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A British secret agent, an unlikely pair of friends and a kidnapped ex-CIA operative helped boost admissions for European Union films across Europe by 12% in 2012. Despite a drop in overall attendance, market share for Euro films jumped to 33.6%, the highest level of the 2000s so far. The European Audiovisual Observatory said today that Skyfall, a majority UK co-production, was the biggest draw with 44.38M admissions across the Union. It was followed by two French films: The Intouchables at 24.07M and Taken 2 at 10.43M. Receipts hit a record high of 6.47B euros ($8.47B) reflecting hikes in ticket prices and the increase in 3D movies. Admissions for U.S. films were up slightly to 62.8% but were still far off the 68.4% achieved in 2010. The top three Hollywood performers were Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Dark Knight Rises and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2. Read More »
‘Skyfall’ Helps European Union Films Hit Highest Market Share In 12 Years
‘Avengers’, ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ Top 2013 MTV Movie Awards
The Weinstein Co.’s Silver Linings Playbook and leading duo Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper came up big at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards, nabbing Best Female Performance, Best Male Performance, and Best Kiss at the annual fan-driven ceremony. Marvel’s The Avengers took home three awards including Movie Of The Year, while host Rebel Wilson and her breakout summer pic Pitch Perfect also garnered kudos. Meanwhile, Taylor Lautner of Summit’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 snagged a win out of the film’s lone nomination: Best Shirtless Performance. Here’s the full list of winners, highlighted in bold:
Read More »
ABC Sets Summer Schedule Featuring Three Scripted And One New Reality Series
ABC has firmed up the bulk of its summer lineup, which will feature three original scripted series — Canadian crime imports Motive and returning Rookie Blue as well as homemade soap Mistresses. That is more than the 1-2 scripted originals each of the broadcast networks has offered in the last couple of summers. Motive, from The Mentalist‘s Daniel Cerone, is getting a boost with a special premiere after the Dancing With The Stars The Results Show finale on May 21 before the thriller drama moves into the high-profile Thursday 9 PM slot, leading to Rookie Blue. Also joining ABC’s summer schedule is Whodunnit?, a new mystery reality competition show from CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker, which will air in the Sunday 9 PM slot as the network is resting its serialized dramas that traditionally don’t repeat well — Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and Revenge. Also set to take a break are Castle, replaced for some of the summer by Mistresses, whose previously announced premiere is being pushed by a week, and Once Upon A Time, by Celebrity Wife Swap. Other returning unscripted series this summer include The Bachelorette, Wipeout, Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition and What Would You Do? There are still a couple of holes on ABC’s summer schedule which are expected to be filled soon. Here are ABC’s summer premiere dates: Read More »
‘Django Unchained’, ‘Ted’ Lead 2013 MTV Movie Award Nominations
Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained and Seth MacFarlane’s Ted lead the 2013 MTV Movie Awards nominations with seven each. Silver Linings Playbook follows with six nods and the final installment in the Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, nabbed five. The Avengers, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Pitch Perfect and Skyfall all have four noms each. Rebel Wilson, nominated for Best Female Performance and Breakthrough Performance for her role as Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect, hosts the annual celebration of movies, actors and music. She’ll be joined by Will Ferrell, who’ll receive MTV’s inaugural Comedic Genius Award. The show airs live on MTV at 9 PM ET on Sunday, April 14. The complete list of nominees follows:
Read More »
Lionsgate Fiscal Q3 Earnings Soar Past Analysts’ Expectations
The Street expected upbeat news about the year-end quarter that included the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2. But not this good: Lionsgate generated $37.8M in net income in the last three months of 2012, up from a $1.4M loss in the period the previous year, on revenues of $743.6M, +130.2%. Revenues far exceeded expectations for $707M. Reported earnings, at 28 cents a share, beat forecasts for 16 cents. And that number is deceptively low: It includes a $14.7M one-time expense from Lionsgate’s payoff of debt from its purchase of Summit Entertainment. Take that out, and earnings would have come to 39 cents a share. The company’s revenues from motion pictures came to $673.5M, +189% — including theatrical sales of $192.9M, up from $8.4M at the end of 2011. Home entertainment sales for movies and TV were up 23% to $233.0M. And television revenue was up fourfold to $98.8M. But television production revenue fell 22% to $70.1M: Lionsgate says that overseas sales of Anger Management, Mad Men (seasons three, four, and five) and Weeds (Season 
were offset by “declines in domestic series licensing due to timing.” Lionsgate owns 51% of TV Guide Network and reports in its SEC filing that the cable channel lost $19M in the quarter, down from last year’s $11.9M loss, on revenues of $21M, -17%. The company also owns 31.1% of EPIX and says that the channel generated nearly $17M in net income, -6.2%, on revenues of $83.2M, +4.3%. Read More »
Movie Ticket Prices Hit New High In 2012 With A Modest Increase Over 2011
Year-end hits including Sony’s Skyfall, Lionsgate’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, and Warner Bros’ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey helped propel the year’s average ticket price to $7.96, which is a new all-time high (not adjusted for inflation) but up just 3 cents from 2011 according to data out today from the National Association of Theatre Owners. The growth rate, at 0.4%, is close to 2011′s 0.5% — and contrasts with the steep growth in previous years including 5.2% in 2010, 4.5% in 2009, and 4.4% in 2008. But the growth pace accelerated at the end of 2012: Tickets sold for an average of $8.05 in Q4, which is up 2.8% vs the same three month period in 2011. That’s the biggest quarterly jump since fall 2011. The average price in Q3 was $7.78, a 2% drop from the previous year. Ticket prices hit the high point for the year in Q2 when they reached $8.12, up 0.7% from 2011. Read More »
EFM Roundup: Arclight Acquires ‘The Lookalike’, Alba Eyes ‘Weightless’, Fortissimo Has ‘Linsanity’, ‘Young Ones’ Adds Shannon, Hoult, Fanning To Cast; More
Refresh for latest…
Arclight Films has acquired crime-romance project The Lookalike which wrapped in New Orleans in time for Berlin. The cast includes John Corbett, Justin Long (who is also aboard as producer), Scottie Thompson, Jerry O’Connell, Gina Gershon, Gillian Jacobs and Luiz Guzman. The Lookalike is the tale 
of a drug lord’s obsession with a woman and the complications it presents for his gangland buddies who unexpectedly have to find a lookalike. The film is directed by Richard Gray who’s also a producer, and written by Michelle Davis-Gray. Clay Epstein negotiated on behalf of Arclight Films with Gray’s Yellow Brick Films. Arclight is presenting the film to buyers in Berlin.
Myriad Pictures is here pre-selling Weightless, the first directing gig for Oscar-nominated Monster’s Ball screenwriter Milo Addica. Jessica Alba is in negoatiations to star as Maysie Overall, an astronaut who 
causes a fatal motorcycle accident before heading off on her first space mission. When she survives the crash of her space shuttle, her conscience drives her to seek out her own victim’s family and falling for his brother, a cop, in the process. Myriad’s Kirk D’Amico will produce with Steve Norris, alongside the UK’s Apollo Productions and its partners, Pinewood Studios and Double Negative.
Fortissimo Films will sell international (outside North America and China) on Jeremy Lin documentary Linsanity. CAA is repping the U.S. on the movie about the basketball player’s meteoric rise which just premiered in Sundance. Evan Jackson Leong directed and Christopher C. Chen of Endgame Entertainment, Brian Yang of 408 Films and Allen Lu produced.
Jake Paltrow’s Young Ones is getting underway in South Africa with a cast that now includes Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning and Kodi Smit McPhee. Paltrow directs and wrote the story about a young boy 
struggling to protect his family in a world where water has become the most precious and fastest dwindling resource on the planet. Tristan Orpen Lynch produces through Subotica and Michael Auret produces through Spier Films. 6 SALES and The Exchange are handling international rights. UTA is repping North America. Peter Garde, Marina Fuentes Arredonda, Quickfire’s James Atherton and Jan Pace, and Brian O’Shea are exec producers.
Read More »
Three Join Robert Pattinson In David Michôd Thriller ‘The Rover’
Robert Pattinson is in for a dusty South Australian shoot with Animal Kingdom director David Michôd, who began filming the slow-burn thriller last Tuesday. Pattinson, who completed his Edward Cullen vampire duties in November with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II, stars alongside Guy Pearce in The Rover as Reynolds, a member of a gang of thieves who is left behind after a botched job. Pearce plays Eric, who enlists Reynolds to help track down his car when it’s stolen by the thugs. Australian actors Susan Prior (Animal Kingdom), Gillian Jones (Oscar And Lucinda), and David Field (Chopper) join Pattinson, Pearce, Scoot McNairy, and Anthony Hayes in the pic, written by Michôd from a story by Michôd and Zero Dark Thirty actor Joel Edgerton. Liz Watts is producing for Porchlight Films and David Linde for Lava Bear Films. FilmNation took most global rights and will rep the film on U.S. sales with UTA Independent Film Group.
OSCARS: Crafts Categories Get Some Love With Web Series
Related: OSCARS: 85th Academy Award Nominations
The six-part video series Behind The Ballot that launched today on Oscar.com features panels of experts breaking down what Oscar voters look for in contenders for Production Design, Cinematography, Makeup & Hairstyling, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Costume Design. In the seemingly endless chatter about the marquee categories during an awards season that seems to get longer every year, it’s a refreshing initiative that shines a light on the behind-the-scenes folks that form the backbone of the year’s best movies. A new video will debut each week — the lead-off panel is Cinematography, which features a chat with DPs Daryn Okada, Theo van de Sande and Mandy Walker (check it out below). Here’s the full lineup announced today by the Academy: Read More »
UPDATE: Participant Media Joins DreamWorks For WikiLeaks Movie ‘The Fifth Estate’
UPDATE, 10:40 AM: DreamWorks has confirmed my story, and they’ve got a title for the WikiLeaks feature – The Fifth Estate. (At right is also a first photo from the production featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as Assange and Daniel Bruhl as Berg.) I’m putting the press release after the original scoop.
PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE, 9:44 AM: Participant Media is closing a deal to become DreamWorks‘ partner on the untitled feature film that Bill Condon is directing about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The studio has Benedict Cumberbatch playing Assange, with Daniel Bruhl playing Daniel Domscheit-Berg, whose book, Inside WikiLeaks: My Time With Julian Assange At The World’s Most Dangerous Website, was one of two books that were the primary source material for the script written by Josh Singer. Steve Golin and Michael Sugar are producing.
This becomes the fifth film partnership between DreamWorks and Participant, where Jeff Skoll and Jim Berk’s focus is to generate socially relevant subject matter. Those other collaborations are the Best Picture nominee Lincoln, The Help, The Kite Runner, and The Soloist.
Related: Q&A: Participant’s Jeff Skoll And Jim Berk
This gives a clear shot at a production start on the film at a time when there has been big interest in the rogue web entrepreneur Assange. That includes one that Zero Dark Thirty scribe Mark Boal partnered on with Management 360 and financier/producer Megan Ellison that’s based on The Boy Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, an article about Assange in The New York Times Magazine written by the newspaper’s executive editor Bill Keller. Read More »
‘Breaking Dawn Part 2′ Headed To Home Vid March 2
The Summit franchise has already grossed $3.3 billion in global box office culminating with the finale of the series, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, which has taken in $821.8 million of that. The weekend release date will surely allow for strong midnight events surrounding the home entertainment release. From Lionsgate:
LOS ANGELES (January 14, 2013) — The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, the final chapter of The Twilight Saga, will be released on Blu-ray Disc (plus Digital Copy and Ultraviolet), 2-disc DVD (plus Digital Copy and Ultraviolet), Video On Demand and Digital Download on Saturday, March 2, 2013 from Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE company. Both the Blu-ray Disc and 2-disc DVD will feature hours of extensive bonus materials. The weekend street date allows for midnight events at retailers nationwide where eager fans will be lining up in anticipation of the finale’s home entertainment release. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 arrives on Blu-ray Disc and 2-disc DVD for the suggested retail price of $39.99 and $30.98, respectively. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Extended Edition will also be available on March 2nd. Both releases will be available for pre-order on January 14th, 2013.
Razzie Nominations: ‘Twilight’ Finale, Adam Sandler, Tyler Perry
Nominees for the 33rd Annual RAZZIE® Awards, satirizing the Worst Achievements in Film for 2012, include several Repeat Offenders, returning for more pie-in-the-face/light-hearted joshing in the one Tinsel Town trophy derby no one wants to win. Adam Sandler is back, following up his record-setting 2011 RAZZIE® “winner” JACK & JILL with an even more off-putting “family comedy,” THAT’S MY BOY. Focused on a scofflaw dad who fathered (then abandoned) a son with his 7th grade teacher, BOY amassed a total of 8 nominations, including Worst Picture and Worst Actor for Sandler himself – while also grossing about half what JACK & JILL did. But Sandler’s misfire was topped by the final chapter in a franchise which has reliably racked up RAZZIE® nominations year-after-year: TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2 (or as RAZZIE® Wags call it, TWILIGHT: S.B.D. #2).
Comcast And Carmike Steal The Show In An Unusually Strong Year For Media Stocks
The competition was tough — most media stocks not only appreciated in 2012, they handily beat the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 which was up 13.4%. Comcast led the pack of Big Media conglomerates with shares +57.6%, followed by News Corp (+43.0%), CBS (+40.2%), Disney (+32.8%), Time Warner (+32.4%) and Viacom (+16.1%). Sony was the only member of this group to lose ground, falling 37.9% as it struggles to fix its global TV and electronics sales operations. Within the universe of other companies that we track most closely, the biggest winners were Carmike (+118.7%), Lionsgate (+97.1%), AOL (+96.1%), Lin TV (+78.0%), and Sirius XM (+58.8%). The losers: Best Buy (-49.3%), Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (-44.3%), Sony, Rovi (-37.2%), and Facebook (-30.0% since it went public in May.).
OSCARS: Original Score Category To Draw From 104 Movies
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences‘ Music Branch members will vote for no more than five of the 104 eligible movies announced today, with the five receiving the most votes becoming the nominations for final voting for the 85th Oscars. To be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer. Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible, the Academy said today. Here’s the long list in alphabetical order by title: Read More »
Kristen Stewart Confirms ‘Focus’ With Ben Affleck
Twilight Saga star Kristen Stewart confirms that she’ll be joining Ben Affleck in the con-artist comedy Focus. The project starts filming in April, and Stewart plays an inexperienced con artist who hooks up with the more seasoned Affleck. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are directing Focus from their screenplay. Stewart’s been touring to promote The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part II and costars in the adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road that opens in limited release December 21st. Stewart is repped by Gersh.
Lionsgate Shares Close At Highest Level Ever Helped By ‘Twilight Saga’
How long will the joyride continue? Lionsgate’s stock closed today +1.6% to $16.86, exceeding the previous record of $16.68 that it reached on November 9. While that’s the company’s best closing price, it’s still shy of the intra-day high of $17.02 that it hit on November 1. But execs at the independent studio have no reason to complain. Investors remain dazzled by Lionsgate’s string of successes this year including The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, which has generated $227M at domestic box offices in its first two weeks. Lionsgate and Summit, acquired early this year, account for about 12.2% of the domestic box office so far this year, up from 5.8% for the two in the same period in 2011. And the company’s shares have appreciated nearly 111% in 2012.
Lionsgate Enters Output Deal With Russia’s West Company
Lionsgate has formalized its relationship with independent distributor West Company via an output deal for all Lionsgate titles in Russia and other CIS countries. West Company just released The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 to a franchise-best $22M in Russia and the CIS on opening weekend. The film also scored the best non-holiday opening day in the territory’s history and the second-biggest overall opening of all time. The deal adds to agreements Lionsgate has been busy securing in order to create an international distribution network. Other offshore partners include Metropolitan Filmexport in France, StudioCanal in Germany, Nordisk Films in Scandinavia, Aurum Producciones in Spain and Roadshow Pictures in Australia. The Lionsgate-West Company deal does not alter Summit‘s output arrangement with Central Partnership in the CIS.
‘Breaking Dawn Part 2′ Opens To Behemoth $340.9M Global Weekend ($141.3M Dom + $199.6M Intl): Twilight Saga Record Abroad; Holdover ‘Skyfall’ #2 & ‘Lincoln’ #3 Strong
SUNDAY 9 AM, 13TH UPDATE: If you went to your local multiplex this weekend, you know how crowded it was: overall moviegoing was an impressive $245M, or +14% from last year. The main reason is that it’s the Twilight Saga’s swan song (until the inevitable reboot). But the franchise’s $2.5 billion box office may even climb to $3B all in judging by this weekend’s big bite of global theatrical grosses. The frontloaded worldwide total for Summit Entertainment’s Breaking Dawn Part 2 is already $340.9M through through Sunday - or $141.3M 
domestic + $199.6M international. That’s a new Twilight Saga record for an overseas opening. Lionsgate as a studio also has achieved a first-ever milestone at the North American box office with help from Summit – crossing the $1 billion mark ($1.09B). This is the 1st time ever that a studio has opened two films – Breaking Dawn Part 2 and The Hunger Games – to over $125M in the same year. And it certainly explains why Lionsgate was so eager to acquire Summit.
Related: Lionsgate Passes $1B Domestic For First Time
Summit’s official numbers are $71.9M Friday (including $30.4M from Thursday 10 PM/Friday midnight shows), $41.8M Saturday, and an estimated $27.6M Sunday from 4,070 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. Friday’s take was the 6th highest opening day in history right behind the Twilight Saga’s Breaking Dawn Part One‘s $71.6M, and New Moon‘s $72.7M. Breaking Dawn Part 2 had the 8th largest weekend opening overall and the 2nd best opening weekend for the franchise, beating the $138.1M set by Part 1 in 2011. But not New Moon‘s franchise first-weekend record of $142.8M set in 2009. Summit reported that Breaking Dawn Part 2 opened in North America to long lines and sold-out screenings with $30.4M from Thursday 10 PM and Friday midnight late shows in over 3,000 theaters. This was a Twilight Saga best, earning slightly more than Breaking Dawn Part 1‘s $30.25M. (Eclipse made $30M, and New Moon $26.27M.) Needless to say, the Twi-Hards gave this final franchise installment an ‘A’ CinemaScore which may mean more fans go see it multiple times. This was the highst rated and recommended of all the Twilight Saga films with both genders and all ages. Exit polling showed that 50% of the audience was under age 25 and 50% over 25, while 79% were female and 21% male. That’s the highest percentage of males of any Twilight Saga franchise.
Related: ‘Breaking Dawn 2′ Record $199.6M Foreign Opening
Related: Man Arrested After Planning Twilight Theater Shooting
Overseas, Summit announced that, from the 37 international territories that opened as of Thursday, the overseas cumulative gross for Breaking Dawn Part 2 was a very impressive $38.8 million (not including the U.S. and Canada). I don’t expect an international update until Sunday AM. On Friday, 24 additional territories opened, bringing the total to 61 territories along with the U.S. and Canada. Nearly every market has opened at or above the Part 1.
In all, Summit made 5 films beginning in 2008 based on Stephenie Meyer’s series of 4 bestselling vampire romance novels with Melissa Rosenberg penning all the screenplays and Wyck Godfrey & Karen Rosenfelt producing all the films. Catherine Hardwicke directed the first Twilight, followed by Chris Weitz (2009′s New Moon), David Slade (2010′s Eclipse), and Bill Condon (both 2011′s Breaking Dawn Part 1 and 2012′s Part 2). Going into this weekend, the previous 4 films in the Twilight Saga have accounted for $2.5 billion in worldwide box office grosses – which is why Lionsgate purchased Summit. Of course, the lead roles in all the films were played by Kristen Stewart (Bella), Rob Pattinson (Edward), and Taylor Lautner (Jacob). Like the movies or not, there’s no arguing with the fact that this franchise’s phenomenal box office and fan base have been fantastic for the film business.
Related: Skyfall’s $669.2M Global Helps Sony Post Best Ever $4B
In 2nd place domestically, Eon Productions/MGM/Sony Pictures’ James Bond #23 actioner Skyfall looks down 53% from its big opening a week ago for a $41.5M second weekend. It took a bigger hit (-60%) on Friday than the studios
anticipated but bounced back Saturday to bring its North American cume to about $161.3M in just its first 10 days of release. Sony Pictures today announced its biggest movie year ever at the global box office, passing $4 billion for the first time in the studio’s history thanks in large part to Skyfall‘s worldwide cume of $669.2M. That’s bigger than the $599.2M worldwide total taken in by Casino Royale in 2006. This weekendm, Skyfall made $49.6M abroad for an overseas cume of $507.9M. All in worldwide, MGM/Sony expect the Sam Mendes-directed, John Logan-scripted, Daniel Craig-starring pic to make $800M as the biggest 007 movie ever (not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices or IMAX premiums). Skyfall enjoyed an amazing hold on IMAX: $6M for the weekend, which is a -45% drop, and IMAX global cume to day of $39M. Studio execs felt that the reason for Skyfall‘s success (preventing the Bond franchise from jumping the shark after the dreadfall Quantum Of Solace) was because the characters were richer, deeper, and more flawed. Plus, the addition of Javier Bardem - who received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame timed to the film – made Skyfall less white bread so it was a better reflection of today’s world. After 4 years on hiatus, the studios had to win back hardcore 007 fans while expanding the franchise’s appeal to younger moviegoers through MTV, Comedy Central, and ABC Family and ethnic audiences through BET, Telemundo and Univision. The marketing campaign started early with big events, like the high profile Bond integration during the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics featuring Daniel Craig and the Queen. Most of all, the studios promoted Skyfall through the fact that 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of 007 on film – including a TV blitz of ads that aired in early October on the anniversary of the premiere of Dr. No. Global James Bond Day was marked with the launch of Adele’s Skyfall theme song, which execs felt was a major draw – “massive and moody and sexy and perfect”. There also was a Bond-themed charity auction at Christie’s in London, a retrospective of all 22 previous Bond movies at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, a Music Of Bond night at the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, a 50 Years Of Bond Style exhibit at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the premiere of the documentary Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story Of 007. On TV, Daniel Craig hosted SNL while the film was promoted on 60 Minutes. Overseas, the cast toured Moscow, London, Paris, Zurich, Madrid, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Sydney, and Johannesburg, which produced big grosses overseas.
Related: Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ Marches Into Oscar Season
In 3rd place and also very strong is Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-buzzed Lincoln from DreamWorks Studios in association with Participant Media. Biopic expanded its run from 11 to 1,775 venues this second weekend in release. With an ‘A’ CinemaScore from audiences and 92% postive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes which will 
help word of mouth, it earned $21M this weekend for a $22.4M cume. The pic is distributed by Fox internationally and by Disney domestically but had to pay off Paramount first so the film’s budget is said to be $65M. Like most movies from Spielberg, who produced with Kathleen Kennedy, this one is receiving a ton of media attention. The bulk was weighted to this weekend’s expansion including Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln on the cover of Time including a 9-page spread featuring interviews with Day-Lewis, Spielberg, Sally Field, screenwriter Tony Kushner (after John Logan and Paul Webb turned in scripts), and Doris Kearns Goodwin whose non-fiction book Team of Rivals provided the basis for the film. The trailer launched September 13th during Google+ Hangout featuring Spielberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and broadcast on the ABC SuperSign in Times Square. Special conversations with Spielberg and Day-Lewis streamed live on Yahoo! Movies and were simulcast via satellite to theaters in 9 other cities. There also was a huge marketing presence throughout 2012′s election coverage starting with 2-minute exclusive trailer airing immediately after the first presidential debate on ABC, CNN, and CBS. Also let’s not forget the surprise screening at the New York Film Festival last month or the official premiere November 8th on closing night of AFI Fest. Spielberg and the cast are Oscar-touted, as are longtime Spielberg collaborators Janusz Kaminski and John Williams.
Related: Weinstein Finds ‘Silver Linings’ For Another Oscar Race
In other Oscar-touted openings this weekend, The Weinstein Company platformed producer/director David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook. The romantic comedy earned $120K Friday and $181K Saturday from just 16 theaters in 10 cities for a $458K weekend and per screen average of $26,652. Hollywood expressed surprise to me that the Bradley Cooper-Jennifer Lawrence starrer’s PSA wasn’t higher given its awards buzz. My understanding is that this Matthew Quick adaptation of his novel (which was 6 years in the making from the time the book was acquired to the film’s release) will expand into 55 markets for 400 runs this pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday. The hope is that it’ll hang on and get up to 600 plays by Xmas. The plan is to bump it up to 2,000 theaters in January once the various movie awards nominations begin and TWC starts spending on its Academy Award campaign. That wasn’t the release plan first drawn up. TWC intended to go wider with the pic right away, but I’ve learned that Harvey Weinstein felt the need to change course and go slower “because he thinks it’ll be taken more seriously by the Academy if it does more of a traditional roll out,” a source tells me. We’ll see how much gravitas this much lauded laugher can muster.
Related: Anna Karenina‘s Risky New Version
Focus Features also started its Oscar-buzzed Anna Karenina in 16 theaters earning just $88K Friday and $130K Saturday for a $314K weekend and $19,577 per screen average. This lush reteaming of Pride And Prejudice director Joe Wright with star Keira Knightley for Tolstoy’s iconic adultress did not adhere strictly to Academy Award winning screenwriter Tom Stoppard’s rather literal script. That’s causing some blowback among film critics even though the intent was to distinguish this adaptation from the dozen or so previous films. (The pic is so female-centric that Jude Law is barely shown or even recognizable in the TV ads…) Before Thanksgiving Day, Focus expands it into 27 markets and then windens still further November 30th.
You’ll notice that in 9th place is the Indian romance Jab Tak Hai Jaan directed by Yash Chopra who died on October 21st after 50 years of working in Bollywood. It’s written and produced by Aditya Chopra under their production banner Yash Raj Films. The film features Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in lead roles. The background score and soundtrack is by AR Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire). The film released in India during the 6-day Diwali weekend November 13th. It’s extremely rare for Bollywood to make it into North America’s top films – so rare I can’t recall when it last happened.
Here’s the Top 10 based on weekend estimates:
1. Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Summit/Lionsgate) NEW [Runs 4,070] PG13
Friday $71.9M, Saturday $41.8M, Est Sunday $27.6M, Weekend $141.3M
International $199.6M, Worldwide $340.9M
2. Skyfall (Eon/MGM/Sony) Week 2 [Runs 3,505] PG13
Friday $12.3M, Saturday $17.7M, Weekend $41.5M (-53%), Cume $161.3M
3. Lincoln (DreamWorks/Fox/Disney) Week 2 [Runs 1,775] PG13
Friday $6.3M, Saturday $8.5M, Weekend $21.0M, Cume $22.4M
4. Wreck-It Ralph (Disney) Week 3 [Runs 3,622] PG
Friday $4.4M, Saturday $8.5M, Weekend $18.3M, Cume $121.4M
5. Flight (Paramount) Week 3 [Runs 2,612] R
Friday $2.5M, Saturday $3.9M, Weekend $8.6M, Cume $61.3M
6. Argo (Warner Bros) Week 6 [Runs 2,210] R
Friday $1.1M, Saturday $1.9M, Weekend $4.0M, Cume $92.0M
7. Taken 2 (Fox) Week 7 [Runs 2,063] PG13
Friday $650K, Saturday $955K, Weekend $2.1M, Cume $134.6M
8. Pitch Perfect (Universal) Week 8 [Runs 1,122] PG13
Friday $398K, Saturday $567K, Weekend $1.3M, Cume $61.6M
9. Jab Tak Hai Jaan (Yash Raj Films) NEW [Runs 161] NR
Friday $373K, Saturday $536K, Weekend $1.2M
10. Here Comes The Boom (Sony) Week 6 [Runs 1,350] PG
Friday $338K, Saturday $535K, Weekend $1.1M, Cume $41.0M Read More »
Missouri Man Arrested After Planning ‘Twilight’ Theater Shooting
Blaec Lammers was charged with first-degree assault, making a terroristic threat and armed criminal action after he was arrested Thursday. Police in Bolivar, Mo, said Lammers’ mother contacted them Thursday worried that her 20-year-old son had bought weapons similar to ones used in the Aurora, Colo shooting that killed 12 moviegoers in July at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.
According to the Springfield News-Leader, officers detained Lammers, who according to a police statement said he had purchased two assault rifles and 400 rounds of ammo earlier in the week for hunting, then said he had “a lot in common with the people that have been involved in those shootings”, and that he had homicidal thoughts. He eventually said he bought tickets to a Sunday screening of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 with the intent of shooting people in the theater. Read More »
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