Weekend Box-Office: On A Slow Weekend, Breaking Dawn Still Drawing Crowds
The numbers might be miniscule this week, but with no new releases to speak of (barring the NC-17 rated Shame, which didn’t make the Top 10), the top contenders remained about the same. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 remained the top draw for the third week in a row, though it dropped considerably from its $60+ million earnings last week, picking up only an estimated $16.9 million. It h...[Read More]
Weekend Box-Office: Breaking Dawn Thankful for Audiences This Thanksgiving
Last year at this time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 led the box office pack. This year, another Part 1 does the same…The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 held the top spot for a second week in a row with an estimated $62.3 million. While the film hasn’t wowed critics, with $221 million in domestic gross (over twice its production costs) it is unlikely Summit Entertainment is ...[Read More]
Weekend Box-Office: Breaking Dawn Leaves Competition Drained
Is it surprising to anyone anymore that a Twilight film debuts in the #1 spot? Well, it’s happened once again, as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 not only took the top spot, it savaged the competition, making an estimated $139.5 million, which was almost as much as the gross of the entire Top 10 last week. Happy Feet Two also debuted, but the animated 3D film fell to a very distant (but ...[Read More]
Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part I
Well, at least the Twilight series now seems fully aware of its real purpose: the first scene of the new film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is Jacob (Taylor Lautner) running out of his house and, in full view of the camera, ripping off his shirt to screams of delight from the young women in the theater. Make no mistake: no matter what I say about this film, by the time I finish writing...[Read More]
Weekend Box-Office: Immortals Makes Legendary Debut
In an up weekend, the early estimates put Immortals way ahead. Despite pretty visuals, the film has received harsh critical attention, but that still didn’t stop it from making an estimated $32 million in its debut weekend. In fact, none of the new releases this week, despite their box office performances, were all that critically well-received…Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill placed second with an es...[Read More]
Weekend Box-Office: Puss in Boots Leads the Pack Once Again
Be it luck, word of mouth, or that those trapped in the eastern seaboard snowstorms last week finally got out to the theater, Puss in Boots was the big draw once again. Losing only a little over 3% in revenue since its debut, the film hauled in an estimated $33 million. While compared to the Shrek franchise it hasn’t exactly stood out (it has had the lowest opening weekend and currently the lowest...[Read More]
Weekend Box-Office: Puss in Boots is Top Cat
Those boots will be dancing tonight…Puss in Boots pulled off the impossible, dethroning the juggernaut Paranormal Activity 3. While even with its 3D ticket sales it didn’t make as much as Activity 3 did last week, Puss in Boots still brought in an estimated $34 million to take the top spot. Paranormal Activity 3 fell by a large margin with an estimated $18.5 million, but has managed to rake in ove...[Read More]
Movie Review: Puss in Boots
If there was to be any joy found in the entire Shrek series, it was Puss in Boots. While the movies declined precipitously in quality with each entry in the series, his presence was always welcome. Call it good writing, call it blind luck, call it an alignment of the stars, but somehow everything about the character, who joined the cast in the second movie, just felt right. He was adventurous, cha...[Read More]
Movie Review: The Three Musketeers
Early on in The Three Musketeers, a guard smirks at a captured Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and says, “For a man of your reputation, I expected better.” I guess, by now, it’s sort of a waste to say the same of Paul W.S. Anderson. His first major studio effort, Mortal Kombat (his first actual film was the low-budget Shopping with a then-mostly unknown Jude Law), though based on a video game, was a surpr...[Read More]
Weekend Box-Office: Paranormal Activity 3 is a Real Scream
If there was one franchise almost guaranteed to turn a profit, it’s the Paranormal Activity franchise, and the third time was definitely the charm. At an estimated $54 million, Paranormal Activity 3 was far and away the best opening of all the Activity films, and miles ahead of its competition. It opened well above the two-week champion Real Steel, which was finally dealt a strong blow with only a...[Read More]
Movie Review: Johnny English Reborn
There are three words that describe Johnny English Reborn. The first is silly; the second is harmless; the third is okay. It’s a silly, harmless comedy that doesn’t stand-out from the crowd, but has enough wit and fun to keep it far from the realm of dismal failure. Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) has left British Intelligence behind, after a rather embarrassing foul-up that left the newly elected...[Read More]
Weekend Box-Office: Real Steel Keeps the Championship Belt!
It was almost a no-decision, but Real Steel remained the favorite for the second week in a row with an estimated $16.3 million. But even losing 40% of its previous week’s revenue, it still managed (though barely) to top the critically well-received remake of Footloose (which, budgeted at $24 million, opened well with an estimated $16.1 million), and scored well above the poorly received prequel/re...[Read More]