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2003-09-08
tarted much slower than predicted. Not only did the two new movies fail to deliver at the box office (or critically), none of the holdovers managed to perform well either. Not only was the weekend the weakest of the year so far, it was arguably the weakest in the past several years. The total box office was down 35% from last week and 7% from last year.
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star was in a close battle to win top spot at the box office this week. It did come in a bit lower than expected with only $6.7 million, and with very poor reviews don't expect much more than that for the rest of its run. On the positive side, with a production budget believed to be under $20 million it could show a profit from the home market.
While a drop of 57% is massive no matter how you look at it, it wasn't as massive as predicted. Combined with the poor showing of the rest of the holdovers, that led to Jeepers Creepers 2 dropping only one spot to second place with $6.6 million.
With the best drop-off in the top five, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl climbed two places into the top three. Its 9th weekend grab of $5.3 million was also enough to vault it over The Matrix Reloaded into second place for the year and 19th on the all time chart.
Still one weekend away from the coveted $100 million club, Freaky Friday earned another $5.0 million at the box office.
S.W.A.T. managed one last weekend in the top five adding another $4.6 million to its total.
Both the early reviews and the box office for The Order were a little better than expected. Reviews were at one time at 28% positive, nothing to brag about, but not the complete disaster. However, they have since come down and are now at 10% including 0% from the Cream of the Crop. And its opening weekend take of $4.4 million is better than expected. But when compared to an estimated production budget of $35 million, a few hundred thousand more at the box office is essentially meaningless.
American Wedding dropped out of the top ten this week, but it was able to cross the $100 million mark. That's enough to cover the production budget and a bit of the advertising. Add in its international run, which has barely started, and you have a profitable performance.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-09-05
you than The Labor Day long weekend is the slowest long weekend of the year. The rest of September is traditionally the slowest time of the year. And this year it looks to break no traditions with only two marginal releases.
The box office should be led by Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, the latest David Spade movie. Reviews for Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star are almost twice as good as Spade's previous movie, Joe Dirt, but at 19% that's not much praise. Joe Dirt made $8 million during its opening weekend, but it opening in several hundred more theatres and during a more lucrative time at the box office. Better reviews and higher ticket prices will leave Dickie Roberts with the same opening weekend.
Many families saw movies last Monday to celebrate back to school, ok, the parents were celebrating while the children were mourning. I think a significant number will also go to movies this weekend as a treat for the children who survived the first week. This should help Freaky Friday maintain most of its box office. $6.5 million is good, but not quite good enough to cross $100 million this week.
Poor reviews, sequel effect, horror genre, post long weekend and the general ennui of 2003 will lead to a massive drop at the box office for Jeepers Creepers 2. Look for a drop just north of 60% for a weekend box office of $6 million.
Very few movies have shown real legs at the box office this year. So far this year's champion has to be Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl which, if my calculations are correct, will move up a spot on the charts for a second week in a row. Also, the $5.5 million earned will push it past The Matrix Reloaded into second place for the year.
Spending its last week in the top five will be Open Range. Another $5.0 million will increase its total past $50 million in four weeks. That may not seem like much compared to the $300 million Pirates of the Caribbean is shooting for, but it's the best Kevin Costner effort since Waterworld.
And that leads us to the second new release of the week, The Order. How bad are the prospects for The Order? Firstly, it wasn't screened for reviewers and that's never a good sign. Secondly, it has been bounced around to no less than four release dates, also not a good sign. And it underwent a name change after a disastrous preview screening in 2002. And now it has been dumped during the weakest time of the year in fewer than 2000 theatres. An opening weekend of only $4 million and a quick exit from theatres is the most likely result.
On a more positive note, American Wedding should break through the $100 million barrier this weekend. If it does it will be the 20th movie to do so this year, with Freaky Friday becoming 21st just a few days later. It's almost a lock that 2003 will set the record for most $100 million movies in a single year. With a couple of surprises we may even see 30 $100 million movies this year.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-09-03
k promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here’s a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. It seemed like a slow week this week, not for a lack of site updates, (there are two dozen of them.) But most of them were either placeholder sites, or minor changes. This made handing out the weekly award more difficult. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
Carnage
Current Contents: Another silent, still site. In fact, as of writing this, there wasn't even a trailer yet (it is marked coming soon.) This site could also use some additional formatting to split up some of the longer sections into separate pages.
The Cat in the Hat
Current Content: Placeholder site with the synopsis, teaser trailer and cast and crew (no bios.)
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Current Content: With the movie opening this week, this site hasn't changed much since it first launched. A few clips were added to Dickie's Family Diary, and some more might be added later on. One feature I neglected to mention last time was the audio clips. There are a few audio clips that play when you visit the site, some are from the movie, while others were made specifically for the site.
Dogville
Current Content: This site is very unusual, which makes it match the movie quite well. While the usual features are all present most of them are presented in an avant-garde way. Not sure if this is good or just strange for the sake of being strange. It does have some nice background music that is long enough not to become repetitive.
Dummy
Current Content: Just the placeholder site with the trailer, however, there's also another page with additional clips. Both pages are worth checking out.
Good Boy
Current Content: The placeholder was replaced by the flash site this week, although the flash site is still incomplete. Every section introduces one of the dogs that were in the movie, including facts about its breed. Every section also has animation and a short clip from the movie. Sections on the site include synopsis, trailer and image gallery and downloads. Two more sections (Scoop and Playtime) are still marked coming soon.
Home Room
Current Content: Like too many other sites, this one has no sound or animation outside the trailer. This is too bad cause it is otherwise a good site. It hits all the major areas a site should have and does it in a compelling way. But it needs music to set it apart.
In the Cut
Current Content: Redirect to Sony Pictures movie page.
Jersey Girl
Current Content: It's a Miramax site. Hopefully Kevin Smith will make a more elaborate site before the release date.
Kill Bill
Current Content: The old site is gone and has been replaced with e new placeholder site. Of all the content of the previous site, only the teaser trailer and the message boards came across.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: The second trailer has been added to the site.
Luther
Current Content: More information has been added, mostly in the History section.
Millennium Actress
Current Content: There is plenty of animation and music in the background of this site. The music even matches what is happening in the background animation, a very nice touch. In addition, all the regular features are here, synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios, and production notes. There's also an interview with the director and screenwriter, but it is just a transcript and not a video clip.
The Order
Current Content: Nothing has changed since the site was last reviewed and the problem with the sound levels is still there.
Out of Time
Current Content: Placeholder site with just the synopsis and trailer.
Party Monster
Current Content: For a movie focused so much on the New York Party scene, this is one quiet website. Outside the trailer there are no sounds at all, and the trailer is the only animation on the site as well. The most unusual, and biggest, feature on the site is the production diary. These are not just a few notes, this is page after page of text (and quite a few images) detailing the making of the movie from the initial idea to the wrap party. Still, without sound or animation it is hard for a site to rise above the rest.
Prey for Rock and Roll
Current Content: I love a site with music and this site has three complete songs. Hell, you can even play all three songs at once. The site also has the usual features, synopsis, cast bios, trailer and three clips. If there were just some animated intros it could have been an award winning site.
The Run Down
Current Content: The flash site launched this week, and it has almost everything a site should have. Synopsis, trailer (including one in Spanish), cast, crew and character bios, image gallery, sound board, it even has a game. And there is another features marked coming soon, and some additional clips should be added before the release date. With animated intros, audio clips, background music and interactive features this site takes home the unpretentious Weekly Website Award.
School of Rock
Current Content: The trailer, which was released a while ago, was added to the placeholder site.
Shaolin Soccer
Current Content: Despite being a Miramax site, this is not the same as all other Miramax sites. But somehow there is less content than usual. Just the two trailers, no synopsis and cast and crew (no bios) like other Miramax sites.
Spider-Man 2
Current Content: The full site is now up, but a lot of features are still marked coming soon, and there should be regular updates till the movie opens in mid-2004. So far the synopsis is up and so are the cast and crew bios, character bios are marked coming soon. Just a note, many features require you to sign in before you can view them. This includes the polls and webisodes, but it's worth it.
Taking Lives
Current Content: Typical Warner Bros. placeholder site, this time without any pictures. Release date is early 2004, so there's plenty of time for more features to be added.
Zero Day
Current Content: This film opens tonight, however, the website is very Spartan with just the synopsis and trailer. Most of the information is 'off-site' at the Essex County Sheriff's Report. This helps give the film a more real feeling.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-08-20
k promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here’s a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
The Alamo
Current Content: After the intro there is just the synopsis, trailer and cast and crew (no bios.) But as the release date nears that should change.
Battle of Shaker Heights
Current Content: It's a Miramax site. Same as all the other Miramax sites.
Beyond Borders
Current Content: Just a placeholder site with only the trailer for now.
Fighting Temptations
Current Content: The flash site launched this week and as expected music was a major focus of this site. There are half a dozen songs from the soundtrack on the site, much better than the usual 6-second-looped clip. There's even the music video for the title track, although that's just a link to the MTV site. As for the rest of the content it has all the usual features (synopsis, cast and crew bios, trailer, images, etc.) plus some more marked coming soon. (Music mixer, movie clips, media player skins.)
Highwaymen
Current Content: The release date is still months away, so the lack of content is not surprising. Synopsis, trailer, e-cards and images are there. But there is no sign of cast and crew bios, for example. There is some background music that helps the site. Hopefully more content will be added later.
House of the Dead
Current Content: A movie site should have a hook, something different that keeps a surfer's attention. For this site it's the diary. "I feel like a real actor now. I have been decorated with fake poo." You don't get that kind of insight with most sites. Besides this features, there's the synopsis, cast and crew bios, trailer (on fangoria.com) and lots of images.
Lost in Translation
Current Content: This is the second site this week with lots of music. This time, however, there are only clips of the songs. Still, this is a major step above most sites that seem to treat music as an afterthought. The transitions between sections is well done and I look forward to when the video clips are added in.
Marci X
Current Content: This movie opens this week and the only content on the site is the synopsis and the trailer. Not a good sign.
The Medallion
Current Content: Not much has changed since the last time I reviewed this site. The content is still good, the background music is still way too short, and the best part of the site is still the side scrolling game you can play.
Mystic River
Current Content: The introduction with the characters is superb. Enough is given to keep you intrigued, but not enough to spoil anything. The rest of the content is given in an understated fashion, which fits well with the tone of the movie. This mood is further enhanced by the background music. There is still some sections marked coming soon, notably crew bios and a section on Clint Eastwood.
The Order
Current Content: There's a big problem with this site. The video clips, which there are a lot, are too quite compared to the other sound effects. So you either can't hear the voices, or get blown over by the sound effects, or you have to change the volume in between every clip. This overshadows what should have been an otherwise good site.
Pieces of April
Current Content: Placeholder site with just the synopsis and the trailer.
Polar Express
Current Content: Not even a placeholder site, just a redirect to the Warner Bros. movie site.
Saved!
Current Content: Just the name. Very, very plain even for a placeholder site.
Shattered Glass
Current Content: Just a placeholder site for now.
Stoked
Current Content: This site is divided into two sites. The main site with synopsis, image gallery, timeline, etc. And the bonus site with trailer, crew bios, and play dates. The main site has animated segues and background music and another song.
Thirteen
Current Content: This is an excellent site that has much more than the usual features. Its main focus is thirteen clips from the movie and interviews with some of the cast. These give a greater insight into the movie. And the way they are presented adds to the experience. The only thing the site is missing is background music. Even so, it wins the enviable Weekly Website Award. Also worth noting, Thirteen opens in theatres today (Wednesday) so if you live in New York City, you can check it out.
Veronica Guerin
Current Content: It's been a while since the placeholder site was first launched, so it's nice to see the flash site up. However, most of the content is still marked coming soon, including cast and crew bios and film clips. There are animated introductions to the section, accompanied by an audio clip from the movie. There is also background music that is long enough and loops well enough to not become repetitive too quickly.
Submitted by:
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2002-12-31
Movies, Fox has announced a new name for The Sin Eater.
It'll now be released as The Order.
Fox is also saying they've scrapped the January 17th release date and are looking for a new dat
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
