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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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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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2003-06-16
, and all three movies bombed, to one degree or another. This and larger than expected drops for the rest of the holdovers led to a collapse at the box office. It was down more than 25% from last week, and nearly 25% from the same weekend last year.
As predicted, Finding Nemo returned to first place. However, the numbers were not quite as good as was predicted on Friday. $28.4 million was still an excellent box office, and beating Monsters Inc. record for Computer Animation film is definitely in sight.
2 Fast 2 Furious didn’t drop as far as I thought in the standings, but it dropped harder at the box office. Its plunge to $18.7 million was a whopping 63% drop from its first weekend. This could be the worst second week drop-off of a first place movie, ever. It beat recent examples like Cradle 2 the Grave (60.44%) and 8 Mile (62.25%).
Also earning a lower than predicted box office was, Bruce Almighty. However, it was two places higher on the charts than what I thought. This says more about the weak performances of the new movies than anything else.
On Friday I predicted The Rugrats Go Wild would be the lowest of the new movies, and it actually earned less at the box office than I predicted. However, with a box office of $11.6 million it was the highest wide opener of the week. It also had the best-reviews, but at only 43% it’s nothing to brag about.
Only able to grab half of what I predicted was, Hollywood Homicide at $11.1 million. For a movie that cost more than $100 million to make and advertise, this is nothing short of disaster. The next Indiana Jones movie can’t comes soon enough for Harrison Ford.
The last of the new movies to open wide was Dumb and Dumberer. With only $10.8 million in its first weekend, the pseudo-prequel wasn’t able to match the original’s opening and its reviews were much worse .
Submitted by: C.
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2003-06-13
open this week, it seems likely that a holdover will hold on for top place at the box office.
Returning to first place this week will be Finding Nemo. This fish tale has again held up remarkable well during the week and should only drop by about a third at the box office. $31 million would be an impressive third weekend total and leave the movie just a few million shy of $200 million.
Coming in second place should be Hollywood Homicide, but it could be a close race between it and the next two movies. The ad campaign for this movie is a bit of a puzzle, first it was advertised as a buddy cop action comedy, much like Lethal Weapon. Now it’s being advertised as a serious crime thriller. Chances are, that means the jokes didn’t work out, and the reviews tend to support that theory. With only 32% positive it is one of the worst reviews movies in Harrison Ford’s career. Look for $22 million opener and questionable legs.
Dropping all the way to third is 2 Fast 2 Furious. This movie had dropped every day of its release till the 1.1% gain in Thursday’s numbers. And it looks to drop massively on its second weekend. It was tracking roughly 35% below Finding Nemo by the end of the week, and that trend should continue into the weekend. Which leaves the movie at $20 million this week at the box office.
Next is the second release of the week, Dumb and Dumberer. Last week we had a pseudo-sequel open, now we have a pseudo-prequel. It has different actors, different director, different writers, different producers … and much worse reviews. Still, beating the original’s opening of $16 million should be the goal this weekend, but don’t expect this movie to have anywhere near the legs. $50 million total should be as good as it gets.
Right behind is Dumb and Dumber’s star Jim Carrey’s latest movie Bruce Almighty. How’s that for a forced segue. This movie is showing great legs and should earn another $15 million this weekend. That would put it over Batman Forever for second best Jim Carrey movie. And in probably just one more week it will cross the $200 million mark.
In sixth place is the last of the movies opening wide this weekend. The Rugrats Go Wild is a crossover effort with both Rugrats and Wild Thornberrys. And while the two previous Rugrats movies did well, they no longer have the following they once had. And the first Wild Thornberrys movie under-performed at the box office to the tune of only $6 million opening weekend. Good news is The Rugrats Go Wild is the best-reviewed new opener this week, but that’s not saying much. Look for $12 million opening weekend and the last of the theatrical releases for either franchise.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-06-11
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.
American Wedding
Current Content: A rather large warning about the film’s content was added to the site.
Delgo
Current Content: This was the only new site on this list that wasn’t a placeholder site. And by that note, it wins the essential Weekly Website Award almost by default. But that is not to say it’s a bad site, far from it. The content is good, focusing more on images than text. There’s a very short synopsis, and equally short character bios, plus several photos. Each of the crew has a filmography and awards, plus several photos. There’s also a scrapbook, which is quite amusing. But the most unusual feature is the Digital Dailies where you get to look at the making of Delgo through some of the Dailies. Warning, some of these dailies are several megs long. And getting through them all could take days. The one complaint I have is about sound, or the lack of it. This is a silent site, which really detracts from the surfer’s enjoyment.
Dumb and Dumberer
Current Content: Just before its release into theatres, the site gets one more update. This time instructions on how to view the ‘glow in the dark’ site. Like most of the content that has been on the site, this update is simply a joke. In fact, there’s little on the site that isn’t a joke. There is no synopsis, no cast and crew bios, etc.
Elf
Current Content: Last week, just after I uploaded the Weekly Website Update, this site was updated. Not much, just a new trailer and such. But this week I check it out, and it’s back to the old site. It may switch back after I’ve posted this story.
Gigli
Current Content: Just the synopsis and cast and crew (no bios.)
Good Boy
Current Content: Another site that was released was just the bare bones, this time with only the synopsis and a teaser trailer. Although the dogs in the background a little something. More should be added at the release date nears.
Hollywood Homicide
Current Content: Despite being a major release from a major studio, this site doesn’t have a flash site just two days from its opening. There were some images added to the site, but that hardly makes up for the lack of flash.
The Hulk
Current Content: A new science section opened this week. It talks about Adrenaline, Gamma Radiation, Nanotechnology and DNA, all of which appear in the movie. It’s quite interesting to read, but hopefully isn’t necessary to watch the movie.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life
Current Content: New trailer is up, and so are the international sites.
Radio
Current Content: The third ‘teaser site’ opening this week. This one has just the trailer.
Rugrats Go Wild
Current Content: This site is obviously meant of kids, and it does a good job of creating an interactive environment for them to play with. There is also a lot of content, from synopsis, trailer and character info to a few games and downloads like wallpapers and screensavers.
Stuck on You
Current Content: Just the trailer. However, there is some sound and a short music clip.
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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2003-04-16
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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