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June 20, 2011

This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Despite a strong start with higher than expected numbers from midnight showings and a well attended Friday night, Warner Bros. saw its “Green Lantern” flicker and dim by the end of the weekend. The third superhero film to arrive in 2011, following “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class”, “Green Lantern” was the least attended opening weekend of the three, starting at a $52.3 million clip. Most films would be thrilled to land that sum, but everything has perspective and Warner Bros. are hugely disappointed in the diminishing returns.

A strong midnight to strong Friday to lessening Saturday to dismal Sunday can be attributed to a lot of different factors. Initially, the film was ravaged by critics and although CinemaScore provided a B+ rating from audience members, the fact is that people stopped coming after the first eyes got a look at the final cut. That pesky word-of-mouth can be a helluva thing sometimes.

Nikki Finke at Deadline has reported that there was a great deal of behind-the-scenes consternation by the marketing department, as they were only able to see 70% of the final cut two weeks prior to release day. Constant tinkering and refining of visual effects were cited as a blaming factor, but after audiences responded dismally to the teasers as far back as the fall of 2010, a push-and-pull developed with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment on whether to focus on Ryan Reynolds solely in the marketing or draw in the supporting alien characters to define a new brand. What resulted was a bit of both strategies put into place which, it is speculated, led to confusion amongst those interested but not familiar with the source material.

Good marketing/bad marketing/late delivery of final product…ultimately, the film is just not good. Rotten Tomatoes assigns a 21% ranking for the film, which trails dozens of points behind “Thor” and “X-Men” earlier this year. Ultimately, all of the drafts and rewrites and rewrites again, along with the problematic post-production woes are what contributed to the film’s precipitous slide from Friday through Sunday. Typically, with this opening Warner Bros. could expect a film to gross $150-$175 million; however, tracking and trending may place this closer to the $120-$130 million range, which would require huge worldwide numbers to make the film profitable.

Chilly penguins freeze up the box office, there is no actual art in getting by it seems, and a Tree sprouts while Paris suffers a minor setback…after the cut! Read more on Box Office Report: July 17-19, 2011…

Tags: Box Office, Bridesmaids, Green Lantern, Midnight In Paris, Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Art Of Getting By, The Tree Of Life, The Trip

Permanent link to this article: http://shouldiseeit.net/article/box-office-report-july-17-19-2011

Jun 13

Box Office Report: June 10-12, 2011

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June 13, 2011

This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

With a year-long build and teasers regarding what secret lies within the film, “Super 8″ opened #1 at the box office with a less-than-estimated $35.5 million take. While critics had a largely favorable, if not somewhat tempered reaction to the film, audiences reportedly loved the film and reports show that the film could have strong word-of-mouth heading into its first full week and second weekend.

Estimates and expectations for the film were all over the board with “Super 8″. On the one hand, the start was a disappointment when compared to director J.J. Abrams’ two previous films, 2006′s “Mission: Impossible III” (opened at 47.7 million) and 2009′s “Star Trek” (opened at $75.2 million). “Super 8″ was not a franchise or relaunch and thus, served as Abrams’ first foray into wholly original content. And yet, even describing “Super 8″ has completely or wholly original will generate guffaws from those who claim the film is too much of a copy of co-producer Steven Spielberg’s own directorial and writing efforts of the past; namely, “E.T.”, “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”, and “The Goonies”.

Confounding pundits further was the more muted viral efforts of Paramount in promoting the film. Previously, with Abrams’ TV creation “Lost” and the Abrams-produced feature “Cloverfield”, several curiously named websites appeared with clues, anecdotes, and labyrinthine games and paths for fans and those interested to follow, send around, discuss, and debate. Short of wondering if there was in fact a monster, or monsters, or what it or they looked like, the only real non-trailered promotion for the film came in the form of a short film, truncated in the finished product, which shows archived government footage of a scientist attempting to feed something in a darkened cage. Near the end of the footage, one giant arm of a creature swoops down and takes the scientist high into the air.

All of this to say that Paramount reportedly was very satisfied with the opening weekend and feel the film is positioned to withstand the oncoming “Green Lantern” and “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” this weekend, and then will have a strong foothold in the market to hold off an expected huge opening for Pixar’s “Cars 2″. Then, with the arrival of “Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon” on Wednesday, June 29, Paramount feels that both “Transformers” and “Super 8″ will have cemented themselves as huge hits with legs to carry the studio and audiences through to July 22, when “Captain America” arrives.

A children’s adaptation of a popular book series whimpers into theaters, Woody Allen makes history again, and huge attendance continued for “The Tree Of Life”. Plus, a handful of indies look to make their mark. All of this and the Weekend Breakdown after the cut!

Tags: Beginners, Box Office, Judy Moody And The NOT Bummer Summer, Midnight In Paris, Super 8, The Tree Of Life, The Trip

Permanent link to this article: http://shouldiseeit.net/article/box-office-report-june-10-12-2011

Jun 06

Box Office Report: June 3-5, 2011

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June 6, 2011

This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Despite landing the weakest opening attendance-wise in the “X-Men” film series to date, “X-Men: First Class” ruled the top of the box office weekend with an opening weekend tallied at $55.1 million. While this does exceed the opening of the first film in the franchise speaking strictly in a dollars-and-cents capacity (2000′s “X-Men” started with $54.5 million), simple inflation would tell you that a lot more people saw that film in its first 3 days then this one. Was it the absence of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (save a hilarious and winning cameo by Jackman), the fact that James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and a 2011 Kevin Bacon are not bankable box office commodities, or simply attrition with moviegoers on this series?

Eyes turned to the success that another fifth film in a series experienced when “Fast Five” conjured up $568 million worldwide. Fox was optimistic that they would deliver a healthier number than they did, hoping in the mid $60-low $70 million range. Executives were saying all the right things regarding the opening, indicating that this “X-Men” is a starting over or relaunch of a series and pointed to the opening of “Batman Begins” ($54.5 million) as more of a reasonable comparison. Regardless, the film may have opened to strong reviews, but will struggle to make back its $160 production budget on the domestic side of the ledger, especially with the eagerly anticipated “Super 8″ looming in a few short days.

“X-Men” proved to be the only major opening of the weekend, but how did other independent films fare? Did Woody Allen deliver a third impressive return with “Midnight In Paris”? How did Terrence Malick’s “Tree Of Life” expand? Details and the Top 40 after the cut!

Tags: Beautiful Boy, Beginners, Box Office, Bridesmaids, Film Socialsme, Midnight In Paris, Submarine, The Hangover Part II, The Tree Of Life, X-Men: First Class

Permanent link to this article: http://shouldiseeit.net/article/box-office-report-june-3-5-2011

May 29

Box Office Report: May 27-29, 2011

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May 29, 2011

This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

The supposed box office slump plaguing Hollywood has vanished as this past weekend may ultimately become the biggest Memorial Day weekend of all time, paced by the 1-2 punch of “The Hangover Part II” and “Kung Fu Panda 2″.

THE HANGOVER PART II

First and foremost, the conversation starts with “The Hangover Part II” which delivered the third largest Thursday opening of all time ($31.6 million) and followed it up with the largest R-rated live action comedy opening ever. With a staggering 4-day take of $118.1 million, the film crushed the first film’s 4-day start of $52.6 million. Now granted, things are much different this time around as the first film finished up with $467 million worldwide and one of the most popular comedies of the last several years. Additionally, “The Hangover Part II” was arguably the most anticipated mainstream release of the first half of 2011.

Surviving a tepid critical response, “The Hangover Part II” seemed made of teflon and reviews of a positive or negative vibe would not and did not matter at all. With “Part II” not as fresh or as original as “Part One” and largely a retread of the story and plot from the first film, industry analysts were wondering if word-of-mouth would lead to audiences diminishing as the weekend went on. Clearly, that was and is not the case and this “Hangover” is a certifiable smash.

KUNG FU PANDA 2

Receiving smaller than expected numbers, “Kung Fu Panda 2″ nonetheless brought in an estimated $53.8 million in its opening four days. This effort at counterprogramming was expected to match or exceed the opening weekend of 2008′s “Kung Fu Panda”, as that film began with $60.2 million in 3 days domestically, before earning a massive $631.7 million worldwide haul.

Interestingly, audiences overseas bested the North American box office totals, as “Panda 2″ earned $57 million across the water. The reaction internally is apparently mixed with some analysts saying that when the 5-day count concludes, the film will be precisely where they expected (approximately $65 stateside), while others reportedly felt the film would finish with a bigger figure. Budgeted at $150 million, the film will be profitable worldwide by next weekend, but may struggle to match the domestic take of the first film’s $215 million.

More updates to come through the rest of the Memorial Day weekend, but two films, released on a much smaller scale, turned heads in a big way after the cut!

Tags: Box Office, Bridesmaids, Kung Fu Panda 2, Midnight In Paris, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover Part II, The Tree Of Life

Permanent link to this article: http://shouldiseeit.net/article/box-office-report-may-27-29-2011

May 22

Box Office Report: May 20-22, 2011

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May 22, 2011

This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Delivering the biggest opening weekend of 2011, “Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” opened to an estimated $90.1 million in total receipts, easily winning the box office weekend. While $90.1 million is never a number to discount or place in ill regard, reports declared this opening as “soft” or “underwhelming”. Comparatively speaking with the previous “Pirates” films, this was the lowest grossing and lowest attended opening weekend for the film franchise, at least in North America.

Overseas counts told a much different story as “Pirates” amassed a staggering $256.3 million, rolling its worldwide cumulative total to $346.4 million. Deadline reports that with the production and marketing budgets added together, this film cost $420 million to bring to the screen, a figure which is already within sight after just 5 days of being on screen.

Delving further into the “soft” opening for a moment, 2003′s “Pirates…The Curse Of The Black Pearl” started at $46.6 million in July 2003 but earned more than $300 million domestically. The film also earned Johnny Depp his first Oscar nomination and springboarded the sequel, 2006′s “…Dead Man’s Chest” to $423.3 million and a ranking as the 8th biggest grossing film of all time in North America. The third entry, 2007′s “…At World’s End” returned closer to the numbers earned by the first film in the series, but still cleared $309.4 million. Worldwide the films have grossed more than $2 billion dollars, not counting the sums calculated for “…On Stranger Tides”.

All of that to say, this may be the first film in history to earn $90.1 million stateside and $256.3 million overseas and be viewed as a disappointment.

“Pirates…” opened unchallenged as Mel Gibson’s “The Beaver” saw its wide expansion muted to just 168 locations, a gain of 105 new sites. However, one new film delivered a stunning opening with 6 locations hosting it.

NEW OPENINGS:

“Midnight In Paris”, directed and written by Woody Allen, reversed Allen’s recent troubles in delivering a worthwhile opening. Allen consistently generates a film a year and his films often are given small platform releases. His last sizeable opening, 2008′s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, a film which earned Penelope Cruz a Supporting Actress Oscar, started at $3.8 million at nearly 700 screens, but for a platform opening, you have to go all the way back 2005′s “Melinda and Melinda” which started at $74k on 1 screen to find anything comparable to this start. The film also earned Allen his best reviews in years and Oscar talk has started to float around the film’s screenplay. This is Allen’s third straight film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics and has already banked $5.9 million overseas.

Additional observations after the cut including some lovely “Bridesmaids” who kept people’s attention through the weekend… Read more on Box Office Report: May 20-22, 2011…

Tags: 35 And Ticking, Box Office, Bridesmaids, Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, Everything Must Go!, Midnight In Paris, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Beaver, The First Grader

Permanent link to this article: http://shouldiseeit.net/article/box-office-report-may-20-22-2011

May 15

Box Office Report: May 13-15, 2011

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May 15, 2011

This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog.

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

“Thor” continued to rule the box office universe in its second weekend by avoiding the typical slide that action movies and comic book adaptations tend to suffer from. Hot on its heels and performing well above expectations is the female ensemble comedy, “Bridesmaids”, which impressed many pundits with its success.

“Thor” slid less than 50% in weekend 2 and earned an estimated $34.5 million, moving it to $119.3 million stateside in 10 days and $318 million worldwide. Budgeted at $150 million, the film had strong attendance during the week and although “Thor” will likely take a big hit when the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film drops on May 20, everyone is thrilled with the film’s success in furthering the build to 2012′s “The Avengers”. Expectations are also heightened for July’s “Captain America: The First Avenger” with “Thor”‘s success.

Co-written by Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig, “Bridesmaids” was a test for Hollywood. Wrongly saddled with comparisons to “The Hangover”, the all female-ensemble R-rated comedy drew in a much larger than projected audience. “Bridesmaids” banked an estimated $24.4 million on a reported budget of $32.5 million. The movie will likely be profitable by the middle of the week and could holdover strong in its second weekend with no direct competition for its target audience. While audience reports showed attendance as nearly 2:1 female, the film received a 90% Rotten Tomatoes average and was the buzz movie of the weekend. I’ll hold back editorializing to some extent, but let me simply say that I think everyone wins with the success of “Bridesmaids” this weekend.

NEW OPENINGS:

In January 2010, Paul Bettany made the leap from dramatic character actor to post-apocalyptic action star with “Legion”. After “Legion”‘s mediocre but profitable performance, Bettany is back as the star of “Priest”, an adaptation of a Korean graphic novel also set in a post-apocalyptic landscape and reuniting Bettany with “Legion”‘s director, Scott Stewart.

Shot for $60 million, a much larger budget than “Legion” received, “Priest” did not find the audience it hoped for, landing with a disappointing $14.5 million estimated start, less than “Legion”‘s $17.5 million start. Ravaged by critics, “Priest” may have suffered from confusing trailers which never really provided viewers a sense of what they were getting. Also, the PG-13 rating seemed to not fit the horror/science-fiction subject matter, which may have steered folks down the hall to see “Thor” a second time. With this opening, “Priest” will probably struggle to land at $40 million domestically, the same haul which “Legion” enjoyed, but when all is assessed and considered, this is a significant disappointment for studio Screen Gems.

National Geographic Entertainment scores a big opening and Will Ferrell struggles to sell, as well as other notables, after the cut!

Tags: Box Office, Bridesmaids, Everything Must Go!, Go For It!, Hesher, Priest, The Beaver, The First Grader, Thor

Permanent link to this article: http://shouldiseeit.net/article/box-office-report-may-13-15-2011

May 08

Box Office Report: May 6-8, 2011

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May 8, 2011

This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

To the surprise of no one, Paramount and Marvel Comics’ “Thor” had an impressive debut in the official liftoff to the summer box office season. Muted somewhat by the exceptional debut of “Fast Five” last weekend, “Thor” nonetheless came in exceeding expectations with an estimated $66 million domestically. That $66 million, coupled with $176 million already hauled in overseas, brings “Thor”‘s worldwide gross to a robust $242 million. The movie was destined to draw, but exceedingly positive reviews and a wider attendance of families and younger moviegoers helped the estimated figures climb. Although opening to nearly half that of last year’s “Iron Man 2″, “Thor”‘s opening was the 9th best for a Marvel Comics adaptation and 3rd best for films which will link together for the May 2012 “Avengers” epic.

Last week’s #1 film, “Fast Five” dropped approximately 62% in its second weekend. However, the film still banked $32.5 million with that drop and roared to nearly $140 million domestic in 10 days. “Fast Five” is now, albeit temporarily, the highest grossing film of 2011. The film is a couple of days away from making back its budget ($150 million) in North American box office returns and worldwide, the film has grossed nearly $325 million.

NEW OPENINGS:

Arriving at #3 to the surprise of many is the TriStar/Sony/Columbia romantic dramedy, “Jumping The Broom”. “…Broom”, an African-American made film co-produced by Pastor T.D. Jakes, doubled its production budget ($6.6 million), opening at $13.7 million and drawing strong audience response. Reviews were split nearly 50/50 in the critical realm, but TriStar cross-promoted the film effectively with presence on TLC, BET, and creative and integrative marketing in and around the recent Royal Wedding. All in all, kudos should be raised on getting the movie seen, exceeding expectations, and doubling its investment in 3 days time.

Suffering at the apparent success of “Jumping The Broom” is the more traditional romantic-comedy, “Something Borrowed”. Warner Bros. had high hopes with this adaptation of Emily Giffin’s best-seller and likely were not anticipating poor to vitriolic critical reaction to the film. Opening a romantic comedy on Mother’s Day is not a bad counterprogramming idea per se, but certainly “Jumping The Broom” drew more interest than Warner Bros. anticipated. “Something Borrowed” opened with an estimated $13.2 million on a reported $35 million budget.

“…Borrowed” also delivered a very subpar opening for lead actress Kate Hudson’s big studio fare, earning the actress her lightest opening weekend since 2004′s “Raising Helen” (not including ensemble films “Nine” or “Killer Inside Me” which achieved small platform releases).

Mel Gibson’s returns in “The Beaver” and an expensive religious epic fails to find an audience, as well as other notables after the cut!

Tags: Box Office, Jumping The Broom, Something Borrowed, The Beaver, There Be Dragons, Thor

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Permanent link to this article: http://shouldiseeit.net/article/box-office-report-may-6-8-2011

May 01

Box Office Report: April 29-May 1

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