Bill Hader’s ‘SNL’ Stefon Farewell: Video 
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‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $22M Friday For Lower … 
Finally, Cannes Dealing! Radius-TWC Nabs Director’s … 
Hammond On Cannes: Wet Fest’s Official Competition … 
‘Vampire Academy’ Adds ‘Modern … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Shark Tank’ Finale Up, … 
Cannes: Worldview Options Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn … 
UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
‘Mike & Molly’ Creator Mark Roberts To … 
Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Set For … 
Hammond On Cannes: Weinstein Brings Out Stars For 2013 … 
Cannes: Fake Gunshots Interrupt Canal Plus Live Broadcast … 
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Bruce Rosenblum Bids Classy Goodbye 
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UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ Box Office Crosses $1B … 
Upfront Market: Will Auto Makers Subsidize TV … 
SATURDAY PM: Sources just gave me estimated Top 10 North American grosses for Friday, Saturday, the weekend, and cumes. Analysis coming:
1. Megamind 3D (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) Week 2 [3,949 Theaters]
Friday $7.9M, Saturday $13.3M, Weekend $26M (-36%), Cume $88M
2. Unstoppable (Fox) NEW [3,207 Theaters]
Friday $8.1M, Saturday $9.9M, Weekend $23.5M
3. Due Date (Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,365 Theaters]
Friday $5.5M, Saturday $6.6M, Weekend $16M (-51%), Cume $59.5M
4. Skyline (Relativity/Universal) NEW [2,880 Theaters]
Friday $4.7M, Saturday $4.4M, Weekend $12M
5. Morning Glory (Paramount) NEW [2,518 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Saturday $4M, Weekend $9.4M, Cume $12M
6. For Colored Girls (Lionsgate) Week 2 [2,127 Theaters]
Friday $2M, Saturday $3.2M, Weekend $6.8M (-65%), Cume $31M
7. Red (Summit) Week 5 [2,878 Theaters]
Friday $1.5M, Saturday $2.2M, Weekend $5M, Cume $79.7M
8. Paranormal Activity 2 (Paramount) Week 4 [2,403 Theaters]
Friday $1M, Saturday $1.3M, Weekend $3M, Cume $82M
9. Saw 3D (Twisted Pictures/Lionsgate) Week 3 [1,976 Theaters]
Friday $970K, Saturday $1.3M, Weekend $2.9M, Cume $43.6M
10. Jackass 3D (MTV Films/Paramount) Week 5 [1,607 Theaters]
Friday $775K, Saturday $1M, Weekend $2.3M, Cume $114.7M
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Pretty good opening for SKYLINE considering the apparently modest budget and lack of big name stars.
Fox over-reported Friday!! Unstoppable did $7.9, not $8.1. Megamind will pull past it Saturday. Look for Fox to over-report their grosses in desperation to try and “win” the weekend but it will be corrected Tuesday so don’t fall for the BS.
A Team – a major bomb worldwide.
Predators – after marketing costs and with no DVD biz, a loser.
Wall Street sequel – a horribly reviewed bomb.
Unstoppable – an expensive bomb; will gross the same as Pelham.
–Attention Tom Rothman–
What are the 3 things these movies have in common?
1. They all lost money for Fox.
2. 3 of the 4 are awful films; Unstoppable was ok but too expensive.
3. Alex Young was the exec or the token “producer” on all of them.
One year.
Four expensive flops.
All brought to you courtesy of Alex Young.
I went in not expecting much but I have to say, the movie rocks and the ending was completely unexpected.
I know people are going to crap on the film but I swear, somehow it’s good.
And THAT is why I’m alway fighting people who want Rachel McAdams cast in everything under the sun. She’s GREAT, but she’s not marketable to the mass audience as a lead, not even when surrounded by two veterans in a flick with a relentless marketing campaign.
You took the words right out of my mouth, in fact all the actresses, the same actresses that are on “the list” for every sought after female lead role in Hollywood today, none of them have proven their box office worth, none can carry a film on their own, truthfully there are only 4 actresses in Hollywood today that are bankable and have box office appeal, Angelina Jolie, Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon and Julia Roberts, you may not like them but they can carry a movie on their star power alone. The Scarlett Johannsens, Rachel McAdams, etc. NOTHING, Flops, and now producers are throwing Blake Lively’s name on that list, WOW, how does that happen, how is Blake Lively even being considered, she was “fine” in The Town but c’mon, is she in the same league as the actresses vying for the same roles. Blake’s mouth must be tired cause that is the only way she’s even getting a reading, ugh!!
Actually, i think Meryl tops all those actresses in box office appeal right now.
You forgot Jennifer Aniston – she is a bankable lead as well, whether you like her movies or not. Sure, she’s had flops, but the other four you’ve mentioned have definitely had their share of flops too.
why would you fight with people over rachel mcadams being cast in a movie? you sound like an idiot.
Agreed. Also, Rachel McAdams is great. It’s ancient Harrison Ford who’s the turn off for this film. That coming attraction with him was creepy and not funny
Rachel McAdams has not proved her box office appeal, EVER. Ford has. He may be aging at this point and not as marketable, but I’d bet dollars he’s a better gamble than Rachel.
Ford, Keaton, and Goldblum are the only things worth watching this for. It begins to fall apart in act two and act three ends with a trite as hell fake climax.
Rachel McAdams never stoppped being annoying and Patrick Wilson sucked the life out of every scene he was in as her himbo boyfriend.
Ford was consistently funny despite being saddled with a grumpy old man character. What exactly did you see in McAdams’ perf? Assuming you are not a shill, quite common the boards these days.
So says the jealous actress who can’t get her parts. This site is crawling with jealousy, and agents who wish they were stars.
If you could write or act or direct, you would be doing that. Don’t come here spewing venom because you’re not able to be the above-the-line talent you wish you were.
You are now spewing venom, and they may be wrong about attacking actresses (petty, I agree), but to even say, “If you could write or act or direct, you would be doing that,” cannot not fly, especially in Hollywood. Fantastically talented people of all disciplines do not make a living in this town. People who can do these jobs well will often never get a shot. It’s a tough biz. I have been lucky. Others I went to top film schools with who are every bit as good as me have not been so lucky. So that old phrase ticks me off… The philosophy that says, “If you were any good, you’d be doing it.” It’s just simply not true. This is a business where decisions are often made based on marketability, reputation, and not talent. It’s built to accommodate the known quantities. This is how it is, and that’s something we all accept. But to say in this town that all the people who are good are working is just wrong.
Spot on. I too am successful and know others who are equally talented who are not. More & more this is a business based on connections and who your agent is rather than if you can do the job. I think that mind-set is reflected in the poor quality of most of television of film.
Your logic states that I cannot criticize the president, or congress, or that father who beats his child because they are being unruly and his defense being, “until you raise this child, not tell me how to.”
I think your logic is false. You do not need to be in an ivory tower to offer critiques. Remember, as they say, opinions are assholes. Everybody’s got one.
I feel quite the fool for having seen MORNING GLORY. It was laughably bad, and I wasn’t the only one in the theater laughing at it. From the writing to the acting and to the direction in particular it was dreadful. The fact that Ebert, who has lost all sense if taste, enjoyed it proves how bad is. Harrison Ford, I know realize, was being overtly sarcastic when he called the film “fucking brilliant” on the Daily Show this week. I wish he would stop taking paydays and do a quality flick again.
Good point about Ford. I haven’t seen Morning Glory so I’ve got no opinion on that movie, but why wouldn’t he go for something with a bit more heft? His place in cinema history is assured, plenty of $ in the bank, so isn’t it time he worked with a Scorsese-level director (for example) on an Oscar-calibre role? I get that he enjoys making popular crowd-pleasers but he hasn’t had many of those in the last few years either. Time to shift gears, Harrison.
His role in morning glory is really a departure for him — it’s a different meaty role and this is a great movie.
I don’t get why people keep hiring (and gong to see films written by) Aline Brosh McKenna. I learned my lesson after watching the painfully bad “Laws of Attraction” and “27 Dresses,” which is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. The woman can’t write, period.
Is Morning Glory a great film? Lord no. It’s got a ton of problems and I can see bagging on the character flaws, the weak romantic storyline, and some third act issues but knocking the actors is odd since I thought everyone from McAdams to Jeff Goldblum to the guy who played weatherman were great.
It’s most definitely a lightweight comedy but I found it to be a charming little flick.
HF takes a “payday” because he can’t open a movie anymore and no one really wants to see him unless he’s reprising a very old role (and maybe not even then.) I used to love the guy, too, but c’mon, all good things must end.
I saw Unstoppable tonight with a few friends and we all enjoyed it quite a bit. I think the four of us were in the mood for a 90′s style action flick. Not surprising since we’re all in our mid 30′s and grew up on movies like this. That said, it certainly reminded us of Speed in many ways and was equally thrilling! Kudos to Tony Scott, Denzel, Chris Pine, and the rest of the team for making a fun popcorn action flick. This really hit the spot!
Is JJ Abram’s star dimming? Remember when everything he touched turned to gold?
Not anymore:
Undercovers: Garbage. Unwatchable. Cancelled quickly despite huge $$ and JJ’s considerable clout.
Morning Glory: Garbage. Unwatchable. Debuts at #5 despite an A-list cast.
I’d say the opposite – exactly how involved was Abrams? It’s a possibility that Par slapped his name on this just to help promote it. And it’s like anyone – would you say Bay’s star is dimming because of Platinum Dunes doing Ouija or Texas Chainsaw? As a producer, Abrams is doing a lot, so some of it is bound to be hit-or-miss. But as a real director, he’s still up there in this town, and the advance hype for “Super 8″ proves that. Plus “Fringe” is still successful, and that’s an Abrams brainchild…just don’t shit on him ALREADY because his production office had one bad show and one bad movie.
i doubt he was very involved in either project. he probably came up with the concept/ idea, the studios (desperate to slap his name on anything) salivated and bought in, then hired other people to run off with it.
It’s possible.
I’ve been starting to wonder if he’s starting to spread himself a little bit too thinly the last couple of years and have too much on his plate.
On the other hand, I haven’t seen Undercovers nor Morning Glory (yet) so can’t actually concur or oppose your seemingly definitive ‘garbage’ remark about the two ventures.
I actually don’t remember a time when everything JJ Abrams touched turned to gold.
Felicity didn’t get great ratings and is now best known for reportedly being taken down by a haircut. “Alias” had a loyal following but was never television “gold”. “What About Brian” and “Six Degrees” were flops. “Lost” became an all-time hit but “Fringe” is aptly named as it’s another cult following with mediocre ratings.
Film-wise, he did very well with Star Trek but Mission Impossible: III wasn’t that good and domestically made 134 million on a 150 million dollar production budget.
He’s good when he can concentrate. Right now he’s making the bad decision to take on as much as he can. That can backfire and looks like it’s starting to. Hopefully his manager, if he’s got one, can talk some sense into him.
You guys are haters!
JJ Abrams is the greatest creative mind in the business. He’s Thalberesque in his vision and Nolanesque in his execution.
Just because he’s been spoon-fed his entire career, grabbed credit and run away from failure is no reason to say he’s not talented. Sure, he “borrows” ideas and overestimates his abilities but who doesn’t. He’s Shyamalanesque.
When things fail, obviously JJ was not involved. When they succeed, obviously the hand of JJ was there.
You watch, “Super 8″ is going to be the most original, brilliant, super-duper thing you’ve ever seen.
JJ Rocks!
A-list cast? Are you high? No one in that cast has been A-list since the ’90s. And if McAdams ever had a shot at becoming A-list, she doesn’t any more after that opening.
Great news for “Unstoppable” — one of the best reviewed big action movies in a loooong time. Way to go Denzel and Chris Pine, and I also would like to doff my hat to the screenwriter, Mark Bomback, who did a solid job, as did action director extraordinaire, Tony Scott. Didn’t hear much about this movie until today and it definitely did a good turn at the box office!
Morning Glory was a lot of fun. I liked it. My 2 friends liked it. Funny. Smart.
I know some people don’t like to hear dialogue in movies but sometimes it can be fun.
Great performances. Funny script.
Unstoppable was good too. Considering not that much happens Tony Scott keeps it at a really good pace. Great performances.
Both flicks are like a B. Glad to see at least Unstoppable opening well.
Loved “Unstoppable”! I wasn’t looking for John Sayles-like realism of America in the workplace, I went for a thrill ride, and my Gawd, did I get it! Sensational. Washington and Pine are really rather special together.
I couldn’t disagree more with the above comment.
“Morning Glory” is a thorough delight, and I’m sorry that it didn’t open better. Hope it sticks around long enough to find an audience. McAdams, Ford and Keaton are all terrific.
“Unstoppable” should have some of the better legs of the season. It’s the very definition of “crowd-pleaser” (and I don’t mean that in a pejorative sense).
“Skyline” should be happy with whatever it earns this weekend cause w.o.m. will sink it faster than “Saw 3-D.”
“Skyline” is a 2nd rate “Independence Day”, I’m sure most people will want to see big trains smash things this weekend
Skyline – takes more minutes off your life than smoking.
Megamind may very well win the weekend but not the week. I was amazed at how many sites were predticting over 30M for the weekend when it had the worst monday drop of any animated feature ever AFAIK indicating mediocre WoM at best
-37% drop is really good, dummy
Morning glory was great. Rachel mcadams gives one of the best female performances of the year and u can’t help but root for her. Perhaps You should watch skyline and know What a truly terrible film is with no plot, barely likeable characters who do things for no reason.
“What a truly terrible film is with no plot, barely likeable characters who do things for no reason.”
Sounds like Cloverfield all over again.
“Ebert, who has lost all sense if taste”
Really? You had to use that exact phrase about someone who’s barely survived oral cancer?
Holy cow, that’s right. That’s pretty funny.
Over sensitive much? LOL!
All the movies out at the moment look dreadful. In regard to Morning Glory, it suffers from the screenwriter simply regurgitating her Devil Wears Prada success and Harrison Ford playing yet another in a long line of grumpy old men one ball removed from Gran Torino.
Is Tony Scott capable of directing a movie that DOESN’T star Denzel Washington? Are they lovers or what?
Really? Really? No. Just no. Really? No. Really? Really? Just No.
you write in Internet cliches, time to think about getting up from your computer and emptying that bedpan…
I was going to see MORNING GLORY because I was drawn in by the supporting cast– Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, Harrison Ford, etc. Good stuff. But then I saw that silly trailer and realized this was only a cutesy attempt at BROADCAST NEWS. This movie looks so bad that I won’t even bother Netflicking it — I’ll just watch parts of it in a year when it shows up on HBO and I’m just flipping around one night.
Going to see UNSTOPPABLE today. Can’t wait.
“When it shows up on HBO.”
Good luck on that. It’s gonna be on that new (partly) Paramount owned Epix Channel that nobody subscribes to.
netflixing not netflicking you weirdo
Potter. Next week. At least 100 million opening.
Followed by a sharp drop the next weekend. The last Potter flick lost first place in its 2nd weekend to a movie about talking gerbils for goshsakes.
I’m not even going to hazard a guess because I am always horrifyingly wrong, but it will be huge. Being Harry Potter, it is automatically teflon coated bulletproof, which is just as well because it sucks hairy plums. It is the Matrix 2 of the franchise. This from a Harry Potter fan, too.
I was inspired by Morning Glory. I have a associate’s degree in Journalism. I think it’s one of the best films of the year.
really? a movie which finally concedes that hard news (HOW BORING) has little place in television INSPIRED you???? what are you, brushing off your eggs benedict recipe?
good god
What’s the story on Paranormal Activity 2? $82 million with the PR blitz they did doesn’t sound like this one has even turned a buck.
WHAT? They spent 3 million on production – THREE. Even with the heaviest p&a campaigns, they MIGHT have spent 30. PA2 was money in the bank from day 1. Cos Par shot it with a budget that, despite being 3000x the original, was still incredibly small for a Hollywood pic.
are you an idiot? it cost like $3 mil to make.
Several sites have the production budget for Paranormal Activity 2 listed at 3 million dollars and it has grossed over 80 million so far. It will also do well on DVD.
“doesn’t sound like this one has even turned a buck.”
Not so, in the end PA2 will turn a bigger profit than many big budget films.
Uh, the budget was 3mil and it’s closing in on 82…
What seems to be the problem in your estimation?
Cost < 5 to make and they sure didnt spend 77 on P & A. Get real. Paramount and Schneider have to be happy. Expect Paranormal 3D by next October
Sounds like Scary Days got some ‘monkey points’ on the film…..
Another weekend of absolute boredom at the movies. UNSTOPPABLE (let me guess, they stop the train from exploding?) looks like a pile of tedium; that gross isn’t going to set the world on fire; and I guess that Denzel-Chris Pine teaming wasn’t appealing by itself for most audiences. Pretty sizeable drop for DUE DATE (looks like audiences aren’t embracing it like it’s The Hangover OR Planes, Trains & Automobiles). MORNING GLORY is apparently terrible.
Just a massive “yawn” for all of these films.
Go see FAIR GAME if it is playing in your city. Great movie. Important movie. Top notch in every way.
The massive yawn here is for your armchair criticism.
I think that is the first time I’ve ever seen someone use the “armchair critic” idiom to attack someone for complaining about a movie. Wow.
He is. Cowboys amd Aliens will bring him back to glory
Rachel McAdams has a shot at her 1st top billing hit and people would rather watch a big budgeted cheesy SyFy channel movie destined for the Walmart bargain bin?
Faith in humanity down the drain…though the real blame goes to the Paramont marketing team. Did they not learn from Knight And Day and Sorcerer’s Apprentice this year?
Another expensive loss for Fox!
Unstoppable grossed exactly what Denzel and Tony Scott’s last train film Pelham grossed opening weekend. It translates to a $65m domestic gross. Fox’s negative cost on Unstoppable is $109 million (yes, even after rebates) and they spent $55 million to aggressively market this film everywhere, including very expensive TV spots during NFL football games across four networks (NBC, CBS, ESPN and Fox). Bottom line: This is another very expensive flop for Fox and Tom Rothman that they had to spend extra marketing dollars simply to gross what Pelham grossed for Sony.
Being #1 for the weekend is fine but it has nothing to do with profitability and the numbers are the numbers – they either pencil or they don’t. Interestingly, Skyline, produced at a cost of $10m, grossed only $14m less than a picture that cost over $100m. Imagine if Skyline had been good and well reviewed like District 9!
Fox has more problems ahead. This Christmas they give the world Gulliver’s Travels and that film is going to be an epic disaster.
Hard to say now what the gross of Unstoppable will be…it is getting much better reviews than Pelham
…Gulliver’s Travels and that film is going to be an epic disaster of Lilliputian proportions.
There, I fixed it for you
Wow! So many words about something you are totally guessing at. By the way if you are going to add all these qualifiers to your argument, please don’t then forget international receipts as I am sure you are aware this is the sort of film that usually does well internationally. Money is money my friend and the bottom line is written only in the language of arithmetic.
Fox is definitely not UNFLOPPABLE! Since June, they are one major fail after another and it looks like 2 more are coming from the crap factory with Narnia and Gulliver’s. Call James Cameron and Blue Sky quick cuz that’s all they got! Their marketing machine is so creaky and ancient at this point, it looks like it’s ready to derail more spectacularly than any runaway train.
They know. They’re banking on sales of the re-release of “Avatar” on DVD to cover “Gulliver’s” losses. We’ll see.
Must be Whiskey and his inflated numbers? A minion, perhaps?
Oh well…..
Saw preview to GT today @ showing of Megamind and……..I didn’t hate it.
No fan of Jack Black by any stretch so I was surprised at the possiblity of wanting to see Gulliver at the theaters….
I thought that was pretty telling…..
The movie I’m fluffing for was really fun. Though I will allude to its shortcomings so as not seem like the flack I am, I will minimize those flaws and pump for the picture using “regular guy” lingo. Some digs at critics for being out of touch, too. The actors were at their best! The movie doing super business, too!
Well done. Admittedly, half of the reason I read the comments in the box office threads is seeing how laughably easy it is to distinguish the shill comments from the real ones.
I will respond to your post by asking if you are under the influence of pharmaceuticals or merely below the median cognitive level. I will then make fun of the lead actor/actress or director by referring to his/her recent sequence of films, and will go out of my way to emphasize the worst of those.
I will then skip a row and say something mean and sarcastic.
I think good w.o.m. will help “Unstoppable” hold well, but I think Hollywood is getting a bit ahead of themselves in anointing Chris Pine the next Big Thing. Yeah, he was good in “Star Trek,” which was a hit, but he clearly wasn’t the main draw there — it’s just a little premature to be giving him equal billing as Denzel, IMO.
“Morning Glory” was marketed heavily, but I never got what they were trying to sell the movie as. Is it a romcom? A workplace underdog dramedy? A zany behind-the-curtain look at network morning talk shows (because you know, EVERYONE’S so fascinated with that)? You got different answers to these questions based on the different trailers and TV spots.
The marketing just never really gelled, not surprised they had trouble finding the audience on this one.
Agreed on the marketing. But the major thing that kept me from going is that what was shown in the trailers was mostly…eh. Not enough wit, sparkle, or sharpness. Proof, once again, that you can have the greatest cast in the world, but if the script isn’t up to par, there’s only so much they can do.
And McAdams deserves another star shot–she (like Amy Adams or Isla Fisher or many other up-and-coming actresses) are suffering because there are not nearly enough strong female roles or good scripts out there to enable them to either cement their stardom–or continue it.
Haven’t been to the theater in weeks. Looking forward to seeing Unstoppable and yeah it does sound a bit like Speed. Denzel is starting to remind me of Sean Connery for quite a few reasons. Some good and some not so good.