Thompson on Hollywood

Weekend Box Office: Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Ignites Moviegoers Worldwide, The Descendants Delivers

News

Christmas arrived early this year at the box office as Summit’s “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part One” racked up the fifth biggest opening weekend in boxoffice history with an estimated $139.5 million. On Friday alone the total was some $72 million, marking the third biggest single-day gross of all-time, after Warner Bros.’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” ($91.1 million) and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” ($72.7 million).

By Brian Fuson
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November 20, 2011 1:15 PM
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: Unmissable Apocalyptic Melancholia, Herzogian Into the Abyss, J Edgar & More

Features

By Sophia Savage
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November 10, 2011 1:29 PM
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Pixar Launches Legacy Start Up in Vancouver, Air Mater Short Takes Flight

Features

It’s been a great week for Pixar, writes TOH columnist Bill Desowitz in this week’s Immersed in Movies.

By Bill Desowitz
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November 6, 2011 1:33 PM
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AFM News: Sony Takes 1890s Paris Tale Bel Ami, with Pattinson, Thurman, Scott Thomas & Ricci

News

At AFM, Sony has acquired North American rights to Bel Ami, which stars Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci. The film, now completed, was co-directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod (the pair worked together on 1992 short The Big Fish, which must have been good if they attracted this cast), and is based on Guy de Maupassant's 1885 novel of the same name, adapted by Rachel Bennette. The story explores themes of ambition, power and seduction, with Pattinson starring as a broke ex-soldier who ascends 1890s Parisian society by manipulating its women.

By Sophia Savage
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November 3, 2011 8:29 AM
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Will Bradley Cooper and Joel Edgerton Board Soderbergh's Man From U.N.C.L.E.?

News

Despite the box office failure of his well-reviewed Warrior, which Lionsgate hopes critics will remember at the end of the year, Joel Edgerton continues to be courted as a leading man. Better than his offer to star in 300: Battle of Artemisia, is the chance to star in Steven Soderbergh's The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Bradley Cooper is waiting to commit to the picture (as Napoleon Solo, which George Clooney turned down because of back problems) until it is clear who will be playing Russian agent Illya Kuryakin (possibly Edgerton).

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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November 3, 2011 7:52 AM
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Trailer Watch: Safe House Stars Badass Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga

Check out Universal's Safe House, from Swedish born director Daniel Espinosa. The plot sounds familiar, but we'll pay to see Denzel Washington in just about anything. Ryan Reynolds appears suitably second fiddle to Washington, and Vera Farmiga plays the tough CIA woman who balances out the requisite underwear-clad hot girlfriend. The film hits theaters February 2012.

By Sophia Savage
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November 3, 2011 7:17 AM
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: Ratner's Tower Heist Set to Topple Indie Docs & Dramas

Brett Ratner's timely Tower Heist taps into anti-Wall Street sentiment and is just what you'd expect: competent, breezy, escapist entertainment. The well-cast Madoff-inspired comedy--which stars Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Tea Leoni, Alan Alda and Eddie Murphy in a supporting comeback bid-- is expected to take in $29 million this weekend, while A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas 3D could score $15.5 million.

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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November 3, 2011 6:34 AM
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War Horse Takes Preview Screening Route to Build Buzz

Disney/DreamWorks is borrowing a page from Paramount's Young Adult pop-up screening playbook by previewing Steven Spielberg's drama War Horse around the country via sneaks, starting Tuesday November 1 (see cities and dates below). (Long-lead press and key critics groups will also see the film ahead of most media, who won't screen it until the end of November.) Positive heartland reactions are already coming in.

By Anne Thompson
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November 2, 2011 9:27 AM
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John Lasseter Gets the 2453rd Star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

While Disney was promoting the Blu-ray and DVD release of Cars 2 on November 1, the day Disney/Pixar animation czar John Lasseter happened to get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it was still a happy day and a well-deserved honor. Disney's Rich Ross and Sean Bailey, Pixar's Ed Catmull, Bob Peterson and Pete Docter, voice talent Owen Wilson, Bonnie Franklin, Patton Oswalt, John Ratzenberger and Don Rickles, as well as composer Randy Newman, all showed support for the guy Emily Mortimer called a "genius."

By Anne Thompson
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November 2, 2011 1:32 AM
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Foreign Box Office: Spielberg's Adventures of Tintin Opens Big Overseas

Sony and Paramount's move to open Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin overseas months ahead of its December stateside release --where the Herge comic books are beloved--is paying off. The performance capture film opened overseas with an estimated $55.8 million in 19 markets.