Thompson on Hollywood

Last Post of 2009: Avatar Passes 800 Million, Year and Decade Wraps, Gilliam's First Short

Twelve years after Titanic, another late-year James Cameron release is climbing the box office charts. I thought I was safe with my estimate of $1 billion worldwide ($400 m domestic, $600 foreign). But Avatar is already passing $800 million! It could challenge Titanic's $1.8 billion record after all.

By Anne Thompson
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January 1, 2010 2:25 AM
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Holiday Biopics: Young Victoria, Creation, Me and Orson Welles

Three period biopics with awards hopes face some tough going over the holidays.

By Anne Thompson
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December 31, 2009 3:10 AM
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Holiday Movie Wrap: Avatar Beats Sherlock Holmes, Nine Flops

Over the holiday weekend, the two most popular topics on my Twitter feed were Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. While there was debate on Sherlock Holmes's merits, most of my tweeters approved of Cameron's blockbuster (as did critics--it scored 83 on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic). Avatar looks to challenge, if not beat, Titanic's box office records, based on its extraordinary performance in North America so far: $75 million over the holiday and $212 million to date. (Here's the LAT's box office report, and David Poland's analysis.)

By Anne Thompson
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December 27, 2009 5:46 AM
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Things I Learned at the Avatar Premiere

James Cameron basked in the glow as Avatar, his latest industry-changing event-film, earned a standing ovation at the Mann Chinese Wednesday night. At the after party Cameron beamed as he stood between two tall women, wife Suzy Amis and ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. "You're on a roll!" he said to the Hurt Locker director. "You raised the bar," she said to Cameron.

By Anne Thompson
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December 17, 2009 4:49 AM
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Avatar Advance Ticket Sales Skyrocket

The first Avatar show this Thursday at midnight is already selling out across the country, and currently accounts for 70% of all ticket sales this week at MovieTickets.com, which reports 350 sold out “Avatar” performances: Ticket Buyers· 78% of “Avatar” ticket buyers at MovieTickets.com are male

By Anne Thompson
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December 16, 2009 7:53 AM
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Twilight Saga: New Moon is a Franchise, People

A lot of people are scratching their heads over the whole Twilight phenomenon. When I made a fuss about it before Comic-Con in 2008, many fan boys didn't have a clue. By July 2009 there was a raging Twilight backlash at the male-dominated Con. Even last week, I was amused by all the clueless Dads at the Twilight: New Moon premiere who'd rather be shot than admit to reading one of the books. Why were they there? To check it out.

By Anne Thompson
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November 23, 2009 7:40 AM
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Twilight Saga: New Moon Breaks Harry Potter Midnight Ticket Sales Record

Based on the torrid rate of Fandango and MovieTickets.com advance online ticket sales, it's not a huge surprise that The Twilight Saga: New Moon broke the midnight ticket sales record set last summer by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , reports the LAT:

By Anne Thompson
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November 20, 2009 5:59 AM
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New Moon Selling Out Faster than Twilight

A sequel to Twilight is going to open better than the original. So it's no surprise that online sales are swift. MovieTickets.com reports:

By Anne Thompson
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November 12, 2009 12:57 AM
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Weekend Winners: Where the Wild Things Are, Law Abiding Citizen, Paranormal Activity

Weekend Box Office WinnersSpike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are led the weekend box office. While an estimated $32.4 million was a studio record for October (the movie was on some 3700 screens), the number wasn't as big as some expected after its stellar Friday. The studio aimed the PG-rated film at a general, not family audience. But will the $90-million movie make its money back? Finally, Warners backed filmmakers working outside of the box, and that's a good thing.