Weekend Box Office: September 21-23

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  End of Watch - $13.1 million

2.  House at the End of the Street - $12.2 million

3.  Trouble With the Curve - $12.1 million

4.  Finding Nemo 3D - $9.6 million

5.  Resident Evil: Retribution - $6.7 million

6.  Dredd - $6.2 million

7.  The Master - $4.3 million

8.  The Possession - $2.6 million

9.  ParaNorman - $2.3 million

10.  Lawless - $2.2 million

Finally!  And without much to really report.  This was one of those weekends where a bunch of new movies came out...but no one really wanted to see any of them.  When your number one movie only earns $13.1 million, that's a slow weekend.  But that first place prize goes to End of Watch, which at least showed somewhat of a pulse this weekend. 

Just behind that was House at the End of the Street, starring Jennifer Lawrence, which was kept from the critics until last minute, and apparently for good reason.  That opened with $12.2 million, which isn't great, and will likely be forgotten by the time the first photo from Catching Fire (which started filming earlier this month) surfaces sometime soon.

Clint Eastwood's Trouble With the Curve struggled to find an audience as well, earning only $12.1 million.  And no, the lackluster performance had nothing to do with Clint's performance with a chair at last month's Republican National Convention.  He's still Clint Eastwood, for god's sake.  The movie itself just never generated enough interest to be much of a draw, and with a pretty exciting pennant race playing out in the actual MLB, baseball fans were most likely home watching that.

Finding Nemo 3D isn't really gaining much traction in the 3D re-release genre, having only earned $30.2 million since opening last weekend.  Last week's champ, Resident Evil: Retribution, crashed and burned in its second weekend, dropping nearly 70% to earn just $6.7 million.  And that's with 3D and IMAX.  Ouch.

The news was even worse for Dredd, which opened with just a barely noticible $6.2 million.  Again, ouch.

There was some good news this weekend, as The Master expanded to 788 screens and earned $4.3 million.  Not sure how it will do as it expands, as the film's non-narrative storytelling will likely impact word-of-mouth going forward.

Next weekend, theaters will get their Halloween-thing going on, as the animated comedy Hotel Transylvania opens in theaters.  Joining that will be the Bruce Willis/Joseph Gordon-Levitt sci-fi thriller Looper, the school drama Won't Back Down, and the teen musical-ish comedy Pitch Perfect.

Something From "The Wolverine" is Coming on Monday

 

No, we don't know what it is, either.  But savvy Twitter followers of The Wolverine director James Mangold caught this hint of things to come when this was posted late yesterday: 

James Mangold‏@mang0ld

Stay tuned Monday, friends. For fans of THE WOLVERINE... Something wicked this way comes.

Adding to the suspense was Marvel's Ryan Penagos, who visited the set of The Wolverine in Australia over the summer, who tweeted this:

Ryan Penagos@AgentM

Just got word that I have something WAY cool to share on Monday morning. #TheWolverine #seeeekrits #IteasebecauseIlove

So, there you have it.  Is it a teaser poster?  Trailer?  Picture?  Wolverine cover of "Call Me Maybe"? (hey, Batman did one)  We have no idea.  But be on the lookout on Monday for what appears to be our first official look at The Wolverine, which opens in theaters next July. 

We'll update as soon as we know more...

Les Miserables Behind-the-Scenes Feature

Regal Cinemas unveiled a behind-the-scenes first look of Les Miserables on the film's official Facebook page today, and honestly, speaking as a huge fan of the original stage musical...it was hard not to shriek like a tween at a Justin Beiber concert over just how awesome the new footage is.  Wow.

The feature showcases how the singing for the musical was performed live on the set while they were shooting, instead of lip-synching to a pre-recorded track, which is how most movie musicals are done.  While it seems like a tricky feat to pull off - not to mention how taxing multiple takes had to be on actors' voices - it looks incredible.  Les Mis isn't a song-and-dance musical, so the live singing, from what we've seen so far, definitely brings a realness that the story needs to work on film.   

Here's the behind-the-scenes feature.  Fans will recognize the songs "Valjean's Soliloquy", "On My Own", "In My Life", and "A Heart Full of Love", as well as some memorable moments (a little fall of rain, anyone?) and characters from the show:

Again...wow.  Just those few seconds of Samantha Barks singing "On My Own" made me even more grateful that the whole Taylor Swift casting rumor never materialized.  Barks is actually the only member of the main Les Mis movie cast who previously played her role in the stage version.  Anne Hathaway's role of Fantine was once played by Hathaway's mother in the US national tour.  Hathaway reportedly wore her mom's cast jacket to the set on the first day of filming.

There was some griping on the interwebs that we didn't get to hear any of Russell Crowe's singing in the feature, suggesting that his 'possibly inferior' vocals were being hidden away.  I say settle down.  Keep in mind, we also didn't hear anything from Aaron Tveit - a Broadway veteran with a fantastic voice - who's playing Enjolras, nor did we hear anything from Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thernardiers, who we've heard sing together in Sweeney Todd.  A second trailer is on the horizon, and I'm sure we'll hear from them soon enough, and they will sound wonderful.

Les Miserables is opening in theaters on Christmas Day.

Weekend Box Office: September 14-16

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Resident Evil: Retribution - $21.1 millon

2.  Finding Nemo 3D - $17.5 million

3.  The Possession - $5.8 million

4.  Lawless - $4.2 million

5.  ParaNorman - $3.039 million

6.  The Expendables 2 - $3.030 million

7.  The Words - $2.880 million

8.  The Bourne Legacy - $2.875 million

9.  The Odd Life of Timothy Green - $2.5 million

10.  The Campaign - $2.4 million

The fifth Resident Evil film easily took the top spot this weekend with an estimated $21.1 million.  That's a smaller opening than the previous film, Resident Evil: Afterlife, which opened with $26.7 million in 2010, and the first of the sequels not to earn more than the movie before it, but not a bad start considering it's, well...the fifth movie in a series based on a video game.  It also was the first major release to take over the IMAX screens since The Dark Knight Rises opened in July.  As a result, Batman dropped out of the top ten for the first time, but it still earned another $2.1 million over the weekend to bring its domestic total to $441 million.

It looks like the 'bringing-classics-back-to-theaters-in-3D' trend is starting to fade a bit, as Finding Nemo 3D earned $17.5 million.  Not a bad start, but it's the lowest opening of the Disney 3D re-releases so far (although not by much: Beauty and the Beast 3D opened with $17.8 million a few months back).  Obviously nothing is going to hurt Nemo, seeing as it's still Pixar's second-highest grossing film behind Toy Story 3 and is sure to be a popular holiday gift when it's released on blu-ray in December, but none of the recent 3D re-releases have been able to come close to The Lion King's $30.2 million opening last year.

In extremely limited release - 5 theaters - Oscar hopeful The Master did major business this weekend, earning an estimated $730,000.  Just to compare:  The Master's per-screen average this weekend was $146,000, while Resident Evil's was $7000. 

It's also worthy to note that The Possession has been holding on very well.  Unlike most horror films, which have one good weekend and die, The Possession held the top spot for the weeks in a row (granted, without much competition), and only dropped 38% this weekend when it fell to third place.  That's not bad.

There are bunch of new releases coming next weekend, including the 'we needed this?' remake Dredd 3D, Jennifer Lawrence taking a break from fighting for District 12 in The House at the End of the Street, Jake Gyllenhaal's cop drama End of Watch, Clint Eastwood's Trouble With the Curve, and festival favorite The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Basically, something for everyone.

"ET" Flies Back Into Theaters on October 3

As if it wasn't cool enough to have Raiders of the Lost Ark back in theaters this week, we'll be getting another Steven Spielberg classic back on the big screen when Fathom Events presents E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, playing in select theaters on October 3. 

Like Raiders, which gets a box-set blu-ray release on September 18, E.T. will be coming out on blu-ray on October 9, so the re-release is to coincide with that.  But Fathom does have some extra goodies planned for their screenings, which will include an introduction by Turner Classic Movies' Ben Mankiewicz with behind-the-scenes extra features and an interview with Drew Barrymore, who played little sister Gertie in the film. 

This is a one-night only event, although there will be some matinee showings too, so the kids can see E.T. on the big screen for the first time (but on a school day? whose idea was that?!).  I've seen E.T. in theaters five times - three in 1982 and twice during the 2002 re-release - and it's well worth it.

You can order tickets here, and don't forget to pick up the blu-ray edition on October 9:

Eddie Redmayne Shows Off the 'Les Mis' Barricade

"On the tomb of Lamarque shall a barricade rise!"

Last week, the official Twitter page for Les Miserables promised a behind-the-scenes sneak peak as a thank you for helping them reach 24,601 followers.  24601, of course, is best known as protagonist Jean Valjean's prison number...and somehow I'm guessing Victor Hugo never envisioned that number being used for stuff like this when he wrote the original novel in 1862.  But hey, we got a video out of it, so it's all good. 

In the clip, a bloodied Eddie Redmayne, who plays student revolutionary Marius, explains some of the carnage about to happen on the barricade between his fellow students and the French army during their rebellion in the streets of Paris.  If you're unsure how that turns out, check out Hugh Jackman (in his Jean Valjean costume) showing one of the students how to properly take bullet in the lower part of the screen.  Yikes!

Keep in mind that amidst all of this talk of gunfire and swordfights, this is a musical.  And a really good one, too.  In the stage version, the barricade is basically two giant setpieces that mechanically come together, so it's pretty cool to see the barricade in an actual street setting like it was in the original novel.

Les Miserables opens in theaters on December 14. 

Weekend Box Office: September 7-9

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Possession - $9.5 million

2.  Lawless - $6 million

3.  The Words - $5 million

4.  The Expendables 2 - $4.7 million

5.  The Bourne Legacy - $4 million

6.  ParaNorman - $3.8 million

7.  The Odd Life of Timothy Green - $3.6 million

8.  The Campaign - $3.5 million

9.  The Dark Knight Rises - $3.285 million

10.  2016 Obama's America - $3.281 million

It was a box-office weekend that only an Oogielove could appreciate.  The Possession took the top spot for the second weekend in a row, but earned just $9.5 million, which means no one was really going to the movies this weekend.  Of the new releases, The Words fared best, although that only made an estimated $5 million and just barely beat Expendables 2, which is in its 4th weekend (that earned $4.7 million).

The weekend's other new wide release fell well outside the top ten, as The Cold Light of Day - starring next year's Man of Steel Henry Cavill - stumbled with just $1.8 million, landing it in 13th place.  Ouch.

One movie that is doing quite well is 2016 Obama's America, whose $26 million makes it the second-highest grossing political documentary behind Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, which earned $119 million in 2004. 

And if anyone is still tracking those Oogieloves, that historic bomb still hasn't cracked the $1 million mark since losing most of its screens this weekend.  Its current domestic total stands at $985,196.

The one movie absolutely worth heading out to see this weekend was the re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, which earned $1.7 million from 267 IMAX locations.  I saw that one yesterday - honestly, if they made more movies like Raiders, we'd have fewer depressing weekends like this one.  That movie's 31 years old and hasn't lost a thing.

Next weekend looks bit livelier...or undead, considering it's the latest Resident Evil film taking over the multiplex.  Another big re-release is headed our way as well, with Finding Nemo returning to theaters in glorious 3D.  For those ready to start their Oscar watch, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master also opens next weekend.  So next week should have some better news from the box office. 

Miami News Station Thinks Bullying Star Wars Fans Is Fun

If you thought snarky, obnoxious comments about sci-fi fans were limited to message boards, comments sections, and schoolyard bullies, then Miami ABC affiliate WPLG Local 10 went out of its way to blow that theory out of the water when they posted an unbelievably nasty slideshow mocking cosplayers at the recent Star Wars Celebration VI, which has held in Orlando a few weeks ago. 

They ultimately did take the slideshow down (although re-edited versions have reappeared throughout the day), but not before various screencaps appeared around the blogosphere, and what Local 10 did was really damn vicious - you can see the whole collection towards the bottom of this page, although beware of the comments there.  Using photos of costumed fans at the convention, Local 10 added comments like:

"Dateless men as far as the eye can see."

"Being a Star Wars geek pretty much means you'll get no lovin'...being a Star Wars geek in those pajamas guarantees that."

"A reproduction of their prom picture...no girls."

"It's sad when the most "normal" person in this picture is still wearing a lightsaber on her belt."

"Here's a shocker...it's dudes taking pics of fake Princess Leias.  Like they've never seen a woman before.  Well, hmmm..."

"Poor kids...they were never given a chance.  Geekdom is in their genes."

"OMG, my Dungeons & Dragons meeting is scheduled at the same time as tonight's Love Your Lightsaber dance!"

There were also jabs at overweight fans, women, and some unnecessary swipes at Celebration guests Mark Hamill and Jake Lloyd.  Really obnoxious stuff. 

To be clear, and speaking as Star Wars fan who attended the very first Star Wars Celebration (the one in Denver where it rained all weekend), we are not devoid of a sense of humor.  We love poking fun at our geekdom.  Hell, when Triumph the Insult Comic Dog does it, it's practically an honor.  But for a news organization to create a slideshow for the purpose of mocking someone's children, or their weight, or to presume that they're some kind of nerd loser isn't funny. 

On top of that, a few of the people in those photos were members of the 501st Legion.  These are the costumed characters who last year helped raise $12 million for charities worldwide. 

By the way, those costumes are damn cool.  I haven't bothered with a Star Wars costume since Halloween 1979 (when I was 5), but I've seen the 501st in action, as well as other Star Wars cosplayers, and I'm amazed at the detail that goes into those costumes.

I'm actually sorry that I missed Celebration VI this year.  Not only could I have gone to a Star Wars convention and seen Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher (Luke and Leia!!), but since it was in Orlando, it was right near Disney World and Universal Studios.  And Local 10 is stunned that so many families attended this thing?

What also made this incident infuriating was Local 10's response.  After complaints poured in (which included the mom of "Star Wars Katie", the little girl bullied by her classmates for being a Star Wars fan, and Ashley Eckstein, who voices Ahsoka Tano on Clone Wars), the station finally took down the slideshow, but then offered a rather pitiful 'apology' on their Facebook page:

“GOOD NEWS (or BAD NEWS… depending on where you sided). The infamous STAR WARS slideshow has been taken down.

For those offended (and let us know), sorry.

For those who enjoyed it (and let us know), sorry.

Remember… the force will be with you… always.”

That apology has since been taken down (although you can see a screenshot of it here) when fans called it out for the half-assed apology it was.  While it was up, the station was actually deleting comments from fans who complained.  Now their Facebook page is getting bombarded by angry Star Wars fans, as well as their Twitter page.  They've also tried to justify it by saying the author of the slideshow was a big Star Wars fan who attended Celebration VI, but sorry...if he was really a fan, he should sure as hell know what this was all about in one of the photos he mocked, because it was actually quite hilarious.

Local 10...is it that hard to show some professionalism and just say you're sorry?  To acknowledge that it was a really crappy thing to do?  I've been a Star Wars geek for most of my life and as much as I love it, I know what it's like to be made fun of for it, and it hurts.  I don't know any of these people in these pictures you mocked, but as proud geeks we certainly get the fandom, and it's like you insulted all of us, and nobody deserved that. 

If Local 10 is really unclear as to what cyberbullying is, they might want to read this article about it.  After all, it's on their own website.

Holiday Weekend Box Office: August 31 - September 3

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Possession - $21.3 million

2.  Lawless - $13 million

3.  The Expendables 2 - $11.2 million

4.  The Bourne Legacy - $9.3 million

5.  ParaNorman - $8.8 million

6.  The Odd Life of Timothy Green - $8.5 million

7.  The Dark Knight Rises - $7.9 million

8.  2016 Obama's America - $7.08 million

9.  The Campaign - $7.02 million

10.  Hope Springs - $6 million

While it may have been a fairly quiet weekend at the box office during this last weekend of the summer, it didn't go without a few records being broken.  After kicking off the summer back in May with a staggering $207 million opening weekend, Marvel's The Avengers returned to theaters this weekend, and although it didn't manage to crack the top ten, the $2.4 million it earned this weekend was enough to push it past $1.5 billion worldwide.  That's a nice way to wrap things up in theaters before the DVD arrives in stores later this month.

Another reason for superhero fans to smile:  The Dark Knight Rises officially made it past the $1 billion mark worldwide this weekend.  Its domestic total currently stands at $433 million.  That's damn good, especially considering that it doesn't have the benefit of a 3D boost, and the awful events that unfolded in Aurora that it's had to carry since opening night.  Not to mention it's also a damn good film.

The final record broken this weekend might go down as a notorious one:  The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, an utterly bizarre kids' film intended to be a sort of 'get-up-and-dance' interactive experience starring some terrifying giant puppets, totally bombed this weekend, earning just $601,000 over the four-day weekend, putting it in 22nd place on the box office list, and officially the worst opening weekend of all time.  The movie was averaging about $278 per theater over the entire weekend, which means that any brave souls who did check this thing out certainly had plenty of empty seats to choose from.  Likely to be hitting home video by next weekend, this thing will either find a second life as entertainment for toddlers, or entertainment for stoners.  Probably both.

New releases that fared better this weekend (watching paint dry fared better than Oogieloves, it would seem) was horror film The Possession, which took the top spot with a respectable $21.3 million.  The crime-thriller Lawless did just all right with $13 million.  Expendables 2 is still playing well, earning $11.2 million, and Bourne Legacy looks likely to crack the $100 million mark, earning $9.3 million and bring its domestic total to $98.3 million.

Audiences liked their politics in documentary and comedy form this weekend, as 2016 Obama's America ran neck-and-neck with The Campaign, earning $7.08 and $7.02 million respectively.

Next weekend is looking somewhat quiet, with The Cold Light of Day, The Words, and The Inbetweeners opening in theaters.  Oh, and there's this little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark starting a limited IMAX run on Friday.  That one sounds like a keeper.

Weekend Box Office: August 24 - 26

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Expendables 2 - $13.4 million

2.  The Bourne Legacy - $9.3 million

3.  ParaNorman - $8.6 million

4.  The Campaign - $7.4 million

5.  The Dark Knight Rises - $7.2 million

6.  The Odd Life of Timothy Green - $7.1 million

7.  2016 Obama's America - $6.5 million

8.  Premium Rush - $6 million

9.  Hope Springs - $5.7 million

10.  Hit & Run - $4.5 million

Oh boy, you know summer movie season is definitely winding down when finishing in eighth place is the best a new release can do.  That's just where Premium Rush, the bicycle-messenger thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt ended up this weekend with just $6 million...and again, that was the most successful of this weekend's new releases.  Hit & Run just barely made it into the top ten with just $4.5 million, and The Apparition, which earned a whopping 3% score on Rotten Tomatoes, completely missed the top ten, landing in 12th place with $2.8 million.

Yikes.  Anyway, The Expendables 2 easily held on to the top spot for a second weekend, dropping only 53% to earn $13.4 million.  It's not doing as well as the original film, but it's doing decently.  Pretty much the same can be said for The Bourne Legacy, which stayed in second place with $9.3 million.  That one also won't be catching up to any of its predecessors, at this point it will be lucky if it cracks $100 million domestically.

The biggest success story of the weekend was the documentary 2016 Obama's America, which went into wider release just in time for this week's Republican National Convention in Tampa.  The film earned $6.5 million in only 1091 theaters, putting it in Michael Moore/Al Gore territory as the sixth-highest political documentary of all time.

Meanwhile, another round of applause should go to The Dark Knight Rises, which made its way back into the Top 5 with $7.2 million (still having control of most of the IMAX screens certainly helps here) and bringing its domestic total to $422 million.  Worldwide, the Batman finale has earned $941 million and looks likely to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide.

Even with idiotic parents putting their children's sobbing reactions to the ending on YouTube (I won't link it, go look for it if you're curious), The Odd Life of Timothy Green managed to outdo this weekend's new releases with $7.1 million.  More families wisely opted instead for the animated ParaNorman, which took third place with $8.6 million. 

Next weekend really looks like the end of summer, with the gangster-movie-that-isn't-Gangster-Squad movie Lawless opening in theaters, another dumped-in-theaters horror film, The Possession, and whatever the hell the The Oogieloves are.  Apparently they're having a Big Balloon Adventure.

Enjoy the last week of the summer, everyone!