Woah look at the top three figures! Die Hard 5 just manages by a cat's whisker to become the leader of Presidents' Day Weekend in America. I caught A Good Day to Die Hard in the theatre a couple of days ago, with my friend Syed Ali, and I'm not surprised it hasn't grossed as effectively as its predecessor. Also, Safe Haven was number one on Valentines' Day and many boxoffice pundits thought that it would be the lead-taker this 4-day weekend. But it was not so.
Despite negative critical reception for the romance tale, it still managed to bring Nicolas Sparks'(the author of the novel) cramming the cinema halls. Horror movie producers should learn to release most of their features on Halloween as Safe Haven was released on Valentines' Day. Identity Thief, from the makers of my favourite comedy Horrible Bosses, opened to the first spot last week. IT is another analytical mishap showcasing that the top three tier have the same professional consensus. It took over Warm Bodies' position but the latter still remained strong on second as it was a surprise box-office success worldwide.
Warm Bodies has an original story (yes it's a Hollywood movie) about a zombie falling in love with a human. And it's still a better love story than Twilight. Universal acclaim from critics was expected and I can't wait till it emerges on Blu-Ray.
In an opposite case, A Good Day to Die Hard has a 16% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Whilst having a 82% approval rate from audiences on the site. And viewers with a high ratio of them being male aged 25 and above, gave it a CinemaScore grade of B+. Also to take into account is the fact that DH 5 is the only latest big-budget action flick of the week.This goes both domestically and internationally.
If I had gotten out of the cinema hall after finishing the flick I would've rated it B+ as well. But my reviewer persona sees it differently. A full review on the Bruce Willis film is most probably coming soon on the blog. Though I can tell as many fans have already stated that this was not in the same league as Die Hard 4 or 1, being my favourite parts of the franchise.
Die Hard is my best-loved action movie series. And I had great expectations that were broken. Still the opening of $25m is above-average. Worldwide, the film has even fared better at the overseas market taking the top position. A Good Day still has to open in a higher number of foreign countries so it has a great chance of matching Die Hard 4's $250m total outside of the states.
Live Free or Die Hard was released in 2007 to critical acclaim (including my own). It was a way better movie than 2006's Mission Impossible 3 and showed that despite the third part being released in 1995, it made $383m globally on a budget of $110m. This is the most profitable aggregate of the entire 5-movie total
At 4th is another new entry Escape from Planet Earth. An animated feature of a normal production cost featuring the voices of Brendan Frasier and Jessica Alba. The latter whose face has appeared on flop films lately that only the voice could be cast. And at 6th is the disaster Beautiful Creatures intended for Twilight-like audiences. Fortunately, it won't be turned into a franchise now due its underwhelming performance. Die Hard 5 has a noticeably lesser budget of $92m and as of Feb 18, the confirmed international result is $116m. The 5th movie will probably not net more than Live Free or above it but it is still a commercial success for Fox Studios.
That's all from me folks. Bruce Willis confirmed that he will star in two more Die Hard films before retiring from his character John McClane. The 6th movie, as quoted by him, is to be titled Old Habits Die Hard. Although, the title is the best of them all, the major milestone would be for the movie to be the ultimate.
Don't forget to catch the trailer for the sizzling summer release Fast and Furious Six:
(Chart by Box Office Mojo)
January 29, 2013
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week # 1 N Hansel and Gret...
Jeremy Renner is mostly known for a lot of films. He headlines the 2010 Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker. The latter director's film currently also has the 3rd place in the chart. Although he did not win in the Best Actor category, Renner went on to star in big-budget productions such as Mission Impossible 4 and the fourth Bourne movie.
And not to forget his role as Hawkeye in both Thor and The Avengers. His roles are many in such mega budgets that it's hard to pin him down to a B-movie. Paramount's latest release Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters showcases that all those heavy costs return abundant revenues. The number 1 movie of the weekend also stars British starlet Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia) along with Famke Janssen (Mother in Taken 1 +2). Directed and co-written by Tommy Wirkola whose last theatrical movie was the cult Dead Snow in 2009, that included Nazi Zombies and was a dark-fantasy comedy. H and G falls into the same genre and has also become a hit in Russian theatres. The original tale was written by Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. So Hollywood did not hesitate to transform the innocent children into Witchhunters and give it both a 3-D and IMAX release.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has commenced with an approximate $20m off $50m and will definitely cross the $50m mark in the States alone. The second new entry Parker was destined to launch at no. 5. There are a number of reasons: Jason Statham hasn't had a good film since Crank 2 except The Expendables 1+2. Other releases like The Transporter 3 and Safe were well below average. So I don't expect much from his latest venture except Jennifer Lopez's presence. But even that did not save it from Box Office doom.
The last new introduction is made by Movie 43 on the 7th spot. I never even heard of it coming out but it stars the biggest ensemble cast of all time. The list makes The Expendables series look weak in comparison. Sadly, even with such a cast and with a variety of experienced directors, it fell into both critical and commercial mayhem. Rotten Tomatoes has it scored with 4% and my favourite network Chicago Sun-Times giving it a 0 out 4 stars.
The number in the title might refer to the number of recognised actors in the film. It has a total of 12 different storylines and I hope you can make out the big names in the poster. Movie 43 has grossed $4m from $6m in its opening domestic market. Even with the worldwide gross it won't be a blockbuster. Peter Farrelly of The Farrelly Brothers who've directed big comedy hits such as Dumb and Dumber, and Me, Myself and Irene, has directed two segments. The latter film being one of my favourite comedies of all time starring Jim Carrey. In addition, they directed The Three Stooges in 2011 which was above-average. But every director has his bad film. Maybe it was due to the lack of his brother's assistance that there were such non-optimistic reviews.
Brett Ratner (Rush Hour series) has also directed a part and actress Elizabeth Banks also directing and starring in one.
Horror film Mama is at number two and is based on a 2008 Spanish-language feature. The executive producer is Guilermo del Toro known for his obscure visionary works. Critics have praised the movie and it was in the top spot last week, mainly due to the anticipation of many horror fans of del Toro.
Another interesting fact is that both Mama and Zero Dark Thirty star the pretty Jessica Chastain. Last year Charlize Theron had major roles in two movies that both coincided in the top 5.
That's all from me folks. Check out the trailer of Zero Dark Thirty below based on the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. Well, I also acknowledged the actual chase as a flick too.
(Chart by Box Office Mojo)
January 22, 2013
As any true cowboy flick, it has one or two humorous characters, an innocent heroine and gritty action scenes. Mainly, it has a captivating ...
As any true cowboy flick, it has one or two humorous characters, an innocent heroine and gritty action scenes. Mainly, it has a captivating story which Lawless mostly lacked.
Directed by John Hillcoat (The Road) with a screenplay by Nick Cave. The plot follows three bootlegging brothers who face opposition from a new deputy in town (Guy Pearce). And Pearce was brilliant as he is always in his selective roles. It had great expectations for this movie after viewing the trailer, as it had been a long time since I'd seen a high-budget horse opera flick. Clint Eastwood's era is still missed. Lawless had material but had no coordination in how to use it. It is based on a historical novel written by Matt Bondurant explaining the moonshining operation in Virginia, and the tale of his grandfather Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeuof).
However, there are plus points. The list of fine actors include the previously mentioned LaBeuof and Pearce, along with Gary Oldman from Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy as a renowned gunslinging gangster. The former had not many chances in off-mainstream movies and is best-known for his headlining in the Transformer series. He used to star in the teen comedy series Even Stevens where I became a fan of his. Needless to say, LaBeuof is still good thespian and his latest focus on choosing more determined parts is nice on the ears. He plays the youngest brother with Tom Hardy (Bane in The Dark Knight Rises) is the oldest and a greater unknown Jason Clarke is stuck in the middle. Jessica Chastain plays Hardy's love interest on-screen and sizzles. And #spoiler# she has a sexy nude scene. Dane DeHaan also acted to-the-role in a small capacity. The settings, background and score are brilliant and truly capture the essence of the wild, wild west.
Still, there is no depth in the storyline. Only a few fights, scared and brave authorities make up the entire follow-through. Even the bootlegging of moonshine is not interestingly showcased. With better screenwriting and better attention to detail, Lawless would have been one of the best western movies of the decade.
It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 65thCannes.The film made $53m worldwide off $45m largely because of the mass cinema murder in Colorado last year. As mentioned a handful of times before in my blogposts.
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%.
IMDB: 7.3/10.
BO101: 2/4.
January 20, 2013
Retribution: the act of punishing or taking vengeance for wrongdoing, sin, or injury. I solemnly swear to not watch another Resident Ev...
Retribution: the act of punishing or taking vengeance for wrongdoing, sin, or injury. I solemnly swear to not watch another Resident Evil flick for the remainder of my critical years. Yes, the movie was that awful. And yes, CGI could not have been more over-used.
Directed and written by the same Paul W.S. Anderson of the first 3 durable zombie flicks, and the fourth misused 3-D one. Based on the hit Capcom video game series although the franchise is based on 20% of the original storyline. The main character Alice does not even exist in the virtual universe and thus the absurdness. RE: Retribution made over $200m off $65m showing that the loyal fanbases could not stop Evil from spreading Global. It was released in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D. It is absurd to term Hollywood as preparing anything with an over $50-budget to proper standards. Retribution is more of a B-movie even with that production cost. It starts with suspenseful action and ends with it. Though the suspense makes no sense. Seriously, after Wrath of the Titans and Men in Black 3 I though the worst-of-2012 was over. But this made a place just below Titans. It seemed as if the Resident Evil screen-world was taking retribution on me for watching the prequels. The RE games are about surviving zombies or people affected by the virus made by Umbrella Corporation. Here there is a mix-up of undead figures, CGI, martial arts, horror, nonsense etc. Milla Jovovich cannot escape being typecast because of the high grosses and that the director is her husband. Sure is amarriage of convenience. This film has made me hate her more. Most characters from Extinction and Afterlife were not included. Although their absence is explained. Major cast members are from the first 2 flicks with their inclusion being dumbfounded. If there was a prequel to them, those people would've been included. Apart from the start-up scenes, there is no fright left. Why people continue to fill the seats in the theatre is beyond my reasoning. And above-average thriller like Alex Cross are given lower ratings than this. Truly proving that the voters on IMBD are real persons. The only perks of RE: Retribution are some martial art exhibitions that were epic, specially the last fist battles, and some CGI applied well to scenes. The rest is Hollywood introducing such fan favourites like Leon S. Kennedy, Ada Wong from the shooter and raping their virtual existence. Anderson has confirmed the sixth part, and a seventh without Jovovich. Sony hopes for a reboot and I hope for a boot to Anderson's rear. There is still life in undead flicks. Check out the trailer for Warm Bodies releasing this February below:
Rotten Tomatoes: 31%. IMDB: 5.2/10. BO101: 1/4.
December 18, 2012
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week # 1 N The Hobbit: An Un...
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the eagerly awaited prequel for fantasists of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Based on legendary British writer J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel, The Hobbit earned an impressive $84m (estimated budget $180m) becoming the highest December debut in Hollywood history shattering 2009's I Am Legend's $77.2m.
Now there has been a long time since a Will Smith movies hasn't grossed about or over $100m in the United States but with such a fan database and The Lord of the Rings being the 3rd highest-grossing novel ever with an estimated $150m sold, it had the reputation to debut with $100m but sadly missed.
The prequel is also directed by the filmmaker of all previous 3 films Peter Jackson. Jackson is also known for high-budget adaptations of popular works such as King Kong in 2005. And his movies are money-making gems with Lord of the Rings grossing $2.92m on an overall budget of $285m. John Carter was one movie with a total production cost of $250m.
2003's The Return of the King has the topmost cumulative of over $1 billion. The Hobbit may have been a long-awaited journey for cinema-goers but critics have deemed otherwise. With an 'unexpected' 65% on the Rotten Tomatoes tally, criticism has been based a lot on whether it matches up to the earlier parts. And also on the pacing of the movie that the fun is demolished before the final half-hour. Still, I will watch this when it comes out on blu-ray as I've seen the previous films with Return of the King being my solid action-packed favourite.
But being a prequel also leaves potential viewers more in a wait-and-see position rather than just hurling themselves into the theatre seats. Next week's Jack Reacher will probably be on number 2 introducing with $25m-$35m according to BO101 statistics.
Steven Spielberg's epic historical Lincoln has set records for most awards nominated. It has also surprisingly surpassed other Oscar nomination Argo's gross by a tiny margin in the US. Argo was a surprise hit stating that Ben Affleck still has some gross juice left and that his childhood friend Matt Damon is not the only face that sells tickets. Lincoln has grossed an impressive $107m in domestic markets. With main thespian Daniel Day-Lewis being a strong contender for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was also brilliant in the other critically acclaimed movie There Will Be Blood.
The last and yes, hopefully last Twilight part distributed by Summit Entertainment 'summits' to 6th position from number 3 with Skyfall on 4 with more weeks on the American box office. Still Breaking Dawn: Part 2 has become the first Twilight movie to make over $500m worldwide. And some say there's no such thing as luck.
Skyfall will also make $1 billion at year's becoming the first film in the 23 film series of James Bond to do so. Lord of the Rings was only a 3-part series! Skyfall has also become the most paramount-grossing film of all time in the UK which does not come as a surprise. But yes after Quantum of Solace's being the 19th film on the British list this is a great achievement for the franchise and may be I'll be alive for the 50th anniversary flick.
Silver Linings Playbook stars one of my favorite actors Bradley Cooper and curvy actress Jennifer Lawrence and it jumps up from 11 to 10 this weekend. It is also mounting to a 2013 Oscar nomination. Denzel Washington's Flight exits the top 10 with over $84m in gross while The Collection is at 16 with $6m to its name. It has a bigger debut than its prequel but still is $1m behind The Collector. Maybe it will become more advanced at the end of the year after a superior amount of major country openings.
That's all from me folks. The Hobbit has a better opening than Return of the King but with 3-D/IMAX premiums so it was very possible. Also, it has 222.8 million dollars internationally but I still think it won't match the 2003 final film's aggregate. Here's the HD trailer below:
December 05, 2012
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week # 1 1 The Twilight Saga...
Dreadful because of movies like the Twilight franchise to cause fear among cinema-goers like me to state that there is no hope in Hollywood. The Twilight series is based on the best-selling (among females) novels written by Stephanie Meyer. And no, although the grosses match that of Harry Potter, Meyer is no JK Rowling who has written original magic-themed stories. Meyer is one lucky daughter of pulp fiction.
I read the first 10 pages of the first Twilight and it was dreadful. I can't contradict how anybody could read the approximate 500 pages of it and live to tell, unless they're actually undead, also the first 10 minutes of any part. So following Harry Potter's style of ending the franchise with two parts released of the final film, Breaking Dawn Part 2 opened up with a little over $140m in the US on a budget of $120.
As of December 4, the entire film series has made over $3b worldwide with 5 adaptations. Except for the 3rd film, all others have achieved rotten ratings from critics. Roger Ebert, my favourite critic, has also not given any of them a positive rating and his highest applause rate was 2 out of four. Some critics have given such negative reviews calling it more of a comedy than a romance phenomenon. Thankfully, Shakespeare wasn't alive to watch it.
All in all, this was the last movie and 2012 be the end of the world if there is another one. The Collection is a torture porn sequel to 2009's The Collector. Written by the creators of Saw's latter parts: Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton and directed by the former. The Collector was originally going to be a prequel of the Saw franchise but luckily the idea got dismissed, and the two screenwriters ended up with a more creative release than any of their contributed Saws.
The Collector is one my favourite 2000 decade movies. More strategically designed than many of the Saw sequels and with the titular character being a the epitome of a vehement menace. The Collector was released in a lesser number of theatres domestically but managed to carve out a worthy gross of a little over $7m on a budget of $3-3.4m. The worldwide total being $9 million.
The Collection has an amazing trailer but I can't say anything about the movie prior to watching it. With a budget of $10m it managed to do a better opening than the original with $3m. Accumulation from other countries and Blu-ray/DVD releases will managed to give it a profit though I wonder if it should've been released on Halloween to fare better at the top 10.
Killing Them Softly is another new release entering at 7. This was an unlucky one for Brad Pitt with blockbusters like Breaking Dawn 2 and Skyfall dominating the chart. Red Dawn flops at the US box office and will not even meet its budget, and is yet to be released universally. But it still has a chance to just make a tiny profit in foreign markets. It has made $31m off $65m.
B-wood thriller Talaash starring Amir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and the ever-irritating Rani Mukerjee lands on 14 with Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning at 76 on 3 screens. The latter stars oldies Van Damme and Lundgren, and famous Light Heavyweight boxer Roy Jones Jr. along with The Expendables 2 villain Scott Adkins. This is the first film in the series to be filmed in 3-D although that shows no accomplishments in earnings.
That's all from me folks. Check The Collection trailer below but remember it's not for the faint of heart. And join me next week for more BO101 news and reviews. Also later on for Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit's nationwide performance that is bound to be a big one.
(Chart by Box Office Mojo)
November 15, 2012
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week # 1 N Skyfall Sony $88,...
Whoa, the greatest American Bond debut ever starring Daniel Craig in his third representation of the character. The previous films titled Quantum of Solace ($67m) and Casino Royale ($40.8) had quite lower openings although went on to gross a lot worldwide. And the latter case is no different for the 23rd movie in the British spy intelligence franchise.
It is also worth noting that Skyfall was released in US theatres when there was not much monetary competition and that was a very Bold idea. And with an estimated budget of $200m which is still less than John Carter's gamble of $250m, the film has made a total of $518m globally. It is also the first film in the series to be released on to IMAX venues.
Not only was Craig's performance applauded the movie has released universal critical acclaim, and Adele's theme song pushed up the ratings. So even after 23 Bond films the franchise continues to be impressive and I will miss Judi Drench who leaves the character of M after portraying it in six films. Skyfall features two lesser-known actresses as Bond girls with Javier Bardem, who is a fine actor, as the villain. Ralph Fieness' character will fill up M's position in the upcoming motion-pictures. MGM might of had money troubles but they should not lose focus on financing the series.
In other news, the animated action-comedy feature mainly for kids, continues its dominance with $33m this weekend, having grossed $93m in the States alone. It tells the story of of the titular arcade game villain who rebels against his dreams of becoming of a hero. With a RT score of $85% and that original plot, the movie had no chance of not being second this week. Also owing to Steven Spielberg's Lincoln opening across 11 theatres to garner positive word-of-mouth. Gamesite IGN advertised Wreck-it Ralph wholesomely before its North American and Canadian release.
3rd on the chart is Denzel Washington's Flight and like most of his thriller flicks this one has made almost $50m in at the US box office. It is yet to be released on a global basis. Hotel Transylvania will surely exit the top 10 next week.
Although this weekend showcases hit films there is a large disappointment in the mixture. Cloud Atlas is based on the 2004 novel on the same name by David Mitchell. With a budget of $102m, CA is one of the most expensive independent features of all time. Not only this but it stars H-wood biggies such as Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. But with all the hype, mostly critical, the sci-fi epic has only made $22m domestically and $1m foreign-wise having been released in countries like India, Turkey and Pakistan.
I thought John Carter was disappointing but this feature couldn't touch even the $50m mark. Directed by Tom Tyker, along with Lana and Andy Wachowskis who are the pair of bros who directed the Matrix trilogy marks their 4th directorial stand after 2008's mega-flop Speed Racer. They haven't had a film grossing above $100m since V for Vendetta which they wrote and produced. And Warner Bros. might spot sponsoring them altogether. Though they are making another sci-fi flick called Jupiter Ascending releasing in 2014. They should just make another Matrix because the 3 had a cumulative of over $1b.
Atlas has received mixed reviews but controversy was done over British actors portraying Asian roles through the use of make-up. Critics responded by stating that many creative leaps were done to the settings, characters and plot while there was no creative focus on the casting!
That's all from me folks. Check out the Cloud Atlas trailer below. I couldn't manage to go beyond the first minute of the trailer and will definitely not catch the almost 3-hour length boredom hole.
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