Box office report
Jim Carrey’s latest comedy “Yes Man” opened at No. 1 over the weekend, but with just $18.2 million, according to the Associated Press.
The Will Smith drama “Seven Pounds” opened in the second slot with $16 million, while the animated tale “The Tale of Despereaux,” based on Kate DiCamillo’s Newberry Medal-winning book, debuted in third place with $10.5 million.
The box office undoubtedly was affected by inclement wintery weather.
“Those markets back east just got hammered,” Chris Aronson, distribution executive for 20th Century Fox, told the AP.
Fox’s remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” starring Keanu Reeves, took in $10.2 million, dropping from the top spot to No. 4. It’s 10-day total is $48.6 million, and I’m willing to bet the special effects cost much more than that.
It was a big debut weekend in limited release, for the excellent drama “The Wrestler,” which features powerhouse performances from Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. It took down $209,474 in just four theaters for a heavyweight average of $52,369, the AP reported.
By comparison, “Yes Man” played in 3,434 theaters and averaged $5,288 per theater, according to the AP.
The overall box office dipped sharply for the second weekend in a row: The top 12 movies took in $82.8 million, down 44 percent from the same weekend last year, when “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” was the top movie with $44.8 million, according to the AP.
“The movie business may be recession-proof, but this weekend, it’s not weather-proof,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, told the AP.
Here is the top 10 list, from the AP:
1. “Yes Man,” $18.2 million.
2. “Seven Pounds,” $16 million.
3. “The Tale of Despereaux,” $10.5 million.
4. “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” $10.2 million.
5. “Four Christmases,” $7.7 million.
6. “Twilight,” $5.2 million.
7. “Bolt,” $4.3 million.
8. “Slumdog Millionaire,” $3.2 million.
9. “Australia,” $2.3 million.
10. “Quantum of Solace,” $2.2 million.
-BAM
Box office report
For the second weekend in a row, movie-goers celebrated “Four Christmases.”
The Reese Witherspoon-Vince Vaughn comedy topped the box office for the second weekend in a row, ringing in another $18.2 million. The Warner Bros. release boosted its 12-day total to $70.8 million, according to the Associated Press.
“`Four Christmases’ was set up perfectly. It’s an evergreen subject for the holiday period,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, told the AP. “This is a movie that can play and is playing from Thanksgiving through the end of the year.”
“Twilight,” the film version of Stephenie Meyer’s popular book, was in second place for the second weekend, with $13.2 million.
Despite the now-confirmed economic recession, Hollywood is still outperforming year’s holiday season; revenues were on the rise for the fifth weekend in a row.
The top 12 movies took in $77.5 million, a 6 percent increase from the first weekend of December 2007, when “The Golden Compass” opened at No. 1 with $25.8 million, the AP reported.
“Punisher: War Zone,” the only new movie debuting fully in wide release, opened with just $4 million for eighth place. The Lionsgate release, based on Marvel Comics’ “The Punisher,” got horrid reviews, which is pretty much in line what the previous two attempts to turn the vigilante tale into a movie received.
The music biopic “Cadillac Records,” starring Adrien Brody, Beyonce Knowles, Jeffrey Wright, Cedric the Entertainer and Mos Def, opened in narrower release. It had a decent debut with $3.5 million for ninth place.
Oklahoma native Ron Howard’s drama “Frost/Nixon” notched a huge opening in limited release. The period piece, starring Frank Langella as President Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as interviewer David Frost, made $180,147 in just three theaters, according to the AP. It will be expanding to more theaters in the next two weeks. .
The latest action-packed James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” raised its domestic take to $151.5 million with an added $6.6 million. The film passed the $500 million mark worldwide and was No. 5 at the U.S. box office.
Here are the weekend’s top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Four Christmases,” $18.2 million.
2. “Twilight,” $13.2 million.
3. “Bolt,” $9.7 million.
4. “Australia,” $7 million.
5. “Quantum of Solace,” $6.6 million.
6. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” $5.1 million.
7. “Transporter 3,” $4.5 million.
8. “Punisher: War Zone,” $4 million.
9. “Cadillac Records,” $3.5 million.
10. “Role Models,” $2.6 million.
-BAM
Box office report
The Reese Witherspoon/Vince Vaughn holiday comedy “Four Christmases” topped the box office over the Thanksgiving weekend, opening at No. 1 with $31.7 million.
The Warner Bros. film, about a couple struggling to visit all four sets of their divorced parents in one, made $46.7 million since opening Wednesday.
According to the Associated Press, this year marked the second-biggest Thanksgiving ever for Hollywood. The top 12 movies took in $223.7 million from Wednesday to Sunday, coming in second only to the $232.2 million haul over Thanksgiving in 2000.
Summit Entertainment’s film version of Stephenie Meyer’s first vampire romance novel, “Twilight,” saw its box office take drop a whopping 62 percent from its huge opening the previous weekend. “Twilight” opened with $69.6 million the previous weekend, making Catherine Hardwicke’s film the biggest debut ever by a woman director.
In its second weekend, “Twilight” was in a tight competition for second place with Disney’s animated family film “Bolt,” the AP reports.
Based on Sunday’s estimates, “Bolt” made $26.6 million for its second weekend, compared to $26.4 million for “Twilight.”
“Twilight’ is still a phenomenon, but you can’t really maintain that level of intensity week after week,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, told the AP.
“Twilight” raised its 10-day total to $119.7 million, while “Bolt” stretched its 10-day take to $66.9 million.
Hollywood typically has at least a few holiday-themed movies come out starting in November, but “Four Christmases” has little Christmasy competition this year.
“It was the perfect time. It’s the only movie out there that deals with Christmas,” Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., told the AP.
The only potential competition comes Dec. 12 with the movie “Nothing Like the Holidays.”
Director Baz Luhrmann’s long-awaited epic “Australia,” the weekend’s other new wide release, opened at No. 5 with $14.8 million for the weekend and $20 million since debuting Wednesday. The World War II-period romance stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
Focus Features’ biopic ”Milk,” starrig Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to major political office in the U.S., got off to a strong start in limited release. It opened at No. 10 with $1.4 million in just 36 theaters.
Here is the top 10 list, from the AP:
1. “Four Christmases,” $31.7 million.
2. “Bolt,” $26.6 million.
3. “Twilight,” $26.4 million.
4. “Quantum of Solace,” $19.5 million.
5. “Australia,” $14.8 million.
6. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” $14.5 million.
7. “Transporter 3,” $12.3 million.
8. “Role Models,” $5.3 million.
9. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” $1.7 million.
10. “Milk,” $1.4 million.
-BAM
Box office report
“Twilight” proved it had teeth at the box office over the weekend, taking a $70.6 million bite to come in atop the charts.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film also marked the biggest opening ever for a female director. The previous record was the $41.1 million set by Mimi Leder’s “Deep Impact” in 1998, according to the Associated Press.
Based on the first book of Stephenie Meyer’s mega-popular four-book saga, “Twilight” made a huge $20,636 per theater, the AP reported, citing Sunday morning estimates.
Summit Entertainment, which released “Twilight,” announced over the weekend that it is moving ahead with plans to make a film version of the series’ second book, “New Moon.” Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart will return as star-crossed lovers Edward Cullen, an immortal vampire, and Bella Swan, a human teenager.
According to the AP, Hardwicke’s involvement in the sequel hasn’t been determined. She told the AP Sunday morning she would be going to a meeting later that date to discuss her possible involvement in the second film.
“Twilight” star Robert Pattinson and director Catherine Hardwicke. (Associated Press photo)
The laid-back Hardwicke, who went bodyboarding at sunset Saturday to take her mind off this high-pressure weekend, said Sunday morning that she was heading to a meeting later in the day to discuss her possible involvement in “New Moon.”
“I want to be sure that it’s going to be done right. I don’t want to rush into it,” she told the AP. “It’s not like `Friday the 13th’ or `Halloween,’ you can’t just do it super fast and knock another one out. I want to understand their plans and all that.”
Hardwicke also told the AP she hopes her success inspires other women filmmakers.
“I hope not just women but all minorities get enthused and encouraged by it. I look at the (Directors Guild of America) calendar, at the pictures of everyone that had different movies each month, and it’s usually 22-29 different directors, and almost every month there’s one female and maybe one minority,” she told the AP.
“We’ve been having a lot of events, talking to a lot of fans, and so many kids of course are madly in love with Robert but tons of kids of every kind (and) girls are coming up to me and saying `I want to direct now, I’m writing a screenplay now, you’re my inspiration.’ I think it’s great that people are getting excited.”
The huge opening also has helped Summit Entertainment make its mark on the movie biz, Richie Say, the company’s president of domestic distribution, told the AP. Summit has only been around since last spring. “Twilight” is just the company’s sixth release, it cost only $37 million to make, meaning the film wasn’t far from doubling its money over opening weekend alone.
The AP story noted that the film’s huge opening take was much higher than the $50 million expected. Apparently, that number was projected by someone who doesn’t know any teenage girls.
“Teen girls rule the earth,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, told the AP. “If you look back at the `Hannah Montana’ movie, how well that did, and now this movie, the teen girl audience will never be ignored again or underestimated. It was always teen boys who were the coveted ones, but someone finally caught on to the idea that girls love movies, too, and if you create something that they’re into, that they’re passionate about, they will come out in big numbers and drive the box office.”
James Bond is still going strong. After debuting the previous weekend at No. 1, “Quantum of Solace,” came in second with $27.4 million. The latest film in the 007 series - and the second starring Daniel Craig as the superspy - has grossed $109.5 million, crossing the $100 million mark faster than any other film in the long-running franchise, Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, told the AP.
Walt Disney’s 3-D animated dog tale “Bolt,” featuring the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, debuted in third place with $27 million to take third place.
Not surprisingly, Chuck Viane, Disney’s head of distribution, noted that “Twilight” took a bite out of everyone else’s numbers.
“Obviously we believe in the Thanksgiving holiday in a big, big way,” he told the AP. “We’ve always viewed this as one of those 10-day marathons between opening day and the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.”
Here is the box office top 10, from the AP:
1. “Twilight,” $70.5 million.
2. “Quantum of Solace,” $27.4 million.
3. “Bolt,” $27 million.
4. “Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa,” $16 million.
5. “Role Models.” $7.2 million.
6. “Changeling,” $2.6 million.
7. “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” $2 million.
8. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” $1.7 million.
9. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” $1.67 million.
10. “The Secret Life of Bees,” $1.28 million.
-BAM
Entertainment roundtable: “Twilight” stars, gyspy girls and Bond, James Bond
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in a scene from “Twilight.”
In this week’s NewsOK Entertainment Roundtable, the entertainment staff at The Oklahoman and NewsOK – Gene Triplett, George Lang, Matt Price and I – share our views on the stars of “Twilight” and other young talents on the cusp of breaking out, the future of the Bond franchise and our favorite 007 films, and the dream shows we would like to see at Oklahoma City’s Ford Center.
Check it out by clicking here.
-BAM
Bond, James Bond, in posters
In honor of the record-breaking opening of “Quantum of Solace” over the weekend, I’m posting here a few of my favorite posters from the Bond franchise.
“QOS” made $70.4 million in its debut, topping the previous opening-weekend record for a Bond movie: $47 million for 2002′s “Die Another Day,” according to the Associated Press.
There are more posters after the cut.
Box office report
The latest James Bond’s adventure, “Quantum of Solace,” made $70.4 million over the weekend, breaking the previous opening-weekend record for a 007 film, according to the Associated Press.
“Quantum of Solace,” the first direct sequel in the long-running franchise, stars Daniel Craig as the British secret agent, out to avenge the death of his lover, Vesper Lynd, at the end of 2006′s “Casino Royale.” The AP reported that ”QOS” made nearly $30 million more over its opening weekend than its predecessor.
The opening weekend of “QOS” also topped the previous opening-weekend record for a Bond movie: $47 million for 2002′s “Die Another Day,” according to the AP.
“With ‘Casino Royale,’ people were rediscovering the franchise in a way with Daniel Craig as James Bond,” Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, told the AP. “Quite frankly, they loved it. They loved the movie, and they loved him in the role, so I think by the time `Quantum of Solace’ was ready, audiences in the U.S. as well as the world audience was way ready.”
“Quantum of Solace” began opening overseas two weekends before its U.S. debut, and its worldwide box office take is currently about $322 million.
DreamWorks Animation’s “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” the previous weekend’s top movie, fellto second place with $36.1 million, bringing its 10-day total to $118 million.
“QOS” was the only new film to open in wide release over the weekend, and it gave Hollywood revenues a big jolt. The top 12 movies took in $142.9 million, up 54 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when “Beowulf” led the box office with $27.5 million, according to AP.
Movie revenue is about 1 percent ahead of 2007′s record pace, when the movie biz took in $9.7 billion, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers. However, when you take inflation into account, the number of tickets sold this year is 3.5 percent behind 2007 figures.
Hollywood is gearing up for Thanksgiving weekend, traditionally one of the biggest movie weekends of the year. Of course, this week brings a potential powerhouse with the vampire romance “Twilight,” plus the animated Disney movie “Bolt.”
“Hollywood is in the best possible position right now, because it’s all about momentum, and the industry certainly has that heading into the all-important holiday period,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, told the AP.
The AP also noted that Fox Searchlight’s “Slumdog Millionaire” debuted strongly in limited release, scoring $350,434 in 10 theaters for an average of $35,043 a cinema. By comparison, “QOS” averaged $20,400 in 3,451 theaters.
A film festival favorite, “Slumdog Millionaire” is the latest film from Danny Boyle, director of “Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later”; it focuses on a poor young Indian man who becomes a contestant on his country’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
Here is the box office top 10, from the AP:
1. “Quantum of Solace,” $70.4 million.
2. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” $36.1 million.
3. “Role Models,” $11.7 million.
4. “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” $5.9 million.
5. “Changeling,” $4.2 million.
6. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” $3.2 million.
7. “Soul Men,” $2.43 million.
8. “The Secret Life of Bees,” $2.4 million.
9. “Saw V,” $1.8 million.
10. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley,” $1.6 million.
-BAM
Bonus Video Spotlight: “Quantum of Solace”
“Quantum of Solace,” latest film of the long-standing James Bond franchise, opens Friday. In honor of the superspy’s latest adventure, I’ve scoured YouTube for some cool 007-related videos for this Bonus Video Spotlight.
It’s all about serving the readers here at BAM’s Blog, and if I get to ogle Daniel Craig in the process, all the better.
“QOS” trailer:
First “QOS” trailer:
“Another Way to Die” music video featuring Jack White and Alicia Keys:
“QOS” clip:
“QOS” London premiere:
“QOS” first look:
-BAM
Bond, James Bond, specialty site up at NewsOK
The new James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” opens in theaters Friday, with rough-around-the-edges heartthrob Daniel Craig reprising his role as the superspy.
In honor of this cinematic special occasion, Matthew Price, George Lang and I – your humble, hard-working entertainment scribes at The Oklahoman and NewsOK – worked with blog guru Nick Tankersley and crack artist Todd Pendleton to create a specialty site worth toasting with a shaken, not stirred, martini.
The site has photos of the series’ Bond girls, images from “QOS” and breakdowns on every film in the franchise, including non-canonical fare such as “Never Say Never Again.”
In addition, you have until noon Wednesday to sign up for one of 15 passes for two to Thursday night’s free screening of “QOS” at the Warren Theatre in Moore.
Check out the site at www.newsok.com/bond.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: New “Quantum of Solace” trailer
A new trailer for the 22nd James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” is now circulating on the Internet. The new preview gives a better look at the action, James Bond’s (Daniel Craig) tormented soul and especially of creepy French bad guy Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”).
The film is set to open on Nov. 14 in the United States.
-BAM
