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Thursday, November 26, 2009
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2003-12-22
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. In fact, this year the home market will total more than $20 billion - more than twice the total domestic box office. Starting today I will have a weekly column highlighting new DVD releases for the week. This week we have a few limited releases that probably escape the public's attention the first time around. And we also have a few wide releases that were rightfully ignored the first time around.
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2003-06-23
uper Hero movie opened this week to record breaking numbers. Unfortunately, the overall box office didn’t do as well, down roughly 5% from last year.
The Hulk opened in first place this weekend, $40 million ahead of the nearest competition and $8 million above the previous record holder for largest June weekend. And even still the $62.1 million it brought in was seen as a disappointment. The really telling figure is the drop off from Friday to Saturday, nearly $3 million or 11.3%. Reviews were much better than most films released this summer, but probably not good enough to let the Hulk have much legs.
Finding Nemo continues to have amazing legs beating most industry predictions with $21.1 million in it’s fourth weekend at the box office. It is now the second highest grossing film of the year, and could overtake The Matrix Reloaded before its run is finished.
2 Fast 2 Furious didn’t drop as badly as predicted, ending up with $11.1 million. This was enough to cross the $100 million milestone, but that should be the last major milestone for this movie.
As predicted, Bruce Almighty was able to earn $9.8 million and overtake X-Men 2 for third highest grossing film of this year. There’s still some life left in its box office run, and by the end the studio’s take should cover the production and P&A budgets.
Surprising nearly everyone by landing in fifth place was The Italian Job with $7.2 million. Despite losing 600 theatres this week, this remake was able to hang on to nearly 75% of its box office. That was a drop in the per theatre average of only 4%.
Alex and Emma opened almost exactly as predicted, $6.1 million and seventh place. It was also one of the worst reviewed movies of the year, getting only 11% positive.
Doing even worse was From Justin to Kelly, which earned only $2.7 million and finished in eleventh place. And with even worse reviews don’t expect much more at the box office.
Submitted by: C.
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2003-06-20
are opening wide, only one is making any news.
Everyone is predicting the Hulk will easily win this weekend, and most analysts agree it will break the record for a June opening currently held by Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at $54.9 million. But how well will it compare to the other monster openers of 2003. Some are predicting The Hulk will beat fellow Marvel Movie X-Men 2. But I think matching Finding Nemo is a more likely scenario. $69 million for an opening weekend, and based on the good reviews, enough legs to get well past $200 million.
The week to week drop-off for Finding Nemo was even better this week than last week. So look for an even smaller drop off this weekend. A box office of $20 million and second place for the year this weekend, after breaking $200 million Wednesday.
Speaking of $200 million, Bruce Almighty was able to cross that milestone on Thursday, completely a week which say it lose very little of its box office. If this trend continues, and it should despite losing nearly 400 theatres, Bruce Almighty should earn $9 million and could overtake X-Men 2 for third place this year.
2 Fast 2 Furious didn’t drop quite as badly during the mid-week, but it is losing nearly 10% of its theatres in just it’s third week. So another 60% drop at the box office should be expected. Still, this leaves it at $8 million for the weekend and just shy of $100 million total box office.
Rugrats Go Wild has held up surprisingly well during the midweek, and a drop of less than 40% could help this movie make a profit, eventually. Look for $7 million on the box office and enough legs to get at least close to $40 million.
Alex and Emma is the second new movie opening wide this weekend. On paper, this movie should be a sure hit. But the terrible reviews, including 0% from the cream-of-the-crop suggest it will be anything but a hit. Look for it to get worse numbers than other ‘also ran’ comedies like The In-Laws and Down With Love. About $6 million and missing the top five is in store.
The last new movie released this week is From Justin to Kelly, which wasn’t screened for critics. Some are comparing it to The Real Cancun; another reality TV turned movie. I think it’s safe to assume From Justin to Kelly will not do quite as badly, with an opening weekend roughly the same as The Real Cancun’s total gross. Or about $4 million, but it may not make the top ten.
Submitted by: C.
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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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2003-05-28
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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2003-05-07
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. It’s been a slow week, no new site really jumped out at me and none of the old sites added enough content to warrant the award. But after reviewing each site once more, I was able to come to a decision. 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 original placeholder site has been replaced by another placeholder site, with the promise of a flash site to be launched soon. All the previous content is still there (synopsis, trailer, and photo gallery) and there is a poster and some wallpapers in the download section. Screen savers, buddy icons and a short story contest are all marked coming soon.
Cabin Fever
Current Content: So far the only content is synopsis and the teaser trailer. There’s a cast list, but that just links to IMDb. The movie isn’t released for four months, so there’s plenty of time for content to be added. Although right now only Images are marked coming soon.
Daddy Day Care
Current Content: No changes since the last review.
Down With Love
Current Content: The two interactive sections are up. The first section has quizzes and poll (both with one for men and one for women), and Catcher Block’s Bachelor Pad for men to test the Casanova power.
Dumb and Dumberer
Current Content: Some more features were added, including a pop quiz and bunch of trailers to watch. And they mean the kind you pull with your car. There’s also the official trailer offered in several sizes, including the smallest resolution I’ve ever seen.
Freaky Friday
Current Content: This remake doesn’t open in the theatres until August 8th, so the limited content is not surprising. Right now the only content is synopsis, trailer and the poster.
Freddy vs. Jason
Current Content: Right now this site has almost none of the usual features. No synopsis, no trailer, no cast and crew. There are quite a few images, including wallpapers and a poster. There are background sounds that are a little moody, but too short. You can also vote for who you think would win in their duel to the death.
Godsend
Current Content: None. Just a notice saying the site is under construction.
The League
Current Content: The full trailer is up, not just the teaser trailer.
Man on the Train
Current Content: A simple site with a synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios, and some quotes from critics. There’s very little animation and no sound, which offers little to keep surfers interested.
Rugrats Go Wild
Current Content: Three adults from the Rugrats tribe are added to the Spike Search Game. Also the game, Undersea Adventure is now available.
The Trip
Current Content: This site focuses more on behind the scenes than most sites do. In addition to the usual, there are sections on the origins of the story, the locations, production design, etc. And while the transitions are good, the lack of sound is a distraction.
Wrong Turn
Current Content: This is the first site I’ve seen with a warning for parental supervision. But unless they plan to add a lot more, this has more to do with marketing than with actual content. What content they do have (synopsis, cast and crew bios, image gallery) is well done and the transitions between sections are very good. The slashing animation and sound add to the overall experience. Speaking of sound, once again the background sound is a little short, but it does enhance the surfers’ experience. It is this weeks winner of the indecisive Weekly Website Award.
Submitted by: C.
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