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2004 | 2003 | 2002

5 articles from 2004

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Review Board Finds 'Neverland' the Best

2 December 2004 | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

The annual movie awards season dawned Wednesday as the National Board of Review, which traditionally hands out the year's first honors, named Finding Neverland, the biography of Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie, the best film of the year. Jamie Foxx, who starred in another biopic -- about singer Ray Charles -- was voted best actor for Ray, and Annette Bening, best actress for her performance in Istvan Szabo's Being Julia. Michael Mann was named best director for Collateral. The stars of Closer -- Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman -- received an award for "ensemble acting." The film opens Friday. »

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Movie Reviews: 'Finding Neverland'

19 November 2004 | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

While most critics find much to praise about Finding Neverland, starring Johnny Depp as J.M. Barrie, the playwright who created Peter Pan, several who are familiar with the actual course of Barrie's life are suggesting that the movie may be almost as fictional as anything Barrie himself ever wrote. The movie's plot, writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times, "hews closer to Disney than Barrie." Jami Bernard in the New York Daily News adds: "The movie is so determined to wring laughter and tears -- and it succeeds, there's no question -- that it makes of Barrie's life a fiction on the order of flying children and pirates with hooks for hands." Most of the critics who have not boned up on Barrie's true-life story heap undiluted admiration on it. Philip Wuntch in the Dallas Morning News writes,"Despite opportunities to turn soft and clammy, the film is moving but not maudlin, whimsical but not cloying. Originally planned as a fall release, it arrives as one of the holiday season's most irresistible gifts." Most critics regard Depp's performance as Oscar-worthy. Michael Wilmington in the Chicago Tribune suggests that there are few other actors who "can play a childman [like Barrie] without seeming effete or precious. ... The absolute ease and empathy with which he plays this part guide us smoothly into the tale's emotional thickets." Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times writes that, for Depp, the movie "is the latest in an extraordinary series of performances. ... It is commonplace for actors to play widely differing roles, but Depp never makes it feel like a reach; all of these notes seem well within his range." »

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Another 'Incredibles' Weekend?

12 November 2004 | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

Most box office analysts are predicting that Disney-Pixar's The Incredibles will enjoy another incredible weekend and that it will easily fly by Warner Bros.' The Polar Express, another computer-animated feature, which opened on Wednesday. According to most forecasts The Incredibles should see $40-45 million in its second weekend while Express should see about $32-37 million. Analysts had earlier predicted a tighter race, and some had speculated that Polar Express might take the lead. But those forecasts appeared dashed when results for Wednesday came in, showing The Incredibles earning $4.5 million while Express was debuting with $2.6 million. Also opening wide this weekend will be Focus Features' Seed of Chucky, predicted to earn $11-13 million (and not screened for critics), and New Line's After the Sunset, which will likely take in about $10 million, according to analysts. Also opening on fewer than 600 screens is Working Title's Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, which is predicted to earn $6-8 million. Bowing in limited release are the biopics Finding Neverland, about Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, and Kinsey, about the controversial sex researcher Albert Kinsey. »

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'King' Retains Crown

6 January 2004 | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

For the second week, studio estimates turned out to be off significantly from actual box office receipts, but New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King remained king of the cinema domain as it took in $28.2 million, putting its domestic total at $290.4 million since its Dec. 17 debut. Fox's family film, Cheaper By the Dozen, also continued to perform strongly in its second week, retaining the No. 2 spot with $21.6 million, to bring its total to $85.6 million. The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King, New Line, $28,180,378, 3 Wks. ($290,410,961); 2. Cheaper By the Dozen, 20th Century Fox, $21,644,537, 2 Wks. ($85,620,095); 3. Something's Gotta Give, Sony, $11,705,123, 4 Wks. ($81,211,676); 4. Cold Mountain, Miramax, $11,579,747, 2 Wks. ($43,737,222); 5. Paycheck, Paramount, $9,837,313, 2 Wks. ($38,644,452); 6. Peter Pan, Universal, $8,818,755, 2 Wks. ($34,179,235); 7. Mona Lisa Smile, Sony, $8,300,794, 3 Wks. ($50,006,766); 8. The Last Samurai, Warner Bros., $7,373,719, 5 Wks. ($90,017,337); 9. Calendar Girls, Disney, $4,437,082, 3 Wks. ($6,953,194); 10. Bad Santa, Miramax, $2,937,737, 6 Wks. ($56,909,596). »

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The 'King' Returns to the Top

5 January 2004 | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »

After just three weekends, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King has now taken in nearly $300 million. The movie again holds the top spot at the box office, earning an estimated $30.8 million over the weekend to bring its total to $292 million. It has earned $677 million worldwide. "This movie is like a freight train with no brakes," Exhibitor Relations President Paul Dergarabedian told today's (Monday) New York Post. The Steve Martin comedy Cheaper by the Dozen remained in second place with a strong $21.9 million, putting its two-week total at $86 million. The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, $30.8 million; 2. Cheaper By the Dozen, $21.9 million; 3. Something's Gotta Give, $12.5 million; 4. Cold Mountain, $11.7 million; 5. Paycheck, $10 million; 6. Mona Lisa Smile, $8.7 million; 7. Peter Pan, $8.5 million; 8. The Last Samurai, $7.5 million; 9. Calendar Girls, $4.6 million; 10. Bad Santa, $3 million. »

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2004 | 2003 | 2002

5 articles from 2004

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