Thompson on Hollywood

Iron Man 2 Takes $133.6 Million, Breaks No Records

Iron Man 2 jump-started the summer season with robust $133.6 million weekend take, more than enough to make Paramount happy, reports Anthony D'Alessandro:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
May 9, 2010 4:59 AM
|
3 Comments

More:

Iron Man 2 Set To Break Records, Jump-Start Summer

It’s incorrect to label Iron Man 2 a fan boy film – even though it’s based on the Marvel comic book superhero. Many expect Iron Man 2 to earn the highest weekend ever at the domestic B.O, outstripping Warner Bros.’ first frame for The Dark Knight which made $158.4 million in late July 2008. When fan boy films begin churning out huge opening numbers, they become four-quadrant films. Not only is Iron Man 2 currently tracking through the roof in every sector (unaided awareness, total awareness, first choice, definite interest) for Iron Man 2 but no other studio is counter-programming a title against the Marvel sequel – evidence that this is an everyman tent pole.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
May 6, 2010 12:40 PM
|
2 Comments

More:

A Nightmare on Elm Street Remake Takes $32 Million, Furry Vengeance Flops

The Nightmare on Elm Street remake grabbed a hefty $32.2 million at the weekend box office. How to Train Your Dragon and Date Night still have legs, while The Back-Up Plan took a second-week dive and Brendan Fraser flopped in Furry Vengeance. Anthony D'Alessandro crunches the numbers:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
May 2, 2010 3:55 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

TCM Classic Film Festival is Hit, and is Coming Back

Last weekend's TCM Classic Film Festival in LA was such a hit that it's coming back in 2011. TCM targeted an aging demo starving for classic movies and created an event feel, with Q & As and panels, from Danny and Anjelica Huston honoring their father and grandfather in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre to Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (which holds up really well, fresh as a daisy) and the Complete Metropolis accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra, which judging from the interest I'm gauging will do some business. (Leonard Maltin covered the fest like a blanket.)

By Anne Thompson
|
April 27, 2010 7:29 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

How to Train Your Dragon Roars Past The Back-Up Plan

How to Train Your Dragon came roaring back at the weekend box office, proving that fab word-of-mouth trumps familiar old-hat formulas every time. Jennifer Lopez rom-com The Back-Up Plan came in second, and DC comics movie The Losers was a disaster, coming in fourth behind Date Night. Anthony D'Alessandro dissects the numbers.Never dis a dragon – even at the box office. Paramount-DreamWorks 3D toon How to Train Your Dragon continued to flap its legs, err wings in a murky April weekend session, earning $15 million at 3,665 theaters. Dragon slipped 23% in its fifth weekend raising its domestic cume to $178 million. Overall, weekend receipts counted an estimated $95 million, off 10-15% from a year ago. Distribs account the drop to the lack of film product in the market, particularly with Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps moving out of the month.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
April 25, 2010 4:30 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Senate Committee Passes Wall Street Transparency Act Banning Box Office Trading

Whew! Even though the Fed has approved the existence of two companies seeking to market wagers on box office futures, the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday could set back the financial ventures by passing the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act, reports the LAT, which includes a provision that bans trading on the box office:

By Anne Thompson
|
April 21, 2010 7:30 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Summer Movies: What Can Top Iron Man 2?

It's starting to look a lot like summer.

By Anne Thompson
|
April 20, 2010 4:01 AM
|
13 Comments

Kick-Ass Takes Number One After All

For the second weekend in a row, the top two films were in such a neck-and-neck race that the Sunday box office estimates were turned around on Monday. So this weekend, Lionsgate's Kick-Ass, while not scoring the $20-30 million weekend some were forecasting, did win the weekend b.o. derby. UPDATE: According to Box Office Mojo, Thursday night numbers are included in the total.

By Anne Thompson
|
April 19, 2010 7:35 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Dragon Trumps Kick-Ass

Picking up word-of-mouth as it continues to pull audiences, Paramount/DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon bested all comers at the weekend box office, kicking Kick-Ass to second place. TOH box office analyst Anthony D'Alessandro reports:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
April 18, 2010 4:34 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Kick-Ass Rides Buzz for OK Opening, Reveals Critics' Divide

Controversy sells, and Lionsgate rode a swell of debate over the R-rated superhero action comedy Kick-Ass to a robust box office lead on Friday, an estimated $7.5 million in 3,065 runs. It may or may not make the $20 million opening benchmark some predicted; Date Night could wind up number one. This is the sort of movie that is banking on a core fan following--the folks that responded enthusiastically to early footage at Comic-Con last year--but needs to widen its appeal in order to really score. Lionsgate only invested $15 million to acquire it plus some $25 million in marketing, so it should come out ahead.