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Avatar weathers heavy snow to storm up UK box office
22 December 2009 5:29 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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Despite the terrible weather, James Cameron's grossed £8.51m in its first weekend on release, and signs are that it will do even better in the weeks to come
The winner
The extravagant advance claims made on behalf of James Cameron's Avatar always threatened to make its arrival anticlimactic, but it certainly got off to a flying start at the UK box office. Boosted by stellar takings at 3D and Imax screens, the sci-fi spectacle grossed £8.51m, including £1.84m in Thursday previews. Many films already on release saw steep weekend-to-weekend drops of more than 50%, which distributors will doubtless attribute to severe snow storms in parts of the country. But if there is a brand new event movie that cinemagoers impatiently wish to see, they will defy almost any weather to do so.
Avatar posted the third-biggest opening of the year, behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
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- Charles Gant
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Weekend Report: 'Avatar' Soars in Debut
20 December 2009 6:07 PM, PST
| Box Office Mojo
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The advent of Avatar obtained an estimated $73 million on approximately 7,000 screens at 3,452 sites over the weekend, claiming the highest-grossing opening ever for a movie that's neither a sequel, a remake nor a direct adaptation (though others had greater attendance). It was also the second highest-grossing December opening weekend after I Am Legend ($77.2 million). Overall weekend business surged 50 percent over the same weekend last year, but was down considerably from the comparable period in 2007, when I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks debuted.
With its advanced 3D presentation as a key selling point, Avatar handily set a new 3D opening weekend benchmark. Showing on 3,129 3D screens at 2,038 sites, the format accounted for an estimated $52 million of the gross. The previous highs were Up's $35.4 million and Monsters Vs. Aliens' $32.6 million. Included in the 3D total, were 179 IMAX runs, and, while IMAX won't report its cut until Monday, the company did
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- Brandon Gray
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Top grossing UK 3D film releases
11 December 2009 7:48 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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his year has been the year of 3D films for UK cinemas and the release of James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular is set to give the new wave of technology another boost.
The UK Film Council said 13 films have been released in 3D this year, compared with six in 2008.
• My Bloody Valentine (released in January) – grossed £6m from 118 3D cinemas
• Bolt (released in February) – grossed £7m from 124 3D sites
• Monsters vs Aliens (released in April) – grossed £9m from 169 3D sites
• Ice Age III (released in July) – grossed £18m from 240 3D sites
• Up (released in October) – grossed £21m from 266 3D sites
Film industryJulia Kollewe
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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- Julia Kollewe
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The role of the star in the movie may be wilting to nothing
8 December 2009 1:00 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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I may never have to interview a bouncing narcissist again
I met Tom Cruise once. Well, I say I met him, but really I was just standing in the press line at the premiere of one of his movies, where "Tom's People" put journalists in a little cage in Leicester Square, and walk Tom past, while fans throw their babies at him. Feeding time. Munch. Munch. Munch. Anyway, I think the man from the Socialist Worker, who was in front of me, must have died because suddenly I was nose to nose with Tom Cruise, star of Taps. I am taller than he is.
A one-to-one press-line chat with Tom Cruise goes like this. Me: "How are you?" I know it is a sub- Hello! question. But I couldn't care less how Tom Cruise is, and he knows it. If he were to drop dead right in front of me,
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- Tanya Gold
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Paranormal Activity proves lo-fi thrills pay off | Charles Gant at the UK box office
1 December 2009 6:49 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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The Twilight franchise may still be packing them in, but Oren Peli's low-budget shocker shows that big (and scary) things come in small packages, too
The winner #1
It's rare for a film to drop 63% from the previous weekend and it still be considered a good result. But you can certainly make that case with The Twilight Saga: New Moon. In other words, forget about the percentages, just focus on the cascade of cash. By any yardstick, more than £20m in 10 days is a big number. After just two weekends on release, New Moon is already the ninth-biggest hit of 2009, and will very soon overtake the likes of Monsters vs Aliens, Star Trek and The Hangover to land sixth place for the year. The original Twilight movie took less than £5m in its first 10 days, so the sequel is so far running at quadruple the pace of its predecessor. The
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- Charles Gant
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Black Friday Movie Deals: Walmart
23 November 2009 5:35 PM, PST
| Cinematical
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Our good friend and Eic Erik Davis (that's me!) had a very thoughtful idea for the holiday season: Why not scan the early flyers for the Black Friday sales, and report back to you -- the ravenous movie junkie -- to let you know where to find the best treats on the day after Thanksgiving? We'll be bringing you deals for a variety of stores and online retailers all week long. Here's what we've posted so far so you can keep track:
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Black Friday Movie Deals: Target
Walmart opens at 5am on Friday, November 27th. I've highlighted the most notable (for being awesome) deals in bold.
DVD/Blu-ray
17 Again (DVD) $9.00
Aliens In The Attic (DVD) $9.00
Blazing Saddles (DVD) $2.00
Blood Diamond (DVD) $2.00
Braveheart (Blu-ray) $10.00
Casino Royale (DVD) $2.00
Facing Giants (DVD) $2.00
Fast & Furious (Blu-ray) $10.00
Fireproof (DVD) $9.00
GI Joe (DVD) $9.00
Gladiator (Blu-ray) $10.00
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
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- Erik Davis
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20 Animated Movies Compete for Five Oscar Spots
11 November 2009 10:23 AM, PST
| Reelzchannel.com
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Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the list of 20 animated movies that will be considered for nomination at the Oscars, which air March 7, 2010.
The Best Animated Feature category traditionally consists of three nominees. (We should add that the use of the "traditionally" is kind of funny, considering the category is less than 10 years old). But according to Academy rules, if at least 16 movies are submitted for consideration, then the number of nominees increases to five.
Among the potential contenders already released are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Disney's A Christmas Carol, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Monsters vs Aliens, Ponyo, and Up. Also being considered are several titles yet to be released, such as Fantastic Mr. Fox, Planet 51, and The Princess and the Frog.
Although it's not likely, there is a slight chance the whole five-nominee thing might not happen. Variety cites
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- Rich Z Zwelling
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Frugal Christmas arrives early for Disney at UK box office
10 November 2009 9:04 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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It's only November and A Christmas Carol is already No 1, albeit with a lacklustre £1.92m. The box-office feast will only truly start next week with 2012 and the Twilight sequel
The chart-topper
Knocking Michael Jackson's This Is It off the top spot, Robert Zemeckis's motion-capture animation A Christmas Carol can at least be satisfied with its chart position. As for its opening gross – £1.92m – that's another matter entirely.
In the first place, it's behind the openings of the previous two motion-capture films from the Zemeckis stable: Polar Express earned £2.14m from its first weekend of wide play in 2004, and Beowulf debuted with £2.2m in November 2007. (And bear in mind, there were fewer than 60 3D screens in the UK when Beowulf opened, compared with 260 now.) Second, A Christmas Carol's debut is well behind that of 2009 big-hitters Bolt, Monsters Vs Aliens, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Up. It's even
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- Charles Gant
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Dreamworks Experiencing Downs And Ups
28 October 2009 2:51 PM, PDT
| Studio Briefing - Film News
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The roller-coaster business of feature animation -- in which profits soar during the months following a theatrical release, then plummet afterwards, then rise again when the movie is released overseas and the DVD is released at home, then drop once more before the next feature is released -- nabbed the attention of analysts Tuesday when DreamWorks Animation posted net income of $19.6 million for its recent quarter, down 48 percent from the comparable quarter a year ago. Nevertheless that was far better than analysts had expected, and the company's stock rose 3.2 percent in after-hours trading and 2.8 percent in early trading today (Wednesday). Revenue from foreign sales and the first weeks of DVD sales domestically proved to be higher than expected. In a conference call with analysts, DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg disclosed that the company had decided not to produce a sequel to Monsters vs Aliens, largely because the movie failed to perform as well as expected in some key markets overseas. "I'd like to tell you there's a perfectly rational, clear and easy answer as to why not, but there isn't," he said.
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Seth Rogen is back as B.O.B. for Monsters vs Aliens Halloween special
28 October 2009 12:11 PM, PDT
| AOL - TVSquad
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Seth Rogen has always enjoyed Halloween specials, from the Tgif line-up when he was a kid up to The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. Tonight, he'll be in his own Halloween special, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (NBC, 8 Pm), based on the Dreamworks animated feature Monsters vs Aliens.
"I was a nerd and had nothing to do on Friday nights," Rogen says of the Tgif line-up during a conference call with press. "Whenever like the sitcoms would do their Halloween episode, I always enjoyed that for some reason. That always spawned some good comedy."
Continue reading Seth Rogen is back as B.O.B. for Monsters vs Aliens Halloween special
Filed under: Animation, Interviews, Reality-Free
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- Nick Zaino
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Seth Rogen is back as B.O.B. for Monsters vs Aliens Halloween special
28 October 2009 8:11 AM, PDT
| Pastemagazine.com
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Seth Rogen has always enjoyed Halloween specials, from the Tgif line-up when he was a kid up to The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. Tonight, he'll be in his own Halloween special, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (NBC, 8 Pm), based on the Dreamworks animated feature Monsters vs Aliens. "I was a nerd and had nothing to do on Friday nights," Rogen says of the Tgif line-up during a conference call with press. "Whenever like the sitcoms would do their Halloween episode, I always enjoyed that for some reason. That always spawned some good comedy."Continue reading Seth Rogen
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Ask the Oracle (Fantasy Questions Answered)
25 October 2009 4:43 PM, PDT
| thetorchonline
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Have a question about something fantasy-related? Ask the Oracle! (Be sure to include your first name and the city, state, and/or country you are writing from.)
Q: What the Hell is going on with all the celebrity voices in animated movies?! Talk about over-kill! -- Misha, New York NY
A: The Oracle agrees with you completely. Even setting aside the fact that acting talent is totally different from voice-talent (and that many celebrities' voices just aren't that interesting), their voices are usually just plain distracting -- you can't ever forget that, oh, yeah, that's Reese Witherspoon as Susan in Monsters Vs Aliens.
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DVD Weekly Roundup – Mon 26th October 2009
24 October 2009 2:20 AM, PDT
| FilmShaft.com
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Drag Me To Hell
Finally Sam Raimi gets back to what he does best. A damn good splatter-fest that is as funny as it is scary. Alison Lohman turns in a brilliant performance as Christine Brown, a normal young woman who works at an L.A. loan company. After she refuses the mysterious Mrs Ganush an extension on her loan to impress her boss she finds herself on the receiving end of a very nasty curse that transforms her life quite literally into a living hell. Asking for help from a psychic to reverse the curse Christine finds herself in a race against time and in the end she has to choose exactly how far she is prepared to go in order to break the spell.
This is fantastic filmmaking. It moves at a break-neck speed and offers moments that will make you jump miles off of your seat. Forget Spider-Man 4,
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- Alex Wagner
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Wild Link Tamer
16 October 2009 4:20 PM, PDT
| FilmExperience
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Towleroad my weekly column on this week's releases. I'm excited for Where the Wild Things Are but I want to see this Jonze doc on Sendak (it might be up for the Documentary Short Oscar) and I don't have HBO. Curses
In Contention Guy Lodge looks at Oscar's racial, gender and sexual orientation divides. How have things changed over the years?
/Film Robert Redford's Lincoln assassination picture The Conspirator begins filming: James McAvoy, Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long and Robin Wright Penn star
AfterElton Frank Anthony Polito (author of Band Fags) remembers Jon-Erik Hexum. If you grew up in the 80s, you'll remember this TV actor. If you didn't, never mind
Cinematical Penélope Cruz and Liza Minnelli join the cast of Sex & the City 2. It's not like I wasn't going to buy a ticket already. Save the money for a tighter/funnier script this time. I don't need any
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- NATHANIEL R
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What Will Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer Do Next?
13 October 2009 7:30 AM, PDT
| Slash Film
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Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer is a rare version of the young director with a hit movie on his hands: he didn't walk into Zombieland's release weekend with another movie set up, ready to go. That could have been a problem if the zombie flick had failed, but it definitely did not. So what will Fleischer do next?
THR runs down some of the director's current options. Fleischer was never a horror guy, and most of what he's gravitating towards now seems to be comedy. Right now, he's 'loosely attached' to Daddy's Home, a comedy meant to be a starring vehicle for Will Ferrell and produced by Ferrell and Adam McKay's company. Ferrell would be a divorced guy who causes havoc in the wife of his newly remarried ex-wife and her uptight second husband. (Potentially played by Ed Helms.)
There's also Fox's Neighborhood Watch, which is also courting Monsters vs Aliens
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- Russ Fischer
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Cinematical Seven: Greatest Monsters in Kid Films
30 September 2009 8:15 PM, PDT
| Cinematical
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In honor of this week's release of DreamWork's Monsters vs Aliens on both DVD and Blu-ray, we measly humans here at Cinematical have decided to wade through the hordes of monsters and or aliens in kid friendly films to find the cream of the closet-dwelling, slime-dripping, child-eating, smile-inducing crop of inhuman lovables. In doing so it has occurred to me just how hard it is for a film to make an iconic character for children.
Sure, it's easy to make something marketable for kids, but to make monstrous and unique characters for children to cherish into adulthood, not unlike the mutated heroes of MvA, takes a lot of talent.
E.T.
I have no reason to lie to you. I'm a 24-year-old man and E.T. still scares me. He has ever since I was a wee little lad. I can't pinpoint the moment that instilled such a ridiculous fear
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- Peter Hall
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This Week on DVD: Monsters vs Aliens, Away We Go, The Wizard of Oz
29 September 2009 9:27 AM, PDT
| FilmJunk
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Happy DVD release day, people. Hitting stores this week is one of the year's biggest films, the animated film Monsters vs Aliens, plus a number of indie flicks you might have missed including Sam Mendes' Away We Go, Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience starring Sasha Grey, and Shrink starring Kevin Spacey. Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom is also available for rental exclusively at Blockbuster today, but in a strange deal, it will not be available to buy in the U.S. until January (it will be available in Canada next week, however). In terms of TV releases, there are a ton of Fan Favorites collections for classic shows, plus season 4 of How I Met Your Mother, and then there's the massive 70th Anniversary Edition of The Wizard of Oz plus Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal on Blu-ray. Do you plan on picking anything up this week?
Monsters vs Aliens [1] (DVD,
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- Sean
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3-D TV Shows Promise, But Those Glasses Still a Must
26 September 2009 10:04 AM, PDT
| newser.com
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Admit it, your heart skips a beat at the prospect of a 3-D high-definition TV in your own home. And by this time next year, Sony and Panasonic will have ‘em on the market. But—and it’s a big one, even after the cost—you’re going to have to wear those glasses. Yes, technology seems to have cleared up the headaches, and Ray-Ban’s working up some trendy specs, but … You can see the upgraded 3-D technology on the big screen— Time lists Monsters vs Aliens as a recent example—and blu-ray discs have the capacity to accommodate Hollywood’s upgrades.
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James Gunn Reveals Exclusive Super Details
22 September 2009 6:30 AM, PDT
| Atomic Popcorn
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Ahhh, the benefits of a Jesuit education. Saint Louis University graduate James Gunn, writer of Scooby Doo, Slither, Dawn of the Dead and the upcoming Super (which we talked about here) has been making the rounds preparing for production on his self-proclaimed dark comedic take on a superhero. The film stars Rainn Wilson of The Office, Ellen Page, and Liv Tyler. On his personal blog, James wrote:
“Rainn and I have been working together on the project for a few months now – Rainn will be playing the lead role of Frank D’Arbo who dresses up as a superhero called the Crimson Bolt; he’s got no superpowers other than a pipe wrench. Rainn and I both worked hard to get the best possible folks involved. We were lucky to get Ted Hope to produce – he’s done such movies as Happiness, The Ice Storm, The Savages, American Splendor, and 21 Grams.
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- John Cooper
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Check This Out: First How to Train Your Dragon Teaser
13 September 2009 11:59 PM, PDT
| firstshowing.net
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Love dragons? Then this is for you! DreamWorks Animation's next is How to Train Your Dragon, due out next March. This is another original project from the animation studio that last brought us Monsters vs Aliens. I'll admit I'm actually quite excited to see this, which is very rare for DreamWorks, but I'm getting a sort of Kung Fu Panda vibe. I just hope it lives up to that. Okay so this isn't really a trailer. It's a very short, very low quality, very basic teaser for the movie. I sincerely hope this isn't what they used to first introduce people because it's not very good, especially considering we've already seen some early artwork. Enjoy?
Watch the first trailer for How to Train Your Dragon:
Paramount has requested that the trailer be removed. Sorry for the inconvenience!
How to Train Your Dragon is the story of Hiccup, heir of Viking
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- Alex Billington
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