Midnight Movies

Three movies are opening in theaters this weekend, but it’s last week’s opener, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” that likely will again be No. 1 at the box office.

Nonetheless, “Half-Blood Prince” is starting to show signs that it doesn’t have the legs of the previous “Potter” film, based on ticket sales the past few days.

On its first three weekdays after a healthy $158-million five-day opening — $20 million more than predecessor “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” — the latest “Potter” film has sold $26.9 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada.

“Order of the Phoenix,” which opened at the same spot on the calendar two years ago, earned $28 million on the Monday-Wednesday after its opening. That film played on more IMAX screens, which carry higher ticket prices, but the approximately 8% increase in overall ticket prices during the past two years should balance that out.

On the other hand, exit polls were very strong, with audiences giving it an average grade of “A-,” according to CinemaScore. So there’s mixed evidence as to whether the new film will drop more than the 57% that “Order of the Phoenix” declined on its second weekend.

It’s unlikely to drop more than 60%, however, meaning “Harry” will almost certainly gross more than $30 million and be No. 1 at the box office once again, because none of this weekend’s three new pictures have breakout potential.

Disney’s mix of live-action and computer-animated guinea pigs, “G-Force,” has the best shot at No. 2 with opening-weekend ticket sales expected in the mid-$20 millions, according to industry executives with access to pre-release audience polling. That’s only a so-so start for an effects-heavy film, which tends to cost more. But given that the audience will consist primarily of families, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced picture should enjoy strong weekday grosses as well with kids out of school.
Sony’s romantic comedy “The Ugly Truth” will likely be close behind “G-Force” in the low $20 millions. That would be a solid start as it cost $38 million to produce.

The weekend’s third new movie is “The Orphan,” a horror flick that Warner Bros. is distributing and marketing for Dark Castle Entertainment, which financed the movie. The low-cost movie is expected to have a decent start in the low to midteen millions.

Source -  http://latimes.com

‘Revenge of the Fallen’ rakes in $387 million in global ticket sales and sets a record in the U.S. and Canada. A final gross of more than $800 million is all but certain for the live-action film.

Problems at Paramount Pictures? For the moment they feel like a distant memory.

Little more than a week after two of the studio’s top three production executives were fired, Paramount scored one of the biggest movie openings of all time with “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

Photos: Weekend box office top 10 Review: ‘Transformers: Revenge of the… Photos: Guns! Bombs! Love! The tender side of Michael Bay
‘Transformers’ scores a record breaking $60.6 million opening day
The live-action sequel based on Hasbro’s Transformer toys earned $201.2 million Wednesday through Sunday in the U.S. and Canada, according to the studio’s estimate. That’s the biggest five-day performance ever for a film that debuted on a Wednesday, and the second-biggest starting any day of the week, behind the 2008 movie “The Dark Knight.”

Grosses were nearly as impressive overseas, where “Transformers” earned $162 million in the same time frame and placed No. 1 in all 58 countries where it opened. Combined with $24 million from Britain and Japan for the previous Friday through Tuesday, the movie has made $387 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Among the film’s high-water marks was the biggest opening for an English-language movie in China, where it earned $21.9 million.

In the U.S., “Revenge of the Fallen” benefited from an expanded audience of women, thanks in part to advertising aimed at teen girls that focused on the blossoming romance between the characters played by Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, and ads targeting adult women that emphasized a subplot involving LaBeouf’s on-screen parents.

Audiences ignored the movie’s critical drubbing and gave it an average grade of B-plus, according to market research firm CinemaScore.

“That tells me loud and clear it delivered what audiences want out of ‘Transformers’: a big, fun escape,” said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount.

The only other movie to open this weekend, Warner Bros.’ tear jerker “My Sister’s Keeper,” started with a relatively soft $12 million but may hold on for a while if it gets good buzz from an audience that was 86% women.

A final worldwide gross of more than $800 million is all but certain for the “Transformers” sequel. Approximately half of that money will flow back to Paramount, with the rest going to theater owners.

A strong box-office performance is typically the springboard for other revenue streams such as DVD sales and television deals.

As a result, “Revenge of the Fallen,” which cost about $200 million to produce and $150 million to $175 million to market and distribute, will prove a big moneymaker for Paramount. It also has now cemented its position as one of the industry’s most valuable big-screen brands alongside “Harry Potter,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Spider-Man.”

In an interview Sunday, Paramount Chairman Brad Grey said he planned to make a third “Transformers” movie, as well as a follow-up to the smaller but still solid hit “Star Trek.”

“One of the mandates when I came to Paramount was to build franchises, and I think this summer we’ve accomplished what we set out to do,” said Grey, who took his job in early 2005.

Grey had a rough first few years, most notably because of the short-lived presence of DreamWorks Studios, which was acquired by Paramount later that year. Last fall the DreamWorks principals, including Steven Spielberg, left with their brand name to become independent again and subsequently signed a distribution deal with Walt Disney.

“Transformers” was developed by DreamWorks but the rights stayed with Paramount after the split. Spielberg remains an executive producer.

A third “Transformers” and second “Star Trek” will help solve a pressing problem for Paramount: a paucity of films on its future slate. Weak development was a primary reason cited for the sacking of film group President John Lesher and production President Brad Weston a week and a half ago.

Adam Goodman, who came to the studio from DreamWorks and previously shared Weston’s title, was moved into Lesher’s role.

Even if Paramount manages to make another “Transformers” or a “Star Trek” sequel in the two years that it managed to rush “Revenge of the Fallen” into theaters, the studio still has significant work to do to fill out its slate.

“We streamlined based on the economics of the business and now we’re focused on launching major tent poles and putting together a portfolio of films,” Grey said. “My eye is on 2011 and beyond.”

“Transformers” director Michael Bay set himself up for an enormous payday from the movie’s performance, thanks to a deal that gives him a cut of profits from all revenue sources after Paramount recoups its costs. Bay walked off with about $75 million thanks to a similar deal on the first “Transformers” movie, which grossed $708 million worldwide and will almost certainly make more because of the hit sequel.

Grey expressed no regrets about Bay’s gigantic paycheck.

“I feel great about the deal,” he said. “When Paramount and [parent] Viacom make a lot of money, I believe the filmmaker should do the same.”

Source - http://www.latimes.com

‘Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ takes in $148 million at the box office over a five-day period outside the U.S. and Canada, where it opens with $67.5 million.

America’s birthday had Hollywood looking overseas as “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” earned more in its international opening than it and “Public Enemies,” the weekend’s other new film, combined did at home.

Twentieth Century Fox’s animated feature sold a studio-estimated $148 million in tickets through Sunday in the 101 foreign countries where it launched Wednesday. Given the film’s budget of about $90 million, that’s an impressive start even before including the more modest $67.5 million it earned over five days in the U.S. and Canada.

The “Ice Age” sequel is the latest movie this summer to see significantly stronger returns internationally than domestically. “Angels & Demons,” “Terminator Salvation” and “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” all fall into that category, having earned 72%, 64% and 55% of their total ticket sales so far, respectively, internationally.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” have both grossed about the same in foreign markets as domestic.

“Star Trek” is the only big-budget summer event film that has grossed significantly more in the U.S. and Canada than internationally — $250 million versus $125 million — reflecting the relative weakness of that series overseas and its lack of big stars. (”Up” and “Land of the Lost” have yet to open in most foreign markets.)

“Transformers” earned an additional $55 million on its second weekend overseas, more than the $42.5 million that it made in the U.S. and Canada. Its domestic gross, $293.5 million as of Sunday, surpassed “Up” on Friday to become the biggest film of the year. Paramount’s Michael Bay-directed robot sequel also recently blew past “Angels & Demons” to become the No. 1 movie worldwide with total ticket sales of $591.4 million.

Big foreign returns helped compensate for a relatively quiet box-office weekend at home that was depressed by July 4 occurring on what’s usually the biggest moviegoing day of the week. Studio executives said some of the difference was made up by bigger returns Friday and Sunday.

“When it’s on a Saturday, people have barbecues and fireworks and therefore moviegoing takes a back seat,” observed Paramount Pictures Vice Chairman Rob Moore. “But you tend to do very well on either side of it.”

The five-day domestic total for “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” was not particularly strong, coming in below the opening three-day gross of its predecessor “Ice Age: the Meltdown” in March 2006.

Given that 39% of theaters showing the new film did so on digital 3-D screens, where ticket prices are typically $2 to $3 higher, that’s evidence the latest release was drawing fewer people in the U.S. and Canada.

Bert Livingston, Fox’s senior vice president of domestic distribution, noted that with kids out of school, weekday grosses for “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” should be particularly high.

However, it has a clear run at the family audience only until July 15, when “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” opens worldwide.

“Public Enemies,” the weekend’s other new film, had a similarly mixed start, earning $41 million from Wednesday through Sunday. Its $26.2-million gross for the three-day weekend was in line with other Michael Mann-directed pictures such as “Collateral” and “Miami Vice.” To end up a success, it will have to follow the path of the former movie, which was propelled by positive buzz and star Tom Cruise to gross $101 million, as opposed to the latter, which ultimately earned only $63.5 million at the box office.

Reviews for “Public Enemies,” which cost Universal Pictures and Relativity Media just over $100 million to produce, were generally positive. One good sign for Universal is that despite the film’s R rating and Mann’s traditional appeal to adult males, the audience tilted only slightly toward men and was evenly split between those over and under age 25. That’s in large part thanks to the appeal of star Johnny Depp.

“Having an audience composition that is so balanced signals this movie can have great legs,” said Adam Fogelson, Universal’s president of marketing and distribution, using the industry term for a long run at the box office.

Source - www.latimes.com

Talk about a photo finish. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs reached the end of the July 4 weekend effectively tied for the three-day weekend box office crown, with both films taking in $42.5 million, according to early estimates by Hollywood.com Box Office. Those numbers will undoubtedly change once final figures are announced on Monday — except that, really, Manny the Woolly Mammoth has most likely already taken this fight.We all know that when school’s out for the summer, there really isn’t such a thing as a “weekend” when it comes to movies aimed at the kids. To wit: Although its three-day opening weekend is the lowest ever for the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age 3’s estimated five-day opening gross stands at $67.5 million. In the same five-day period, Transformers 2 took in an estimated $64.9 million, a clear second place. Still, Optimus is no slouch; with $293.4 million in the bank, Transformers 2 is easily the highest grossing movie of 2009 — if no longer on track to match last year’s The Dark Knight, which had raked in $334 million at the same point in its run.

Johnny Depp, meanwhile, may not have had the box office-melting power of Capt. Jack Sparrow in his corner, but as famed bank robber John Dillinger, he still managed to help lift Public Enemies past decidedly mixed reviews to a highly respectable $26.1 million for the three-day weekend and a $41 million five-day total. As fans of adult dramas everywhere breathe a huge sigh of relief, the next test for the gangster picture will be overcoming muted word-of-mouth; it bagged just a “B” CinemaScore rating.

The Proposal landed at fourth with $12.8 million, an impressive 31% drop from the week before, bringing the romcom to $94.2 million. The Hangover continues to hang on, netting $10.4 million for fifth place and passing the $200 million threshold in its fifth week of release. Finally, Up may have lost its temporary title of 2009’s top grosser, but with a $6.6 million weekend lifting its total to $264 million, the winsome adventure rose past The Incredibles to become Pixar’s second-highest grossing movie ever, behind only Finding Nemo.

Source - hollywoodinsider.ew.com

There’s good news, great news, and not-so-great news for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The good news: According to estimates from Box Office Mojo, the blockbuster grossed $17.8 million on Friday, edging past Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs‘ $17 million for the top spot the second day in a row. The great news: With a ten-day total of $268.7 million, director Michael Bay can now stake his claim to making the highest grossing film of the year. (Second place Up, with $261 million, is poised to pass The Incredibles as Pixar’s second highest grossing film ever.)

Source - hollywoodinsider.ew.com