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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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2003-09-03
r a long weekend, this Labor Day long weekend broke records for biggest opening weekend and highest total box office. It's no surprise that the three day total is up, albeit only 0.8% from last weekend, and the four day total is up approximately 9% from last year.
Jeepers Creepers 2 broke the record for best Labor Day weekend, a record that the original set in 2001. Despite reviews that were much worse than the original, Jeepers Creepers 2 made $15.3 million for the 3 day weekend and $18.4 million total.
As predicted, Freaky Friday was able to climb back into second place. The addition $9.2 million / $12.6 million puts the Disney remake roughly one week away from $100 million.
The next three movies were very close. In fact, their standing at the box office changes depending on if you count Monday or not.
S.W.A.T. did crack the $100 million mark this week, and did it with a better than expected $8.3 million / $10.8 million. That was good for 3rd / 4th depending on how many days you count.
Earning almost exactly what it was predicted to, Open Range nevertheless finished one place lower for the three day weekend and two places lower for the four day weekend. With a final tally of $8.1 million / $10.7 million it was just a rounding error behind S.W.A.T.
It seems than Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl benefited the most from the long weekend as its box office was up the most out of the top five (or the top ten for that matter.) Its $8 million for the 3 day weekend was good enough for fifth place. But add in Monday's figure and the total of $10.8 put it into third place.
And now for an update on the three other movies are trying for the $100 million club this weekend.
Charlie's Angels: Full throttle lost almost two thirds of its box office from last weekend, but that was still more than enough.
The Italian Job's expansion helped more than expected as the movie rose to 12th place with $3 million. Almost $1 million more than it needed to cross $100 million.
Seabiscuit needed the most money at the box office to make it. It also earned the most, hitting $100 million on Sunday.
Next on the list to cross $100 million? As I've already mentioned, Freaky Friday could do it next weekend, but American Wedding will probably beat it to that goal.
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2003-08-29
Labor Day long weekend is the slowest long weekend of the year. And this year looks to be no exception. Only one new movie is opening, however, The Italian Job is expanding to over 1900 theatres in a push to reach the $100 million milestone. Like last week, expect limited releases to get a boost from weak wide releases.
Finishing first will be no problem for Jeepers Creepers 2, the real question is whether it will beat the original. Earlier this summer it would have been a forgone conclusion that the sequel would open bigger, and drop faster, than the original. But lately that hasn't always been the case. Reviews for Jeepers Creepers 2 are bad, currently a little more than half what the original got. Added in sequel burn out and you get $13 million Friday to Sunday and $16 for the long weekend.
I know Freaky Friday finished fourth last week, but by Thursday it had risen to 2nd place. Add in the family friendly nature and this movie should benefit the most from the Labor Day long weekend. $8 million for Friday to Sunday and $10 million overall.
Coming in third for the third week in a row will be Open Range. Targeted at a more mature audience, this movie will also benefit more from the long weekend than other movies coming in virtual tie with Freaky Friday. $8 million for Friday to Sunday and $10 million overall.
S.W.A.T. has been in first place on the daily charts since Wednesday, but several other movies have been gaining on it during the week. So it will drop to fourth for the weekend, but the $7 million / $9 million it will earn will be enough to push it over the $100 million mark.
Returning to the top five after two weeks at number 6 is Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. At the beginning of the week it was more than $500 thousand out of top spot, but by Thursday it was only a little more than $100 thousand and comfortably in the top five. And even without a long weekend Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the black Peal had held up well at the box office. So expect it to do even better this weekend. $6 million Friday to Sunday and $8 million over the long weekend.
Three other movies are trying for the $100 million club this weekend.
After last weekend, Charlie's Angels: Full throttle had only $500,000 to reach the milestone, and even battle mid-week numbers would have cut that in half by Thursday. After taking into account the drop of 40% of its theatre count this weekend it should still make the grade by Monday.
The Italian Job is just a little more than $3 million away and this weekend it expands to over 1900 theatres. That gives it an outside shot at $100 million this weekend, but even if it just cuts the gap in half it should reach it by the end of next weekend.
Lastly, Seabiscuit has made more than $95 million, including more than $6 million last weekend. Giving its strong legs and the long weekend it has a very good chance at $100 million by Monday as well.
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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.
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2003-07-30
st was Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Nine first place finishes help the movie earn $19.4m from 2,590 screens to puch it's total to $85.2 million. It should easily reach $100 next weekend. Coming in distance second was a virtual tie between Bruce Almighty and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle both with $10 million. Bruce Almighty has become Jim Carrey's highest grossing movie of all time beating The Mask's worldwide total of $344 million. Meanwhile, Charlie's Angels' total was almost pushed past $125 million and should beat the original's $138.8 million before it's run is through.
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2003-07-25
er three movie compete for the all-important opening weekend. This time we have two sequels and a biopic competing. However, only one movie has a real chance at taking the top spot.
Somewhere in Paramount there is someone asking, 'Is it too late to get our money back on Tomb Raider?' With a price tag the same as the first, but prospects that are much, much lower. No prediction I've seen has it matching the original's $47.7 million, and some even go as low as $30 million. I'd go that low too, especially considering some of the reviews. Any way you slice it, 25% is bad, but it's much higher than the orginal's 18%. Still, most moviegoers are wary of sequels so I think $33 million will be as good as it gets, and big drops will be in store for the coming weeks.
Staying in second and moving in on $200 million is Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. By Tuesday it had overtaken Bad Boys II for top spot and is tracking for another sub 30% loss. $26 million and a place in the Top 100 of All Time will happen this weekend. And it should make $200 million by the end of the next.
Bad Boys II has really fallen during the week. By Tuesday it was traking similar to Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, and that movie lost more than 60% during its second weekend. I don't think Bad Boys II will do quite so bad, but it will drop a lot. Just north of $20 million for the weekend and $100 million is now a safe bet.
The third installment in the Spy Kids trilogy is here. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over is getting just average reviews and its 53% postive at Rotten Tomatoes is quite a drop from the first two. Kids movies should be more impervious to the sudden sequel adversion at the box office. But beating the last movie will be difficult. A slightly better opening at $19 million the first weekend is an improvement, but $75 million overall is a bit of a drop.
The last movie to open wide this week is Seabiscuit. Opening in less than 2000 theatres will hurt its box office. But the reviews will not; 79% is the best-reviewed wide release of the week. The highest predictions are more than double the lowest, and I'd be more inclined to agree with the low end here. $12 million for the weekend and no come from behind finish here.
Lastly, the Finding Nemo watch continues. These weekend it will earn about $6 million, putting its total at nearly $314 million. That will make it the highest grossing animated movie of all time beating The Lion King. It will also put it ahead of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and into the top ten of all time.
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2003-07-23
//www.the-numbers.com/movies/2003/MTRX2.php>The Matrix Reloaded dominated the international marketplace for over a month, 4 films have held on to top spot in the last 5 weeks.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines rose to first place in its third week of release in the international market. An increase in markets to 21 helped Terminator 3 earn $18.2 million in and raise its total international take to $55 million.
Despite being in nearly three times the markets and on over four times the screens, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle came in second place. The $17 million it did earn did let it cross the $100 million mark internationally. After the weekend it was roughly $1.5 million from hitting the $200 million milestone worldwide, something it should have crossed by now.
Also doing well is Bruce Almighty, which earned another $10 million to pass Liar Liar has Jim Carrey's third best international run. And it still has many more openings to come.
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2003-07-16
the-numbers.com/movies/2003/CHAR2.php>Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle is doing excellent business overseas, especially when compared to how quickly it dropped domestically. This week in pulled in another $21.2 million on over 6000 screens for a total of nearly $80 million. The final total could get high enough to justify a third installment in the Charlie's Angels movie franchise. Finishing less than $1 million behind in just a fraction of the screens was Terminator 3. T3 earned $20.4 million, including $12.5 million from Japan alone. Both movies have been able to hold on to strong box offices internationally than they were domestically.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-07-08
e comedy, Bruce Almighty ruled the international box office. This week another movie with an angelic theme was tops. Boosted by openings in 32 international markets, Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle led the way with $22.3 million. The movie opened first in a number of key markets, including Australia and Italy. However, it was Charlie's Angels performance in some of the 11 holdover markets that should impress the studio the most. Small drops in markets like Japan and South Korea indicate that, unlike its domestic run, this movie could have international legs.
In other international box office news, The Matrix Reloaded passed the $400 million milestone this weekend, and then some. It's total is now $410 million, putting it ahead of last year's Spider-man into tenth place on the all time international chart.
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2003-07-07
w the release of 3 new movies, none of which were able to match analysts’ predictions. In fact, early numbers show the total box office was down approximately 15% from last year. Granted, there is a definite correlation between where in the week July 4th lands and how the box office performs. The last time July 4th landed on the Friday was in 1997. And this year’s box office was up nearly 10% in comparison, but the average ticket price is up over 30%.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines easy won the weekend, and beat Arnold Schwarzenegger’s previous best opening (Batman & Robin.) But even still, its weekend box office of $44.0 million and 5-day total of $72.3 million is seen as a disappointment, especially when the estimated $200 million production budget is taken into account. But there is good news on the horizon, reviews are very strong and that could help it in the long run. Also, internationally this movie should perform much better than it will domestically.
With a budget less than one quarter of T3, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde earned a little more than half its box office, $22.2 million, to finish in second place. This sequel has already taken in $39.6 million in just 5 days, however, poor reviews and sharper than expected drop-offs will most likely stop it from reaching the original’s final box office.
Dropping faster than even the most cynical analyst had predicted, Charlie’s Angels 2 could only manage $14.0 million and third place. Its drop of 62.8% would have been a record earlier in the year, but both The Hulk and 2 Fast 2 Furious have done worse. Not only is the original’s total of $125 million out of the question, $100 million is now a long shot.
In fourth place is our first, and only, good news in the top five. Finding Nemo pulled in $11.1 million to top The Matrix Reloaded to become the highest grossing movie of 2003. However, from now on milestones will be a little harder to come by and won’t be the weekly occurrence they’ve been in the past.
The Hulk’s third week performance was neatly in-line with predictions. $8.2 million, or just a 56% drop. It will be interesting to see how well this movie plays overseas and at the home market. But for now it could be considered the biggest disappointment of the summer.
Combining traditional cell animation with computer coloring and some computer animation has not been very successful. Both Titan A.E. and Treasure Planet failed to live up to expectations. And now you can add Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas to that list. It could only scrape together $6.9 million for the weekend and more than $10 million for its 5-day release, all on a budget estimated at $60 - $80 million.
Also of note, 28 Days Later performed admirably with $6.0 million. Total domestic box office is just over $20 million and could be enough to make a profit for the studio, (depending on their exact share of the box office, which is not known at this time.) It is just another example of how some of the most successful movies released this year were also some of the less expensive.
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2003-07-04
dnesday’s and Thursday’s numbers, this situation this weekend is much clearer. And all three of the new movies have had their estimates reduced.
Coming in first this weekend will be Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but not with the numbers the studio was hoping for. $12.4 on Wednesday was significantly below initial predictions. It was also below current July 4th record holder, Men in Black II. However, Terminator 3’s Wednesday to Thursday drop-off was much better, (just 4.43% compared to 11.32%) and Terminator 3’s reviews are also much better, (71% to 38%.) Terminator could come from behind to earn the $52.2 million needed take the record, but it will be very close.
In comparison, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde beat estimates, albeit by just $147 thousand, but then dropped farther on Thursday than expected. With the two factors almost balancing each other out, it should fall just shy of the original prediction with $27 million.
The first of the holdovers, coming in third will be Charlie’s Angels 2. Given the sequel effect, recent history and poor word of mouth, this movie is almost guaranteed to lose more than 50% this weekend. And with direct competition in both the action genre and the female demographic, this movie will lose much more. We’re not talking a Hulk like collapse, but $15 million is still a big drop.
In a summer dominated by huge drop-offs, Finding Nemo has been one of the few exceptions. It continues to do strongly and is set for $10 million in its sixth weekend of release. That will not only give it top spot for computer animated movies, it should also give it the overall lead for 2003, passing The Matrix Reloaded.
Rounding out the top five is The Hulk, which is continuing its downward spiral. Granted, this week it will only drop a little more than 50% to $8 million, not the 70% drop that happened last weekend. Even with this decline, there still is talk of a sequel. (Although a sequel would probably do much better. After all, the first Hulk comic book series was cancelled after 6 issues.)
Doing much worse than analysts predictions was Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, which managed only $1.5 million on Wednesday. It did improve on Thursday, but not enough to get much more than half the original prediction of $14 million. Traditional cell animation was in trouble before this, and since Sinbad will only get a little more than $10 million after Sunday, studios could drastically cut back on future productions.
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2003-07-02
Reloaded is not longer dominating the International Box Office, several films are all vying for their piece of the pie. Coming in first in its fourth week of international release was Bruce Almighty with $23.9 million. The divine comedy earned its box office in 17 markets on 2,414 screens, which is an excellent per theatre average for the international market.
Charlie’s Angels 2 managed second place thanks to opening first in 9 of 11 markets, mostly in Asian markets. The Hulk came in third with $11.3 million, again mostly thanks to new openings. In markets where The Hulk debuted last week saw very large drop-offs mimicking its North American results. Also dropping fast is 2 Fast 2 Furious, which still came in fourth with $11.1 million despite losing more than half its box office in most markets.
One last note, The Matrix Reloaded earned another $9.9 million to raise its total to $397.2 million. It will cross the $400 mark any day now.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-06-30
ng it has been since this has happened, but Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and 28 Days Later were 1 and 2 in theatre counts for new releases and 1 and 2 for Per Theatre average. Granted, neither of the figures was amazing. Charlie’s Angels 2 made just $10,880 per theatre. That was one of the lowest figures for a number one movie on this chart for a long time. And while 28 Days Later earned less with $7,985 per theatre, its much less advertising budget make the lower figure a much more impressive result.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-06-30
e saw a disappointing box office. The box office was down almost 15% from the same time last year and more than 20% from last weekend. Overall, June’s box office was down just 2% from last year.
Expectations for Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle were high, with some predictions going as high as $70 million. But not only did it not live up to predictions, studio estimate, it even failed to match the original’s. It opened with only $37.6 million, and with reviews that just don’t cut it, this movie’s box office won’t even match its budget, (estimated at $120 million.) Add in the P&A budget and the theatres share and you get a bomb.
The Hulk’s plummet at the box office could be the story of the week. Making just $18.9 million, a drop that was just a few hundred thousand shy of 70%. Eighteen movies have opened with more than $60 million at the box office. Of those, only one has failed to make $200 million. Not only will The Hulk fail to make $200 million, it will fail to make $150 million.
Fortunately, there is some good news at the box office. Finding Nemo earned $14 million at the box office to cross the $250 million mark. And after tonight, it should have beaten Monsters Inc. to become the highest grossing Pixar movie. Up next, Shrek’s crown highest grossing CG movie ever. There should be a new king sometime early next weekend.
The good news continued as 28 Days Later beat even my prediction. $10.1 million in only 1258 theatres is fantastic, more than doubling some analysts’ predictions. With a total budget estimated at under $15 million, Fox Searchlight must be ecstatic over this movie’s performance. But how well this movie does in the long run is still a bit unsure. Going against it is its genre; most horror movies drop fast at the box office. But the positives, including amazing reviews, outweigh any negative effect the genre might have.
2 Fast 2 Furious just managed to make the top 5 one last time, beating Bruce Almighty by only $35,000. $6.2 million was added to its running total of $114 million, which is still not enough to make a profit anytime soon.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-06-27
wide opening this weekend, predicting which movie will win is very easy.
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle will come in first, and probably double its nearest competitor. The original opened way back in 2000 with a $40 million opening. As with many sequels these days, expect Full Throttle to open bigger and drop faster. $55 million for an opening weekend, but a final total that’s not much more than the first. Reviews won’t have much of an effect on this movie’s box office, which is good news for the studio cause they are mostly bad. It managed only 41% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, that’s 27 percentage points below the original. Another movie that will open big then fall fast.
Speaking of falling fast, The Hulk appears ready to challenge 2 Fast 2 Furious’ record for largest second weekend drop for a number one movie. From Friday to Thursday The Hulk lost 83.2% of its daily box office; in comparison 2 Fast 2 Furious lost 83.6%. However, 2 Fast didn’t have as strong competition its second weekend out. At this point, anything less than a 60% drop would be is better than expected. The Hulk will pull in just shy of $24 million.
Another week, another milestone for Finding Nemo. This time around it’s passing the $250 million mark, which it could do as early as Saturday. The weekday numbers are starting to show signs of weakening, but that’s to be expected for a movie that’s been out nearly a month. $13 million this weekend is a safe prediction. On a side note, by Tuesday Finding Nemo should beat Monsters Inc. to become the highest grossing Pixar movie.
The only other movie to open in more than just a few cities is 28 Days Later. Opening in only 1258 theatres will limit this movie’s initial draw at the box office. But with very strong reviews this could be the sleeper hit of the summer. Other predictions for this movie range from less than $5 million to over $8 million, but I’m going to be bold and prediction $9 million with lots of legs as well.
Rounding out the top five will be Bruce Almighty, with $6.5 million. This Jim Carrey flick is unlikely to cross anymore major milestones, but it will be in the top 40 all-time when the weekend it over.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-06-25
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.
28 Days Later
Current Content: First of all, the music on this site is great at setting the mood, especially combined with the sound FX. The style works well with the subject and the content hits all the major points. Synopsis, trailer, cast filmographies, crew bios, photo gallery, etc. (note: all the images in the photo gallery have been formatted for use as wallpaper.) There’s even a preview of the first 6 minutes of the film, which definitely gets you interested without spoiling anything. You can also post you own opinions on the movie in the Testimonials section. Although some people have posted spoilers, so be careful what you read. Definitely helps promote the movie and is clearly worthy of the unimaginable Weekly Website Award.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: Issue 3, which dealt with the original Bad Boys was removed from the site.
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Current Content: Not much has changed since the last review. Just the last animated adventures episode was added to the site.
The League
Current Content: Added a new section to science and technology. Besides the introduction, there are only two weapons and two new vehicles discussed. It’s hard to sound impressive when you’re talking about technology that is nearly a century out of date.
Love the Hard Way
Current Content: A trailer and several images were added, but still no sound.
Peter Pan
Current Content: This is one of the first movie sites I wrote about, and there have been no updates in nearly four months. So it’s nice to see something new, even if it’s just a trailer, production notes, a wallpaper and a screensaver.
The Punisher
Current Content: As promised, The Punisher site launched this week. However, there is little to the site beyond the rather flashy intro. In fact, the intro is more in depth than the teaser trailer, which is the only other feature so far. But the movie is scheduled for a summer 2004 release, so this is not surprising.
Shrek 2
Current Content: None. Just the teaser poster.
Uptown Girls
Current Content: A new flash site was launched this week. It includes all the old content, plus a photo gallery and two sections that introduce the two characters. There are audio clips from the movie when you change sections, which is a nice touch. However, the transitions between sections are too long and the background music is too short. At only four seconds it gets repetitive, and fast.
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2003-06-25
ttp://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2003/MTRX2.php>Matrix Reloaded made its sensational debut in May, no one could really tell how far THIS rabbit hole would go.
But it soon became clear that Reloaded was a big thing, Critics say it has dropped off to quickly in the US. Nonsense,
reloaded has stuck in the top ten for 40 days. Thats a Long time for any flick to stay in that reigon, and its takings offshores are still strong despite the same stiff competition that knocked it off the US top rolling out across the world. But reloaded is set to stop at around 720-740 Million, depending on US performance in the months to come. "2 Fast 2 Furious" furiously smashed in at number one in the uk after extensive advertising. It took $2.7 Million($4.5 Million) for its first weekend, but Reloaded only took 660k. But with a healthy $30 Million ($50.5 Million) from the UK alone in its bank, And no sign of slipping to let the nearest rival, Identity, overtake it, Reloaded should stay in the top three for a few weeks yet.
But Identity has started out strong, knocking Anger Management down to fourth. The movie has opened to brilliant reviews and good buzz, being likened to intellegent hits like "The Usual Suspects" it did take a fairly healthy $51 Million in the us, enough to cover its budget.
But the main competition for all, sure to crush the other grosses, its the mega-hyped and Uber advertised "Bruce Almighty" which hits cinemas this friday in the UK. With three weeks of pre-release advertising under its belt, Bruce is sure to demolish the box office competition, In previews alone in limited theartres this weekend, it took an astonishing $1.8 Million($2.9 Million).
The hit comedy looks like its legs will be challenged too, with Charlies Angels 2 making its debut the week after Bruce's release, it will just show how Mighty he is. One things a dead cert, 2 Fast wont be Furious enough to fight of Bruce and The Angels, its expected to drop to fourth when Bruce is released. Reloaded could make big dropoffs, but due to a surprisingly strong UK support base, its likely to fluctuate between 2-4th positions for a while.
Elsewhere on the UK Charts, Igby Goes Down, the "Indie-Teen Movie Of The Year" rose a place, knocking X-2 down to 11th while it nestled into the top ten. And John Travolta's "Basic" debuted with an embarrasing £248k ($412k) Weekend, while a good figure for UK, the number was much lower than the millions expected, but the critics trashed the return of travolta, "Connie Nielsen is like a walking acting folio, she morphs her accent more than she blinks, and Travolta is totally outshone by Jackson"
Bringing Down The House slipped three places in the charts. The Queen Latifah hit had not mirrored the huge success it enjoyed in the US, it is expected to close in the UK at around $5 Million.($8.3 Million)
British Classical Diva, Charlotte Church's acting debut, "I'll Be There" is also opening soon, but reviews have been mixed, one speaking on Church-"Is worse than Madonna and makes you realise Britney wasnt that bad in Crossroads" and another on the same subject "Church is up to the role, it was written with her personality in mind, so the acting wasnt challenging, and it shows"
Forthcoming UK Releases Summer 2003
Sure Hits:
Bruce Almighty, Charlies Angels 2: Full Throttle, T3: Rise of The Machines, Legally Blonde 2*, Tomb Raider 2
Maybes:
The Extraordinary Leauge Of Gentlemen, Hollywood Homicide, Bad Boys II, The Hulk, Spy Kids 3D
Report Researched and Writ
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2003-06-04
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.
2 Fast 2 Furious
Current Content: This site starts with a warning not to perform any of the stunts found within. So I was looking forwards to seeing some really dangerous stunts, but alas, the only stunts shown were in the trailers and TV Spots I had already seen. But besides that disappointment the site was ok. It had all the usual suspects (Synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios) but it focuses a lot on the real stars, the cars. The biggest complaint was the music. The clip was too short and too repetitive to add to the site. I quickly turned it off.
L'Auberge Espagnole
Current Content: This website finally launched, two weeks after the movie opened. The main page has a collage of people, clicking on some of them will take you to that actors filmography. Others take you to the synopsis, trailer, photos, etc. It’s a little different, and the novelty helps.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: The second six issues is up, sort of. There are two need wallpapers and buddy icons in the download section, and the gallery has six new images. However, the story section is marked coming soon and the video section is just a repeat of issue one. Granted, it is almost a week early so the rest of the new content should be there by next week.
Brother Bear
Current Content: Starts with an intro by Bob and Doug McKenzie, I mean Tuke and Rutt. Besides the talking caribou, there’s the trailer and a clip of the movie’s theme song, ‘On My Way’ by Phil Collins. More should be added as the release date nears.
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Current Content: The game that had been marked coming soon is up … and it’s just the demo for the new Charlie’s Angel video game. Bit of a disappointment there.
The Eye
Current Content: The English version of the website is sparse, with synopsis, cast bios, trailer, images and a spoiler section on where the ghosts can be seen. There is also a section for reviews and where to find theatres playing the movie. No animations, no sounds.
From Justin to Kelly
Current Content: This is a surprisingly well done site. It has tons of information including synopsis, production notes and cast and crew bios. Multimedia like photos, behind the scenes with much more marked coming soon. Plus lots of downloadables like AIM Icons, wallpapers, screensaver, and poster. The animated segues are pretty good, but the music is a bit of a distractions. Individual clips are too short and at least one of them has looping problems.
Godsend
Current Content: After weeks of coming soon the site launched this week, sort of. Right now it only have the trailer. But that’s something.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: The second section is up, this time on the seven principles of the Samurai code.
The League
Current Content: The Nautilus section has been added to the site. And while the graphics used are quite impressive some of the information borders on technobabble. I was hoping for more.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Current Content: Right now there’s just four posters and a trailer. But the movie is nearly half a year away, so I’m sure we’ll see plenty of updates before then.
Love the Hard Way
Current Content: This has the beginnings of a good site. Good information (synopsis, cast and crew bios, a section on the music in the movie) and it has good segues between sections. But it has no sound, which really detracts from the enjoyment. The trailer and images are still marked coming soon, so maybe sound will be added then.
Rugrats Go Wild
Current Content: Another week, another small update. This time it’s a Spike Clickable for your desktop.
Swimming Pool
Current Content: This is actually Francois Ozon’s website. But it does have a lot of information on his latest movie, including synopsis, trailer, etc.
Underworld
Current Content: This is a cool site with some unusual features. In fact, it has very little of the usual features, just the synopsis and trailer. The rest of the site includes character bios, a vampire and lycan history, user-submitted sightings and a preview for the video game. Some of the sightings are particularly interesting to read, but there are too many to go through all of them. Of note, there is two different versions on the website, one for Vampires and one for Lycans. However, only the graphics, intro and segues change, the content is the same for both. Lastly, the music and sound for the site is better than most. Music clips are long enough and loop well enough to avoid being repetitive, while adding to the site’s atmosphere. And it is that atmosphere which helped this site win the impeccable Weekly Website Award.
Whale Rider
Current Content: This is a good site hampered by a somewhat overdone menu system. When you move your mouse over a section with more than one option it expands sideways, pushing the other options away and some off the screen. But besides that small complaint this was an enjoyable site. There’s plenty of information to read: synopsis, cast and crew bios, production notes, location notes, and even a glossary of Maori terms. There is also the trailer and plenty of images to look at as well as three wallpapers, a screensaver and a poster to download. Another positive is the background music, which worked well with the site and the clip was long enough to avoid being repetitive.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-05-23
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.
Bruce Almighty
Current Content: A very well balanced site that has everything a site should have in both content and format. Content wise it has the usual synopsis, trailer, extensive cast and crew bios. It also has an image gallery, wallpapers, screensaver, e-cards and information on the soundtrack marked coming sound. Its format is also good with an animated intro, animated segues, and good use of sound effects. They could have emphasized Jim Carrey a little more, but maybe that’s just me.
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Current Content: The second episode of the animated prequel is up, There should be one more per week till the release date arrives.
Gigantic
Current Content: This is a low frill website. It has the trailer and a few photos, but what it has the most of is behind the scenes information. What it doesn’t have is sound, which is strange for a website for a documentary about a band, (They Might Be Giants.)
Hollywood Homicide
Current Content: The flash site still hasn’t launched, but three new sections opened on the main site. A short synopsis, a very funny Police Blotter and a comparison of New York, Chicago and L. A. cops.
The Hulk
Updated Content: Added over a dozen clips of Stan Lee talking about the Hulk, from early character concepts to the latest movie.
The In-Laws
Current Content: This site is great. It not only does it have great content with synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios, soundtrack information. It also has lots of extras, two TV spots, image gallery, poster, screensaver, wallpapers, e-cards, lots of buddy icons, etc. This site is one of the best when it comes to the use of sound. Not only is the background music is good, (The main page has a flawlessly looped clip of Get Down Tonight by K.C. and the Sunshine Band.) this site is also one of the best when it comes to the use of audio clips. For example, Plan The Wedding section (new this week) is a perfect example of the use of sound; each part has background music, sound effects and audio clips. All this made The In-Laws website the winner of the irrepressible Weekly Website Award.
The Italian Job
Current Content: A couple of clips and a few more wallpapers are filtering in. But that interface is driving me nuts, especially with the clips.
Kaena: The Prophecy
Current Content: This site concentrates mostly on background information for the movie, there’s information, and images, for the characters, the races, the locations, and even the fauna. There’s also the more traditional website content like synopsis, trailer and movie clips, cast, crew bios, and some more unique features like behind the scenes, interviews, and even a very in-depth look at how the main character (Kaena) was created. But by far, the most unusual feature is a section called The Prophecy. I’d describe it, but really I can’t. You have to see for yourself.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: The official site was launched, but there’s still very little content. Right now it’s just the trailer and a little background history of Japan.
Respiro
Current Content: A very unusual style to this website. The content scrolls continuously past, first the synopsis, then a biography of the director and then a statement from him. Next is a biography of the lead actress, Valeria Golino, then an image gallery and the poster. The final section is for the trailer, which was just made available this week. The unique and engaging way this site was put together is definitely worth checking out.
Rugrats Go Wild
Current Content: The Thornberrys adults are added to the Spike search game, and a new Animal Rescue game. However, you have to log into Nick.com to play the game.
Submitted by:
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2003-05-14
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.
L’Auberge Espagnole
Current Content: No change from when I first reviewed it. A website is still marked coming soon, but since the movie opens this Friday, they don’t have a whole lot of time.
Battle of Shaker Heights
Current Content: Like all Miramax movie sites, this one has just the synopsis and cast and crew (no bios) and a trailer marked coming soon.
Casa de los Babys
Current Content: This site uses the same format as other films from IFC. The content is also similar with a synopsis, trailers, cast bios, and some behind the scene information.
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Current Content: The first of the animated adventures is up. More episodes will be shown as the release date comes closer.
Down with Love
Current Content: Three clips from the movie are available. They’re fun clips that fit well into the cheesy 60s feel of the rest of the site.
Dumb and Dumberer
Current Content: There’s a slashdot parody called slashdumb.
Freddy vs. Jason
Current Content: A trailer and a quiz have been added to the site.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: None, just the flash intro.
The Matrix Reloaded
Current Content: This is the only site I know that comes with schematics to help you navigate, and you need them. There are literally dozens of buttons, and none of them are marked. However, when you move your mouse over them, the Navigation Display does tell you what it does. Normally this focus on style at the detriment of ease of use would irritate me to no end. However in this case, once I got used to the interface it added to the overall atmosphere. As for the actual content, there’s a lot. 10 different trailers / TV spots, dozens of images, cast and crew bios, posters, wallpapers, etc. Then there are the more unusual aspects, like the 360 degree Quicktime VRs. When you add in all the content from the first movie and other Matrix sources (comic books, anime, video games, etc.) you could surf this site for days. And it’s the combination of style and content that lets this site win the immutable Weekly Website Award.
Pokemon Heroes
Current Content: Like most Miramax films, this site lacks any real content. It does at least look different, but there’s only a trailer and synopsis to keep the surfer interested.
The Punisher
Current Content: None, just a placeholder site. But it does say when the site will launch, June 20th.
Rugrats for Wild
Current Content: Three more Rugrat adults are added to the Spike search game, as are some e-collectibles. However, you have to log into Nick.com to get them.
The Sea
Current Content: This site just has the bare bones, trailer, synopsis and cast and crew (no bios.)
Sinbad - Legend of the Seven Seas
Current Content: A new flash intro was added to the falsh site.
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
Current Content: Just the trailer and a section on the 3-D aspect / synopsis of the movie.
Sweet Sixteen
Current Content: No changes since I last reviewed the site.
Submitted by: C.
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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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