News Stories About Phone Booth DVD Releases for February 13, 2007 2007-02-12 In terms of raw numbers, this isn't as busy a week as last, but there are a lot more releases worthy of discussing, including several that I rate highly. The short-lived series Grosse Pointe - The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon gets its wide release after being an Amazon exclusive since November. Half Nelson - Buy from Amazon comes up just in time for Oscar buzz to reach its peak. Meanwhile, ... So Goes the Nation - Buy from Amazon should get the political junkies all worked up. However, the clear winner of the DVD Pick of the Week is The Departed - 2-Disc Special Edition. My only concern is the likelihood of a super special edition coming out after it wins several Oscars. Anger Management Wins a Soft Easter 2003-04-21 having Friday off, this Easter Weekend was not as strong as the same weekend last year, which was not even a long weekend. And it was about a quarter less than last Easter weekend. Anger Management was able to hang on to first place but even with the long weekend it dropped more than 40%. Still, it looks like it will be able to match Mr. Deeds’ $126 million, or at least come close. But with a production and advertising budget estimated to be over $100 million, that might not be enough. In second place was the kids movie Holes. Originally planned for a January release, it was moved to Easter weekend, and that strategy seems to have paid off. Its $16.3 million opening weekend is just a few million shy of its production budget. And the good news continues Holes not only had great reviews, but also great CinemaScores, something that hasn’t happened in a while. Look for this movie to have legs, and it might launch the careers of some of the mostly unknown actors who played the kids of D-Tent. Malibu’s Most Wanted did a little better than expected with $12.6 million, good enough for 3rd place. Reviews were poor, but better than expected and CinemaScores were average, also better than expected. With the lowest costs in the top five, Warner Bros. should be happy and this could result in a sequel, which will not make many critics happy. Doing much weaker than originally forecasted, and weaker than the lower revised prediction was Bulletproof Monk. After getting horrible reviews, it did receive average CinemaScores. But the $8.7 million opening weekend after getting $3 million Wednesday and Thursday is nothing short of disaster. Rounding out the top five was Phone Booth with just under $6 million. Phone Booth has already paid for its production budget, but is not enough to solidify Colin Farrell’s star status. The only other movies to open in more than a few select cities were not able to maintain their early momentum. After opening in fifth place, Chasing Papi dropped all the way to eleventh. A Mighty Wind finished 13th after opening in the top ten. However, both were just a few hundred thousand away from the 9th place. In fact, there was less than $1 million between 8th and 15th. Submitted by: Anger Management makes Theatre Owners Very Happy 2003-04-14 LEFT"> Buy this poster at AllPosters.com Anger Management broke the record for largest April opening, and it helped the Box Office to break out of its slump. Not only was the Box Office higher than last week, but for the first time in 4 weeks it was higher than the same weekend in 2002. But before studios and theatre owners celebrate, week 15 was a slow week in an otherwise strong spring in 2002. But in 2003, week 15 looks more like a small bright spot in a weak year. As previously noted, Anger Management broke the April opening record with $42.2 million, about $3 million less than initial studio estimates; this is also personal records for both the stars. However, that’s where the good news ends. After getting great early reviews, the final tally for Anger Management was lass than 50%, and the CinemaScores were even worse. The target audience did give the film an A-, but it quickly dropped off from there bottoming out with a D+ from woman aged 35 and older. All this suggests this movie will be a pump and dump losing more than 50% next weekend. The second largest opening was for House of 100 Corpses. This movie did much better than was expected on Friday, opening in fourth place. However, it lost more than 13% by Saturday. Box office drops from Friday to Saturday are rare to begin with, but a double-digit drop is almost unheard of. In the end it could only hang on to 7th place. Better than many expected, but don’t expect much more during the rest of its run. The rest of the top five positions were held by last week’s holdovers, with Phone Booth taking second spot with $7.6 million. That drop-off was just shy of 50%. Still, the studio’s take of the box office is enough to cover the $13 million production budget, so Fox should be quite happy. What a Girl Wants came in third with $6.2 million, an unexpectedly large 45% drop from last week. High CinemaScores and a younger target audience suggested this movie should have better legs than this. However large the drop was, it was the best in the top five, and only Chicago had a better week to week record in the top ten. In fourth place, up a place from last week, is Bringing Down the House with $4.5 million. What more can be said about this movie? Already the highest grossing film of 2003, it continues to be one of the few bright spots in a soft year. In fifth with a larger than expected drop-off was A Man Apart. Losing almost 60% of what was already a weaker than expected opening weekend, A Man Apart shows that Vin Diesel isn’t the superstar some were calling him. At least not yet. Submitted by:	No One to Fight for Anger Management 2003-04-11 LEFT">
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This weekend only one movie is opening wide, but it should open huge.

Anger Management is opening in over 3500 theatres, and it should be first by a huge margin - maybe even breaking Adam Sandler’s previous record for opening weekend, ($41 million for Big Daddy). Reviews are surprisingly high give Adam Sandler’s track record, or to look at it another way, a little low give Jack Nicholson’s track record.

The next largest opening is Rob Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses. Opening in only 500 theatres, it won’t land in the top five, and maybe not even in the top ten. Reviews for House of 1,000 Corpses are horrible, so far there has been only 1 positive review out of 7, and no ‘Cream of the Crop’ reviewer has even bothered to review it. Also, there has been a lack of promotion for this film. I’ve seen more TV spots for Bend it Like Beckham, which is in almost 400 less theatres.

Having possibly a better chance to land in the top ten is Ghosts of the Abyss. Opening in only 97 theatres, this IMAX film could pull in $30,000 or more per theatre. If it does it could be the first IMAX film to ever land in the top 10. The closest so far what Fantasia 2000 at 12th place. Ghosts of the Abyss does have some factors that will help out. Specifically, the lack of IMAX openings, (this is the first one since The Lion King almost 3 months ago) and the high level of talent behind it (James Cameron and Bill Paxton.)

Holdovers will dominate the rest of the top five this weekend, with Phone Booth and What a Girl Wants battling for second place. Phone Booth had quite a lead on What a Girl Wants last weekend, but the difference in CinemaScores and their target audiences suggest this week it will be a closer contest. A Man Apart will be slightly farther behind with a moderate to poor drop-off. Lastly, Bringing Down the House should climb ahead of Head of State to stay in the top 5 for the sixth weekend in a row.

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New Releases Open 1 - 2 - 3

2003-04-07

he first three places at the box office this weekend, while last weekend’s releases faired poorly in their second week. Box office was down, after climbing last week, and is now just a few million above the weakest it’s been all year. So far it has been a weak year for the movies.

In first place was Phone Booth at $15.0 million, roughly in line with predictions. The Colin Farrell suspense film had very good reviews, but poor CinemaScores. Perhaps people didn’t know what to expect before they bought their tickets. Or perhaps the real-time format was too strange. Either way, this movie won’t have the legs the studio would like. But with a production budget of $10 - 12 million, I don’t think they’ll lose any sleep over it.

What a Girl Wants came in second with $11.4 million, almost the same as Amanda Bynes’s first movie, Big Fat Liar. Reviews were not good, but the CinemaScores were excellent, getting an A+ among the target audience, and even more surprising were the good grades among men of all ages. So this movie should have legs, and $50 million should be a safe bet.

A Man Apart rounds out the three wide releases with $11.0 million, not as much as the studios would have liked, but also not the disaster that it could have been. Dreadful reviews were offset but average CinemaScores, but don’t expect A Man Apart to make back its low production budget of $36 million. (Which is low by Hollywood standards.)

Last week’s 1 - 2 comedy punch finished this week 4 - 5. Coming in fourth was Head of State with $8.6 million. That’s only a 36.5% drop, which is good, not great, but good. Bringing Down the House had its largest weekly drop, but that was still just a 33.4% drop to $8.3 million. That was good enough for fifth place and $111 million total.

The other two movies that opened last week didn’t fair so well this week. The Core lost just shy of 50% and Basic lost a little more than 53%. With only one movie opening wide next week, one or both could remain in the top ten next weekend. But that’s not a guarantee.

The only other movie to open in more than a few cities was DysFunKtional Family. The Eddie Griffin stand-up comedy movie tanked, managing only $1 million. Much less than most analysts predicted.

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What a Dysfunctional Man Apart in a Phone Booth Wants

2003-04-04

ies open wide, with another opening in between wide and limited.

Phone Booth: Starring Colin Farrell, who some are calling a superstar. I still think it is a little early for that call. This is his third movie released this year, with three more scheduled for release. Each one could be the film that finally solidifies his star status, or it could be the one that kills his career with overexposure. Phone Booth is probably neither of those, but the strong reviews suggest it’s closer to the superstar side than the overexposure side. Should win the weekend.

What a Girl Wants: Starring Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth. Poor overall reviews would suggest this movie won’t succeed. However, it is aimed at an under-serviced market, which can only help its box office. It is being compared to The Princess Diaries, but What a Girl Wants probably won’t do that kind of business, but a $12 to 15 million opening weekend leading to a $50 million total should please the studio.

A Man Apart: Staring Vin Diesel. Too sensitive to be a ‘Guys Movie’, too macho to be a ‘Chick Flick.’ The ad campaign tries to hard to attract both sexes, and in doing so alienates both. A Man Apart is getting absolutely horrible reviews; so far this year, only Boat Trip has gotten lower than A Man Apart. Vin Diesel could help film some seats, but not enough to make this film a success.

DisFUNKtional Family: The stand-up comedy film from Eddie Griffin. Opening in only 600 theatres it won’t land in the top five, but it should be a contender for highest Per Theatre Average.

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Movie Websites Launches for March 27 - April 2

2003-04-02

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. This was a very busy week with lots of placeholder sites that were launched, so many that they were placed in there own section at the end of the list. In the coming months I’ll keep track of these sites reporting on new content as it added, (if any is added.) If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.


Bullet Proof Monk
Current Content: This site offers a good mix of style and substance. In addition to the usual features, (synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios) there’s a storyboard of one of the fight scenes narrated by the director, Paul Hunter. There are also come downloads, (wallpaper, buddy icons and E-cards) and a section for movie clips marked, coming soon.


City of Ghosts
Current Content: New Flash site added. Navigating the site is easy and the graphics are very intriguing. In addition to the previous content, there are cast and crew bios, new images, wallpapers, buddy icons and a map of Cambodia. There are also clips from the movie marked coming soon.


Cowboy Bebop
Current Content: Well laid out design with good content both in text (synopsis, background information) and multimedia (images, trailer and movie clips.) The background information is especially helpful to surfers who have not seen the TV show.


Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry met Lloyd
Current Content: The new site is back after appearing for several hours a couple of weeks ago. The bulletin board presentation is a nice touch. While there is plenty to watch, (trailer, photos and even a toilet) there’s not much to read. No synopsis, no cast and crew bios, no behinds the scenes.


The Good Thief
Current Content: A little different sense of style sets this site apart from others. And the usual information, (synopsis, cast and crew bios, photo gallery and trailer) make this an effective, if somewhat plain site. There is background music, but the clips are a little short to add much to the experience.


Holes
Current Content: An excellent site with a lot to check out. There are extensive cast and crew, and character, bios to read, as well as a synopsis and behind-the-scenes information. The trailer is available and so is a 60-second clip of the music video Dig It by the D-Tent Boys. A clip of the song plays on the main site as well, it’s long enough to be effective, but the looping is a little rough. Also, sound clips from Mr. Sir play occasionally, so there’s a lot to listen to as well as watch. And then there’s the interactive portion of the site. In the Wreck Room you can play a game of Find Zero! make your own creepy crawly or send e-cards. Plus, there are lesson plans for teachers to use. The best site of the week and winner of the festive Weekly Website Award.


The Hulk
Current Content: A little bit as been added, as the release date grows nearer. New game called Hulk Smash Up. Basically a clone of the old Rampage arcade game.


Levity
Current Content: Nothing new since it was first reviewed, so here’s a cut and paste of that review. “Flash Site starts with scenes from the robbery with happen 22 years before the events of the movie. Once the intro is done, there’s lots of information to read (synopsis, cast and crew bios, production notes and the director’s statement. Periodically images from the flash intro of the robbery reappear. While this is an interesting concept, it does make reading the text very difficult and disrupts the flow of an otherwise good site.”


A Man Apart
Current Content: Some new content since it was first reviewed most notably 3 short videos, (each about 30 seconds long) narrated by Vin Diesel. Also there are flash intros to some of the section.


The Man Without A Past
Current Content: A well done site, simple but effective. And after watching the trailer, it is quite safe to say the movie is the same. Quite a lot of information on the movie, including the usual suspects (Synopsis, Trailer, Cast and Crew Bios) and a statement from director Aki Kaurusmäki and information about his other projects.


Phone Booth
Current Content: Starts with a rather long and interactive intro, which makes the rest of the site a bit of a disappointment. Besides the intro there is a synopsis, cast bios, photo gallery and the trailer.


What a Girl Wants
Current Content: A very busy site that tries to pack in a lot on information. And for the most part succeeds. There’s text information that includes not just the synopsis and cast and crew bios, but information on the music, the costumes and the filming in England. You can view the trailer and couple of clips, download poster, screensaver, buddy icons, wallpapers and a calendar. Create your own e-cards, ask Amanda a question, flaunt your style or send a text message to a friend. There are a couple of contests you can enter (for US residents only.) Or visit What I Like About You or Amanada Bynes’ Official sites. Told you there was a lot. The transitions between sections help keep the site cohesive.


XX/XY
Current Content: A very utilitarian site that lacks style. However, there is a fair amount of substance. Synopsis, Trailer and cast and crew bios are joined by an interview with the director, three clips from the movie and a clip of the director talking about his inspiration.


Placeholder Sites


Duplex
Current Content: Like the rest of the Miramax movies’ site that launched this week, this one only has the synopsis and a trailer marked coming soon. All these site look identical and don’t keep a surfer's attention for more than a few seconds.


DysFUNKtional Family
Current Content: Another Miramax one page site. Includes just a synopsis and the trailer.


The Great Raid
Current Content: Synopsis and a trailer marked coming soon.


The Human Stain
Current Content: Just the synopsis and a trailer marked coming soon.


Jersey Girl
Current Content: Right now it’s just the synopsis. But as the release date comes closer expect View Askew to come up with a much more in-depth site. Thou it might not be at the current address.


Man on the Train
Current Content: So far, just the Synopsis. However, there’s a least a hint that more content will be added later on.


The Singing Detective
Current Content: Just the synopsis, with no additional features marked coming soon.


The Station Agent
Current Content: Just the synopsis and a trailer that is marked coming soon.


United States of Leland
Current Content: None, just a placeholder site till the release date gets closer.


Yossi & Jagger
Current Content: Just a synopsis and a theatre finder.


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Paramount Sensative to Shuttle Disaster

2003-02-03

ately has become necessary common Hollywood protocol, yet another cinematic trailer will be pulled and possibly edited in light of a world wide tragedy. The Space Shuttle Columbia and its fatal flight quickly prompted Viacom Inc owned studios, to review the trailer for The Core. Produced by Paramount, “The Core” is a sci-fi adventure involving NASA “terranauts” who have to travel to the center of the earth and save the world.

Certain scenes from the trailer, depicts a NASA space shuttle suffering from extreme turbulence while attempting to escape the Earths atmosphere. Though it is unlikely that the March 28, 2003 release would be delayed, it wouldn’t be the first time a film has been deferred or even altered because of tragedy. Last year during the Washington Sniper incidents, 20^th Century Fox pushed back it’s November 15^th release of the movie, “Phone Booth”. The movies story line involves a man played by Collin Farrell who gets trapped in a phone booth by a rooftop sniper performed by Kiefer Sutherland. Its current release date is April 4^th 2003.

Earlier, an Arnold Schwarzenegger film, “Collateral Damage” was delayed because of the September 11^th terrorist attack. This films story line revolved around Schwarzennegers character; a fire fighter that lost his family in a terrorist attack. It was released on February 8^th 2002.

An even more notable movie delay, that even included actual scene changes because of the September 11^th attack, involved the block busting “SpiderMan” movie. “SpiderMan” originally included scenes of the web slinger spinning a sticky trap between the World Trade Center buildings in order to catch a fleeing helicopter full of thieves. The scene was later edited out, and any subsequent scenes with the World Trade Center buildings, altered.

George W. Horta III

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"Phone Booth" Delayed Again, Surviving Christmas Slips Too

2003-01-30

gh-profile films have been pushed back from their planned release dates even further. The Colin Farrell (Minority Report) thriller, Phone Booth, scheduled for March 14, will now open, hopefully, on April 4. This recent change could have to do with the onslaught of major releases in March, notably Dreamcatcher; the John Travolta vehicle, Basic; the disaster spectacle, The Core; A View from the Top (itself suffering from stage fright), and Agent Cody Banks. Phone Booth would have run into another Farrell movie, The Recruit, co-starring Al Pacino and opening on January 31. Too much Farrell seems like a bad thing.

Phone Booth, which depicts Farrell trapped in a city phone booth as a sniper kills around him, was delayed for months from its original November 15 release after the sniper shootings plagued Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas. The film is directed by Joel Schumacher, who could use a hit after the lackluster reception of Bad Company.

Ben Affleck and his comedy, Surviving Christmas, has been pushed back again after studio DreamWorks skipped a planned winter 2002 and '03 release. The movie, which also stars James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara, should open around the holiday season in 2004. These spacious maneuvers could be from the fact the studio lacks confidence in the project, always a bad sign. Surviving Christmas is directed by Mike Mitchell (Deuce Bigalow).

Pushed Back: A View from the Top

2003-01-23

.the-numbers.com/people/GPALT.html">Gwyneth Paltrow's latest flick, A View from the Top was supposed to open this weekend, however its release date has changed, again. Originally planned for an April 19th, 2002 release, Miramax pushed that back four times. Its new and hopefully final release date is March 21st, 2003. A View from the Top is now opening against Piglet’s Big Movie, Identity and another movie that was pushed back due to real world events Phone Booth.

This bit of rescheduling leaves Darkness Falls as the only wide release for the January 24th weekend.

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