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Thursday, November 26, 2009
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2004-10-25
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 the winner of the DVD Pick of the Week That 70's Show - The Complete First Season - Buy from Amazon.
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2003-12-11
After surprising analysts at the box office this summer, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl has broken records at the home market. The Disney DVD sold 4 million combined VHS and DVD copies in just the first 24 hours, and went on to sell 11 million copies in its first week. That last figure is a record for most units sold in the first week for a live-action feature.
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2003-11-12
story internationally this week, and that was the performance of The Matrix Revolutions. Not surprisingly, it was tops on the international box office. Its international take was $117.6 million since Wednesday, just ahead of the previous record of $113.2 million The Matrix Reloaded took in its second weekend of international release. However, Revolutions was shown on more than 1000 addition screens, so its per screen average was lower. Worldwide, The Matrix Revolutions took in $201.4 million, just shy of the $201.8 million Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers earned in its first five days of release. In a country by country comparison, The Matrix Revolution's performance was mixed compared to Reloaded's. However, even in countries where it was weaker, it held up much better than it did domestically.
After two weeks on top Intolerable Cruelty drop to second with $6.5 million. The film has only earned a disappointing $33.5 million domestically, but has already beat that internationally already with a few more significant opening in the coming weeks.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 was killed at the box office dropping from $8.9 million to just $3.3 million. It should recover this weekend when it opens in South Korea.
This should be the last slow weekend for Finding Nemo. It hasn't had an international opening since it debuted in the U.K. more than a month ago, so the fact that its still in the top five with $3.1 million is quite a feat. However, this week Finding Nemo opens in four mid-ranged European markets before major openings in Germany, France, Italy and then Japan in quick succession. So it should be making waves at the international box office very soon.
With just $2.9 million, Bad Boys II has probably had its last weekend on the top five. At least till it opens in Japan on the last weekend of November.
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2003-11-04
g weekend at the international box office full of twists and surprises … I'm only kidding. The top five was exactly the same as last weekend. Same five movie, in the same order.
Holdovers were very kind to Intolerable Cruelty, which added $10.7 million to its international run. With that, the film passed its domestic total of $31.9 million by a clear margin. The film is showing much better legs internationally, especially in Australia (down 22%), the U.K. (down 21%) and Spain (down just 10%). Its international box office could prove to be the film's saving grace.
As with the previous film, strong holdovers helped Kill Bill: Volume 1 into second place with $8.9 million. Kill Bill's best holdover performances came in Italy (down 18%) and Germany (down 14%.) Japan's numbers weren't available due to a holiday on Monday, but they were expected to be just as good.
Bad Boys II has just one more international opening in the works, and that's in Japan on the last weekend of November. Until then it will have to rely on holdovers to help it stay on the charts. This week another $6.5 million was added to its total of $110 million.
The international story for Finding Nemo has been the same since it opened in the U.K. four weekends ago. And with no new openings next weekend, it will probably be the same for one more week. This week's catch was $6.4 million, down slightly from last weekend. Its totals are now $151 million internationally (137th all-time) and $490 million worldwide (31st all-time, just ahead of fellow Pixar classic Toy Story 2.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen crossed the $100 million mark sometime mid-week. With the $4.6 million earned over the weekend, its international total climbed to $105.4 million.
This Wednesday, The Matrix Revolutions opens in an unprecedented 80 countries worldwide and should easily take top spot. But with no studio foolish enough to have a major international release to compete with it, the rest of the top five should look very similar to this week's, only with much smaller box offices.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-10-28
omedy Intolerable Cruelty led the international box office in a close contest with $13.1 million on 2405 screens in 22 markets. It had the best results in the U.K. with $2.5 million and Germany with $1.9 million. It had smaller box offices, but first place finishes in Spain, Australia and Austria.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 came in second place overall with $12.1 million on 2315 screen in 20 markets. However, it did manage to beat Intolerable Cruelty in several markets including The U.K., Norway, Denmark and Finland. The film also had a number one opening in Japan with $3.5 million.
It was a milestone weekend for Bad Boys II. After winning the last two weekends, the film took in another $9.8 million to cross the $100 million mark by just half a million dollars. It is the 20th film to do so this year. The film has yet to open in Japan, and could make more internationally than the original made worldwide.
For the third week in a row the U.K. accounted for more than 90% of Finding Nemo's international box office. And for the third week the animated movie finished in the top five. This week's catch of $6.8 million pushed its international total to $134 million (163rd all-time) and its worldwide total to $472.7 million (33rd all-time, just ahead of fellow fish tale Jaws.) Finding Nemo will probably drop out of the top five before its next major market opening in France on November 12th.
With just one more market to open in, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is wrapping up its international run. While it was a major disappointment domestically, it managed another $6.8 million internationally pushing its total to $96.3 million. Next week it should cross the $100 million mark.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-10-21
the-numbers.com/movies/2003/BADB2.php>Bad Boys II won the international weekend for the second weekend in a row with a nearly identical box office of $16.2 million compared to last week's $16.1 million. Number one debuts in Russia and France helped push its international total to $85.2 million, more than the original made in 1995. It is also just one week from hitting $100 million internationally, the 20th film to do so this year.
After a disappointing run at the domestic box office, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is doing better internationally. It has a decidedly ordinary opening in the U.K. and big drops in large markets like Japan and Italy but still came in second with $10.6 million. With an international total currently sitting at $85.1 million, this film should have the legs to cross $100 million, not enough to make the movie a success, but enough to same someone's job.
For the second week in a row Finding Nemo placed in the top five thanks to its performance in the U.K. Its U.K. numbers accounted for more than 95% of its international weekend box office of $10.1 million. It is now starting to climb the international charts with $123.7 million (good enough for 186th place) and the worldwide charts with $461.8 million (good enough for 34th place.) However, without a major opening for the next three weeks it will most likely drop out of the top five before it hits its peak.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 opened in several large markets over the weekend, but only managed $9.5 million overall. While this total wasn't bad, it wasn't quite up to expectations either.
Continuing its climb American Pie: The Wedding took in another $6.5 million making it just past $100 million. It is the 19th film to reach that international milestone this year. It has yet to open in a few strong markets, so topping the other American Pie movies' international totals is still within reach.
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2003-10-14
the-numbers.com/movies/2003/BADB2.php>Bad Boys II added another $16.1 million from 3,625 screen in 41 markets to push its international box office total to $64.3 million and worldwide total past $200 million. The sequel opened number one in an amazing 10 markets and is now just one week away from topping the original's total international box office of $75.6 million.
Despite playing on less than 1000 screens in just 14 markets, Finding Nemo earned $13.4 million and second place for the weekend. Nearly half the screens and more than 90% of its box office came from its first wide release in the U.K. Finding Nemo's international total now stands at $108.3 million with many more major openings to come.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen took in $13.0 million this week, which put its international total ahead of its domestic total, $68.7 million to $66.4 million. The results are still disappointing, but not the disaster they were domestically.
After seven weeks at number one, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl finished second last week. This week it dropped to fourth with just $6.1 million, roughly half of last week's figure. With no more major openings, it is unlikely the film will climb much higher on the all-time charts.
The final installment in the Spy Kids Trilogy has yet to open in most major markets, but it still earned $4.1 million and a fifth place finish last weekend. While the three movies earned an average of more than $100 million domestically, they didn't fare as well internationally. However, with $17.2 million in only 10 markets, Spy Kids 3D: Game Over should easily beat the previous two films' totals.
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2003-10-08
ne openings in Germany, France, Australia and Switzerland, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen won the international box office race this week. It earned a respectable $14.6 million on 3,327 screens over 34 markets. There's good news; another week like that and its international total will top its domestic box office. There's also bad news; that's still not enough to make the movie a success.
After an unbelievable seven weeks at the top of the international box office, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl dropped to second with $11.1 million on 4,608 screens. It has now passed $300 million internationally, the 23rd film to do so, and $600 million worldwide, 18th on that list. The next major milestone is only $10 million away when it becomes the 20th highest grossing movie on the international market, passing E.T..
Close behind Pirates was Bad Boys II with $10.8 million on 4,608 screens to push its international total to $43.5 million. In a couple of weeks it should hit $200 million worldwide.
American Pie: The Wedding opened in Italy over the weekend and easily took top place with $2.4 million. Its international box office of $6.7 million for the weekend was good enough for 4th place. It is edging closer to $100 million internationally and $200 million worldwide.
In fifth place was The Italian Job with $4.7 million, on only 1453 screens. It has yet to open in some major markets like Germany, so bigger weekends are yet to come.
Finding Nemo opened in an exclusive performance Leicester Odeon Square in London over the weekend pulling in nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Nemo Watch: International Edition kicks off into high gear next weekend when it opens wide in the U.K. Despite not opening in most major international markets the Pixar animated classic has already earned $95 million internationally.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-09-25
in a row Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl finished first with $20.0 million. Its international total is now $270 million, second best for the year (behind The Matrix Reloaded's total of over $450 million.) Without any more major openings expect the weekly numbers to slow down. But $300 million by the end of September or shortly after is expected.
A number one opening in the U.K. helped propel The Italian Job into second place this weekend. $3.6 million earned there was more than half the $7.1 million international total this week. The Italian Job will need strong legs internationally to match its domestic run.
Three movies were in a virtual tie for third place with $4.2 million each. In third was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. A number one finish in Brazil and a second place opening in Australia led Bad Boys II into fourth place. While first place openings in Holland and Norway gave American Pie: The Wedding fifth place.
On an additional note, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines finished first in Italy this past weekend and by doing so it was able to open in first place in every market. That's quite a feat.
Submitted by: C.S.St
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2003-08-04
ter than expected this week, however in most cases it was just a slight increase. And one of the movies that missed expectations really missed them. This led to an overall drop in the box office, 8.8% from last week and 7.7% from last year.
While American Wedding finished first, it didn't dominate the box office like predicted. $33.4 million is quite short of the predicted $42 million, but not bad for a movie that cost $50 - $60 million to make, (advertising not included.) Reviewers were quite kind to the movie giving it a 55%, just shy of the overall positive mark. But considering it's a sequel, longevity at the box office is still an issue.
To say Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over didn't live up to expectations would be unfair. Sure, it only made $19.5 million when I predicted $21 million. However, my prediction was higher than most and the drop was only 42%, much better than most movies this year. Nearly $69 million after two weeks is also a great success and it should become the highest grossing movie in the Spy Kids Trilogy.
Just 25 days into its run Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl crossed the $200 million dollar mark. That ties Titanic for 10th fastest to reach that milestone. It should beat X-Men 2 sometime this week to rise to fourth place for 2003.
Seabiscuit did better than expected dropping only 15% to $17.6 million. However, that was with an increase of nearly 22% in theatre count. Taking that into account it’s a Per Theatre average drop of a little more than 30%, still impressive. But it is most likely not impressive enough for its budget.
Bad Boys II did much better in its third week dropping only 42%. The movie earned $12.7 million and could beat the original's worldwide gross with just its domestic run.
Gigli did better than expected both critically and financially. That is not to say that it did well in either case, cause it didn't. I just had really, really low expectations. It got better ratings than Boat Trip and better box office than From Justin to Kelly. Both were mild surprises. However, 7% overall and 3% from the Cream of the Crop reviewers (which was much lower than the 10% Boat Trip received) and only $3.8 million at the box office were both incredibly low. This movie's final box office could end up being less than one tenth its total budget.
On a much happier note, Finding Nemo actually climbed a spot in its tenth week in release. It reached $320 million and now sits in 9th place all time.
Also on a happy note, Fox Searchlight expanded Bend it Like Beckham into more than 1000 theatres this week. This is almost twice its previous high of 555. It pulled in another $1.8 million the most it earned in a single weekend since Memorial Day and by the end of next weekend should cross $30 million.
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2003-08-01
g released this week and both are getting better reviews that I thought they would. Neither is getting good reviews, but they are higher than I thought they'd be.
A safe bet to take first place, American Wedding is the third feature in the American Pie trilogy. Reviews for this installment are surprisingly high, currently at 58%, just shy of the overall positive mark and just shy of the first film. Also, given it's a straight up comedy and not an action film I think it will get a bit of a boost. $42 million for its opening weekend and a profitable run.
Speaking of profitable runs, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over should do much better during its second weekend that most this year. It should earn another $21 million to raise its total take to $70 million in just two weeks. That's more than its total budget, but after taking the Theatres' share into account, it still has a few more weeks till the studio sees a profit.
Becoming the 5th film of 2003 to break $200 million, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is looking at $16 million at the box office. At this point $250 million is looking like a sure thing. Can The Matrix Reloaded be overtaken, again?
Dropping the least this week will be Seabiscuit with $15 million. That's less than 30%, but still not enough given its high budget. The best the studio can hope for is some Oscar buzz when it's released to video.
Another 50% drop is in store for Bad Boys II. This will leave it with only $10 million at the box office and in fifth place. That's enough to cross the $100 million mark, but it won't beat its production budget.
Gigli has been getting a lot of press recently, and none of it good. Some are already calling it the worst movie of all time. Reviews are the worst for a widely reviewed movie this year, 4% overall and 0% from the Cream of the Crop reviewers. Most predictions have Gigli bombing at the box office, but I'm going to buck the trend and say it's going to bomb in epic proportions. We're talking bombing of From Justin to Kelly proportions. So bad Sony's stock will drop into negative numbers. So bad Miramax will push back Jersey Girl to some time in the next century. So bad the very fabric of space-time will be torn asunder. Ok, maybe not that bad, but it certainly won't be good. $3 million this week, less than $1 million the next and out on video by September.
On a happier note, Finding Nemo entered the Top Ten All-time Domestic Grosses this week. And it should pass Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by the end of the weekend. After that, there's a large gap to the next film, Forrest Gump.
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2003-07-28
a shocker with only one movie acting as predicted. Overall, there were more positive surprises than negative ones with the top five all making more than $20 million at the box office. And this is reflected in the 5.7% growth from last week and the 4.2% growth from last year.
The end of the Spy Kids trilogy started off with a bang. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over beat every prediction I saw earning an impressive $33.4 million in its opening weekend. That's very nearly double what the last one earned, and significantly above the original. Reviewers were not so kind giving it just below 50%. Weaker reviews, the fact that it's a sequel and the 3-D gimmick could lead to smaller legs, but $100 million is still an attainable goal.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl dropped more than I expected, but it still earned an impressive $23.1 million this weekend. That's just a 32% drop, better than Finding Nemo during its third weekend. It's too early to say it could top Finding Nemo, but Bruce Almighty is in danger of losing third place.
Bad Boys II managed to recover after really weak mid-week numbers. It only dropped 53% to $22.1 million. (It's a sad indictment of the movies when a 53% drop can be seen as doing good.)
On Friday when I said somewhere in Paramount there is someone asking, 'Is it too late to get our money back on Tomb Raider?' I had no idea it would be this bad. For a movie that cost nearly $100 million grabbing only $21.8 million is a bomb, plain and simple. And the news isn't getting any better, abysmal reviews and the sequel effect will lead to weaker legs and $50 million could be out of reach.
The only movie to get positive reviews finished in fifth place. Seabiscuit did beat my prediction with $20.9 million, but with a total budget of over $100 million it's going to need very long legs to show a profit.
Finding Nemo is finally showing signs of weakness at the box office. It earned $4.4 million in its ninth week of release, which was significantly below my prediction. And because of that it just missed making the top ten. It did beat The Lion King to become the highest grossing animated movie of all time (Not counting The Lion King's Imax run.) It should beat The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring tonight and move into the top ten of all time.
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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/DTYPT.php>Dirty Pretty Things opened this week and led the Per Theatre Average, earning over $100,000 in just five theatres. The film directed by Stephen Frears had an average of $20,102, which was well ahead of the second place film.
Both the second and third place films have already earned mainstream success. At $14,602 Bad Boys II came in second and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl earned $10,132 in its second weekend in release.
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2003-07-21
ee wide releases was able to match predictions, however, better than expected performances from the holdovers helped the box office rise 3.65% from last weekend, and nearly 25% from last year.
Pulling in more in its first day than the original did its first weekend was Bad Boys II. Finishing first was expected, but the $46.5 million did beat expectations. Two factors make long term success doubtful. First, the reviews were bad at just 26%. Second, the movie is a sequel and recent history is pretty clear on how sequels do.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl second weekend was better than expected, with a smaller drop-off than even Finding Nemo. Pirates hauled in $34.o million, only 27% lower than last weekend. It broke the $100 million milestone in just 10 days and surpassed its production budget in just 12. Needless to say, there is a sequel in the works.
For the second week in a row The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has done better that expected. This has more to do with really low expectations than with a genuinely good showing at the box office. Its second weekend total was $10.2 million, down only 56%. While bad, is not the complete collapse predicted.
With Terminator 3 falling faster than predicted, Arnold Schwarzenegger seems destined to start a career in politics. In its third week it could only must $9.3 million. For a movie that cost between $170 to $200 million to make, that is unacceptable.
Also Finishing a little weaker than I predicted was British comedy Johnny English. Only making $9.1 million may seem like a disappointment, but the movie has already made more than $100 million overseas. So whatever it makes in its domestic run is icing on the cake. Reviews are quite a bit better than the other two openers, but at only 37% that's not much of a compliment.
Mandy Moore's latest movie earned less than half what her previous movie earned its opening weekend. Even assuming a budget south of $20 million, its initial take of just $5.8 million must be seen as a disappointment. And the reviews don't suggest better results in the weeks to come.
Not only did Finding Nemo crack the $300 million club and top Star Wars: Attack of the Clones it did it with $7.3 million, quite a bit more than the weekend's predictions. Up next for this summer's unstoppable movie, Independence Day, which it should beat mid-week and Return of the Jedi which it will beat by next weekend.
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2003-07-18
pening this week, only one is opening in more than 3000 theatres. It is getting the majority of the press and others will have to fight for the scraps.
Almost guaranteed to lead the box office, for one week anyway, is the sequel Bad Boys II. This is the widest release of the week at just under 3200 theatres, it is also the worst reviewed release of the week. Although it might switch with How to Deal before the weekend is over. The original made roughly $15 million during it's opening weekend and $65 million overall. Bad Boys II's opening will land right in the middle of those two figures. $40 million and a chance to become the first movie to open with more than $40 million to fail to make $100 million total box office.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl has a chance to do what no movie has done since Finding Nemo, not collapse on its second weekend of release. Word of mouth for this film is excellent and it should finish the weekend with $30 million.
The next three spots will be very close together.
Terminator 3 will finish third for the second week in a row with just over $10 million. While that's an improvement over last weekend's drop, it's still too high considering Terminator 3's price tag.
Rowan Atkinson has a huge following internationally, but that has never translated into domestic box office gold. Johnny English is the best reviewed new movie of the week, but at 42% that speaks more to the poor quality of its competition than its own strength. At 2,236, it also had the smallest release of the three wide releases. Johnny English has already made $100 million internationally, but it will have to settle for $10 million opening weekend and approximately $30 million overall.
How to Deal has a shade more theatres than Johnny English, and a tiny fraction better reviews at Rotten Tomatoes than Bad Boys II, (currently less than 0.4% better.) But it will have to settle for fifth place with just under $10 million. (I told you they were close.)
In other box office news, Finding Nemo will earn almost $6 million to top $300 million for its run. This will put it ahead of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and into 14th place. At this pace, a spot in the top ten is a real possibility.
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2003-07-16
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.
American Wedding
Current Content: The flash site launched this week, and while there is a few sections marked coming soon, most of the site is up. The starting section has good background music, which is not too short and loops well. It also has bubble rising up the left side and when you move the mouse over these bubbles they show clips of the movie. A lot of this site is interactive, a lot more than most sites. Trivia game, Stiffler's Learn to Boogie, Save the Cake, and more. Most of what's marked coming soon is the usual features. The trailer and synopsis is there, but cast and crew bios, production notes and clips are all marked coming soon.
The Anarchists Cookbook
Current Content: This site spends most of its time on character bios. The only other content is the trailer, a few reviews, cast and crew (no bios) and the poster that you can buy.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: Issue 5 launched with the usual four sections. Story contains bios and interviews with the cast and crew. Video has three clips from the movie, most of which has already been seen in the trailers and TV spots. There are six more images in the gallery and one wallpaper and one screensaver in Downloads. There's also a create your own Photo Album, but you have to be a member of Screenblasts to do so. There's a lot of content, and still one more issue to go. And so, it truly deserving the willy-nilly Weekly Website Award.
The Chosen One
Current Content: I found this site while trying to research upcoming traditional animation. Far from being traditional, this film will be done in flash animation. So far the site has a synopsis, character bios, crew bios, and under the news section a teaser trailer. Note: In the teaser is says the movie would be released in 2002. That obviously didn't happen. They are now aiming for a 2004 release date, and I'll keep you informed on how that progresses.
Civil Brand
Current Content: Just a placeholder site till the regular site launches. So far just the trailer is available.
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Current Content: Another placeholder site launched this week. This time it has just the synopsis and a surprisingly funny trailer.
Dirty Pretty Things
Current Content: Nothing new since last week's review, so here it is. This site doesn't treat the movie like a movie. So while there's a synopsis and character bios, there's not mention of cast or crew or behind the scenes, etc. There is a trailer, but even that's is off-site. There's not much in the way of sound or animation, which is a shame.
Freaky Friday
Current Content: Fitting in with the theme of the movie, this site has two sides. The Tess side, with trailer, synopsis, crew (bios coming soon) and more. The Anna side has trailer, synopsis, cast (bios coming soon) photos, downloads and more. You can also press the Get Freaky button to have the two switch bodies. The site has good sound effects and some audio clips, but could use some background music. There's plenty of content still marked coming soon, so that could be added later on.
Garage Days
Current Content: This site as twice the content most sites do. From text like the synopsis, production note, cast, crew and character bios to more multimedia oriented sections. There are dozens of images spread throughout the site. Pre-production, behind the scenes, and even a massive crew shot. There are 360-degree virtual tours of some of the film sets. Videos include the trailer and several interviews with cast and crew. And while there are sound effects (guitar cords), there is no music, which is strange for a movie based around a garage band.
Gigli
Current Content: The trailer was added to the site.
Honey
Current Content: This is the first site I looked at for the Weekly column. And in all that time it's always just been the synopsis, cast and crew (no bios) and two images. Now they have all that, and a release date. Of course, since I checked the site out last, the release date has changed. So it's more of a theoretical release date, as opposed to something you should make plans around.
How to Deal
Current Content: It took me just a few seconds at this site to realize I'm not in its target audience, so writing a review for it is a little more difficult. There's a trailer, synopsis, cast and crew bios, quite a few clips from the movie, photo gallery, etc. There are also personality quizzes, relationship report cards, dating advice and other stuff that proves my feelings about the target audience and me. There are two whole songs that play in the background, but they are compressed enough to reduce the sound quality too much.
Johnny English
Current Content: No chances since the last time I reviewed the site. But the last time I reviewed the site it won the Weekly Website Award, so no changes were needed.
Madame Satã
Current Content: A simple design that would have benefited with some more formatting. For instance, the Press book section is just one long page filled with the synopsis, introduction, cast and crew bios, director's statement, etc. It would have been best if these were separated into their own pages, at the very least. In addition to the information found on that page, there is the trailer and an interview with writer director Karim Aïnouz.
Matchstick Men
Current Content: This would be a great site, if there were any sound. It has a lot of information, especially in the Production Notes section. Synopsis, cast and crew bios, screensaver, wallpapers, buddy icons, poster. There's even animated segues. So why there's no sounds is beyond me. However, there is a section for the soundtrack marked, coming soon. So there's hope sounds will be added later on.
The Medallion
Current Content: One of the features I like the most is background music. This site has background music, but the clip is less that four seconds long, so it becomes repetitive way too quickly. There's not much content overall, synopsis, trailer, character bios (cast bios are marked coming soon) images, wallpapers and e-cards. The best part is the game simply called, The Mission. Reminds me of a Double Dragon type game.
Spy Kids 3D - Game Over
Current Content: Another site that's been reviewed before where the flash site was just launched. So far just to first two levels are in place (Arena of Misfortune and Megarace.) As you explore these areas you unlock additional content for the main menu, (Synopsis, character bios, images, clips and build your own wallpaper.) So far this site is only half-way complete and it already looks great.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Current Content: So far just the trailer, the poster and nine images are on this site. But it's three months till the latest release date, and I expect at least one more delay from there.
This Thing of Ours
Current Content: The most unique feature of this site is the TV footage. Not TV spots, but footage of shows such as eXtra and Court TV talking about the movie. Most of which seems to talk about Danny Provenzano alleged mob connections. Besides this, the rest of the content is pretty sparse. Trailer, cast and crew (no bios), image gallery, etc. There's no sound effects and only two short music clips from the soundtrack.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-07-10
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 week there were a lot of new sites for smaller independent titles, as well as a lot of limited releases for this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: No new issue, but a new was to check out the content, Virtual Miami. It adds a bit more flare to an already well done site.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Current Content: Opening night is a long time away, so it's not surprising there's very little content. So far just the synopsis, trailer and image gallery.
The Holy Land
Current Content: A very simple site, no animated transitions and no sound. And except for the trailer, it's just images and text. Despite the simple format, I found myself drawn into the site. It was a very interesting read, with not just the synopsis and cast and crew bios but with very extensive production notes and even more press.
The Haunted Mansion
Current Content: I liked the background music / sounds for this site. But the real draw for me was the concept art. The costumes were good, but the artwork for the mansion was incredible. There is also a synopsis, a trailer and a poster. But that was secondary to the concept art.
I Capture the Castle
Current Content: This is an otherwise good site marred by two problems. Firstly, it is another silent site. I wish more websites would incorporate sound into their site. Secondly, when I tried to watch the trailer none of the links worked. I was able to find the trailer elsewhere.
Dirty Pretty Things
Current Content: This site doesn't treat the movie like a movie. So while there's a synopsis and character bios, there's not mention of cast or crew or behind the scenes, etc. There is a trailer, but even that's is off-site. There's not much in the way of sound or animation, which is a shame.
Jeepers Creepers 2
Current Content: Flash site launched this week, and it's almost entirely multimedia. No synopsis, no cast and crew bios, no productions note, yet. There's even a section for characters and it's all clips from the movie. In fact, most of this site is clips. Changing between sections shows you a flash animated pseudo-clip, there's for other clips from the movie, and two trailers. Speaking of the trailers, is it me or does the teaser trailer show a more in-depth look at the movie than the full trailer? There is also an image gallery, storyboards and downloads.
Kilometer Zero
Current Content: Simple presentation with sparse content. There's a synopsis, trailer, crew and character bios, (but no cast bios), a short note from the directors and a list of theatres. There's no sound and just two animated gifs.
The League
Current Content: New opening menu with international sites is up. But so far only the two English sites are available. When this site first opened, I was very impressed. There's more content dealing with just the characters than most sites have total. Then there's the usual information, Synopsis, cast and crew bios, production notes, the teaser and full trailers and two TV spots. The updates on the Nautilus and Technology were a bit of a disappointment, but overall the sight is still good.
Northfork
Current Content: This site's use of a view-master in its presentation is imaginative. The site does have the necessary elements, (synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios) and a couple of minor extras, (under populated chat room and a theatre finder.) However, there is little else; what it has is done well, it could just use a little more. Some background music and a sound effect for the view-master, for instance.
Open Range
Current Content: Low key, but not low tech. This site has background music, sound effects and animated transitions. So right away you have a good format, and a fitting style. The content is not bad, synopsis, trailer, cast and crew (no bios.) There's also an image gallery and some wallpapers and screensavers to download. Plus a couple more sections marked coming soon.
Passionade
Current Content: Another site with no background music, no sound effects and no animated links; it's just text and images. However, practically ever image is a link so the site is still engaging. Not only are the all the usual features here, but there's also a section on Fado, the style of music that features prominently in the movie. And there are several seafood recipes marked coming soon. I'll be paying extra attention for that update.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Current Content: Arr, after going to this site I was as happy as an old coat who's loaded to the gunwhales and off to crack Jenny's tea cup. Background music, sound effects, animated transitions, a game, what more could you want? Arr, so ye want some content. Aye, matey! How about synopsis, cast and crew bios, plus a very detailed production notes. So ye be sayin' tat ain't enough! Yeah be wantin' multimedia! There's a photo gallery and concept art. Not enough? Well there's two trailers, six clips and 5 behind the scenes segments. What! Now ye be demanding some booty as well. There's wallpapers, posters, buddy icons, screensavers and more! Still, lookin' to take what not be yers, ye scurvy dogs. Ye might as well set anchors away and haul wind, cause it will be cold enough in hell to freeze the balls off a Brass Monkey before I be tellin' you more. (Note: That last statement wasn't as dirty as you think. A brass monkey was a device used to keep canon balls neatly stacked near the canons. However, when the weather got cold the metal would contract causing the canon balls to fall off. Hence the phrase, 'Freezing the balls off a Brass Monkey.' And you thought it was dirty.) Which a review filled with that much Pirate Speak, it's no surprise it wins the Arrrrmorous Weekly Website Award.
Runaway Jury
Current Content: So far it's just the placeholder site. Cast and crew, (no bios) a two sentence synopsis and the trailer. It's not set to be released till mid-October, so the current lack of content is not surprising.
Sea Biscuit
Current Content: This could be a good site. Unfortunately, most of the content is still marked coming soon. The main attraction is 30 modules that have quotes and audio and / or video clips from the movie. It seems a little too haphazard for me, but as the rest of the site is added it might all come together.
Second Hand Lions
Current Content: The second Robert Duvall movie site reviewed this week, and for the most part it is a placeholder site. Trailer, gallery, poster, e-cards and a wallpaper to round out the content. There are a couple of extra touches. First, a lion will roar intermittently. Secondly, a bi-plane trailing smoke will fly across the site. The flash site should open when the release date draws near.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-07-02
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.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: Issue 3, which used to deal with the original Bad Boys, was added, again. But this time it has Bad Boys II info. Specifically, an interview with the costume designer Carol Rasmey (to be added later), the Finesse TV Spot, Jay-Z music video, six more images and two more wallpapers and Buddy Icons. Issue #4 was also added, and along with the standard 6 images and 2 wallpapers and Buddy Icons, this issue had production notes and two more TV Spots, (Time Out and We’re Going In.) Overall this site is coming together nicely.
Envy
Current Content: The site launched this week, but it’s set up to look like an ad for VaPOOrize. You can watch the Infomercial, or the Flash animated add, and there’s even a free giveaway marked coming soon. Of the usual suspects, only the movie trailer is there.
Freddy vs. Jason
Current Content: They’ve completely redone the format and the new format is a little too bright. Besides the new format there was some new content added, namely a timeline for both franchises and a tale of the tape.
Hidalgo
Current Content: This site just opened and so far there’s just a flash intro and the synopsis and trailer.
The Incredibles
Current Content: Just the logo and the teaser trailer. I’ve must have watched the trailer a hundred times and I still can’t figure out who’s doing the voices.
Johnny English
Current Content: Already a hit overseas, the North American version of the site just launched. And it’s an excellent site. There’s a section on the movie that has a lot information, trailer, cast and crew bios, synopsis, image gallery, production notes, etc. But most of the content is elsewhere. A section on MI-5 contains an interaction dossier, (including a very well done picture of John Malkovich as a naughty nurse), demonstration on some of the latest gadgets, surveillance footage of Johnny English, more than a dozen audio clips from the movie, 2 animated E-cards, a screensaver and 2 wallpapers. Then there are three games the plays as well. Combined with the good segues and sound FX, this site definitely earned the extravagant Weekly Website Awards.
The Last Samurai
Current Content: The third section is up, this time about warriors … sort of. Doesn’t seem to fit well with the rest of the site, and certainly isn’t as compelling as the last addition on the Samurai code.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde
Current Content: First of all, “sponsored by a genuine natural beauty, Barbie©.” That is so wrong on so many levels. This is an unusual site with only a little of what is normally found. There is a trailer and a very short synopsis, but no cast and crew bios, for instance. In fact, the only other content that’s strictly movie related is the photo gallery and the character bios. What it does have is a lot of information to help you live like Elle. Elle-strology, Sty-Elle, Elle-ssentials, Elle cetera. There’s also a brief history of Blondes and a web board. There are, however, no animated segues and no sounds after the intro. This definitely hurts the overall effect.
Masked and Anonymous
Current Content: This movie has a huge cast of very famous people, and the site wisely focuses a lot of attention on them. There’s page after page of information: Cast and crew bios, production notes, two essays, etc. The amount of multimedia is limited to the trailer and a couple of songs. But the text is so well written that no more is needed.
Mona Lisa Smile
Current Content: Typical Sony placeholder site. Right now, it has just the trailer but that should change.
Sharkaslayer
Current Content: The movie is still more than a year away, so there’s very little on the site. Just the cast and the character they play. Although, the way they are introduced is well done.
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
Current Content: With just as few days before the movie opens, the site added a couple of new games and eight clips from the movie.
S.W.A.T.
Current Content: The flash site opened this week and there’s a lot to it. Trailer, synopsis, cast and crew bios (coming soon), games, music, Animated E-cards called Veepers (doesn’t work with Mozilla), screensavers, wallpaper, etc. There is also a lot of information on the real world S.W.A.T. forces; this included history, training and equipment. The music is quite good for this site, the clip is very long so it doesn’t get repetitive. However, the looping is not as well done as it could be. Transitions are also done well, and the sound effects add to the experience without overwhelming it.
Terminator 3
Current Content: This site has more multimedia content than any other I’ve reviewed. It was overwhelming at times. The information about the movie was well done; trailer, synopsis, cast and crew bios, production notes, it’s all there. But when in came to images and such, they could have trimmed it down. For instance, there are more than 200 wallpapers to choose from, more than 90% of them user created. It seemed to dilute the effectiveness of the official content. Which is too bad, cause this is an otherwise good site.
Submitted by: Movie Websites Launches for June 19 - June 25
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.
Submitted by:
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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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2003-06-18
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.
Alex and Emma
Current Content: No changes from the last time the site was reviewed. But it was an effective site, so no real changes were needed.
American Wedding
Current Content: A new trailer was added to the site.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: Issue 3 was added to the site, but it deals more with the first movie than with the new one. Also, both interviews from issues 2 and 3 have yet to be added.
Elf
Current Content: This site as again switched back to the new site, but it’s missing the trailer. There’s still not much content, just some images (poster, gallery, and wallpaper.) The music is well done, the clip is long enough but it doesn’t quite loop effectively.
From Justin to Kelly
Current Content: Some more behind the scene footage was added. So was information of the music, but they’re just link to Kelly and Justin’s homepages.
The Hulk
Current Content: This site is absolutely packed. Not only are all the usual suspects present, (synopsis, cast and crew bios, trailer) but there are more extras on this site than on all the other sites reviewed this week, combined. There are half a dozen clips from the movie, interviews with 9 different members of the cast and crew, a 14-part interview with Stan Lee, 8 clips from the press conference. And that’s just the multimedia section. There are games, trivia, background information galore, scientific information, etc. You could easily spend hours here. And that’s why this site wins the inconceivable Weekly Website Award.
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands
Current Content: Quite a basic site that doesn’t even have a trailer, but it does have the rest of the usual information, plus some images and production notes. Worth noting is the background music, which was long enough to not become repetitive too fast, but it did seem out of place. Perhaps it was used in the trailer.
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
Current Content: There were a lot of changes made in the past week, but it was mostly style without much new content. New animated segues are used, new animations in some of the menus, etc. There is a new game in the Fun Stuff section and cast and crew bios, with more marked coming soon.
Submitted by: C.
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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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2003-05-28
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.
Alex and Emma
Current Content: The new flash site launched this week, with the exact same content as the regular site. Just with animated introduction / segues and audio clips. It’s a nice to compare the effectiveness of the regular site with the flash version. The one complaint with the flash site, the production notes are far too long to be one section, it should have been broken up like it is on the non-flash site.
Bad Boys II
Current Content: The first of six issues was released this week. This issue contains the synopsis and cast and crew, (no bios), both the teaser trailer and the full trailer, half a dozen images, two wallpapers and two buddy icons. In two weeks, and every two weeks after that, a new issue will be released. It’s not a bad site, but the lack of sound is a disappointment.
Cabin Fever
Current Content: There a new section for downloads with the teaser trailer, wallpaper and a link to the Cabin Fever discussion board.
Capturing the Friedmans
Current Content: This site consists almost entirely of old photos. When you move the mouse over the photo an audio clip from the movie plays. It is an intriguing idea, one that was executed well. However, a little more background information than what was provided could have helped draw in surfers.
Elf
Current Content: None, you are just redirected to a Naughty or Nice contest.
Finding Nemo
Current Content: An excellent site with a lot of information, but mostly is filled with extras. Several different previews can be seen, there are wallpapers to download and games like Cruising with Crush to play. There is also Mr. Ray’s Classroom where surfers can learn more about the world’s coral reefs. Combines with the background sounds, and little animations that fill the site and you have this week’s winner of the authoritative Weekly Website Awards.
Garfield
Current Content: Nothing, in fact the link just redirects you to Fox’s movie index. But the movie is more than a year away, so this is not a surprise.
Hotel
Current Content: Warning, this site contains foul language, nudity, violence and the most incomprehensible content I’ve seen in a long time. Compared to this Identity’s flash site was linear to the Nth degree. At least the Identity site has a sense of cohesion to it. This just felt like random images and quotes. Might shock some, but I didn’t find it engaging enough to shock me.
The Italian Job
Current Content: A clip or two was added, as were several interviews with the cast members. There are still a few more clips still marked coming soon.
Rugrats Go Wild
Current Content: Another game, Jungle Stumble, was added to the site. There are no sign ups needed to play this one.
Sinbad - Legend of the Seven Seas
Current Content: A lot of multimedia was added to the site. Two featurettes and four interviews were added. Overall, it’s a lot a video to watch. There is also a coloring book with the four main characters.
The Three Marias
Current Content: Very small site with only a short synopsis, a few images, one quote from one review and some viewing dates. There is more information in the press kit, which can be downloaded from the stills and more section.
Together
Current Content: While this film has the usual information (synopsis, cast and crew bios, trailer, image gallery) it focuses on the behind the scenes more. Finding the right actor, composing the music, the culture of modern day China, etc. Speaking of music, while there is some, the clips are too short and do not loop. So you hear the piece only once when you change sections. This is too bad, since the subject matter would lend itself perfectly to more background music. Another downside is the animation, what little there is doesn’t fit well with the site as a whole.
Uptown Girls
Current Content: The song was removed from the site. No other changes were made.
Wrong Turn
Current Content: Very little was added to this site just before its release, just a couple of TV spots. But the site has previously won the weekly website award, so very little was needed.
Submitted by: C.
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