Thompson on Hollywood

Weekend Box Office: Inception Beats Dinner for Schmucks, Charlie St. Cloud

In its third go-round, Inception, buoyed by repeat business, continued to stave off all challengers, including the comedy Dinner for Schmucks, which scored a robust $23.3 million, and the Zac Efron weepy Charlie St. Cloud and animated sequel Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, which were both DOA. Anthony D'Alessandro does the numbers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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August 1, 2010 4:08 AM
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Lawrence Goes Mainstream, Hardy vs. Pine, Crowe in Noyce's Dirt Music, No Sex and The City 3

-Jennifer Lawrence - star of Sundance jury winner Winter's Bone - will be entering the mainstream. She takes on Mystique in 2011's X-Men: First Class, followed by the horror film House at the End of the Street in 2012. The film follows a just-moved-in teen who discovers that she and her mother (Elizabeth Shue) live across the street from the site of a double murder; they befriend the surviving son (Max Thieriot) who still lives there. According to THR, House at the End of the Street hopes to be to Psycho what Shia LaBeouf's 2007 Disturbia was to Rear Window. The film will begin shooting next month at the end of a street in Ottawa.

By Sophia Savage
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July 27, 2010 5:29 AM
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Box Office: Inception Beats Out Salt on Boffo Summer Weekend

Having already passed the $100-million mark, Inception and Leonardo DiCaprio beat out box office challenger Salt and Angelina Jolie this weekend, reports Anthony D'Alessandro. It was an embarrassment of riches at the weekend box office, as two films led by stars, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Inception and Angelina Jolie’s Salt, racked up $43.5 million and $36.5 million respectively. Clearly both original pictures leaned on serious star power to launch their franchises, during a time when box office analysts have been questioning whether stars mean much these days. Inception had a remarkably small slip for a tentpole film of just 31%. Typically an actioner will halve its ticket sales in its second frame, but Inception's complex plot inspires moviegoer debate--and lots of repeat business.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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July 25, 2010 4:26 AM
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Career Watch: Nicolas Cage Risks Overexposure

Nicolas Cage's latest movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice is dead on arrival. What went wrong? There's nothing wrong with his performance. But are people getting tired of seeing Cage? After 60 movies, has he started to exhaust the possibilities? Here's a taste of my latest Career Watch column.

By Anne Thompson
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July 19, 2010 7:02 AM
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Jolie Transcends Gender, Action Star Shortage, Banks as Tinkerbell

- Angelina Jolie is the first actress to transcend gender. It's hard to argue that any other actress, dead or living, can do what she can. Sony paid her $20 million up front for Salt, reports THR. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura agrees that it's unusual for a female to be an action star. But in Jolie's case, "She's not a female action star; she's an action star. She's really the first female to transcend gender. I don't think it's occurred before."

By Sophia Savage
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July 15, 2010 3:47 AM
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Power Pair Roberts and Murphy, Bardem and Cruz Wed, Forster's Heretics, Mozart Opera Hits Cinemas

- While the b.o. fate of the movie based on the global bestseller Eat Pray Love won't be determined until the peripatetic romance opens August 13, in-demand writer-director Ryan Murphy (also Glee's co-creator/exec-producer) has won not only Sony's vote of confidence, but star Julia Roberts is also happy to pair up with him again. Murphy just signed on to write and direct an original romantic comedy for Roberts, reports Deadline. The high concept: working woman loses job, switches roles with stay-at-home husband, and must adjust to newfound motherhood. Brad Pitt's Plan B will produce with Murphy, as it did with Eat Pray Love. Murphy is also on the shortlist for the film adaptation of the musical Wicked.

By Sophia Savage
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July 14, 2010 5:33 AM
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Despicable Me Tops Box Office; Family Titles Offer Counter Programming

Things are looking good for family films and 3D. The same goes for alien hunters and Adrien Brody. Reporter Anthony D'Alessandro has tallied the numbers for this weekend's box office.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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July 11, 2010 5:48 AM
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The Hobbit Could Lose McKellen, Movie House Revivals, Lautner's Muscles

-Even with Peter Jackson prepared to take over the directing helm, continued delays on The Hobbit put the cast's availability at risk. Even the film's Gandalf, Ian McKellen, is under no contract to appear in The Hobbit, the veteran actor revealed in an interview with New Zealand's Good Morning. He said his time is "running out," and he is actually more interested in working the theater. "Frankly, I would like to race after doing Waiting For Godot, get on with doing another play but we'll have to see. I don't give the producers the impression that I'm sitting waiting." One possible save-the-day scenario would see debt-ridden MGM selling the rights to Warner Bros./New Line (which is also a potential buyer of the studio). With the next James Bond already on hiatus, many Hollywood players are working behind the scenes to untie The Hobbit's Gordian knot.

By Sophia Savage
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July 5, 2010 5:35 AM
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Boffo Holiday Weekend Box Office, But Twilight Saga: Eclipse Doesn't Beat Spider-Man 2 or New Moon

After a slow start to the summer season, movie ticket sales finally took off over the 4th of July weekend, driven by two powerful sequels, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Toy Story 3, and a review-proof family adventure from M. Night Shyamalan, The Last Airbender. Anthony D'Alessandro does the numbers.

By Anne Thompson
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July 5, 2010 4:20 AM
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Inception's Life-Size Adverts

Warner Bros. installed some jumbo-size new ads in New York for Christopher Nolan's much-anticipated Inception. The supergraphics play with perception in a fun way, and don't completely stick out like some other massive outdoor ads.