Thompson on Hollywood

2011 Sundance Film Fest Theatrical Acquisitions Underperform – Set Low Expectations for 2012

Festivals

What does "Our Idiot Brother" have in common with "The Kids Are All Right," "Precious," "Sunshine Cleaning," "Once," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "March of the Penguins”? Like those other titles (distributed between 2005-2011), it was the highest-grossing film in theaters among those acquired at the Sundance Film Festival (SFF) the year it premiered.

By Tom Brueggemann
|
January 16, 2012 4:20 PM
|
7 Comments

More:

IN THE WORKS: Lionsgate's AFM Slate; Irvine and Firth in Railway Man; Corey Stoll's Next Move

Lionsgate is busy, handling several new projects at the AFM. There's Murder of a Cat, from producer Sam Raimi and his director wife, Gillian Greene Raimi. The dark comedy is about a man who discovers his recently murdered cat had a double life with a mysterious young woman. There are echoes Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore, but with the suggestion of romance. Jay Baruchel, Dianne Wiest, Alison Pill, Rob Lowe and JK Simmons will star.

By Sophia Savage
|
November 1, 2011 8:20 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Hunger Games Character Posters Land, Build Anticipation for Franchise's March 2012 Debut

Check out the new character posters for the upcoming Hunger Games franchise kick-off (the first installment hits theaters March 2012. Full Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) poster below. Here's more details.

By Sophia Savage
|
October 27, 2011 5:56 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Now and Then Sees Double: Margin Call/Wall Street and Weekend/Before Sunset

With a couple of superb new indies making well-deserved waves, Matt Brennan’s “Now and Then” column pulls extra duty this week by taking on two double features for the price of one: Margin Call vs. Wall Street, and Weekend vs. Before Sunset. Trailers below:

By Matt Brennan
|
October 24, 2011 3:53 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Zachary Quinto Talks Wall Street Drama Margin Call, Star Trek, Comes Out

This week Zachary Quinto came out in New York Magazine, as major studio production Star Trek 2 ramps up for a January start with him on board as Spock, who memorably romances Zoe Saldana in the film. Quinto has also launched indie production company Before the Door Pictures, which started off with film school dropout-turned-commercial director J.C. Chandor's $3.5 million Wall Street drama Margin Call, featuring a strong ensemble including Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore. The film debuted at Sundance, where U.S. rights sold to Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions for $2 million (here's TOH's Sundance story). The movie couldn't be more timely, with the Occupy Wall Street movement building steam and dominating global headlines.

By Anne Thompson
|
October 17, 2011 5:38 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Box Office: What Went Wrong with Critic Faves Drive and Warrior

Aren't rave reviews supposed to push indie films into crossover success? Anthony D'Alessandro investigates what went wrong with Drive and Warrior at the fall box office.While critics did boost ticket sales for such wide appeal films as The Help (74% fresh Tomatometer and $155 million domestic B.O.) and Contagion (84% fresh, $56 million), they weren't able to turn things around for Lionsgate’s Warrior ($12.3 million, 84% fresh) or FilmDistrict’s Drive ($21.9 million, 93%). Why? It's complicated, but one thing's for sure: the films fell short because both distribs took their films out too fast to fine-tune their roll-out for their real audience. And while both films played well for women once they saw them, neither distrib was able to lure them in significant numbers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
September 28, 2011 4:22 AM
|
24 Comments

More:

Box Office: Lion King Steals Home Run from Moneyball During Crowded Weekend

It was such a crowded weekend at the box office that Sunday estimates are unclear. Clearly, too many movies were aimed at men. Anthony D'Alessandro reports. If you asked distribution executives on Thursday what was going to be No. 1 at the weekend box office, they would have pointed at the other guy. Sony, Warner Bros. and Disney all had strong prospects, but knew they could easily lose to each other. And this had nothing to do with the usual fall award contenders.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
September 25, 2011 4:56 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Toronto Wrap: Best of Fest, Oscar Boosts, Winners and Losers

The trick with the fall film festivals is to gauge expectations going in vs. what was actually achieved. Various distributors launched their fall slates, and watched with pleasure or horror at how their movies were received by audiences and critics. Oscar contenders either moved forward in the awards race, or were pushed back. Other indies hoped their films would be picked up by the right distributor in time for this year's Oscar race. Some were, some weren't. It's tough for films that have already debuted at other festivals to pick up new momentum, although the press will bank features for release. The biggest noise goes to the new players, always.

By Anne Thompson
|
September 21, 2011 7:04 AM
|
2 Comments

Box Office: Contagion Runs $23-Million Fever Over Cold Weekend

Steven Soderbergh's pandemic ensemble thriller Contagion posted a healthy opening despite an overall downer weekend. Anthony D'Alessandro breaks down the box office:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
September 11, 2011 4:21 AM
|
3 Comments

More:

Telluride Review Round-Up: Glenn Close Passion Project Albert Nobbs

Reviews

Based on the Telluride reaction to Glenn Close's long-aborning gender-bender drama Albert Nobbs, the veteran actress has a shot at an Oscar nomination--and so does supporting actress Janet McTeer. Roadside Attractions is planning a late year release--outside the fray--and will push hard for award recognition for Close. The movie played well with the Telluride's audience, especially women, but may face some mixed reviews. The sampling below includes a rave from the NYT's A.O. Scott, which won't hurt.