‘Hangover III’ With Weak $11M Wed/Thurs Kicks Off Too Crowded Memorial Weekend

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday May 23, 2013 @ 11:48pm PDTTags: Box Office, Epic, Fast & Furious 6, The Hangover Part III

Box Office Hangover Part IIITHURSDAY 11:30 PM, 2ND UPDATE: Warner Bros’ The Hangover Part III co-financed with Legendary Pictures went wide in 3,555 North American theaters today and my sources say it opened to $11 million which includes Wednesday late shows and Thursday midnights. That’s miniscule compared to The Hangover Part II‘s Thursday opening of $31.6M - 3,615 locations on May 26, 2011 - which was the highest-grossing opening day ever for a live-action comedy. (H3‘s also is less than Thursday’s $13.5M debut a week ago for Star Trek Into Darkness.) Plus audiences only gave The Hangover Part III a ‘B’ CinemaScore compared to the ‘A-’ which the sequel scored. This threequel also scored even worse reviews (only 26% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) than H2 (34%) which was considered embarrassingly awful. But it’s still going to make a lot of moolah: worldwide moviegoers really like this mindless crap especially during the summer months. Internationally, the comedy is taking off in 3 markets this weekend – the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The studio tells me early numbers in Australia indicate a strong opening day of A$1.75M from 494 screens, dominating 80% of the Top 5. NZ also opened big, controlling over 70% of the Top 5. Next weekend H3 opens in 32 markets, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil. Here in the U.S., the Hollywood studios now think weekends should start on Wednesday just to wring every last dollar from moviegoers (and ensure I’m even more sleep deprived than usual). The result is a norm of 4 1/2-day holidays. Warner Bros claims H3 got off “to a great start” with $3.1M from Wednesday late shows and Thursday midnights. But that’s still a lot less than the last one.

The real question is how much this Memorial Weekend box office can expand over last year’s to accommodate three new movies tracking very well. Universal’s actioner Fast & Furious 6 opens Friday in 3,658 North American theaters as does Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky Studios’ toon Epic in 3,882 locations. Both have 70+% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Plus three tentpoles remain in the marketplace – Disney/Marvel’s Iron Man 3 in 3,424 theaters, Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s The Great Gatsby in 3,090 locations, and Paramount/Skydance’s Star Trek In Darkness in 3,907 theaters. What I don’t comprehend is why the weekend of May 31st stayed open for so long until Sony Pictures at the last minute moved Will Smith’s After Earth there. Hollywood expected either Warner Bros (who was Johnny-come-lately to Memorial Weekend and then moved from a Friday to Thursday wide release) or Universal (who tagged Memorial Weekend from the beginning) to blink. “But they just stared each other down as they both were driving off a cliff,” one rival studio exec says.

Meanwhile, one Hollywood marketer needs a vacation after positioning the pic with the words ‘epic’ and ‘Hangover Part III‘ in the same sentence: “It’s the epic conclusion to the trilogy of mayhem and bad decisions. Fans have to see how the most popular comedy franchise of all time ends. This time there’s no wedding, no bachelor party – just one simple road trip. What could possibly go wrong?” Not much considering again the brief running time of only 1 hour and 40 minutes for the Todd Phillips-directed repeat antics that return Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and nemesis Ken Jeong to las Vegas where it all began. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I want my 2-hour money’s worth. More Friday.

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TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel ‘Iron Man 3′ + ‘Avengers’

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday May 23, 2013 @ 2:31pm PDTTags: Iron Man 3, Paramount Marvel Disney, The Avengers

Previous: Paramount Makes Money Off ‘Avengers’ Too

ParamountA year ago I was first to toldja about Paramount‘s big payday from The Avengers and Iron Man 3 - the two movies … Read More »

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Hey, Academy, I Was Hiding Under The Rug

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Monday May 20, 2013 @ 7:34pm PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Hawk Koch

An insider tells me that, at the most recent and always secret Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences‘ Board Of Governors meeting, president Hawk Koch ”went around the room asking if ‘anybody is friends with Nikki Finke?’ before beginning”. Gotta say, Hawk made my day.

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Ric Robertson Taking Paid Summer Hiatus From Movie Academy In Financial Crunch

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Monday May 20, 2013 @ 7:01pm PDTTags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Big Deals Film, Dawn Hudson, Ric Robertson

EXCLUSIVE: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences COO Ric Robertson is  taking what’s being internally Ric Robertson paid leave AMPAScalled a “sabbatical” from June through August. I have learned this is an unusual paid leave even though the Academy is complaining about a financial crunch. Normally, its staff are restricted to 30 days of unpaid leave (and then only with approval). “He has worked here for 31 years. Doesn’t he deserve it?” an insider told me. “He didn’t tell us what he’ll do. Maybe work on his golf game.” Robertson’s upcoming sabbatical has prompted AMPAS staff to wonder whether he will be pushed out and/or look for another job. In April 2011, he was passed over for Bruce Davis’ executive directorship and now reports to AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson, who was brought in over him. Insiders tell me that Robertson was primarily responsible for this year’s online voting debacle, which Hudson dumped in his lap when the Academy finally decided to implement Oscar balloting electronically — something Robertson and Davis resisted for prior years. (Grumbles one insider: “Dawn gives him anything messy that she doesn’t want to deal with or anything that means a lot of real work or anything that has a potential for failure, like the electronic voting.”) Read More »

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Deadline Hollywood Lights Up Times Square

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Monday May 20, 2013 @ 2:29pm PDTTags: Deadline Hollywood

Ads for Deadline Hollywood were visible every 10 minutes on the Fox Screen by Sony Monday through Friday during last week’s TV upfronts. The brainstorm of DH business manager/advertising czar Nic Paul, our message flashed on state-of-the-art LED display technology measuring almost 35′ high and 40′ wide on some of the most valuable real estate … Read More »

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‘Epic’ Toon Begins $14.5M Overseas Rollout

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday May 19, 2013 @ 12:01pm PDTTags: Blue Sky Studios Fox, Box Office, Epic toon

It only has 3 of the top international markets in release. And it doesn’t open in North American until May 24th. But Twentieth Century Fox’s Blue … Read More »

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‘Fast & Furious 6′ Breaks Records In UK-Ireland Before Begins Global Rollout May 24

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday May 19, 2013 @ 10:32am PDTTags: Box Office, Fast & Furious 6

SUNDAY UPDATE: Summer 2013 just keeps sizzling here and abroad. The sixth installment of the Universal Pictures franchise is looking to successfully transition from street racing to heist action to terrorist plot and kicked off this weekend … Read More »

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‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $164.5M Global: Lower Domestic But +80% Bigger Overseas; ‘Gatsby’ $132.1M Global, ‘Iron Man 3′ $1B

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday May 19, 2013 @ 9:19am PDTTags: Box Office, J.J. Abrams, Star Trek Into Darkness

Box OfficeSUNDAY 9 AM, 7TH & 8TH UPDATE (WRITETHRU): The iconic space tentpole grossed a lot of money worldwide as May continues to sizzle for Summer 2013. But came nowhere near the $80M weekend and $100M total predicted. Star Trek Into Darkness from Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, and director J.J. Abrams‘ Bad Robot opened with $2M Wednesday from IMAX late shows, $11.5M Thursday, $22M Friday, $27.2M Saturday (for a +25% bump), and an estimated $21.2M Sunday. So that’s a $70.5M weekend from 3,868 theaters and an $84M domestic cume. Exit polling shows that the audience was 64% male/36% female with 27% under age 25/73% age 25 and over. Despite the passage of 4 years and the addition of 3D and IMAX for ticket premiums, 4 1/2 days of Star Trek Into Darkness barely beat 2009′s Star Trek 3-day weekend opening. Rightly or wrongly, fanboys (who are notoriously hard to please) saw the sequel as a ripoff of 1982′s The Wrath Of Khan. I felt the problem was that the latest pic’s marketing assumed people had seen the first installment and therefore didn’t target newbies. The iconic space tentpole in 3D received a coveted “A” CinemaScore to help word of mouth and 87% positive Rotten Tomatoes score setting it up for a strong weekend. The budget was a costly $190M, but the studio was predicting a 3-day weekend domestic estimate of $80M and 4-day estimate of $100M. Abrams’ first grossed $257.7M in North America but only $128M overseas where the franchise has long underperformed. STID was expected to easily beat the North American take so Abrams filmed 30 minutes using high-resolution cameras to increase the IMAX grosses which comprised 16% of domestic. To expand international, Paramount dispatched Abrams’ Bad Robot partner Bryan Burk to share 20 minutes of footage with media and distributors abroad earlier this year. It helped: international told a stronger story. Since sequels usually play well overseas, the total is $80.5 from 40 markets through Sunday, or +80% from the prior film. For comparison, STID is running +33% on a global basis compared to the 2009 reboot. Worldwide total is $164.5M. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto reprise their roles as Kirk and Spock with its ensemble USS Enterprise cast and Benedict Cumberbatch debuts as the movie’s mysterious baddie in this sequel to Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the franchise, which began as a 1960s TV series. Star Trek Into Darkness, based on Gene Roddenberry’s creation, was written by credited scripters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof, who also are producers along with the Bad Robot duo of Abrams and Burk.

1. Star Trek Into Darkness (Skydance/Paramount) Week 1 [3,868 Theaters]
Wed $2.0M, Thurs $11.5M, Fri $22.0M, Sat $27.2M, Est Sun $21.2M
Wkd $70.5M, Dom Cume $84.0M, Intl Cume $80.5M, WW Total $164.9M

2. Iron Man 3 (Marvel/Disney) Week 3 [Runs 4,237]
Friday $9.6M, Saturday $15.8M, Weekend $35.5M,
Dom Cume $337.1M, Intl Cume $736.2M, Worldwide Total $1.073.3B

On May 16, the film crossed the $1B benchmark at the global box office in 23 days and the $300M threshold at the domestic box office in 14 days. Iron Man 3 is now the #9 highest grossing film of all time globally and the #9 highest grossing film of all time internationally. This is the 2nd Marvel Studios film and the 6th Walt Disney Studios release to reach $1B globally, and the 9th Disney release to reach $300M domestic.

3. The Great Gatsby (Warner Bros) Week 2 [Runs 3,550]
Friday $7.6M, Saturday $9.5m, Weekend $23.6M (-53%)

Dom Cume $90.1M, Intl Cume $42.1M, Worldwide Total $132.2M

Baz Luhrmann’s biggest to date here and overseas looks to make $140M domestic all in. “Domestic box office results are excellent,” a Warner Bros exec gushed. “Counter-programming can succeed with great success in a summer of tentpole fanboy event films.” Coming off the heels of a gala opening night event at the Cannes Film Event, The Great Gatsby in 3D released in 49 territories overseas and grossed a big $42.1M (ith 4.6Madmissions from almost 8,400 screens). This was 38% higher than Luhrmann’s Australia in the same markets ($30.4M) and 3x higher than Moulin Rouge ($13.8M). This weekend’s rollout abroad represent 70% of the international box office; major markets yet to launch include Australia (May 30th), Mexico (May 31st), Brazil (June 7th), Japan (June 14th). This weekend’s results included some #1 placements despite stuff competition: Russia $6.2M (Rbl 194M), UK $6.1M (£4.0M), France $4.7M (€3.6M), Korea $4.3M (KRW 4.75B), Italy $3.8M (€2.9M), Germany $3.7M (€2.8M), Spain $2.2M (€1.7M), Taiwan $779K (NT$23.9M).

Also, Universal’s May 24th domestic opener Fast & Furious 6 kicked off its worldwide release in the UK and Ireland this weekend with a record breaking #1 opening. The film grossed $13.8M (£9M) at 460 dates scoring Universal’s biggest 3-day opening weekend in that territory (smashing the previous record set by Les Miserables of $13.1M). It is the biggest opening weekend in the UK for the franchise and the highest opening weekend for Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. F&F6 is now the 2nd biggest opening weekend of 2013 there behind IM3‘s $17.6M.

Read More »

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Magnolia Manager Vs UTA, Round Two

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 2:50pm PDTTags: Joel Kinnaman, Magnolia Entertainment, Noomi Rapace, UTA

Previous: Magnolia Client Rachel McAdams Fires UTA

UPDATE: Magnolia Entertainment manager Shelley Browning’s inexplicable and one-sided battle against UTA co-owner Tracey Jacobs rages on. Last month, Browning was behind Rachel McAdams … Read More »

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‘The Great Gatsby’ Starts With $5.4M International As Baz Luhrmann’s Biggest Opening

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 12:51pm PDTTags: Baz Luhrmann, Cannes Film Festival, International Box Office, The Great Gatsby

Leonardo DiCaprioHelped by a full-frills Cannes film festival gala event, The Great Gatsby opened in 27 markets on Thursday including United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Russia and Korea. Together with the 2nd day figures for the French-speaking markets, … Read More »

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Bruce Rosenblum Bids Classy Goodbye

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 9:43am PDTTags: Bruce Rosenblum, Warner Bros Television Group

Related:
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros TV Shake-Up – Bruce Rosenblum Settled OutTOLDJA! Warner Bros Confirms Bruce Rosenblum Exit

This was sent to Warner Bros Television Group employees today:

Dear Warner Bros. Television Group Colleagues,

It is with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that, following several months of uncertainty, my 26-year run at Warner Bros. has come to an end.

I have had the pleasure of working alongside the most talented, creative and innovative people in our business … from our executives and staff to the amazing group of creative talent both in front of and behind the cameras. Each of your contributions helped Warner Bros. set the standard for excellence in the television industry. The magnitude of what you have accomplished has been and continues to be a truly meaningful contribution to Warner Bros.’ overall success and a matter of great pride to myself.

Read More »

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UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ Box Office Crosses $1B Global And $300M Domestic

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 9:18am PDTTags: Box Office, Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

UPDATE, FRIDAY AM: Disney confirmed today that last night Iron Man 3 crossed $1B at the worldwide box office and $300M at the domestic box office. Iron Man 3The global milestone came on the 23rd day of release around the world, making it the second Marvel Studios film (after The Avengers, which crossed the mark in 19 days) and sixth Disney pic (Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Alice In Wonderland, Toy Story 3, and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Avengers) to cross that threshold. The domestic mark comes on the 14th day of release and is the ninth studio pic to reach that peak. To date, the pic has grossed $1.008B globally — $698.9M international and $301.9M domestic. It is the 16th highest-grossing film of all-time globally and 11th all-time internationally.

PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE, WEDNESDAY PM: More records breaking for Summer 2013 as may continues to sizzle at the global box office. The Disney/Marvel threequel has only been in theaters for 23 days around the world but already Iron Man 3 is set to cross the $1B mark on Thursday. Its latest cumes are $294.7M domestic and $685.6M international through May 14. That makes it the 16th biggest film ever amid predictions it will finish as the 5th highest grossing film of all time when all theatrical grosses are in. Read More »

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Anyone Care Who Won ‘American Idol’?

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 7:14pm PDTTags: American Idol, American Idol 12th season, Candice Glover, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj

Obviously the winner of American Idol‘s 12th season was going to be a woman since this is the first time in many seasons that the two finalists are female. Other than that, I don’t give a shit who takes the prize because, seriously, are these victors (who always sound like cats being strangled) ever heard from again? Not really, except maybe Kelly Clarkson or even Carrie Underwood. This season was memorable only because of the bickering between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey, and the lousy ratings down about 25% compared to last season. That said, do not read further if you want to be surprised… SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!  Read More »

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‘Great Gatsby’ Upsets ‘Iron Man 3′ Box Office

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 8:58am PDTTags: Box Office, Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby

OK, here’s some box office hilarity for you. Even if it’s only for one night, an adaptation of a 90-year-old novel toppled fanboy favorite Iron Man 3 as the #1 film in America Wednesday. Baz Lurhmann’s … Read More »

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Robin Williams At CBS Upfront: Strip Clubs, Cocaine Mounds, Ass Sniffing

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 2:48pm PDTTags: CBS, Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones, Upfronts

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler introduced him as “the biggest get of the season, actually many seasons” and “one of the defining comedy voices of our time”. Then Robin Williams semi-shocked advertisers with topics not usually … Read More »

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Joss Whedon At ABC Upfront Brings Longer Trailer For ‘Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 3:45pm PDTTags: ABC, Joss Whedon, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Upfronts

“Last spring, Bob Iger sent us some bonus footage from The Avengers, with a simple question, ‘Is there a show here?’” said … Read More »

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Late Night At NBC Upfronts: Jay Leno To “Pass The Baton” To Jimmy Fallon During Winter Olympics; Seth Meyers To Start Feb. 24

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 10:39am PDTTags: Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, NBC Late Night, Seth Meyers, SNL, Tonight Show

BREAKING…NBC‘s Upfront presentation today officially announced that Jay Leno will end his 22-year run on The Tonight Show during the week leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympics which start February 6th. And that Jimmy Fallon will … Read More »

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EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros TV Shake-Up – Top Exec Bruce Rosenblum Settled Out And Peter Roth Signed To Big Long-Term Deal; All The Behind-The-Scenes Drama & Detail

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday May 12, 2013 @ 2:06pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Bruce Rosenblum, Jeff Bewkes, Kevin Tsujihara, Peter Roth, Time Warner, Warner Bros Television Group, Warner Brother Television

UPDATE SUNDAY 2 PM: Warner Bros Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara is finally confirming internally my news that Warner Bros Television Group Bruce Rosenblum is exiting. This, after Tsujihara for months and even in recent weeks has told almost everyone there that Rosenblum was staying.

BREAKING … SATURDAY 10 PM… EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood always fires people in success, or so the saying goes. I’ve learned that Warner Bros TV Bruce Rosenblum Outthe announcement by Warner Bros Entertainment CEO (and soon-to-be-chairman) Kevin Tsujihara is planned for 7 to 14 days after next week’s TV upfront presentations. Despite Tsujihara’s claims for months that he hadn’t made up his mind what to do about the brilliant but sharp-elbowed Bruce Rosenblum, I can tell you Tsujihara declared from Day Bruce Rosenblum Warner Bros TVOne of his new job that “Bruce is an unnecessary layer of management”. This, even though Rosenblum’s Warner Bros Television Group consistently contributes half of Warner Bros Entertainment’s profits year after year. I’m told that Rosenblum won’t be replaced as President of the Warner Bros Television Group now that he’s quietly settled out his contract which expires in August. (Tsujihara never made a move to negotiate a new one for him.) Some already expect Rosenblum not to turn up at next week’s upfronts. Instead Bruce is sitting on a fat severance package in recognition of his more than two outstanding decades at Warner Bros and for keeping his mouth shut during the humiliation of losing the WB CEO job and then getting kicked to the curb on top of that. Many in Hollywood thought Tsujihara might keep Rosenblum in place rather than bust up what is so obviously a winning formula atop the TV group. Instead Tsujihara proved that, just like his Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes, he is more obsessed by politics and personality than profit. (“It would have been pretty awkward, quite frankly,” Tsujihara told the TV community about keeping Rosenblum on.)

Warner Bros Television President Peter Roth has just been signed to a new long-term deal and will report to Tsujihara for the first time. Roth reps the increasing power of content and the executives directly responsible for its creation. ”As I look at the key people that exist, Peter comes at the top of the list. He’s at the top of the game right now creatively,” Tsujihara enthused privately on Day One of his new job. But Rosenblum’s roles will be assumed by a new WBTV leadership mix including Warner Bros TV Group EVP Craig Hunegs, Warner Bros International Distribution President Jeffrey Schlesinger, and Warner Bros Television EVP Brett Paul. (“Peter is the big teddy bear but Brent was sent in to beat you up,” notes one exec.) These guys are some of what Bewkes was referring to back on January 28th when he talked about the “very strong benches of people beneath”. All will become the TV group’s new sharp-elbowed negotiators who won’t rub people the wrong way like Rosenblum did.

It’s been a professional and emotional roller-coaster for Rosenblum ever since he expected the top job and didn’t get it. Read More »

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‘The Great Gatsby’ Hip-Hops To Big $52M; But ‘Iron Man 3′ Still Tops; ‘Peeples’ Flops

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday May 11, 2013 @ 10:00pm PDTTags: Box Office, Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Warner Bros

Great Gatsby Box OfficeSATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM, 4TH UPDATE: There’s more good news at the box office for the start of Summer 2013. Domestic grosses for Warner Bros‘ The Great Gatsby (3,035 theaters) just keep going strong. Big online seller Fandango tells me this female-driven film is heading into Mother’s Day and ticket sales show no signs of flagging across the country from city to heartland. Despite audiences giving it a ‘B’ CinemaScore. In addition to moviegoers showing up dressed in 1930s period costumes, exhibitors are reporting some audiences spontaneously bursting into applause when Leonardo first appears on screen. (When’s the last time that happened?) That’s prompted some Hollywood execs to speculate this is the original Titanic crowd. Warner Bros hopes the Baz Luhrmann-directed, DiCaprio starrer ”perfectly counter-programs” all the May action movies. My sources’ latest estimates for the 3D tentpole are $19.4M for Thursday/Friday, and -6% for $18M Saturday. Hollywood is expecting an overperforming $52M first weekend for the romantic drama co-financed by Village Roadshow and based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic novel. The #1 film is still Disney/Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (which has the biggest theater count at 4,253) with $19.7M Friday (-72% from last Friday’s huge opening) and a huge $33M Saturday for $75M this weekend. (Last year The Avengers made an incredible $103M in its second weekend…) Before Friday, IM3 grossed $794M — international cume $581.6M and domestic $212.4M. Now the North American cume should be $287.4M through Sunday. Yowza! The only other major newcomer is Lionsgate’s Peeples (2,031 theaters), a ‘Tyler Perry Presents’ comedy not written or directed by him but by Tina Gordon Chism. It received a ‘B-’ CinemaScore and weak grosses even for a tiny budget of $15M: $1.1M Friday and $1.8M Saturday for a $4.2M weekend.

Gatsby‘s success might all seem surprising considering the film’s uneven reviews. Then again these critics — the vast majority white middle-aged men — are complaining about Luhrmann’s supposed “sacrilege” in adding hip-hop to Gatsby which of course is set in the decade dubbed “The Jazz Age”. Way to make themselves look old and out of touch. (Are these the same purists who piled on when Bob Dylan went electric? I found the music a fresh touch.) While Leo’s and Tobey Maguire’s performances are praised, Carey Mulligan’s is not. Then again there were misgivings in the media from the day the extravagant Baz project was first announced – the 4th attempt to film the novel after Warner Baxter starred in 1926, Alan Ladd in 1949, and Robert Redford in 1974. But tracking told a different story: it was strong from the day Lurhmann’s version co-scripted with Craig Pearce came on — especially heavy with females but also registering decently with men. The Great Gatsby kept improving its numbers as the full frills and very effective marketing campaign took hold. Even without P&A, the movie’s cost reportedly ballooned up to $200M. But Warner Bros claims that figure is $160M, which was brought down to $105M because of ”tons of rebates” from Luhrmann’s Australia filming location. That was then split 50-50 between the studio and co-financier Village Roadshow. (Initially the budget was $80M when Sony passed, and then $120M when Warner Bros and Village Roadshow first came aboard.) Read More »

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