|
|
 
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
|
|
|
2004-12-13
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section, including the winners of the DVD Pick of the Week, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Platinum Series Special Extended Edition and Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete Third Season - Buy from Amazon.
|
|
|
2004-07-02
Spider-man 2 earned a record breaking $40.4 million on Wednesday, and while that was up to my lofty expectations, it was still more than enough to break records.
|
2004-06-30
It's not a question of whether Spider-man 2 will open big; we all know it will. It's not even a question of if records will fall; we all know that will happen as well. It's a question of how many records will Spider-man 2 break, and by what margin.
|
2004-05-25
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section including a surprise selection for my DVD pick of the week, Bubba Ho-Tep - Buy from Amazon.
|
|
2004-04-06
Another 7 openings helped keep The Passion of the Christ in top spot with $25.4 million. And the same pattern is holding true, the smaller the market the better the result. In Spain it opened to $3.2 million, about on par with Gothika's opening at the end of February. In South Korea it opened first with $2.3 million, significantly below the local productions that have been taking tops spot for most of the year. So far the film has earned just over $80 million internationally and over $400 million worldwide.
|
2004-03-30
With no new wider releases the top five international box office finished in the same order as last weekend. The Passion of the Christ again topped the week thanks to number one openings in many markets and even a few records. The biggest slice of its estimated $16 million take came from the U.K. where it finished first, sort of. Including previews its $3.6 was strong enough for first place; if you don't include previews then it drops to third place behind the debut of Dawn of the Dead and the second weekend of Starsky and Hutch. The film again had strong results in small markets breaking records in Argentina and Venezuela. Total international run now sits at $58.7 million in 36 markets, good, but certainly not comparable to its domestic total.
|
2004-03-23
The Passion of the Christ had mixed openings during its fourth weekend in international release. In Latin America is performed very well, where it made two thirds of its $15 million weekend take, breaking records in Chile and Central America along the way. On the flip side it could only manage a paltry $2.3 million in Germany, half of first place Brother Bear and on par with Gothika's opening earlier in the year. It would have been more impressive if the situation was reversed. After all, record breaking performances throughout Latin American won't earn as much as a blockbuster performance in Germany. Overall Passions has pulled in $32.3 million in 19, mostly smaller markets.
|
|
2004-03-16
Without an international breakout hit, the domestic slowdown is still affecting the international box-office. This week a single massive opening in a major market could have put a film in the top five. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. But a string of strong openings helped push Along Came Polly into first place with $12.4 million. It's still early in its international run, but with $40.2 million so far and with some big markets left it should beat its domestic total.
|
2004-03-09
The earlier domestic box office slow down is starting to affect the international box office as no movie could manage $10 million or more at the box office. Compare that to last week when three movies managed that feat. Even winning 11 Oscars didn't help Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's international box office as it dropped 15% to $9.4 million, although that was enough for it to reclaim the weekly crown. Overall its international total is now just shy of $680 million while its worldwide total is nearing $1.05 billion.
|
2004-03-08
With its 11 Oscar wins and huge jump in theatre count, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King should have had the largest post-Oscar jump at the box office. And while in raw dollars it did, it was the lesser known The Barbarian Invasions that had the biggest percent jump. The Canadian film and winner of Best Foreign Language Film jumped more than 137% at the box office. Its per theatre average also jumped by nearly 40%, compared to the nearly 20% drop by Return of the King.
|
|
2004-03-05
We haven't seen two film open with strong prospects since the beginning of February. And with last week's winner still going strong, 2004 should pass 2003 at the box office.
|
2004-03-02
When Scary Movie 3 was released domestically during the past fall, many analysts predicted it would fail to attract a sizeable audience. After all, there was a massive 55% drop-off between the first two installments. But the movie out-preformed expectations domestically, and now it's doing the same internationally. Scary Movie 3 earned $12.3 million and a first place finished this past weekend. Its international total is nearing $75 million and it should cross $200 million worldwide relatively soon.
|
2004-03-01
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of last nights Oscars was the lack of surprises. Even the sweep by Lord of the Rings: Return of the King wasn't that big of a shock.
|
|
2004-02-29
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King swept all the categories it was nominated for in winning a record-equaling 11 Oscars earlier this evening. Here is a list of the winners with reactions to be posted tomorrow.
|
2004-02-29
The final results are in from our Predict the Academy Awards Competition, and Numbers readers are forecasting a Lord of the Rings sweep at the ceremony tonight.
A stunning 90% of voters are calling for Lord of the Rings to win Best Picture and Peter Jackson to win Best Director - some of the strongest predictions we've seen in the 7 years we've been running the poll.
The movie is also projected to win in every other category in which its nominated.
With no Rings stars nominated for acting awards though, some of the other results are still ripe for speculation.
|
2004-02-28
Just over 24 hours to go before the ceremony, and we're ready to call another result.
This time the category is costume design - one that has thrown up some surprises in the past.
|
|
2004-02-27
Today's Oscar prediction is for one of the more minor categories, which are often harder to predict than the big awards.
But this year, Numbers readers seem to be of one accord on the song destined to pick up the Oscar.
|
2004-02-26
Having called the results for Best Animate Feature and Achievement in Directing over the past two days, we're ready to announce a projected winner for the big prize... Best Picture.
Our projections are based on the entries in our Predict the Academy Awards competition.
|
2004-02-25
Every day between now and the Academy Awards ceremony we're predicting the result of one of the categories based on votes in our Predict the Oscars competition.
Yesterday we predicted a safe win for Finding Nemo as Best Animated Feature.
Today we're calling the result for Directing.
|
|
2004-02-24
It took a couple days longer than expected, but Lord of the Rings: Return of the King crossed the $1 billion mark over the weekend. The weekend total of $13.9 million was also good enough for first place on the international charts. Internationally it is still in third place behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but that should change by the weekend.
|
2004-02-23
The 10th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards were handed out on Sunday, and there were a not a whole lost of surprises this year. At least not if you take the Golden Globe awards into consideration.
|
2004-02-23
In amongst the more than a dozen awards handed out at the 56th Annual Writers Guild Awards on Saturday were two for theatrical releases.
|
|
2004-02-18
The Japanese opening finally happened for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and the wait was well worth it. $14.7 million, (including previews) was the boost the film needed to regain top spot on the international box office charts. Overall, its take nearly doubled from last weekend with $21.7 million. That was enough to push its international total past $600 million, only the fourth film to do so. Worldwide, Return of the King climbed into second spot with $975 million and should cross the $1 billion mark by the weekend. Also worth noting, the film crossed $100 million in the U.K., only the second film to do so, (the other being Titanic.)
Buoyed by a couple strong openings and several excellent holdovers, Something's Gotta Give climbed the chart to second place with $16.9 million. Number one openings in Spain and Germany as well as insignificant drops in the U.K. and Italy helped its international total rise to nearly $40 million.
After four weekends on top, The Last Samurai dropped to third this weekend with $12.8 million. Most impressive was its run in Japan, where it as earned $111 million so far, that's more than its domestic total.
Rounding out the top five are two Disney films that had disappointing domestic runs. With $7.0 million Brother Bear narrowly beat out The Haunted Mansion, which earned $6.6 million.
Submitted by:
|
2004-02-18
Mixed would be the best way to describe the weekend results. With the exception of the number one film, all movies beat Friday's predictions. However, the overall box office was again failed to match last year's pace. Valentine's Day and President's Day helped the 3-day total increase by more than 10% from last weekend, but it was down 14% from last year. The four-day total fared better, but by a barely noticeable margin dropping 13%.
|
2004-02-13
With both Valentine's Day and President's Day occurring this weekend, there are twice as many reasons to see a movie. And with only one movie opening wide, it should open huge. Holdovers should also perform well given the extra day, but they will have a hard time living up to last year.
|
|
2004-02-10
After crossing $250 million international some time during the mid-week, The Last Samurai opened in another 10 markets pushing its weekend total to $17.7 million. Most impressive is the film's run in Japan; it was first in its 10th week of release and it crossed the $100 million mark in that nation. If Ken Watanabe wins the Oscar it should outperform its domestic run in Japan. It is very unusual for a Hollywood film to earn more in a single international market than it earned domestically.
|
2004-02-09
On Saturday, the Directors Guild of America celebrated their 56th annual awards. And while there were many winners only two awards were for theatrical releases.
|
2004-02-06
10 movies opened white in January, and only one movie earned overall postive reviews, (and that movie bombed at the theatres.) The first full weekend in February see three movies opening, two with positive reviews. But it will take a lot to help 2004, which is heading for the largest year-to-year box office drop-off in more than a decade.
|
|
2004-02-03
Strong holdovers and a half a dozen smaller openings kept The Last Samurai in first place on the international scene for the third weekend in a row. This week it took in another $23.3 million to raise its total to nearly $250 million internationally. Ken Watanabe's Oscar nomination helped the film's Japanese take rise by 22% from last weekend, and is now just shy of $100 million in that nation.
|
2004-02-03
There was a surprise upset this weekend for top spot on the charts. But even with the number one film beating expectations by more than $12 million, the overall box office still couldn't meet expectations. Total box office was done 5.2% from last weekend, dropping below the $100 million mark. Year to date 2004 was already down 6% from last year and this weekend didn't help the cause; it dropped 18.4% from last year, but just 5.2% from last Superbowl weekend.
|
2004-01-30
It's been a while since the prospects for catching a good movie at the theatres was this bad. And it's not like there's lack of wide releases this week. There are three of them. Three wide releases with combined reviews of only 17% positive. In fact, the box office race for top spot should prove more interesting that any of the movies trying to get there.
|
|
2004-01-27
The weekend take for The Last Samurai dropped less than expected, just 23% or $31.3 million, and that helped it maintain first place for the second weekend in a row. It also crossed $200 million internationally and $300 million worldwide. A mid-February opening in Russia is the last major opening for The Last Samurai, but strong legs in many markets could pull in another $100 million internationally.
|
2004-01-27
Nominations for the 76the Annual Academy Awards were announced today. As always, here is a list of the nominations, plus reactions below.
|
2004-01-26
There seems to be a pattern developing for 2004. The number one movie surprises, but the overall box office is lower than expected. This week was no different. The total box office was down from last weekend's 3-day total, which is not surprising as last weekend was a long weekend. But it dropped by a massive 24.7%. The performance compared to last year that is more troubling. Before the weekend 2004 was 7% behind 2003 and at first glance this weekend was almost flat compared to last year, down less than $200,000 or just 0.002%. But this weekend last year was Superbowl weekend, so the performance is really more equivalent to a 10% drop.
|
|
2004-01-26
While the Writers' Guild of America hand out more than a dozen awards each year, only two apply to theatrical releases, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Here are the nominations in each of those categories.
|
2004-01-26
Recapping last nights Golden Globes ceremony, here are the winners with a brief reaction below.
|
2004-01-25
With the awards ceremony only hours away, here's one last look at the theatrical nominations for tonight's 61st annual Golden Globes awards.
|
|
2004-01-23
Two movies staring That '70s Show alumnus open this weekend, and while neither of them will be recognized with any major awards, they probably won't light up the box office either. In fact, next weekend isn't looking that spectacular either. The box office should pick up again in February.
|
2004-01-21
The second round of openings for The Last Samurai in as many weeks helped push it to top spot on the international charts. It more than doubled the number of markets it's playing in while adding almost 70% more screens, but only managed to increase its box office by roughly 25%. The weekend figure of $40.6 million pushed its international total to $157.6 million and its worldwide total to over $250 million. But without many major openings left, its weekly numbers may have peaked.
|
2004-01-21
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is usually celebrated by the movie industry by dumping movies that the studios have little faith in, in hopes that the holiday crowds will give it an undeserved boost. This year two of the three new releases beat expectations (at least for the 3-day weekend) and the one that didn't had the best reviews for the week. (I really must stop basing my prediction on quality.) The 3-day total box office was 7% above last weekend, but down 8% from last year. The 4-day yearly decline was about the same.
|
|
2004-01-20
On Saturday, The Producers Guild of America held their 15th Annual awards giving the top award to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
|
2004-01-18
On Thursday the 10th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) Nominations were announced. Here is a list of all the nominations in theatrical categories as well as a brief reaction to them.
|
2004-01-16
With three new movies opening wide this weekend, we should finally have a new number one at the box office. But don't expect it to be number one in the minds of the critics. With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday we should see a sizeable increase at the box office.
|
|
2004-01-13
For the first time since it was released, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had some stiff competition for top spot on the charts. It did still take first place for the fourth weekend in a row with $35.3 million in 51 markets. Including wins in head-to-head competition with second place The Last Samurai. For instance, Return of the King's fourth weekend easily won in the U.K. $6.7 million to Samurai's $4.9 million. It was a closer contest in Germany, but King remained number one $5.5 million to $4.9 million. But with only a couple of mid-level openings this week in Indonesia and the Czech Republic it could drop out of first place next weekend. Its international total $455 million, second for the year surpassing The Matrix Reloaded by less than $1 million and putting it in a virtual tie with The Lion King for 10th all-time. Worldwide it hit $767, which is also second for the year but 13th all-time.
|
2004-01-12
None of the wide releases were able to mount much of an attack on last weekend's top five. And with the exception of a limited release going wide there was little change. The lack of a dominate opener helped push the total box office lower by more than 25% from last week and 6% from last year. So much for last weekend's strong start to 2004.
|
2004-01-09
January is usually the time when studios dump movies that looked like a good idea on paper, but didn't pan out. This year looks like no exception as the two new movies are getting destroyed by the critics. In fact, the only film that looks capable of challenging Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the lead is the wide expansion of Big Fish.
|
|
2004-01-06
As it has since it was first released, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had a commanding win at the international box office. This weekend's numbers were $58.7 million from 8,826 screens in 45 territories, more than double Finding Nemo in second place. Highlights include $2.3 million opening in Poland and just shy of $1 million opening in Argentina, as well as $13.7 million in the U.K. and $10 million in Germany. Totals for Return of the King now sit at $390.4 million outside the US (3rd for the year, 13th all-time) and $680.8 million worldwide (3rd for the year, and 15th all-time). By next week it should be the highest grossing film for the year.
|
2004-01-05
2004 started off with a bang as all movies in the top five beat expectations, although mostly by just a million or two. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King continues to lead and may yet have one more win up its sleeve for next week. This allowed 2004 to get an early jump improving upon last year's pace by more than 9%. There was a considerable drop from last week, but this was not surprising given the return to work / school on Monday. A drop of just 24% was the best week to week drop-off to start the year since 2000 when the box office dropped a mere 14%.
|
2004-01-02
This week there are no new wide openings, so the top five should look a lot like last weekend. This includes another winning weekend for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The lack of new releases is not uncommon for this time of the year, nor is the number of potential $100 million movies. Of the top five, one has already crossed $100 million and three more could follow.
|
|
2003-12-30
Three of the four movies that broke $10,000 per theatre last week also accomplished that feat this week. However, it was a new comer that took top spot. Monster earned over $100,000 since it opened on Christmas day and it had a weekend average of $21,708, which was more than $5000 above its nearest competitor.
|
2003-12-30
In just a dozen days of release, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has already accumulated nearly half a billion dollars. And it is still going strong. This week it commanded $84 million from 38 markets, including $12.5 million from both the U.K. and Germany. It already has more than half the total box office of both its predecessors, and it has yet to open in major markets like Japan and Italy. Internationally, Return of the King has pulled in $268 million, just behind fourth place The Matrix Revolutions for the year and 33rd all time. Worldwide, it has $490 million and that's good enough for fourth for the year and 32nd place all-time. By next week, it will be in the top 20 in both.
|
2003-12-29
No one was surprised that Lord of the Ring: Return of the King remained on top for the second weekend in a row, but most of the new entries did surprise at the box office. It is also not surprising that the box office shot up from last week by over 30%, but the yearly increase was a much more modest 4%. That is less than the average increase in ticket prices.
|
|
2003-12-24
There's really no doubt Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will remain number one over Christmas / the weekend. The only real question is how much of last weekend's record breaking performance will it maintain and how well will the other movies fare.
|
2003-12-23
Taking top spot on the Per Theatre Charts in consecutive weeks is not an easy task, but that's just what Big Fish did this week. And it did it by keeping nearly 80% of its premiere audience landing at $27,440 per theatre. Add in a few awards / nominations and an early January wide release and it could add up to box office hit.
|
2003-12-23
As expected, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King dominated the international markets this week, setting many records along the way. It played in 28 countries on 7,403 screens earning $125.9 million, which is a record for international weekend. The film also broke individual market records for Wednesday openings in 15 countries, out of 17 Wednesday openings. It also broke weekend records in more than half a dozen other countries, including major markets like the U.K. and Germany. Worldwide totals for Return of the King are already at $250 million, (another record) putting it in 168th place on the all-time chart in just 5 days. Even with this success, it is unlike to unseat Titanic as the number one movie of all time, but it should become only the second film to earn $1 billion worldwide.
|
|
2003-12-22
Expectations for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King were huge, but unlike so many other movies with huge expectations that opened this year Return of the King didn't disappoint. A record-breaking performance lead to a huge 59% jump in the box office from last week. But the major letdown in other films led to a 2.3% drop from last year.
|
2003-12-21
New Line announced today an estimated debut weekend total of $73.6 million for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - the 7th biggest single Friday-Sunday performance in history.
The trilogy finale also scores a host of other records.
|
2003-12-19
Thursday's box office for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was a little lower than expected at $17 million. That's a drop of just over 50% compared to the little more than 47% predicted. So what does this mean for the weekend prediction? $75 million will still be obtainable, just not as likely. But anything more than $70 million would mean it is still on pace to match earlier predictions.
|
|
2003-12-19
While there are two major and a few smaller releases, only one movie is getting talked about this weekend. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will crush all competition, but there still is some question if records can be broken and how well the other competition will fare.
|
2003-12-18
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here is a list of highlights, (including this week's winner Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Official Site 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.
|
2003-12-18
Anther day and another record for Lord of the Ring: Return of the King. It is now the largest Wednesday opening of any film, surpassing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace by more than $5 million. It also topped last year's opening of The Two Towers by nearly $8 million. Any fears that the long running time would hurt the box office too much are now alleviated.
|
|
2003-12-17
The first figures for Lord of the Ring: Return of the King are in, and they are record breaking. The film earned an amazing $8 million from 2100 midnight showings. That surpasses the previous record of $5 million The Matrix Reloaded took in, however, The Matrix Reloaded needed more than 600 more theatres to do so.
|
2003-12-16
It's after midnight eastern time and the doors have opened to packed houses for the opening of Lord of the Ring: Return of the King.
If there's ever been a guaranteed box office hit, this is it.
|
2003-12-16
New Line rolls out The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King today with an unprecedented day-long event.
"Trilogy Tuesday" will pack 126 theaters nationwide for back-to-back-to-back showings of all three movies in the series, including the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.
|
|
2003-12-15
While the weekend after Thanksgiving is usually soft, the weekend after that usually sees a bit of a rebound. Last year, for instance, we saw a nearly 20% week-to-week increase at the box office. This year we weren't so lucky. No movie in the top five beat box office expectations, while a couple did place higher on the charts due to weaker than expected competition. This led to a drop of nearly 9% from last week and 13% from last year.
|
2003-12-12
It's a two-way race for top spot this weekend with Something's Gotta Give targeting a mature audience while Stuck on You goes for the decidedly immature. A third movie, Love Don't Cost a Thing is also opening wide but it might have trouble just making the top five.
|
2003-12-11
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here's a list of highlights, (including this week's winner Big Fish - Official Site ) 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.
Big Fish
Current Content: The movie opened yesterday in limited release and the website added most of its content during the past week. The site has the usual features, including very extensive behind the scenes information, and several extras. Most notably is the Script to Screen, which shows how one scene looked at different stages and has commentary from the producers and the actress. There are also four Tall Tales illustrations, but all but one are marked coming soon. Along with the illustrated tall tales are audience submitted tall tales that you can vote on, (when they are all on site.) The only problem with the site is the really bad looping on the background music. But that is not enough to stop it from winning the embellished Weekly Website Award.
The Butterfly Effect
Current Content: Cast and crew bios were added to the site.
Chasing Liberty
Current Content: The flash site went live this week, and while the format is not bad there's a lack of content. Important sections like, 'About the Film' are marked coming soon, so it's hard to tell if this will be a good site or not. It does have a bit of sound and animation and enough marked coming soon to make you want to come back.
The Chronicles of Riddick
Current Content: Just an in-depth introduction.
Club Dread
Current Content: Typical Fox Searchlight placeholder site with the synopsis, cast and crew and a note saying, 'Website coming soon.'
Cold Mountain
Current Content: The flash site launched this week, but before I get into that … How can Renée Zellweger, who was born and raised in Texas, have such a bas southern accent? Nicole Kidman was raised in Australia and Jude Law is British, so their bad accents are understandable. But Renée Zellweger? Anyway, back to the site. The first thing I noticed was the music; different sections have different background music, which is an excellent addition. The usual features are there, with a couple of extras marked coming soon (Clips, Book and Soundtrack.) Not a lot of content, but miles ahead of most Miramax sites.
Girl With a Pearl Earring
Current Content: This site is, in a word, subdued. Which is probably for the best. The main difference from when the site first launched is the number of reviews posted on the site.
Honey
Current Content: Every week for nine months I looked at this site, and now that it was released I won't be checking it out anymore. And I miss it already. Anyhow, while I'm on the subject there was a huge addition to the media section. Four TV spots, four clips, and twenty-four interviews clips! Ok, they're short clips, but that's still a lot.
I, Robot
Current Content: None, just a redirected to the Fox movie pages.
Japanese Story
Current Content: Definitely a modest site that hits all the major areas, but has little in the way of extras. There's some animation, but no sound outside the trailer.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Current Content: A section on Weapons and Warfare was added. It is mostly text with an image gallery. As I was checking to make sure the link was right, two new features were added: A photo gallery of the premiere and Digital Horses, which is about bringing the huge battle sequences to the big screen.
Love Don't Cost a Thing
Current Content: The film opens tomorrow and the Story section of the site is still marked coming soon.
Man on Fire
Current Content: None, just a redirected to the Fox movie pages.
Miracle
Current Content: So far just the synopsis and trailer are on this placeholder site.
The Passions of the Christ
Current Content: The flash site launched this week and while it has most of the usual features, it has little in the way of flash. (There are some minor animations but no sound.) The synopsis is also marked coming soon, but lets face it, if you don't know the plot you are not in the movie's target audience.
Peter Pan
Current Content: The bios were added to the site, but the clips are still marked coming soon. In many cases clips from the movie are not added to the site till after the movie opens in theatres.
Something's Gotta Give
Current Content: The film opens this week, but there were no changes in the site since it was reviewed last.
The Statement
Current Content: I've got a bone to pick with this site, under the History section the site states that Adolf Hitler said, "one can either be a German or a Christian, but not both." That was actually a quote from Martin Bormann, Hitler's private secretary. This site as all the usual features, synopsis, cast and crew bios, trailer, image gallery, etc. And a few extras like the aforementioned History section, and a section where the five main actors briefly speak about their characters. Before you go to the site, be warned than the long synopsis gives away many key details of the plot and should probably be avoided unless you've already seen the movie or read the novel it is based on.
Stuck on You
Current Content: Two for the Road was added to the site. Each part deals with one aspect of the twins life and has an accompanying video segment.
Torque
Current Content: The flash site was added. But despite the change in format the content is mostly the same. E-cards and some downloadables were added, but the game is still marked coming soon.
Way Off Broadway
Current Content: Another film opening tomorrow, it has a simple site without sound or animation (outside the trailer that is.) It does hit all the main points a film site should.
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton
Current Content: The trailer was added to the placeholder site, and there's a new poll on the Tad Hamilton fan site, which isn't as fun to mess with. Not that I messed with the first poll. That would be unethical for a journalist to do.
Submitted by:
|
|
2003-12-09
The post Thanksgivings weekend was even tougher on the movie industry than predicted with only one movie in the top five living up to expectations. Some analysts are blaming it on the storm in the Northeast, but the internal multiplier doesn't really support that. And while the box office did drop 40% from last week, it was well ahead of last year to the tune of almost 20%. Year-to-date 2003 is still more than $100 million behind 2002 and with only one movie left that is a sure bet to make that much, catching up is not expected.
|
2003-12-04
During the past week 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.
|
2003-11-27
During the past week 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.
|
|
2003-11-06
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.
50 First Dates
Current Content: The trailer was added.
Against the Ropes
Current Content: This first thing I noticed about this site was how idealistic it was. 'A boxer's manager has his best interests at heart.' Obviously they've never heard of boxing manager who shall remain nameless. This site has a more information on boxing than on the movie itself. Different punches, training methods, the role of coaches and managers, etc. The usual movie related features are all there, synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios. But read carefully, there is a quiz. One problem with the site, while there is background music, the looping is a little jarring and is not as smooth as it should be.
Alien vs. Predator
Current Content: The redirect was replaced by a placeholder site, which has not only the teaser trailer but some behind the scenes with writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson. It was great to see Paul W.S. Anderson was a fan of the films before he started work on the project. While a fresh face with new ideas can sometimes help more often than not being a fan of the source material is an invaluable aid. There are also three posters you can download, one teaser, one alien and one predator.
Calendar Girls
Current Content: After having the same site up for months, the site was completely redesigned this week. And while the design is new, most of the content is the same. However, the background music now loops which is an improvement.
Cat in the Hat
Current Content: The flash site went live this week and while it certainly has energy, it doesn't feel enough like Dr. Seuss to me. The site does have all the usual features, plus some fun extras like the time-lapse photography of the set being built. There's also lots of games for the kids to play, including a couple marked coming soon. Not a bad site per say, but it doesn't have the right feel.
The Day After Tomorrow
Current Content: So far only the trailer is on the flash site, but the film doesn't open till memorial day so that's not surprising.
Elf
Current Content: Two more features were added just in time for its release tomorrow, two video clips and an Etch-a-Sketch.
Girl With a Pearl Earring
Current Content: The flash site launched this week, and the site has the usual features (synopsis, trailer, cause and crew bios, production notes, image gallery) and its well done. There is a lot of information about the artist Johannes Vermeer, however, most of that information is off site. There are nice animated transitions and good background music, but nothing that makes the site stand out.
Gothika
Current Content: Most of what was previously marked coming soon, (production note and bios) were added this week. That just leaves the two film clips, but there's a good chance they won't be added till after the movie premieres in two weeks. This sit is still one of the creepiest I've reviewed and deservedly won the weekly website award when it launched not too long ago.
The Haunted Mansion
Current Content: More was to the site, mostly in the Visit the Mansion Tour section. I was a bit disappointed with this section; it was less interactive than I had hoped. There's still a lot marked coming soon, (production notes, behind the scenes, screen savers, winamp skins, and clips.)
Hellboy
Current Content: Hellboy is a comic book that most people have probably never heard of. So it makes sense that the site has character bios, background stories, etc. Like A.v.P., it was nice too see the videos that show how much the main people involved wanted to do the movie. There quite a few animation heavy sections like the B.P.R.D. Here you can check out Hellboy's home with a couple more areas marked coming soon, well 'Access Denied', but I think that means the same thing.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: A new flash site replaced the old, and while this one has more content even more is marked coming soon. It has the usual features plus what appears to be a lot of behind the scenes information marked coming soon. This includes interviews, script to screen, etc.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Current Content: The latest poster was added, which can also be sent as an e-card. Also, a great deal of information on Minas Tirith was added, some of it text, but also in video form.
Love Actually
Current Content: Just in time for its premiere tomorrow, the last TV Spots was added. This site has already won the Weekly Website Award and still richly deserves it.
The Matrix Revolutions
Current Content: Huge update this week to celebrate the film's opening yesterday. Warning, a lot of this stuff was held back till after the release cause it contains many, many spoilers. There's just too much added to go into great detail, but the site itself has a breakdown of what's new. So check it out right away.
Mona Lisa Smile
Current Content: The flash site launched but the bast majority of the content is still marked coming soon. The site does have synopsis, trailer, image gallery and character bios. But production notes, cast and crew bios and four additional sections (challenge, living, legacy, your story) are all marked coming soon. Launching a site this way can be a good way to keep people coming back for more, week after week.
The Perfect Score
Current Content: The redirect was replaced with a placeholder site. So far just the trailer is there, but that should change soon.
Peter Pan
Current Content: New trailer was added.
The Punisher
Current Content: This is a site you have to keep coming back to. Things change and sometimes in subtle ways. For instance, all the items on the desk have been changed. Right now there's just a few images of briefing documents and a video camera. When you click the video camera it just says, 'Access Denied.' But by next week, when Apple.com has had a few more days of exclusive internet distribution of the new trailer it will be added to the site. This is an excellent site because when I first started hearing details about the movie I wasn't that impressed. But the more I see of the site, the more interested in the movie I become.
Shrek 2
Current Content: The placeholder site was replaced by another placeholder site. This one with realistic belching. Oh yeah, and the trailer.
Teacher's Pet
Current Content: Placeholder site with just the trailer.
Timeline
Current Content: Major update and most of the 1357 features were added. The 1357 features are broken down into three section, each of which has two or three subsections, each of which has one or more choices. That's a lot of content to get through. So fortunately much of it is still marked coming soon. The first feature is The Battlefield; it talks about battle tactics, (a Q&A session with the film's sword master) weapon details (marked coming soon) and concept art and interviews (also marked coming soon.) Second is The Castle with a Donnor Interview (marked coming soon) and more concept art (also marked coming soon.) The last section is La Dordogne and it deals with behind the scenes with production notes and feturettes, (two of which are marked coming soon, as is the IPix.) La Dordogne also has a Challenge the enemy game, which you have to explore the site before you can play. Each of these sub-subsections also has some images in the form of photos, wallpapers, ipix, AIM icons, etc. Obviously one of the biggest sites reviewed this week. If you are into medieval times, this site is a must. Even if you are not, it is still worthy of the venerated Weekly Website Award.
Tupac: Resurrection
Current Content: Another flash site that launched this week and it's quite bare. Synopsis, trailer, crew bios are there. But there's not enough on the music, which should be a main focus of the site.
Troy
Current Content: Another redirect that was replaced by a placeholder site. This one has the synopsis, poster and an image gallery and promises to have the trailer tomorrow.
Submitted by: C.
|
2003-11-05
ou talk to, The Matrix Revolutions is either the most anticipated film of the year or number two behind Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. And earlier in the year box office analysts would have been predicting record-breaking box offices. But after the disappointing performance of The Matrix Reloaded, Revolutions' box office potential less clear. (It is worth noting that despite earning nearly $300 million domestically and nearly $750 million worldwide, The Matrix Reloaded was still considered a disappointment. This says more about the expectations put on the movie than about the quality of the movie itself.)
The unrealistic expectations and The Matrix Reloaded's inability to live up to them are also hurting The Matrix Revolutions critically. Currently, its reviews are only 38% positive, well below the 86% of The Matrix and 73% of The Matrix Reloaded. This backlash will no doubt affect the box office, but more in the long run. Look for The Matrix Revolutions to earn roughly $20 million tonight and to cross $100 million by Sunday.
The film also opens in 80 markets internationally, and should become only the second film to break $100 million internationally in a single weekend. The last film to do so was The Matrix Reloaded.
Submitted by:
|
2003-10-30
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.
50 First Dates
Current Content: Placeholder site with no content.
The Alamo
Current Content: The flash site was launched just in time for the movie's release to be delayed, so don't expect many updates till we're closer to April of next year. So far the site has the regular features, synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios, image gallery. And a few extras like a Educator's Guide, (in Adobe Acrobat format) and others marked coming soon like Behind the Scenes and Screen Savers. There's also animated segues and sound effects, but no background music.
Alien: The Director's Cut
Current Content: The movie opened in a few hundred theatres yesterday, but the modern reviews have not been added yet..
Alien vs. Predator
Current Content: Redirects you to the Fox movie page. But the teaser trailer is available at Apple.com.
The Barbarian Invasions
Current Content: Typical Miramax site with the trailer marked coming soon.
Dirt
Current Content: Simple site with just the synopsis, trailer, cast bios and a few reviews. Outside the intro and the trailer there is no sound or animation, which is too bad since the quirky nature of the film would lend itself perfectly to a flashier site.
The Human Stain
Current Content: Typical Miramax site.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Current Content: Flash site launched and it definitely the most fun site this week. Most of the content is there to entertain, not inform you about the movie. In fact, they don't even have a synopsis yet. They do have the trailer, along with two cartoons, plenty of images, sound clips, descriptions of all the major characters, acme gadget, spy car, etc. There are also seven small games to play. Information on the soundtrack is marked coming soon; and when that section is added hopefully so will some background music. There is also a decided lack of subtly with product placements that is a problem. Even so, this site wins this week's whimsical Weekly Website Awards.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Current Content: Just in time for Halloween, monster wallpaper and e-cards were added.
Love Actually
Current Content: The first of two TV Spots was added this week.
Love Don't Cost a Thing
Current Content: A new placeholder site was launched with less content as the last placeholder site. But the flash site is marked coming soon.
The Matrix Revolutions
Current Content: The cast and crew bios were added.
Paycheck
Current Content: Placeholder site with just the synopsis, trailer and image gallery.
The Perfect Score
Current Content: Just a redirect to Paramount's movie page.
Shattered Glass
Current Content: The movie opens in limited release this weekend and the new website was also launched. The site has the usual features including synopsis, trailer, cast bios and crew list (no bios.) There's also a learning guide (in Adobe Acrobat format) and a message board. There's also background music for the opening, but as soon as you enter the main site it stops.
Spider-Man 2
Current Content: A new poster was added to the site this week.
Troy
Current Content: Another redirect.
Submitted by:
|
|
2003-10-16
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. This was bit of a weird week, the best sites either had little or no changes to an already impressive site, or there was a major update but with most content being marked coming soon. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
Alien: The Director's Cut
Current Content: The flash site was launched during the past week and while there is a lot of information, most of the multimedia is still marked coming soon. Synopsis, Trailer, Cast and Crew Bios, Production Notes and Legacy are there. So is an interesting twist on reviews, they have reviews for the original from 1979 and will have reviews for the Director's Cut when they are available. As I said, most of the multimedia is marked coming soon and this includes 6 clips, TV spots and an interview with Ridley Scott. The site also has good background music and animated intros. The only complaint I have is the animated intros are a little too long, they could be trimmed to improve the pacing of the site.
Beyond Borders
Current Content: The production notes and the cast and crew bios were added.
Big Fish
Current Content: The flash site launched this week but there is very little content. In fact, there is more content on the placeholder site then there is on the flash site. That could change as the release date nears, but there are no features marked 'coming soon' to let us know.
Elf
Current Content: Another game was added, Snowball fight, as was a section on Elf-themed self-help books.
Garfield
Current Content: The redirect was replaced with a placeholder site. Right now there's just the synopsis and cast list, but it says the trailer will be online in November. There's also more animation and sound than most placeholders have, and that's a good sign.
Gothika
Current Content: The flash site went live and it is good. Not so much for its content, (most of which is marked coming soon) but for the mood it creates. The background music helps, so do the little interactive features. And most pages there's something you can click on to see flashed from the movie and some text will appear. I even got the all the menu items to turn to, 'Not Alone' but I have no idea how and I can't seem to do it again. So far the site has the synopsis, trailer, more than two dozen images (all of which can be sent as e-cards) and quite a few downloads. Production notes, cast and crew bios and 2 movie clips are marked coming soon. This is the best mood for site since Identity, and just like that site Gothika wins the fervent Weekly Website Award.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Current Content: There was a complete redesign of the site last week, the third design used, and the flash site is marked coming soon. There's less information about the movie than the last site, but more extras like wallpapers, screensavers, image gallery and even two full-length cartoons.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Current Content: Three more interviews were added to the site featuring Viggo Mortenson, Karl Urban and Peter Jackson. Most of the interviews are text, but they are supplemented with video clips. Also, information on the upcoming release of the soundtrack was added.
Love Don't Cost a Thing
Current Content: The trailer was added to the placeholder site.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Current Content: The Non-North American English International Sites is up, but it appears to be the same as the North American site.
The Matrix Revolutions
Current Content: This week's updates include more photos and the cover for the upcoming comic book.
Pieces of April
Current Content: Another movie opening this week with a website that hasn't changed since I last reviewed it. It's worth checking out for the extensive intro alone.
Radio
Current Content: Another flash site that launched this week. There's not much content, Synopsis, Trailer, Cast and Crew Bios, and four part production notes. There are two more previews marked coming soon.
Returner
Current Content: No changes since I first reviewed the site. Given the movie in question, the site could have used more flash.
Run Away Jury
Current Content: This site has previously won the Weekly Website Award. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get to the site right now; it's gone 404 on me.
Scary Movie 3
Current Content: So far there's just the trailer, four posters and a TV you can find. Since the movie is released next week, expect a large update soon.
Sylvia
Current Content: Opening this week, there was a bit of content added. There are six main sections, and each one except the last start with a little bit of animation and some background music. The music doesn't loop, so you only hear it when you change sections. The site has the usual information, Synopsis, Trailer and three other clips, Cast and Crew Bios, Image gallery, some downloads. It also has biographical information on the two main characters portrayed in the movie.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Current Content: Not much has changed, just new background music. The clip itself is long enough but the gap between loops is too long.
Timeline
Current Content: This site underwent a complete redesign this week and a lot of content was added, but even more is marked coming soon. It has the synopsis, cast and crew bios, both the teaser and the full trailer, image gallery (including some behind the scenes), downloads and even your chance to ask the director Richard Donner a question. Most of what is marked coming soon is multimedia, movie clips, behind the scene clips, interviews, concept art, etc. Production notes and news are also marked coming soon, as are three mysterious wormholes on the main page. I'm not sure what they do, but they might have something to do with the 1357 features marked coming soon.
Veronica Guerin
Current Content: The film opens tomorrow, but the cast and crew bios and film clips are still marked coming soon.
Submitted by: C.
|
2003-10-03
o movies open wide and to good reviews. And for the first time in nearly a month, there could be a battle for top spot.
I'm a fan of Jack Black, so much so that I own I Still Know What You Did Last Summer cause he's in it. But I never thought I'd see the day when he'd star in such a critically acclaimed movie. School of Rock is currently sitting at 90% positive over on Rotten Tomatoes and even more for the Cream of the Crop. That's one of the best wide scores for a wide release this year. Still, surprisingly high reviews didn't help The Rundown last weekend so look for $19 million this week with good legs in the coming weeks.
Denzel Washington has made a career with movies released at this time of the year. In 2001 it was Training Day, the year before that it was Remember the Titans, next year it's The Manchurian Candidate. His movies generally open well, if unspectacularly, and rely on strong legs to become hits. Expect Out of Time to be no exception. While the reviews are not as strong as some of his previous work, at 65% positive they are not going to be a liability either. $18 million opening weekend and similar legs to School of Rock.
Despite good reviews, The Rundown wasn't able to match predictions last week. And the mid-week numbers have not been kind to the action movie. Look for it to lose a little more than 50% in its second weekend dropping to $9 million.
Unlike the previous movie, Under the Tuscan Sun beat expectations and was rewarded this week by adding nearly 500 more theatres to its count. This increase will counter most of the drop in its per theatre average leaving it with just under $9 million for the weekend.
With the novelty of the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer gone, Secondhand Lions will drop more this weekend than last weekend. It will still be left with $5 million and a fifth place finish.
Lost in Translation adds almost 400 theatres this week and will again finish in the top ten with $4 million.
Submitted by: C.
|
2003-10-02
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. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
Beyond Borders
Current Content: The flash site launched this week with only half the content in place. The synopsis is there as is the trailer (both Quicktime and Flash), however, the production notes, bios for cast and crew are marked coming soon. There are animated segues, audio clips and background music, so all the extras are there.
Concert for George
Current Content: This is a very simple and subdued site, which is for the best as anything flashy would have been tacky given the subject. The site has the trailer, a description of the concert itself, some images and wallpapers and a store to buy some mementos.
The Event
Current Content: Unfortunately, there isn't a separate site for this film, you just have to go to Think Film's site and look for it there. Watch as the movies scroll by and eventually the link got The Event will pass by. Once you get there you'll find a rather simple site with the synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios and production notes (in .pdf format.) There are animated segues, but no sound.
Good Boy
Current Content: The last section, (The Scoop: cast and crew bios and production notes) was added this week.
Gothika
Current Content: A new placeholder site was launched this week, expect the full site to be up for the next update.
Jinx
Current Content: None, just a redirect to the MGM movie site.
Kill Bill
Current Content: Three new sections were added to the site, Cast and Crew, Locations and Press Notes. All that's left marked coming soon are the last three character intros.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: Slight change to the format with a couple of sections added. There are two choices under desktops and an image gallery marked coming soon.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Current Content: After months of just the teaser site, the flash site finally opened. But I was expecting more … animation. In fact, I was expecting a little more everything. They do have the teaser trailer and some other information, but no synopsis or cast and crew bios. There are sound effects, but no audio clips and no background music. And with only one section marked coming soon, I don't expect major changes.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Current Content: The trailer was added to the site, as were a photo gallery for The Two Towers Extended DVD and a new poster / e-card and a Q&A session with Miranda Otto. Of course most people only read to, 'The trailer was added …' before clicking on the link. Overall this is a beautiful site and well worth checking out on a daily basis in order to heighten your excitement for December 16th marathon showing of all three films! I can't wait.
Madagascar
Current Content: Placeholder site with no content outside the name and a vague release date.
The Matrix Revolutions
Current Content: Theatrical trailer and some TV spots were added. From now until its release this site will most likely have weekly updates.
Out of Time
Current Content: Not much has changed since the flash site first launched, just the rest of the downloads were added. It is a very well done site and is worth checking out.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Current Content: The placeholder site is now up. Typical of Sony placeholder sites, it has the synopsis, image gallery and the teaser trailer. The trailer is shown in a mock pop-up ad for Regenerate, which was a fun touch.
Returner
Current Content: There's little multimedia on this site. Outside the intro and the trailer the only sounds are a few beeps for sound effects. There are animated intros, but they are relatively short and simple. The rest of the content is well done if unspectacular.
School of Rock
Current Content: The rest of the site was added this week, and if you pardon the pun, it rocks. This site has everything a site should have. Regular features like synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios. It also have all the extras like sound effects, audio clips, animated segues, etc. There are even interactive features like the Rock Aptitude Test, Stage Diving and the ability to doodle on the cast and crew bios and such. And not surprisingly for movie centered on Rock'n'Roll there's a lot of music on the site. There is a music video, two complete songs, clips from the other songs on the soundtrack and music accompanies most features. I have two complaints with this site and they are both about the music. First, there's no background music and you can't have either of the two full songs play while you are surfing the rest of the site. Secondly, Prince is not Funk. (No I won't let that go.) Still, despite this blatant miscategorization this is clearly the winner of the incontrovertible Weekly Website Award.
Shattered Glass
Current Content: The trailer and a small picture of the poster have been added to the site.
The Station Agent
Current Content: This looks like a truly unique movie, too bad the site is just another Miramax site.
Tupac: Ressurection
Current Content: The placeholder site replaced the redirect. The only content so far is the trailer.
Wonderland
Current Content: I'm still getting the script error when I try to launch this site, so I can't review it.
Submitted by:
|
|
2003-09-29
increases at the box office, the box office stumbled this week. And while two of the three new movie beat expectations, the overall box office dropped by 11.8% from last week and 9.1% from last year.
No one was predicting The Rundown would break the record for biggest September weekend, but some predictions had it coming close. However, in the end its $18.6 million was barely half what Sweet Home Alabama made last year. Even with good reviews and few blockbusters as competition, The Rundown won't have the legs needed to save this movie from its $100+ million total budget.
Opening in the fewest theatres of the three wide releases didn't hurt Under the Tuscan Sun, which earned $9.8 million, almost $2 million more than predicted. Reviews were mixed with most of the praise going to Diane Lane rather than the film itself. Look for an expanded release next weekend with lots of legs at the box office.
Underworld dropped just a little more than predicted finishing with $9.4 million this weekend. Its box office is just one weekend away from topping its total production cost of $45 million.
Buoyed by the trailer for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Secondhand Lions made $8.3 million this weekend. How much of that was due to the trailer will be known by its performance next weekend.
Finishing out the top five was The Fighting Temptations with $6.4 million. That's a larger second week drop-off than expected and doesn't bode well for the film's legs.
The last new release for the week, Duplex, actually did a fraction better than expected. But $4.6 million will still be looked upon as a disappointment regardless of expectations. Even more bad news, reviews weakened over the weekend from 41% positive to 33%.
Lost in Translation did stay in the top ten for the second week in a row. However, its per theatre average was not the best in the top ten, as expected. That honor went to Under the Tuscan Sun.
Submitted by: C.
|
2003-09-26
er three new movies are released. Two of the three movies are getting positive reviews, but it might be bit of a shock which movie is getting the best reviews.
Neither The Rock nor Seann William Scott has a reputation for staring in critically acclaimed movies. In fact, between them only the first American Pie has earned better than the 60% needed for an overall fresh rating needed at Rotten Tomatoes. So it comes as bit of a shock that The Rundown is getting the good reviews that it is. 74% is well above the other two releases for the weekend, and the best for either star. And its box office will be even farther ahead of the nearest rival with $25 million this weekend.
Underworld will drop just over 50% to $10 million, something that would have been seen as a disaster earlier in the year but is now seen as par for the course. There is already talk of a second, and possibly third film being made.
In third place will be the trailer for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Anticipation for the last of the trilogy is so high that the trailer will pull in $9 million this weekend. Also showing is Secondhand Lions.
Despite opening in only 1,226 theatres, Under the Tuscan Sun will land $8 million for fourth place. Reviews are mixed, but on the positive side and a good performance this week should lead to an increased theatre count in the coming weeks.
The gospel comedy The Fighting Temptations will land in fifth place with will with just over $7 million. Probably not what Paramount was hoping for, and closes out a poor year in which the studio had only two hits in nine tries.
The latest dark comedy from director Danny Devito, Duplex, also opens this weekend. Danny Devito's directorial debut was Throw Mamma from the Train and he followed that up with War of the Roses. Both were dark comedies and both were hits. However, his last movie was the dark comedy Death to Smoochy, which failed to connect with an audience despite the almost Oscar worthy performance by Jon Stewart. Unfortunately, it looks like Duplex will resemble Death to Smoochy more than the other two. It is opening in nearly identical theatre counts (2,189 to 2,164) and nearly identical reviews (41% to 40%) and should get nearly identical opening weekends ($4.5 million to $4.3 million.)
Also of note, Lost in Translation is expected to stay in the top ten, perhaps even climb a spot.
Submitted by: C.
|
2003-09-19
nd, I will not be talking like a Pirate for the entire story. Instead, I'll just point you to the official homepage of International Talk Like a Pirate Day. But before we got on with the real story, I will give you two pieces of advice. First, it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day and not International Dress Like a Pirate Day, if you show up to work wearing an eye-patch you are on your own. Second, despite how it sounds, 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey' is not a dirty saying, however, that won't stop you from getting into trouble if you use it.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl has plenty to celebrate easily winning last weekend's international box office race with $29.7 million. That figure was earned partial through strong openings in markets like Greece and Australia. And partially through strong holdovers in markets like Germany and Italy. Worldwide total for the movie crossed $500 million and into 25th place on the all time chart.
Well back was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with $6.6 million. Results can only be described as solid, and while the international run will top its domestic performance, the price tag for the movie is too high for it to be called a success.
American Pie: The Wedding finished in a virtual tie with Bruce Almighty with $5.1 million. The last in the American Pie Trilogy will finish somewhere in between the first two movies domestically, but much closer to the first. Internationally it has been fairing better in many markets and could top the second's $131 million.
Meanwhile, Bruce Almighty's second first place finish in France propelled the movie to $5.1 million internationally for the weekend. Its international total is $212 million, and it has yet to open in Japan. It's already the highest grossing Jim Carrey movie of all time and its worldwide total could hit $500 million.
After a one week exclusive showing in London, Calendar Girls opened wide in the U.K. and pulled in most of its $2.7 million international haul there. It won't open stateside till December 19th.
In other news, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers passed Jurassic Park into fourth place on the all-time worldwide box office. Combined with the massive rental and sales in the home market and the outlook for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is very impressive with $1 billion worldwide box office not out of the question.
Submitted by: The Dread Pirate C.S.Strowbridge
For to find out your own pirate name take the
|
|
2003-09-02
rs can't escape the California recall election.
For the second month running, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the proud owner of our most-visited actor page, pushing Viggo Mortensen into second place.
Mortensen had dominated our rankings for almost two years (and would make a great Governor of California, if you ask me...).
Rising stars among the actors: Colin Farrell (up 36 places to 6th in the chart); Brittany Murphy (up 20 to 9th), Kevin Costner (up 73 places to 12th) and Shia Labeouf (up 24 places to 19th).
Gigli boosted the page views for Ben Affleck (moving him up 24 places to 11th) and Jennifer Lopez (up 16 places to 41st).
We think the effect will be temporary.
See our complete popular people list
On the movie front, Pirates of the Caribbean continued its strong run, rising above Terminator 3 to top the charts.
Freddy vs. Jason slashed its way to number 2 in our chart, backed by some strong box office numbers.
Gigli was 4th, backed by just about the worst box office numbers anyone had ever seen (until Grind (18th in our rankings) came out).
Among future releases, The Battle of Shaker Heights has been getting surprising amounts of traffic and sits at number 8 in our chart.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (42nd) still generates the most long-term buzz, although Troy (37th) is also garnering a lot of interest.
See our complete popu
|
2003-09-02
rs can't escape the California recall election.
For the second month running, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the proud owner of our most-visited actor page, pushing Viggo Mortensen into second place.
Mortensen had dominated our rankings for almost two years (and would make a great Governor of California, if you ask me...).
Rising stars among the actors: Colin Farrell (up 36 places to 6th in the chart); Brittany Murphy (up 20 to 9th), Kevin Costner (up 73 places to 12th) and Shia Labeouf (up 24 places to 19th).
Gigli boosted the page views for Ben Affleck (moving him up 24 places to 11th) and Jennifer Lopez (up 16 places to 41st).
We think the effect will be temporary.
See our complete popular people list
On the movie front, Pirates of the Caribbean continued its strong run, rising above Terminator 3 to top the charts.
Freddy vs. Jason slashed its way to number 2 in our chart, backed by some strong box office numbers.
Gigli was 4th, backed by just about the worst box office numbers anyone had ever seen (until Grind (18th in our rankings) came out).
Among future releases, The Battle of Shaker Heights has been getting surprising amounts of traffic and sits at number 8 in our chart.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (42nd) still generates the most long-term buzz, although Troy (37th) is also garnering a lot of interest.
See our complete popu
|
2003-08-22
=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2003/FNEMO.php>Finding Nemo became the undisputed highest grossing animated movie of all time beating The Lion King total including its IMAX run. And that's not the only milestone Finding Nemo could beat this week. It is now less than $1 million from topping Forest Gump for eighth place overall. Also, each dollar it brings in increases the odds it will finish number one for the year. Right now it has a 1 to 2% chance of doing that. While its release is still four months away, I'd estimate The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King final tally will be $350 million, plus or minus $20 million. (And nearly double that internationally.)
There were other milestones that were crossed or will be crossed this week. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl crossed $250 million, only the third film to do that this year. And Spy Kids 3D will cross $100 million tonight, (it's currently only $500 thousand below that figure.)
Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle and The Italian Job are both widening their respective releases to try and hit $100 million. Charlie's Angels was about $4 million back of the milestone when the pushed started last week and it has since cut the gap in half. The Italian Job needs about the same and will expand next weekend. This strategy doesn't always work. Pearl Harbor was just $5 million back of $200 million when Disney tried to do the same, and it only managed to add an extra $3 million.
Onto other, more esoteric milestones, Chicago is less than $100 thousand from topping A Beautiful Mind. When it does, it will be in third place on the All Time Never Hit #1 Chart.
Submitted by: C.
|
|
2003-08-22
to set the hearts of hobbit fans aflutter,
New Line has announced plans for theatrical releases of the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers in the days leading up to the December 17 debut of The Return of the King.
According to Variety, the release will be be limited to 100-150 screens and the top 10 markets in the U.S. and Canada.
The Fellowship of the Ring will open on December 5, followed by The Two Towers on December 12.
The plan is to complete the party with a back-to-back showings of all three movies on December 16, culminating in an 11pm showing of Return of the King.
Tickets will go on sale online in late September or early October.
Bruce Nash
bruce@
|
2003-05-23
ews at the new
|
2003-04-25
y released what is in
my opinion, the first movie to ever successfully marry computer effects with
live action scenes and actors. The saga
pitted Jeff Bridges,
a computer gaming programmer gone rogue against an evil electronic A.I. that
abducts him into a cyber world and places him in combat scenarios against
hordes of battle vehicles and humanoid programs. This movie - Tron - was in essence the Matrix of its
time. Since then, Visual Effects
technology has been used to create character enhancements and action scenes
that previously would have cost production companies millions of dollars in
time and materials. A technology so
advanced, that we now have CGI characters playing important roles in
movies. A technology that is so well
received and relatively economical that the advent of completely digitally
animated features are common place. A technology which has trickled down to
every day use in video games and small screen productions.
And a technology that is so excessively used
in film, and at times so poorly rendered, that it smacks of the campy falseness
that was a Godzilla costumed, Japanese actor, stomping through a miniature of
1960’s Tokyo.
T M I?
Not to offend die-hard Godzilla
fans mind you, or you aspiring computer
visual effects specialist, because for one, I am a Godzilla fan from
way back and I am annually parked in-front of the Sci-Fi channel during their
October Godzilla marathon. Believe me,
campy, cheesy over sized lizards are my passion.
Two, I am a die hard
technologist, and Generation X-er who not only appreciates the hard work and
effort behind the 3D-modeling, rendering programming, CGI, and various other
skills involved, but I regularly pray at the alter of Bill Gates while back
flipping, high kicking, and round house punching my way through a well designed
game using a half naked, bouncy, digitally rendered babe named Divinity on my
X-Box. Believe me, I salute you
computer artists, and subsequently so do the good people of Kleenex Tissues and
Saint Ive’s Hand Lotions.
But... (and you knew the "but" was coming)
There are some movies that did it right, and others, that
just plain did it wrong. Instead of
treading through the murky depths of what can be a very categorized field
encompassing a wide array of technologies and techniques, I will instead look
at specific movies and scenes that were impressively done and I will look at
other movies that weren’t so impressively done. In the interests of server space and tired fingers (there are
so many movies using and/or abusing digital effects these days I could
write a book) I will concentrate on the top-earning visual effects movies of all
time, and some particular movies that I feel need to be pointed out for one
reason or another.
[Author's Note: The original top 10 list that inspired this article was compiled by www.digitalmediafx.com, a group that
provides content and information mainly for people who are in the industry.]
Top 16
Visual Effects Movies of All Time
The following is a list of
the highest grossing FX movies of all time.
Note: "Visual Effects Movie"
refers to a film that heavily relied on special effects in the telling of its
story. Visual Effects can be
model-based or computer generated.
Results are based on how much money the movie made in the U.S./Canada
Domestic box office and may include money made in re-releases (depending
on circumstances). In addition, the list
does not allow for inflation or higher ticket prices. The original list is at http://www.digitalmediafx.com/specialreports/topfxmovies.html
Men in Black
Starting from low to high
in terms of box office numbers on this list and working our way up, we have Men
in Black. A feature which I felt
crossed the line regularly with their use of digital visual effects, only to be
saved thanks to the on screen chemistry of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
Frank the Talking Dog was
well done, and so were many of the scenes involving various space aliens and
technology. But it’s always easier to
animate something that doesn’t exist in real life, because no one can really
say what an alien with an exploding head looks like when growing a new noggin,
or what worm aliens should look like when drinking coffee. Still, these effects-laden films have to
remember that digital effects, computer rendering, and modeling, is far from
perfect, mostly because it looks too perfect on screen! The clarity and smoothness of CGI
characters, slightly off color and shading, and almost too fluid motion, makes
for glaring examples that can overpower a scene with its blatancy. Occasionally, MIB did the smart thing
balancing a mix of CGI, Special effects robots, make up, and live models for
this film. Because it could have been a
lot worse and because the acting and story helped pull my attention away from
all of the CGI, it is in my personal "Did It Right" category.
Batman and The Grinch
The next two films on our
list were surprises to me but welcome ones nonetheless. I group these two films together because
more traditional effects magic were used in the making. Computer animation was held to a minimum and
modeling and make up specialists took the lead.
More movies should do it this way; at least until the computer VE (Visual
Effects) side of the house is perfected.
Not
much to say on The Grinch. There wasn’t
a chance in the world that any type of visual effects would have been able to
direct the audience away from Jim Carrey's
acting. Mostly make up effects here,
and I believe that if you can’t notice the effects, if it doesn’t pull you
away from the story, then it "Did It Right!".
Batman,
which used a lot of green or blue screen shots (Placing an actor in front of
a blue or green screen and then inserting the back round later) and city
modeling, played well in the dark comic book world that was Gotham City. It might not have been so in another
film. However, the fight scenes were
tight, realistic, used simple camera shots, and great martial arts
choreography, really making this movie memorable. A more recent visual effects movie similar to Batman that isn’t
on this list, but I feel really shows an important contrast, is the Blade series
starring Wesley Snipes. The first Blade being well done, and the
fight scenes being just as impressive as the first Batman movie. However, Blade II, which I
still found to be thoroughly enjoyable, made the mistake of using CGI for their
vampire on vampire fight scenes.
Particularly noticeable were the acrobatics preformed by Wesley Snipes
character Blade and the Leonor Varela character Nyssa during the GOD
lights fight sequence. Also of
particular note was the end fight scene between Blade and Luke Goss character
Nomak. Again, production companies
using any type of visual effects have to remember that new technology and
methods doesn’t always mean better or more entertaining. I would personally prefer not to see digital
effects in action sequences. If you
need to make for a more stunning sequence, The Matrix style wirework plays well
and is visually stunning in most respects.
My call on all of these films, Batman, The Grinch, and Blade "Did It Right!". Blade II, in most vampire on
vampire scenes, "Did It Wrong!"
Star Wars: All Of Them
No big surprise here in regards to Star Wars. Currently holding 5 of the top 16 spots,
this is again a perfect example of how it was done right the first time, and on
the second go around, just didn’t quite make it. George Lucas pioneered some impressive modeling techniques and
make up work during the original production of Star Wars. Ground breaking work to which my words just
can’t do justice (Note: Death star scenes where X-wing
fighters were making strafing attacks on the surface, used miniatures and drive
by camera work off the back of a pickup!). On its recent re-release, the George Lucas studio and George
Lucas himself, decided to add some upgrades via CGI. In my opinion, all of these scenes are obvious and not worthy of
the original visual effects craftsmanship.
The Star Wars opening scene with the chasing Imperial Destroyer is still
one of the most realistic and awesome scenes I have seen to date and it was
done in 1977. In regards to Star Wars
Episode 1, just three words: Jar Jar Binks!
My call for the Star Wars series, great movies, awesome story lines,
great acting and the first time around, "Did It Right!". On re-release
and on the newer series, "Did It Wrong!".
Independence Day
The visual effects in this film were stunning. The shots of the alien saucers floating
above various US monuments and in orbit were amazing and I couldn’t tell just
by looking at it that they were all digitally inserted. Some of the F-15/alien ship dog fight scenes
were suspect, but overall, an amazing job.
Animatronics/puppeteering type technology was used for close up shots
involving the aliens and the blue/green screen shots were flawless. Fox did it right in this film and coupled
with a fantastic cast and script, the only surprise here is that it isn’t
closer to the number 1 spot. Simply put
"Did It Right!"
Jurassic Park
I was going to duo this film with Independence Day, but it was so well
done, and the technology used to create the dinosaurs so groundbreaking, it
needed its own line. One of the first
to use CGI on such a large scale, Jurassic Park really demonstrated to other
production companies and film makers that the sky is the limit in terms to what
you can do with effects, as long as your budget is sky high as well. I can still pick out the CGI, but only
because I know dinosaurs have long been extinct. Close up shots of the dinos were animatronics and it was all
superbly done. Hey, we have all seen
clips of the old stop motion dinosaurs from the movies past, and the scenes in
movies where nothing but animatronics (Skins and artist created sub-dermals
stretched over remote control robots) were used. Anyone remember Baby - Legend
of the Lost Dinosaur? By the end of
this movie, I was hoping that Baby would just die. Jurassic Park, "Did It Right!".
Spider-Man
I don’t know where to start with this film. A big Marvel
Fan, and Spider-Man fan myself, I was happy to see a live action Spider-Man film
being released into the theaters. The acting was fantastic and I really loved
how they brought the character to life on the big screen; not many characters
can make such a successful transition. But I was really not impressed with any
scene involving Spiderman climbing, jumping, and web slinging through the city
streets. I was down right disappointed in the fight scenes between Spider-Man
and the Green Goblin. The movement of CGI characters just doesn’t look right.
No, I have never seen a crime fighting spandex clad human with the powers of a
spider making his way through a city, so no I don’t have a point of reference
to which I make that comment; But I do know what looks real and natural and
proportioned and Spider-Man CGI was not. As unfortunate as it is because I
really loved the movie, the CGI in the film in almost every action scene, "Did
It Wrong".
Titanic
When I first saw this film on the list, I was very surprised, only
because the visual effects weren’t of long extinct animals, super natural
beings, or aliens and alien technology. The technology wasn’t as a character in
the movie like the others. Titanic was a movie that used visual effects to
recreate an era and an environment and strikingly so. How appropriate that it resides in the number 1 spot, because it
is number 1 in my personal list of movies that flawlessly utilized digital
effects to help present the story. This
movie was shot on a partial mock-up of the boat in a huge water tank. The background was digitally inserted, as was
the vast ocean. The sinking of the ship
and violent collision with the Iceberg was digitally rendered then inserted. Titanic went completely over budget and was
a huge risk for everyone involved.
Hands downed, "Did It Right!".
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE RINGS MAN... THE RINGS AND THE POTTER??
Because I would prefer not to be hunted down in the
streets and flogged by a crowd of readers lead by Bruce Nash for not mentioning
it, lets take a look at Lord of The Rings: The
Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers,
and the Harry Potter movies. Bruce actually updated the Digitalmediafx chart to include the newer movies which is why it's a top 16 as opposed to a top 10. Afterall, as my
editor so keenly pointed out, Lord of The Rings raked in $313 million and The
Two Towers over $337 million. Harry
Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone brought in over $317 million with the
sequel, Chambers of
Secrets only bringing in a modest $261 million; (That was sarcasm by the
way). Sorry Grinch, MIB and Batman, time to move over, here comes
something with bigger box office takes. The first movie in both of these franchises are
without a doubt in the "Did it Right!" realm. However, I wasn’t
necessarily impressed by everything I saw. It looks like the cave troll that
attacked both Harry Potter and the Fellowship graduated from the same
University of crappy CGI. (Would that be CCGIU then?) Other then that, both prequels were
brilliant. Harry deserving particular mention for the Broom flying scenes during the Quibbage Event, and The
Fellowship for the scaling effects used to make the hobbits (played by full
size actors) appear smaller then their co-stars. And then we have the
sequels!!! What is it with these two movies anyway? They must be sharing visual
effects companies because the house elf in the Chambers of Secret looks just as
crappy as Gollum did in the Two Towers. And good thing for Harry that the Mr.
Riddles snake wasn’t in more of this movie or I would have really went off the film. Conversely the ying to their yangs, came in the form of the amazingly
created flying car sequences and again with another awesome broom flying Quibbage game for Harry Potter. In Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, the CGI tower modeling and
environmental inserts were equally brilliant. Those particular CGI marvels,
along with excellent acting, fantastic story lines, and superb cast chemistry
help propel both into the "Did it Right!" category.
A Constantly Changing List
To be honest, this list will probably be defunct by the time this year
is out. With the exception of Titanic
and the first Star Wars, we can expect the rest of this directory to be updated
annually. Digital effects in movies have made for great movie magic and will
continue to do so for years to come.
This year alone we will see The Hulk, X-Men 2, Terminator 3: Rise of
The Machines, and the Matrix: Reloaded
hit the screen and the production of big budget movies with big budget effects
isn’t showing signs of slowing.
Digital effects can be a great thing if done so in a subdued manner, or when the movie
using them is pioneering, but when main characters and huge scenes rely on the
technology, watch out because it is going to distract. With the exception of the Matrix (I wish it was on this list, because it should be a bible of how action computer visual effects should be done), some of the most visually appealing and
realistic movies I’ve seen are early 80’s and 90’s films that relied on make up
and sweat as opposed to numbers and processors. Movies are fun because they pull you into a whole new world with
whole new characters and scenarios, but the illusion is easy to break when hit
with "in your face" CGI and technology. Just remember, if you watch a movie and
it looks like Intel and Microsoft will appear in the credits, then someone has
just committed digital overkill.
(Author End Note: The field is growing and changing on a regular basis.
Especially by movies who aren’t afraid to do something new and exciting for a
first time. Wired
Online Magazine has a great article on The Matrix: Reloaded which is a nice
read)
Additional source: ww
|
|
2003-04-19
e anyone making Garfield move, but that’s exactly what Fox has done. The live action adaptation is being moved from mid-December of this year to June 4th, 2004. No word was given on exactly why the move was made, but the complicated CG work probably had something to do with the decision. Oh yeah, that and the old release date was just two days after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is being released.
In other news, Stephen Tobolowsky has joined the cast playing a character called Happy. He joins Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle and Jennifer Love Hewitt as Dr. Liz Wilson. There is still no word on who will supply the voice of Garfield.
Submitted by:
|
|
|
