Thompson on Hollywood

Melissa McCarthy Rules Weekend Box Office Top Ten

Box Office

On a Sunday when studio films look to take home most of the top Oscars (not always the case), their new pictures aren't playing well with audiences. Only three studio pics make the top ten, while mini-majors and independents carry most of the weight. The continued success of such companies as Weinstein, Lionsgate, Relativity and Open Road is healthy for the overall industry, but the lack of top-draw breakout hits from the studios is significant, even iduring their first quarter off-season. This drives grosses lower, with exhibitors continuing to bear the brunt of the pain.

By Tom Brueggemann
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February 24, 2013 1:08 PM
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Weekend Box Office Top Ten: Bruce Willis is Back, But Melissa McCarthy Stays Close, 'Silver Linings' Passes $100 Million

Box Office

Good news: four wide releases grossed over $20 million for the four-day Presidents' Day weekend. On paper that looks solid. Pictures with varied appeal--male action, comedy, young female, kids--marked a return to more normal moviegoing after weeks of adult-sewing films, with a few genre films grabbing scattered attention. Bruce Willis' fifth turn in a "Die Hard" film led the way, staving off a strong challenge by the second week of Melissa McCarthy's career-boosting hit "Identity Thief," which will likely be the biggest film released in the first two months of the year (at least in North America).

By Tom Brueggemann
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February 16, 2013 7:36 PM
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Weekend Box Office Returns to Normal: 'Good Day to Die Hard' & 'Safe Haven' Open, 'Silver Linings' Heads for $100 Million

Box Office

After a disastrous weekend when grosses dipped to half of last year's, two new releases and one strong holdover continued the Thursday Valentine's Day rebound. Friday's Top Ten total is close to the 2012 sum. Three of the week's four new films premiered a day earlier. All three fell off their initial numbers, though, suggesting that the recovery is not complete, even for just one weekend. (We'll report holiday weekend totals on Monday.)

By Tom Brueggemann
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February 16, 2013 2:00 PM
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Weekend Preview: A Good Time to Skip 'Die Hard,' Decent 'Beautiful Creatures,' Say Yes to 'No' and More

Reviews

This weekend at the movies things break down clearly: The new "Die Hard" installment and the latest Nicholas Sparks milktoast, "Safe Haven," are generating execrable reviews, while foreign titles "No," Chile's Oscar nominee starring Gael Garcia Bernal, and Abbas Kiarostami's mysterious romance "Like Someone in Love" are both a hit with critics...

By Beth Hanna
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February 15, 2013 2:08 PM
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Trailer Watch: Valentine's Day will be 'A Good Day to Die Hard' with Bruce Willis as John McClane

Video

"A Good Day to Die Hard" comes out February 14. Romantic cynics might appreciate this, as Valentine's Day can be a good day to die hard.

By Beth Hanna
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October 26, 2012 1:41 PM
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Emily Blunt Talks Keeping It Real in 'Looper,' 'Your Sister's Sister' and 'All You Need is Kill' (VIDEO)

Interviews

The performer who anchors "Looper" and turns it into something deeper than a hardboiled sci-fi actioner is Emily Blunt. (Here's my review.) I grabbed the in-demand actress between rehearsals on Doug Liman's "All You Need is Kill" for a brief telephone interview.

By Anne Thompson
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September 27, 2012 6:00 AM
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Trailer Watch: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Nails Young Bruce Willis in Rian Johnson's Kinetic 'Looper'

Video

Joseph Gordon-Levitt isn't the most obvious candidate to play a young Bruce Willis -- opposite Bruce Willis, no less -- but after seeing this pulse-quickening, excitingly stylish new UK trailer for Rian Johnson's "Looper," we're buying into the unlikely faceoff hook, line and sinker...