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8 articles from 2006

21 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Although some analysts had forecast that Warner Bros.' V for Vendetta would reinvigorate the box office and become the first big blockbuster of 2006, the movie took in just $25.6 million, even less than what studio estimates had indicated on Sunday. Indeed the overall box office itself produced dismal returns -- some 10 percent below those for the comparable weekend a year ago. Most analysts blamed competition from "March Madness" -- TV's coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament. But Paramount's She's the Man, which was released to attract women with little interest in the basketball tourney, produced absolutely dreary results, winding up in fourth place with $10.7 million. Last week's box-office winner, Failure to Launch, held up pretty well as it earned $15.6 million and slipped into second place. The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. V for Vendetta, Warner Bros., $25,642,640, (New); 2. Failure to Launch, Paramount, $15,604,892, 2 Wks. ($48,273,823); 3. The Shaggy Dog, Disney, $13,377,363, 2 Wks. ($35,635,419); 4. She's the Man, Paramount, $10,730,372, (New); 5. The Hills Have Eyes, Fox Searchlight, $8,008,822, 2 Wks. ($28,741,291); 6. 16 Blocks, Warner Bros., $4,755,012, 3 Wks. ($30,190,041); 7. Eight Below, Disney, $4,084,276, 5 Wks. ($73,040,379); 8. Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, Lionsgate, $2,933,815, 4 Wks. ($60,029,631); 9. The Pink Panther, Sony, $2,464,468, 6 Wks. ($78,575,414); 10. Aquamarine, 20th Century Fox, $2,114,445, 3 Wks. ($15,778,293).

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20 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

While some box office analysts were predicting that Warner Bros.' V for Vendetta would emerge as the first big blockbuster of the year, it opened instead with an estimated $26.1 million -- a V for valiant effort, but hardly explosive. The film, written and produced by the Wachowski brothers, took in about $2 million less than their original Matrix did in 2000 and was the fourth-highest opening of the year. Overall, the box office was down 9 percent from the comparable week a year ago. Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman attributed the failure of the movie to open with big numbers to competition from college basketball's "March Madness." The counterprogrammed film She's the Man, aimed at female audiences, debuted in fourth place with $11 million. Paramount's Failure to Launch, last week's box-office champ, slipped to second place with about $15.8 million, to bring its total to $48.5 million. Meanwhile, opening in limited release, the satire Thank You for Smoking posted a banner $260,000 in five theaters in New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. But the Sidney Lumet-directed Find Me Guilty was unable to find an audience as it opened with just $628,000 in 439 theaters. The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. V for Vendetta, $26.1 million; 2. Failure to Launch, $15.8 million; 3. The Shaggy Dog, $13.6 million; 4. She's the Man, $11 million; 5. The Hills Have Eyes, $8.1 million; 6. 16 Blocks, $4.7 million; 7. Eight Below, $4.2 million; 8. Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, $3 million; 9. The Pink Panther, $2.5 million; 10. Aquamarine, $2 million.

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14 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Analysts were left scratching their heads Monday as weekend box office figures showed Paramount's Failure to Launch topping the list with $24.4 million -- well above of forecasts -- while Disney's The Shaggy Dog came in second with $16.3 million, well below forecasts. Steven Mallas of the financial website Motley Fool said about the Shaggy results: "It's certainly not an abject miss, but I can't quite call The Shaggy Dog a bona fide hit. It could go on to become a sleeper, but I was nevertheless looking for a bigger bark at the box office." One other newcomer performed about as expected, coming in at No. 3. The horror film The Hills Have Eyes from Fox Searchlight took in $15.7 million In fourth place, the second week of Warner Bros.' 16 Blocks settled for $7.4 million, while the fifth spot was held by Lionsgate's Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, which had held the lead during the previous two weeks. It drew $5.7 million. The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Failure to Launch, Paramount, $24,411,322, (New); 2. The Shaggy Dog, Disney, $16,310,058, (New); 3. The Hills Have Eyes, Fox Searchlight, $15,708,512, (New); 4. 16 Blocks, Warner Bros., $7,411,016, 2 Wks. ($22,808,568); 5. Madea's Family Reunion, Lionsgate, $5,749,355, 3 Wks. ($55,703,144); 6. Eight Below, Disney, $5,552,540, 4 Wks. ($66,564,664); 7. Aquamarine, 20th Century Fox, $3,858,072, 2 Wks. ($12,373,367); 8. Ultraviolet, Sony, $3,681,448, 2 Wks. ($14,832,858); 9. The Pink Panther, Sony, $3,650,306, 5 Wks. ($74,653,310); 10. Date Movie, 20th Century Fox, $2,525,111, 4 Wks. ($44,289,381).

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13 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Paramount's Failure to Launch was anything but a failure as it launched this weekend with an estimated $24.6 million in ticket sales. Results were considerably above the predictions of analysts, who apparently failed to take into account the strong popularity of the film's star, Matthew McConaughey, among women 25 years old and older, who accounted for two-thirds of the audience. Disney's The Shaggy Dog, starring Tim Allen, debuted in second place with about $16 million. Another newcomer, the horror film The Hills Have Eyes, was close behind with $15.5 million. Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, which had held the top spot during the previous two weeks, dropped to fifth place with $5.8 million, bringing the total gross of the film to $55.8 million. Overall, the box office was down 10.7 percent from the comparable weekend a year ago to $92.4 million. Lionsgate also returned Oscar winner Crash to about 150 theaters over the weekend, where it took in an insignificant $330,000. It is already out on DVD. Of the other best-picture nominees, Brokeback Mountain performed the best, taking in $1.25 million, to bring its gross to $81 million. Capote was close behind with $1.2 million.The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Failure to Launch, $24.6 million; 2. The Shaggy Dog, $16 million; 3.The Hills Have Eyes, $15.5 million; 4. 16 Blocks, $7.3 million; 5. Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, $5.8 million; 6. Eight Below, $5.4 million; 7. Aquamarine, $3.65 million; 8 (tie). The Pink Panther, $3.6 million; 8 (tie). Ultraviolet, $3.6 million; 10. Date Movie, $2.5 million.

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7 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Despite competition from four new films, Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion remained in first place for the second weekend in a row, taking in $12.6 million and bringing its gross to $48 million, according to final box office figures. (The film cost $6 million to make.) Richard Prince, who writes the "Journal-isms" column for the Maynard College website, noted that the victory was achieved "by and large without benefit of the 'mainstream media,' which mostly didn't seem to get what was happening" -- that is, a huge turnout of "hardworking, Christian black women." Prince quoted Marcia Davis, who wrote in the Washington Post that the simple plots in Perry's plays "have power in the way they resonate with the fault lines of modern-day African-American life." The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Madea's Family Reunion, Lions Gate, $12,648,954, 2 Wks. ($47,748,243); 2. 16 Blocks, Warner Bros., $11,855,260, (New); 3. Eight Below, Disney, $10,137,068, 3 Wks. ($58,636,373); 4. Ultraviolet, Sony, $9,064,880, (New); 5. Aquamarine, 20th Century Fox, $7,482,669, (New); 6. The Pink Panther, Sony, $6,883,674, 4 Wks. ($69,668,601); 7. Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Focus Features, $6,214,723, (New); 8. Date Movie, 20th Century Fox, $5,131,207, 3 Wks. ($40,709,501); 9. Curious George, Universal, $4,519,550, 4 Wks. ($49,301,615); 10. Firewall, Warner Bros., $3,584,316, 4 Wks. ($42,494,897).

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6 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The lesson of the weekend box office was clear: never underestimate the power of the church to turn out audiences. For the second week in a row, Madea's Family Reunion, which was vigorously promoted in black churches, topped the box office earning $13 million. Four films that made their debuts over the weekend foundered: 16 Blocks, Dave Chapelle's Block Party, Ultraviolet and Aquamarine. The box office was down 15 percent from the comparable week a year ago. Particularly disappointing was the performance of Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which received mostly positive reviews but ended up in seventh place with only $6.5 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, $13 million; 2. 16 Blocks, $11.7 million; 3. Eight Below, $10.3 million; 4. Ultraviolet, $9 million; 5. Aquamarine, $7.5 million; 6. The Pink Panther, $7 million; 7. Dave Chappelle's Block Party, $6.5 million; 8. Date Move, $5.1 million; 9. Curious George, $4.4 million; 10. Firewall, $3.5 million.

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3 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Since the Oscar ceremonies have often been called the Super Bowl for women (last year, of the 42.1 million viewers, 24.5 million were women 18 or older versus 14.1 million men in the same demographic group) and since most of the nominated films were directed at adults, the studios have decided to make this Oscars weekend mostly a boys-night-out affair. The winner, analysts have indicated, is likely to be Warner Bros.' 16 Blocks, starring Bruce Willis and directed by Richard Donner. Close behind -- although it is appearing on half the number of screens -- is expected to be the Dave Chappelle concert film Block Party. Another strong challenger is expected to be last week's box-office champ, Madea's Family Reunion. Two other counterprogramming newcomers are also expected to perform strongly, Sony's sci-fi/horror flick Ultraviolet, which was not screened for critics, and Fox's Aquamarine, aimed at female teens.

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3 March 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Aquamarine is a mermaid movie for the "tweener" crowd. Gene Seymour in Newsday writes that it is "as sweet and disposable as the gummy snakes its eponymous heroine loves so much." Comments Kyle Smith in the New York Post: "This movie's no Little Mermaid and it doesn't make much of a Splash. But it's high-spirited, innocent fun." Melinda Ennis in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution prefaces her review with this warning: "If you're a male between 5 and 95, Aquamarine, a junior chick flick about two pre-pubescent girls who find and befriend a mermaid, could make you green at the gills. However, if you are now or ever have been a girl of 8 to 13, you'll be occasionally charmed by the giggly bonds of girlfriends and 'guppie love' the film portrays -- but also occasionally green at the gills." And Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times describes the problem that any reviewer is likely to encounter with the film. "I know there's an audience for this movie just as surely as I know I am not that audience," he writes.

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8 articles from 2006