% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com is not encouraging. Number of Theaters: 3,900 Prediction: $45 million And going into wider release this week... Continue reading Box Office: Hancock Arrives Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Foreign Language, Box Office, Cinematical Indie A couple of weeks back, I wrote about the imminent release of three-quel Public Enemy Returns. Hopes were high that the Korean-made crime action comedy would enjoy a measure of success and thus buoy local filmmakers; Korean audiences have been avoiding local product for months. Public Enemy Returns did indeed have a bountiful opening, grossing more than $7.2 million in its premiere weekend and smashing Get Smart, according to Box Office Mojo. In its second weekend, though, it fell victim to international action powerhouse Wanted, demonstrating that curving bullets and the even more curvaceous Angelina Jolie need fear no borders. Still, Public Enemy Returns has nothing to be ashamed of -- it made $4.7 million to Wanted's $5.4 million -- and provides hope that upcoming Korean movies such as The Good, the Bad, and the Weird, Sunny, and Eye for an Eye will find favor locally in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Kung Fu Panda has been warmly embraced by China, in the words of The Hollywood Reporter. With $14 million in box office receipts in its first ten days, the animated animal adventure has already been declared "the most successful foreign animated film in China," as claimed by a government news agency. If accurate, that gross would place the film practically neck and neck with Iron Man and the Chinese-made Kung Fu Dunk for the #3 box office position for the year so far. I haven't seen Panda yet; is this is a good thing or a bad thing from a cultural and/or cinematic standpoint? Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, IFC, ThinkFilm, Box Office, Family Films, Cinematical Indie, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Picturehouse Despite dropping more than 50% in its second week of release, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (Picturehouse) outdrew all other specialty releases over the weekend, earning $21,200 per screen at five theaters, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. Directed by Canadian indie veteran Patricia Rozema (I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, When Night is Falling), Kit Kittredge has clearly benefited from a devoted fan base that convinced thousands of their parental units to fork over $20 per ticket -- which, to be fair, includes a limited-edition t-shirt -- to see the movie in advance of its wide release tomorrow. That's a very good performance when you consider its main competition was not, actually, a French-language flick that skewed very adult, but actually a heavily-advertised animated film. Catherine Breillat's The Last Mistress (IFC Films), starring Asia Argento, took in $17,600 per screen at two locations, which probably owes as much, if not more, to the name recognition of Argento as that of the often-confounding Breillat.Continue reading Indie Weekend Box Office: American Girl 'Kit' vs. French 'Mistress' Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action, Comedy, New Releases, Sony, Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Fandom, Distribution, Exhibition, Home Entertainment It seems fairly certain that Hancock will do decent business when it hits theaters this Friday, if only because Will Smith rarely stars in a dud these days -- especially when it's face selling the movie before all else. Whether or not the film has staying power after opening weekend, however, remains to be seen, but Sony Pictures clearly has a lot of faith in its potential: Last week, the studio revealed its intentions of releasing the film online sometime after its theatrical run and before its DVD release, but only to users with Sony Bravia TV sets. It's a bold maneuver, one that assumes its core base of consumers actually have an interest in Hancock -- but the movie will make a profit either way, so it's a reasonable choice for this intriguing experiment. Left in the dust by Apple's iPod, Sony continues to struggle in its search for a piece of the digital revolution. Company head Howard Stringer recently told the New York Times that the strategy for releasing Hancock "vanishes the memory of the failures of the Sony Walkman." Well, maybe. While on-demand technology has changed the way audiences consume their media, they don't like paying more money than necessary. Asking your audiences to buy a special device in order to access what, at this point, amounts to one movie -- well, that's asking a lot. But it's still a step in the right direction. What do you think? Permalink | Email this | Comments

'WALL-E,' the tale of a robot toiling away on a long-abandoned Earth, debuted as the No. 1 movie over the weekend. The Pixar Animation film outgunned Angelina Jolie's assassin thriller 'Wanted,' which opened at No. 2. (June 30)

Filed under: New Releases, Box Office Notwithstanding the best attempts of some to smear Wall-E as being somehow hypocritical or disdainful of consumers, the little robot gave Pixar the third-best opening weekend in its history, behind The Incredibles and Finding Nemo (and roughly tied with Monsters, Inc.). Its $62.5 million take was on par with expectations, though the lack of the usual family film Saturday and Sunday bump suggests that Wall-E attracted an impressive number of kidless Friday night moviegoers. And that bodes well for the weeks to come: the movie is quite sophisticated and not all that toddler-friendly, so word-of-mouth among adults will be key. Given Wall-E's apparent cross-demographic appeal, one might have expected Wanted to struggle a bit as the weekend's "adult counterprogramming," but nothing doing: at $51.1 million and a strong second place, we may have a new franchise on our hands. The two combined to make this the strongest three-day weekend of the summer at the box-office overall; in fact, to find a higher combined top 12 gross, we have to go back to Memorial Day 2007 and the debut of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The rest of the chart looks unremarkable. The Love Guru dropped almost 61% to 6th place, prompting the unsurprising conclusion that the Guru Pitka didn't connect with summer audiences. The Incredible Hulk continues to run behind Hulk, ruling out the possibility that it will have the staying power to do appreciably better than the embattled 2004 film. Wall-E gave Kung Fu Panda its first significant hit, dropping it to 4th place. Indiana Jones will break $300 million by the end of Monday, if Sunday's final numbers don't push it past the milestone. And The Happening looks like it will top out around $70 million. The full numbers after the jump.Continue reading Weekend Box-Office: 'Wall-E' Takes to the Skies Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Deals, Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Distribution His last movie didn't do so hot, but George Clooney's still making headlines. This time, he has spoken out about the recent split between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. According to Variety, Clooney has decided to stay neutral where many prominent actors have taken sides, and he's urging others to take the same route. If Hollywood actors go on strike, it'll probably be SAG's fault, considering the eagerness of AFTRA to negotiate a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. AFTRA's biggest defender is Tom Hanks, while Jack Nicholson is heading up the other side. "Stories about Jack Nicholson vs. Tom Hanks only strengthen the negotiating power of the AMPTP," Clooney said in a statement. Like many actors, Clooney wants to take any measures he can to prevent a strike. As a member of SAG, the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, he wears many hats. "I'm hoping that there might be a way out of this," he said. "To be sure, I'm not the brightest bulb out there. So maybe someone has a lot better idea." Then he got personal: "I just happen to believe so strongly in both unions... my father, my mother, aunt, uncle, even cousins were all members." Nobody's doubting his allegiance, but after souring his relationship with the WGA after Leatherheads came out, it's hard to say how the other unions will regard him in the coming months. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Box Office, Angelina Jolie, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Box Office PredictionsSteve Carell scored big this week recreating the role of Agent Maxwell Smart in Get Smart, providing the best opening weekend ever for a film with Carell in the lead. The Incredible Hulk fell into second place for its second week but Hulk and Kung Fu Panda both outdid last week's other new release The Love Guru. Here are the totals: 1. Get Smart: $38.6 million 2. The Incredible Hulk: $22.1 million 3. Kung Fu Panda: $21.9 million 4. The Love Guru: $13.9 million 5. The Happening: $10.5 million Two wide releases this week, a heartwarming comedy for the whole family and a stylized action adventure shoot-em-up for the older crowd. WALL-E What's It All About: Disney/Pixar is back with the tale of a lovable sentient trash compactor. WALL-E has been alone on the abandoned Planet Earth for hundreds of years, but he discovers a new purpose when he meets a robot named EVE. Apparently WALL-E has stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, a solution which the human race eagerly awaits. Why It Might Do Well: The trailers look promising and WALL-E is written and directed by Andrew Stanton, who served in the same capacity on Finding Nemo, Pixar's most financially successful film to date. Plus, our star has the cute going on. Why It Might Not Do Well: Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov described a condition called The Frankenstein Complex, which is a fear of robots -- but look at the little guy. Did I mention he's cute? This is easily next week's number one flick. Number of Theaters: 3,900 Prediction: $70 million Continue reading Box Office: Who Wants WALL-E? Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Comedy, Box Office, Box Office PredictionsThe Incredible Hulk took first place last weekend, but notably pulled in about $6.5 million less than Ang Lee's 2004 Hulk. M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening took third but still exceeded expectations. Here's last weekend's top five: 1. The Incredible Hulk: $55.4 million 2. Kung Fu Panda: $33.6 million 3. The Happening: $30.5 million 4. You Don't Mess with the Zohan: $16.4 million 5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: $14.7 million Both of this week's new releases are comedies, putting them in direct competition with one another, so this should be interesting. Get Smart What's It All About: Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway star in this adaptation of the classic 60's spy comedy. Carell is Maxwell Smart, an eager but inexperienced analyst for an espionage agency called CONTROL. Max is suddenly promoted to field agent when the evil organization KAOS learns the identity of nearly every Control agent in the world, and he is teamed with the lovely agent 99 played by Hathaway. Why It Might Do Well: There's nostalgia appeal at work here, plus Steve Carell's presence will stir up memories of hits like The 40 Year Old Virgin and he's still got plenty of fans from NBC's The Office. Why It Might Not Do Well: How well a spy caper created during the Cold War translates to the 21st century remains to be seen. Also, the 58% rating at rottentomatoes.com isn't thrilling me. Number of Theaters: 3,700 Prediction: $40 million Continue reading Box Office: Love Smarts Permalink | Email this | Comments

"The Incredible Hulk" is seeing a lot of green after bruising its way to the top spot at the box-office over the weekend. "Kung Fu Panda" nabbed the number two spot and "The Happening" took third place. (June 16)