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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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2003-04-28
tp://us.imdb.com/Title?0358349>sequel to MGM’s only hit of the year, Agent Cody Banks, is set to begin production next month in London and will have a couple of new faces in front on the camera, as well as behind it.
Anthony Anderson, currently in Malibu’s Most Wanted, has joined the cast as Cody Banks’ special operative handler, similar to the role Angie Harmon played in the first movie. Anthony Anderson has been in a series of projects lately from last September’s Barbershop to a cameo in this summer’s Scary Movie 3.
Not returning for the sequel will be Hillary Duff, and for those who are following her career this can’t come as a surprise. Between promoting her upcoming Lizzie McGuire Movie, (opening May 2nd) and filming Cheaper by the Dozen for a Christmas release and preparing for The Cinderella Story... Where would she find the time? No word on who is set to replace her as Cody Banks’ love interest, but star Frankie Muniz is pulling for Brittany Snow (currently the star of the TV series American Dreams).
Behind the camera, Agent Cody Banks 2 will have a new director. This became necessary when the original director, Harald Zwart left the project due to budgetary concerns. Kevin Allen has been signed to direct the sequel in his place. This will be the first major directing job for Kevin Allen, whose previous credits include the mockumentary The Big Tease.
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2003-04-28
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The last week in Spring is usually a time when studios dump movies before the summer season officially starts, and it’s usually the slowest pre-summer weekend of the year. This year was no exception. It was better than the same weekend last year, but that could be the result of twice as many movies opening this year.
Picked by most to finish second, or even third, Identity managed to grab first spot with an impressive $16.2 million. Also impressive was its reviews at 64%, but its CinemaScores was just average at B. That, the genre, and X-Men 2 opening next week suggests Identity won’t have great legs at the box office, but with a budget of only $28 million, it won’t matter.
In second was Anger Management, which dropped another 40% to $15 million and crossed the $100 million mark. Even with much stronger legs than predicted, this film is still well behind Big Daddy for Adam Sandler’s largest box office, despite having a larger opening weekend.
Third with the smallest week to week drop in the top ten was Holes. Its more than $12.5 million represents only a 23% drop, and after two weeks its total box office is just a few million shy of its production and P&A budgets combined. After figuring in the theatre’s share of the box office, Holes should finish its domestic run just shy of profitability. But at this point, even a disappointing international box office will push this film into the black.
Malibu’s Most Wanted dropped a spot to fourth, but its box office dropped little less than 42% to $7.3 million. This was a little better than most expects predicted. With a production budget of only $15 million, and a total box office of nearly $25 million, look for more films like this to follow.
Opening in fifth place was Confidence at only $4.6 million, in line with most predictions. Excellent reviews couldn’t overcome the small advertising push. Word of mouth might help this movie receive a larger audience for the home market, but that’s a best case scenario at this point.
To say It Runs in the Family opened wide would be a bit of a stretch. At only 1200 theatres, it wasn’t in the top ten for theatre count, but it did finish 9th at the box office. Still its $2.8 million box office is a disappointment, but probably better than its bad reviews and weak CinemaScores would suggest.
It tenth place, proving that the movie going public does have taste was The Real Cancun. This movie bombed, earning $2.1 million in more than 2200 theatres. That’s a per theatre average of less than $1000 per theatre, second worse in the top twenty. Bad reviews are one thing, but the real story here is the CinemaScores. Their target audience (males under 21) gave the movie a C-, with movie goers over 35 gave it an F. Hopefully this will give the other studios contemplating Reality TV Movies something to think about.
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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.
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2003-04-18
set to open today, after three opened on Wednesday, but it looks like none of them will give Anger Management much competition for first place. Originally, I predicted Bulletproof Monk would finish second, but that may no longer be the case. Wednesday’s take was only $1.4 million, which indicates roughly $10 million for Friday to Sunday.
Despite opening in only 2300 theatres, Holes should finish second this weekend. Holes has several things going for it. It’s a long weekend, it’s based on the popular and award-winning children’s book, and it has good reviews. Its reviews are the best for a wide release this weekend, with over two thirds of the reviews positive. With a relatively low budget movie ($20 million for production and a little more than that for advertising) Holes should make Disney very happy, and it could make close to its production budget on opening weekend.
Battling for third place with Bulletproof Monk will be Malibu’s Most Wanted. Surprisingly, this spin-off from the Jamie Kennedy Experiment is getting better reviews than Bulletproof Monk. Although, that is not saying much as both are getting hammered by the critics.
The only other two movies released in more than a handful of theatres could both make it into the top ten. Chasing Papi is almost assured a spot in the top ten after finishing 5th on Wednesday. On the other hand, A Mighty Wind might not make it, but it should finish near the top of the Per Theatre Average chart.
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2003-04-16
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.
Bulletproof Monk
Current Content: No change from when I reviewed it last. Movie clips are still marked coming soon.
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Current Content: The new full-length trailer is up, as is some more photos and wallpapers. The animated adventures and games are still coming soon.
Finding Nemo
Current Content: The latest from Pixar studios, this site has a synopsis / behind the scenes section, three trailers, character bios, gallery, fish facts and a one game, with more to come. Also, when you move the cursor bubbles come out, which is a nice touch. There are also sounds of the ocean playing in the background, which you can not only turn on, and off, but adjust the volume. It’s a simple addition that is very helpful. All in all, this site is truly deserving of the undisputed Weekly Website Award
Holes
Current Content: Another movie opening this week, and another one with no new content since I reviewed it last. It’s still an excellent site and worth checking out.
Hollywood Homicide
Current Content: Still two months away, so the fact that there’s just a trailer so far is not a shock.
Hypnotic
Current Content: Along with the usual information (Cast and crew bios, synopsis, trailer) there are behinds the scenes information and a gallery in Java format. There are also five ‘disturbing’ images that are distorted (sometimes based on mouse movements.) While you are watching these images there’s creepy music playing in the background. I think the site would have benefited if that music were playing all the time.
The In-Laws
Current Content: A new flash site was launched, and while there is plenty of information (synopsis, cast and crew bios) and multimedia (trailer, poster, photo gallery) and downloads (wallpapers and buddy icons) there are even more features marked coming soon.
Jeepers Creepers 2
Current Content: New format, but the only new content is three e-cards.
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Current Content: This week a flash site was activated, and while there’s a new format, most of the content is the same. There are some new photos and character bios to read, and a couple of sections marked coming soon.
Malibu’s Most Wanted
Current Content: A very well done flash site with a lot of multimedia content. A trailer, a beer commercial featuring B-Rad G, and a clip from the movie are all on the site. There’s also a link to B-Rad G’s personal site, which has even more clips from the movie and Jamie Kennedy Experiment. There’s also songs from his CD Malibootay. While there certainly is a lot here, it all seems very much the same.
S.W.A.T.
Current Content: Just the trailer, but the movie is months away, so that should change.
Winged Migrations
Current Content: Flash site with mostly behind the scene information - what birds are featured, their migratory paths, how the shots were taken, and a statement director and his bio. There are also a lot of links for more bird information if this site doesn’t have enough. From the more traditional website fare, we have the trailer and a couple of wallpapers to download.
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2003-04-03
headline from UHF. But it may be more relevant today than ever. In Hollywood’s ever increasing attempt to cash in on already successful products, creating movies based on TV shows should be a safe bet. Like remakes, sequels and comic book adaptations, Based on a TV Show can be thought of as its own genre. Here is a list of some of the up-coming Based on a TV Show films.
Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Based on the hit Anime series from Japan, this film has already been out for a year and a half in Japan. Anime has traditionally been a tough sell for American audiences, but if it succeeds look for more anime to coming over soon. Opens this Friday.
Malibu's Most Wanted
Based on a skit from The Jamie Kennedy Experiment. A few weeks ago I would have thought a movie that focuses on a white man trying to act black wouldn’t stand a chance at the box office. But that was before Bringing Down the House made $100 million in just four weeks. Of course, Jamie Kennedy is no Steve Martin. Opens on the 18th of April.
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Based on one of the most popular series on Disney’s Family Channel ever. For Hilary Duff, it’s the second movie this year, with an estimated four to five hundred others in the works. Opens May 2nd, opposite X-2, which is an excellent piece of counter-programming.
Rugrats Go Wild!
A crossover between two successful carton series, Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. Last year’s The Wild Thornberrys movie under-performed, so there’s a lot of questions about whether this movie can do better.
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Sequel to the adaptation of the 70s action / crime / sexy woman series. The combined salaries for the three leading ladies nearly doubled for this go around. So this one will have a much harder time making a profit. Opens June 27th.
Garfield
Live action adaptation (a la Scooby Doo) of the popular comic strip and successful TV series. Stars Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt have name recognition on their side, (ok, Jennifer Love Hewitt has name recognition on her side.) But neither of them has starred in a huge breakout movie. Of course, the same could have been said for Sarah, Freddie, Matthew and Linda, but Scooby Doo made over $150 million at the box office anyway. Opens December 19th.
Starsky & Hutch
Was originally planned for a 2003 release, but it has been delayed to 2004. Reportedly a prequel to the 70s cop show, with a stronger emphasis on comedy. While this will please some, it is driving some of the Starsky & Hutch purists nuts.
Spongebob Squarepants
Begins production soon for a planned Thanksgiving 2004 release. However, production on the series has ended to concentrate on the movie. And their target audiences, (little kids and drunken college students) tend to have short attention spans. So by the time the movie is released, its popularity might have waned significantly.
NOTE: As usual, all release dates are subject to change.
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