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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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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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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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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
