Thompson on Hollywood

Sex and the City Prequel: Less Evolved?

Last week Brit tabloid The Daily Mail reported that we'd soon be seeing a third Sex and the City movie, this one a prequel that would show us the fearsome foursome's background and include new talent such as Blake Lively, Selena Gomez, Emma Roberts and Elizabeth Olsen.

By Jacob Combs
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August 5, 2011 12:58 PM
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Year-End Box Office Wrap 2010: Winners and Losers Chart, Warners Leads Domestic Market Share

It was feast or famine at the 2010 domestic box office. The studios spent too much on too many uber-flops, but thanks to holdover Avatar and premium 3-D ticket prices, they enjoyed their second-best year at the domestic box office with $10.46 billion, off less than 2% from 2009’s all-time haul of $10.6 billion. The theatrical buoyancy of 3-D inflated the average stub from $7.46 in 2009 to $7.85 in the third quarter (per the National Association of Theater Owners). But the real trend is worrisome: higher ticket prices plus static turnstiles equals fewer butts in seats. Admissions fell 6% from 1.42 billion in 2009 to 1.33 billion last year.

By Anne Thompson and Anthony D'Alessandro
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January 7, 2011 9:10 AM
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Portman Gaining on Gravity, Sex and the City's Cattrall and Noth Attack Critics

Alfonso Cuaron is in "active negotiations" with Natalie Portman to star in Gravity after failed attempts by Universal and Warner Bros. to keep Angelina Jolie interested. Nor did Blake Lively or Scarlett Johansson gain serious traction. And an attempt to push Sandra Bullock also came to naught. The role will be a challenge; it might as well be the industry's current prima ballerina. Cuaron wrote the script with his son Jonas, whose Hollywood Gang-produced script for a Mexico City-based thriller was also just picked up by Warners.

By Sophia Savage
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September 29, 2010 6:58 AM
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LaBeouf is Forbes' Best Deal; Americans Still Like Gibson; Lohan Talks to Vanity Fair

- Shia LaBeouf, for a second year running, tops Forbes' list of Best Actors for the Buck. As an investment, LaBeouf is very attractive: "he offers a great return…For every $1 studios spend on the 24-year-old actor his films return an average $81 of profit." LaBeouf's paychecks will continue to grow; this won't hurt his agent's requests for a raise. Forbes' top 36 earners each had to have three movies open in over 500 theaters in the past five years, and meet a myriad of other criteria including their Celebrity 100 status. LaBeouf is king and Anne Hathaway is queen at #2, earning studios $64 for each dollar they pay her. Harry Potter boy Daniel Radcliffe is #3 ($61 for them, $1 for him), Robert Downey Jr. took fourth ($33), and can-do-no-wrong Cate Blanchett took fifth ($27). And before we all dig Aniston's box-office grave, lets give her credit for landing the #6 spot on this list (and for sharing it with Meryl Streep); $21 to their studios for each dollar they earn. Johnny Depp ($18), Nic Cage ($17) and Sarah Jessica Parker ($17) round out the top ten. Basically the list rewards mid-level stars who aren't at the top of the pay heap, which suggests that the more you get paid, the less you return..

By Sophia Savage
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August 31, 2010 3:36 AM
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Mid-Summer Box Office Wrap: Top Ten Chart, Studio Report Card

At mid-summer, the box office is lagging just behind last year's pace and ticket sales are flat, reports Anthony D'Alessandro, who charts the season's winners, losers and studio market shares so far (as of last weekend). Will red-hot Inception take the number one box office crown from Toy Story 3? Stay tuned, as numbers and rankings will change by Labor Day.

By Anthony D'Allessandro
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August 5, 2010 5:37 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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Oscar Talk Summer Edition: Post-Cannes, Box Office Blues

In our second Oscar Talk Summer Edition, In Contention's Kris Tapley and I cover his cross-country road trip, award contenders emerging from Cannes, and the disappointing summer so far, with some debate over indie darlings Winter's Bone and The Kids Are Alright, which opens next week's Los Angeles Film Festival.

By Anne Thompson
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June 12, 2010 3:57 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Summer Fizzle Leaves Shrek 4 On Top

Last weekend's horrific box office numbers continued into this weekend, which returned animated family film Shrek Forever After--in its third week--to the top of the fray, the only film to crack the $20-million mark! The lucrative summer season is when the studios send their surefire top guns to do battle. So far, the summer of 2010 is a fizzle. Anthony D'Alessandro reports:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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June 6, 2010 4:37 AM
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Why a Crappy Sequel Chick Flick Hit is Better than a Flop

Women will flock to see Sex and the City 2--no matter how dismissive its reviews--because they're starving for content aimed at them. (The pic grossed $14.2 million on Thursday.) They're fond of the four characters, and want to check out their over-the-top Patricia Field costumes. They may be disappointed.

By Anne Thompson
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May 28, 2010 12:34 PM
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Memorial Day Bloody Box Office Duel Pits Femme Sex and the City 2 vs. Male Prince of Persia

For the first time ever, this Memorial Day Weekend could mark the first-ever number one chick flick, predicts TOH box-office numbers cruncher Anthony D'Alessandro, who interviews distribution chiefs from Warners and Disney about their expectations for the four-day holiday.