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'Star Trek,' 'Transformers 2' and 'Avatar' battling for Visual Effects Oscar
11 December 2009 1:48 PM, PST
| Hitfix
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 15 semi-finalists for the Achievement in Visual Effects for the 82nd Academy Awards today. The contenders are as follows: “Angels & Demons” “Avatar” “Coraline” “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” “District 9” “G-Force” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” “Sherlock Holmes” “Star Trek” “Terminator Salvation” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” “2012” “Watchmen” “Where the Wild Things Are” According to the Academy, the members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, who selected the semifinalists, will narrow the list to seven early next monty. At that point,
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Tom Hanks Is Game To Play Robert Langdon In 'The Lost Symbol'
15 October 2009 12:00 PM, PDT
| MTV Movies Blog
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That didn't take too long. Dan Brown's new thriller, "The Lost Symbol," hit bookshelves in mid-September and Tom Hanks—busy Oscar-winner that he is—has already finished reading it. Of course, Hanks had a little extra motivation going in, seeing as he's twice played Brown's hero Robert Langdon on the big screen (in little pictures called "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons").
"I just finished it last week," Hanks told MTV News on the "Where the Wild Things Are" red carpet. "Page-turner. Dan Brown knows how to weave a tale. I was exhausted by the end of it."
With the book behind him— and its tale of Langdon chasing Freemasons in Washington. D.C.—does Hanks see himself once again portraying the Harvard-educated symbologist? "I'd love to if they're going to do it," he said. "I'm not going to walk away from that.... If they make it again,
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- Eric Ditzian
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Vatican Praises Latest Harry Potter Film
14 July 2009 1:06 AM, PDT
| WENN
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The Roman Catholic Church has praised the latest instalment of the Harry Potter franchise - for highlighting the "sacrifice" needed for good to triumph over evil.
The Vatican's own newspaper L'Osservatore Romano lauded Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, insisting it is the best adaptation of J.K. Rowling's hugely successful books so far.
And it even insisted the teenage love scenes - with the main characters all kissing in the film - achieved the "correct balance" in creating a credible story for the audience.
The Vatican added that the movie was positive as it showed that to overcome evil, it "sometimes requires costs and sacrifice".
However, the paper doesn't always offer up such kingly reviews of blockbusters - the publication slammed Tom Hanks' Angels and Demons in May, insisting the Vatican could "not approve" the religious-themed movie.
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Weekend Report: Lush 'Hangover,' 'Up' Linger Over Typical 'Taking'
15 June 2009 1:23 PM, PDT
| Box Office Mojo
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The good times continued to roll for The Hangover and Up, though not so much for the new movies and the box office as a whole. Hangover kept its buzz going with $32.8 million, while Up maintained its slow descent with $30.8 million. While those pictures were bustling, overall business was down 24 percent from the same weekend last year and had the lowest attendance for the timeframe in over a decade. Imbibing an exceptional $104.8 million in ten days, The Hangover saw the smallest dip among nationwide releases, down 27 percent. The ribald comedy held better than Knocked Up at the same point, but not quite as well as Wedding Crashers. Regardless of the percentage drops, though, it's grossed significantly more than those pictures at the ten-day mark, even when adjusted for ticket price inflation, and has flown way above genre norms. Up eased 30 percent and its tally climbed to $187.4 million in 17 days, the
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- Brandon Gray
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Twilight Lands 12 Teen Choice Nominations
15 June 2009 12:15 PM, PDT
| WENN
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Vampire love story Twilight is leading the charge for the 2009 Teen Choice Awards' nominations with an impressive 12 nods.
The blood-sucking film has been named in the Choice Movie: Romance and Choice Movie: Drama categories, where it will face stiff competition from Tom Hanks' Angels & Demons, Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Beyonce Knowles' Obsessed and Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire.
And its stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart - who are at work on the franchise's second installment New Moon - have earned recognition for their own efforts, in categories for Choice Movie Actor and Actress in a Drama.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is in close competition with 10 nods in categories including Choice Movie: Music/Dance, while its stars Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens are up for Choice Movie Actor and Actress in a Music/Dance film.
The teen musical ties with singer/actress Miley Cyrus and hit teen TV drama Gossip Girl, whose star Blake Lively will face off against Cyrus in the Choice Female Hottie category, battling it out with Megan Fox, Beyonce Knowles and Vanessa Hudgens for the title. Teen fans will have a bevy of Hollywood hunks to choose from in the male category, including Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford, Zac Efron, Taylor Kitsch, Robert Pattinson and The Jonas Brothers.
The musical trio has landed nine nominees, including Choice Movie: Music/Dance, Choice TV Actor: Comedy, Choice TV: Breakout Show and Choice Music: Love Song, among others.
The Jonas Brothers will host the ceremony, which will air live on U.S. TV on 10 August. Teenage fans have been asked to vote for their favourites online.
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Up Goes Down; Hangover Hangs Over
9 June 2009 2:41 AM, PDT
| Studio Briefing - Film News
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In a final result that no one saw coming, Warner Bros.' The Hangover
edged out Disney/Pixar's Up over the weekend. Final figures indicated
that The Hangover raked in $44,979,319 to take the No. 1 position in
the box-office rankings. Up fell to second place with $44,138,266.
While The Hangover performed better than the studio had estimated,
Universal's Land of the Lost lost even more ground than the studio
had thought, winding up with only $18,837,350.
The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by
Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to
date):1. The Hangover, Warner Bros., $44,979,319, (New); 2.
Up, Disney, $44,138,266, 2 Wks. ($137,210,701); 3. Land of the
Lost, Universal, $18,837,350, (New); 4. Night at the Museum: Battle of
the Smithsonian, 20th Century Fox, $14,634,988, 3 Wks. ($127,326,188); 5.
Star Trek, Paramount, $8,310,480, 5 Wks. ($222,712,175); 6.
Terminator Salvation, Warner Bros., $8,248,387, 3 Wks. ($105,568,008); 7.
Drag Me to Hell, Universal, $7,040,550, 2 Wks. ($28,233,230); 8.
Angels & Demons, Sony, $6,550,282, 3 Wks. ($116,174,931); 9.
My Life in Ruins, Fox Searchlight, $3,223,161, (New); 10. Dance
Flick, Paramount, $1,958,725, 3 Wks. ($22,625,733).
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Overseas Audiences Make Hits Out Of U.S. Duds
8 June 2009 2:43 AM, PDT
| Studio Briefing - Film News
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Overseas, two films that are regarded domestically as disappointments --
Angels & Demons and Terminator Salvation -- were doing
stand-out business over the weekend. Spreading into 70 countries, the latest
Terminator edition added $67.5 million to its gross to bring its
foreign total to $97.2 million. Angels & Demons continued to
perform strongly overseas, drawing $22.3 million, bringing its overseas
total to $292.9 million and putting it into position to cross the
$300-million mark internationally this week. It is the year's biggest hit
abroad. Combined with its North American gross, it has now earned $409
million worldwide.
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Box Office Winner: Too Close to Call
8 June 2009 2:43 AM, PDT
| Studio Briefing - Film News
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Going into the weekend, most analysts presumed that Disney/Pixar's Up would hang over the top of the box office for the second consecutive
week. "Hang over" was indeed the operative term (minus the space) as Warner
Bros.' The Hangover sold far more tickets than anyone had expected
and waged a balloon race of sorts with the animated movie that was so close
that the actual outcome won't be known until final sales figures are
released later today (Monday). According to studio estimates on Sunday,
Up took in around $44.2 million, well above predictions, while The
Hangover took in about $1 million less, also above predictions. But some
websites reported that avid word-of-mouth praise for Todd Phillips's R-rated
comedy could have driven business up far higher than expected on Sunday and
that it might have lifted the final results above those for the animated
film. "Don't be surprised if the weekend actuals show an upset," wrote
industry blogger Nikki Finke on her Deadline Hollywood Daily site, quoting a
source as remarking, "It has a real shot at being first this weekend." While
both films exceeded analysts' predictions, other films came in well below
their expected results -- most particularly Universal's Land of the
Lost, which was expected to be a loser -- but not the dismal megaflop
that it turned out to be. The Will Ferrell starrer -- which reportedly cost
more than $100 to produce -- earned just $19.5 million, well below the
modest $30 million that had been predicted for it. (By contrast, The
Hangover reportedly cost $35 million to produce.) The only other film to
open wide was the Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) comedy
My Life in Ruins, which took in a small, thin, weak $3.2 million. On
the other hand, American Beauty director Sam Mendes's Away We
Go opened in four theaters where it took in $132,260 -- giving it the
highest per-screen average. It is due to expand on Friday. Overall, the box
office was down 6 percent from the comparable weekend a year ago the second
consecutive "down" weekend.
The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by
Box Office Mojo:1. Up, $44.2 million; 2. The Hangover,
$43.3 million; 3. Land of the Lost, $19.5 million; 4. Night at the
Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $14.7 million; 5. Star Trek,
$8.4 million; 6. Terminator Salvation, $8.2 million; 7. Drag Me to
Hell, $7.3 million; 8. Angels & Demons, $6.5 million; 9.
My Life in Ruins, $3.2 million; 10. Dance Flick, $2 million.
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Raid On Malaysian Warehouse Nets 35,000 Bootleg DVD's
4 June 2009 2:47 AM, PDT
| Studio Briefing - Film News
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In one of the biggest raids on DVD pirates ever, Malaysian police officers,
accompanied by a disk-sniffing Labrador named Paddy, have seized 35,000
pirate DVD movies at six warehouses, published reports said Wednesday.
Several of the films are currently in theaters, including Star Trek,
Terminator Salvation, Angels & Demons and Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian. In a statement, Mike Ellis, who heads the
Asia regional branch of the Motion Picture Association of America, said, "We
are glad to hear that Paddy's skills are being put to good use against the
large, organized network of pirates involved in exporting illegal pirated
DVDs to Singapore." Singapore, a close neighbor of Malaysia, is the
principal trading center of the region.
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What Goes Up Goes Down
2 June 2009 2:37 AM, PDT
| Studio Briefing - Film News
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It was an up weekend at the box office for Disney as its Pixar-produced
Up opened with $68.11 million, beating last year's debut of Wall-e
-- and less than $2 million behind Pixar's two biggest hits, The
Incredibles and Finding Nemo. But it was a down weekend for the
box office as a whole, with total ticket sales slightly below what they were
for the same weekend a year ago, when the premiere of Sex and the City and the second week of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull together took in $101.60 million all by themselves. The top twelve
films this weekend earned $161.01 million, while last year's grossed $163.99
million. Another downer: The critically well-received horror flick Drag
Me to Hell -- horror flicks are rarely well-received -- took in a modest
$15.83 million to place fourth in the final results. (By contrast, the critically slammed Saw V opened with $30.1 million.)
Monday's estimates had put it in third place. But despite the down weekend,
year-to-date revenue stands at $3.61 billion, up 13.63 percent over last
year. Attendance is up 11 percent.
The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by
Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to
date):1. Up, Disney, $68,108,790, (New); 2. Night at the
Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, 20th Century Fox, $24,353,868, 2 Wks.
($104,150,268); 3. Terminator Salvation, Warner Bros., $16,433,365, 2
Wks. ($90,949,924); 4. Drag Me to Hell, Universal, $15,825,480,
(New); 5. Star Trek, Paramount, $12,613,727, 4 Wks. ($209,313,884);
6. Angels & Demons, Sony, $11,353,340, 2 Wks. ($104,913,439); 7.
Dance Flick, Paramount, $4,743,636, 2 Wks. ($19,084,907); 8. X-Men
Origins: Wolverine, 20th Century Fox, $3,873,377, 5 Wks. ($170,843,712);
9. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Warner Bros., $1,911,401, 5 Wks.
($50,021,779); 10. Obsessed, Sony, $657,001, 6 Wks. ($6,750,0481).
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Up Flies At Box Office
1 June 2009 2:34 AM, PDT
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Any doubt about whether an animated movie featuring a 78-year-old man as the
principal character could become successful at the box office faded into the
clouds over the weekend as Disney/Pixar's Up opened with $68.2
million. It was the Pixar team's 10th consecutive hit. The take surpassed
the $63.1 million debut of Wall-e last year but was slightly behind
the $70-million starts for Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Up pushed last week's winner, Fox's Night at the Museum: Battle of the
Smithsonian to second place with $25.5 million. Universal's Drag Me
to Hell, the only other film to open wide, placed third with an
unexceptional $16.6 million. Meanwhile, Star Trek passed the
$200-million mark with a take of $12.8 million. Its current gross -- $209.5
million -- makes it the year's top-grossing movie.
The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by
Box Office Mojo:1. Up, $68.2 million; 2. Night at the
Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $25.5 million; 3. Drag Me to
Hell, $16.6 million; 4. Terminator Salvation, $16.1 million; 5.
Star Trek, $12.8 million; 6. Angels & Demons, $11.2
million; 7. Dance Flick, $4.9 million; 8. X-Men Origins:
Wolverine, $3.9 million; 9. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, $1.9
million; 10. Obsessed, $665,000.
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Hanks Gets Fit After Williams' Heart Operation
27 May 2009 12:00 PM, PDT
| WENN
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Hollywood star Tom Hanks has been scared into shape by pal Robin Williams' recent heart scare, and he's hired a new chef to help him stay trim.
Williams was forced to undergo heart surgery to replace a valve in March after falling ill on a comedy tour.
Sources claim the scare shook Hanks into getting a check-up himself, and his doctor warned him that yo-yoing dieting for film roles was damaging his health.
An insider tells the National Enquirer, "Tom's new chef travelled with him on the Angels & Demons press junket. Robin's heart surgery really drove home the point to Tom that if he wants to enjoy middle age, he'd better start taking care of himself.
"At home and on the road, his full-time meal maestro cooks steamed or broiled chicken, fish and lots of vegetables. Tom's favourite cookie-dough ice cream is now a no no."
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Is The Box-Office Hot Streak Over?
27 May 2009 2:18 AM, PDT
| Studio Briefing - Film News
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Box office analysts are starting to ask whether the movie business has run
out of steam after the four-day Memorial Day holiday performed no better
than a year ago -- despite numerous high-budget films highlighting theater
marquees. The top film, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian won the weekend battle with a take of $70.1 million, beating
Terminator Salvation, which delivered $51.9 million. Their total
take, however, was slightly below what Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull earned during the same weekend a year ago. The
difference is that each of the two cost as much as the Indiana Jones movie to produce -- just under $200 million, according to most
estimates. The IMAX factor was at play in the weekend results. Star Trek lost its IMAX screens and its take dropped 47 percent. Night at the
Museum II picked them up, where they generated $5.4 million in ticket
sales -- or 8 percent of the total from fewer than 2 percent of the screens.
The top ten films over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, according to final
figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total
gross to date):1. Night at the Museum: Battle of the
Smithsonian, Fox, $70,052,004, (New); 2. Terminator Salvation,
Warner Bros., $51,943,726, 1 Wks. ($65,316,217 -- from Thursday); 3. Star
Trek, Paramount, $29,380,384, 3 Wks. ($191,014,403); 4. Angels &
Demons, Sony/Columbia, $27,413,992, 2 Wks. ($87,524,618); 5. Dance
Flick, Paramount, $12,622,450, (New); 6. X-Men Origins:
Wolverine, Fox, $9,910,686, 4 Wks. ($165,164,423); 7. Ghosts of
Girlfriends Past, Warner Bros., $4,767,809, 4 Wks. ($46,906,154); 8.
Obsessed, Sony/Screen Gems, $2,424,470, 5 Wks. ($66,332,824); 9.
Monsters vs. Aliens, Paramount, $2,060,680, 9 Wks. ($193,706,544);
10. 17 Again, Warner Bros., $1,292,506, 6 Wks. ($60,601,427).
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Angels & Demons Tops Overseas
26 May 2009 2:49 AM, PDT
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Overseas, Angels & Demons continued to dominate, particularly in
Catholic countries. In its second week, it took in $60.4 million in 99
countries. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was not
much of a contender as it opened with $50.1 million in 93 countries.
Museum, however, opened strongly in the U.K., where it took in $6.8
million. (In an expensive promotion on Saturday, Fox, in cooperation with
local merchants, closed down most of Oxford Street, one of London's
principal thoroughfares, for a "traffic free" street fair that included
characters dressed like the museum figures in the movie, bands, jugglers
face painters -- and many giveaways. It reportedly drew half a million
visitors.) Angels & Demons also finally made its debut in Mexico,
where its premiere hand been stalled by the swine-flu scare. It took in a
strong $4.1 million.
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Memorial Day Not Memorable at Box Office
26 May 2009 2:49 AM, PDT
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Despite a glut of $100-million+ movies filling movie houses over the
Memorial Day weekend, the base of ticket-buying customers did not expand to
accommodate them. The number of tickets sold was substantially the same as
it was for the comparable week a year ago. And most of the moviegoers wanted
to see Fox's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which
took in an estimated $70 million over the four-day weekend. That turned out
to be bad news for Warner Bros.' $200-million Terminator Salvation,
which took in $53.8 million. Last year at this time Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had virtually no serious competition and
raked in $126 million -- close to the combined total of Museum and
Terminator. Paramount's Star Trek was perhaps the brightest
star on the top-ten list as it added $29.4 million to its gross, which now
stands at $191 million, and is set to become the top-grossing film of the
year this week.
The top ten films for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, according to studio
estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:1. Night at the Museum:
Battle of the Smithsonian, Fox, $70 million; 2. Terminator
Salvation, Warner Bros./Halcyon, $53.8 million; 3. Star Trek,
Paramount, $29.4 million; 4. Angels & Demons, Sony, $27.7
million; 5. Dance Flick, Paramount, $13.1 million; 6. X-Men
Origins: Wolverine, Fox, $10.1 million; 7. Ghosts of Girlfriends
Past, Warner Bros./New Line, $4.8 million; 8. Obsessed,
Sony/Screen Gems, $2.5 million; 9. Monsters vs. Aliens,
Paramount/DreamWorks Animation, $1.9 million; 10. 17 Again, Warner
Bros./New Line, $1.3 million.
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Sunday Ticket Sales Off For Angels & Demons
19 May 2009 2:22 AM, PDT
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Ticket sales for Sony's Angels & Demons dipped far more steeply
than expected on Sunday, resulting in a weekend gross that was nearly $2
million less than the studio had estimated. The movie's $46.2-million total
was just $3.2 million more than the $43 million taken in by Paramount's
Star Trek in its second week. In fact, the J.J. Abrams space prequel
handily beat Ron Howard's Da Vinci Code sequel on both Saturday and
Sunday. Opening with $16.5 million on Friday, it climbed to $17.6 million on
Saturday. On Sunday, however, it dropped 31 percent to $12.1 million.
Star Trek earned $11.8 million on Friday, then climbed to $18.3
million on Saturday, before falling off 28 percent to $13 million on Sunday.
(Star Trek's total was boosted by premium-priced ticket sales in 138
theaters, where it earned $4.7 million, roughly 10 percent of its total. It
is being forced out of the big-screen theaters next weekend by the arrival
of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.) In third place,
Fox's X-Men Origins: Wolverine collected $14.7 million in its third
weekend. In limited release, the Jennifer Aniston comedy Management,
opened with just $375,916 in 212 theaters. Overall, the top 12 films grossed
$130.8 million, up 3.9 percent over the comparable weekend a year ago.
The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by
Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to
date):1. Angels & Demons, Sony, $46,204,168, (New); 2.
Star Trek, Paramount, $43,034,547, 2 Wks. ($147,645,384); 3. X-Men
Origins: Wolverine, 20th Century Fox, $14,702,425, 3 Wks.
($150,993,169); 4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Warner Bros.,
$6,653,384, 3 Wks. ($39,855,222); 5. Obsessed, Sony, $4,588,973, 4
Wks. ($62,610,148); 6. 17 Again, Warner Bros., $3,368,189, 5 Wks.
($58,363,111); 7. Monsters vs. Aliens, Paramount, $3,182,085, 8 Wks.
($19,073,3766); 8. The Soloist, Paramount, $2,402,801, 4 Wks.
($27,505,154); 9. Next Day Air, Summit Ent. $2,244,878, 2 Wks.
($76,132,21); 10. Earth, Disney, $1,697,956, 4 Wks. ($29,088,771).
»
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Angels & Demons Beats Star Trek
18 May 2009 2:20 AM, PDT
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Just as moviegoers paid no attention to critics or conservative Catholics
when The Da Vinci Code opened three years ago, they turned out
mass-ively for Angels & Demons over the weekend, ignoring nearly
universal condemnation by reviewers for the major newspapers and by the
Catholic League, the nation's largest Catholic lay organization (although
the official Vatican newspaper dismissed it as harmless). The Sony movie,
directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, grossed an estimated $48
million domestically and a whopping $104.3 million overseas, performing the
strongest in Catholic countries, according to Daily Variety. While
the sequel did not come close to equaling Da Vinci's opening tally
($77 million domestically and $155 million overseas), it came in at the high
end of analysts' forecasts and its foreign gross was by far the biggest of
any film this year. Meanwhile, Angels & Demons received strong
competition from Paramount's Star Trek, which took in about $43
million in its second weekend, to bring its 10-day total to $147.6 million.
It actually outperformed Angels on Saturday and may also have done so
on Sunday (final figures are due to be released later today). Nearly 12
percent of Star Trek's gross has come from higher-priced tickets in
IMAX theaters, but it is being evicted from those theaters next weekend by
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Coming in at No. 3
was the third week of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which earned $14.8
million, down 44 percent from the previous week. Opening in limited release,
the Jennifer Aniston comedy Management took in an unfriendly $378,000
in 212 theaters. Overall, the box office continued on its hot streak, with
ticket sales up about 4 percent over the comparable weekend a year ago.
The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by
Box Office Mojo:1. Angels & Demons, $48 million; 2.
Star Trek, $43 million; 3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, $14.8
million; 4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, $6.9 million; 5.
Obsessed, $4.6 million; 6. 17 Again, $3.4 million; 7.
Monsters vs. Aliens, $3 million; 8. The Soloist, $2.4 million;
9. Next Day Air, $2.2 million; 10. Earth, $1.7 million.
»
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Movie Reviews: Angels & Demons
15 May 2009 2:41 AM, PDT
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Clearly there are far more demons than angels among the ranks of critics
reviewing Ron Howard's Angels & Demons, the sequel to his The
Da Vinci Code (which most of them also condemned). Claudia Puig in
USA Today comments that the dialogue in the movie "reeks of
cliché." Michael Sragow in the Baltimore Sun describes it as
"glib and hollow." And John Anderson in the Washington Post says that
the whole plot "is such a slab of cheese it ought to come with a box of
crackers." Damning it with faint praise, A.O. Scott in the New York
Times writes, "This movie, without being particularly good, is
nonetheless far less hysterical than Da Vinci. ... Mr. Howard's
direction combines the visual charm of mass-produced postcards with the
mental stimulation of an easy Monday crossword puzzle. It could be worse."
Similarly Liam Lacey says in the Toronto Globe & Mail: "Angels
& Demons is no less preposterous than The Da Vinci Code, but
it's a serviceable summer action movie." But Tom Maurstad remarks in the
Dallas Morning News: "Saying that Angels & Demons is a lot
better than its predecessor, The Da Vinci Code, is like saying that
this swine flu outbreak isn't nearly as bad as the last. It is better, but
that still doesn't necessarily make it good." And Wesley Morris comments in
the Boston Globe: "Asking whether the new movie is better than the
first is natural if moot. Would you prefer to drown in a swimming pool or an
ocean?" On the other hand Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times awards
the film three stars and remarks that the movie unspools "at breakneck
speed, with little subtlety, but with fabulous production values." And Kyle
Smith concludes in the New York Post: "Angels & Demons has
some exciting sequences, a spectacular ending with a terrific twist and a
grounding in the debate about science versus religion that could hardly be
more timely. It's got enough going on to sustain five blockbuster thrillers.
That is its blessing and its curse."
»
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Skarsgard Not A Fan Of Da Vinci Code Dan
15 May 2009 1:00 AM, PDT
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Mamma Mia! star Stellan Skarsgard has sent producers of his new blockbuster Angels & Demons reeling after revealing he's not a fan of the author behind the Da Vinci Code books.
The Scandinavian star called Dan Brown a "bad writer" during a recent appearance on a Swedish news show, and revealed he only agreed to appear in Angels & Demons after reading the script based on the book.
He says, "I think Dan Brown is a terribly bad writer, but he has cliffhangers after every chapter which makes you continue reading.
"It's like eating peanuts at a bar. You don't like them, but you keep on eating them anyway."
Skarsgard, who plays a Vatican guard in the blockbuster, admits he would never have signed up for the film had it not been for director Ron Howard's reworked script: "The story is more simple and straightforward but just as dramatic."
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Hanks Plans Payback On Howard
14 May 2009 12:20 PM, PDT
| WENN
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Tom Hanks is determined to get his revenge on moviemaker Ron Howard for forcing him to suffer on film sets.
The pair has a long working relationship together, dating from the 1984 romantic comedy Splash to the more recent The Da Vinci Code and this year's sequel Angels & Demons.
Howard has made the 52 year old suffer for his art, putting him through a number of gruelling stunts - and Hanks is eager to one day turn the tables on the director/producer.
Hanks says, "Ron has had me cold and miserable and air sick: 'Do it again, back in the water, stop! You're no good. We're not leaving until you get this.' I would love to be able to turn the tables."
But the actor admits it's not all doom and gloom at work with Howard: "We have had a lot of grand adventures and sometimes we look at each other and say, 'Can you believe we get to shoot here at three in the morning?'"
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