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Box Office Spotlight: 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader'

By Eugene Novikov (Subscribe to Eugene Novikov's posts), Posted Dec 13th 2010 9:02AM
Filed under: Box Office, New Releases, Cinematical


The Movie: 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', the third film in the series of big-budget adaptations of the classic young-adult novels by C.S. Lewis. After the second film, 'Prince Caspian', grossed only $140 million domestically in 2008, co-producer Disney jumped ship; 20th Century Fox stepped in to save the day, no doubt enticed by the series' substantial popularity overseas. With director Andrew Adamson moving on to other projects, Fox hired veteran Michael Apted to deliver a cheaper, tighter, more streamlined film. 'Dawn Treader' is the first 'Narnia' installment to clock in under two hours.

The Target Audience: Families suffering from 'Harry Potter' withdrawal; Christian audiences; fans of the books.

The Competition: 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1' is still hanging around, though fading fast; 'Tangled', which has held up admirably after three weeks, also siphoned off some potential audiences. The only new competition in wide release was the frothy, poorly-reviewed Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie thriller 'The Tourist'. For the weekend's full box office results, check out Moviefone's Box Office Report.

The Number: Oh boy. To set the stage, consider that the first film in the franchise, 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', opened to $65 million on an identical weekend five years ago. 'Prince Caspian' – whose comparatively lackluster performance caused Disney to bail on the series, remember – grossed $55 million when it opened in May 2008.
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Box Office Spotlight: 'Black Swan' and 'I Love You, Phillip Morris'

By Eugene Novikov (Subscribe to Eugene Novikov's posts), Posted Dec 6th 2010 9:00AM
Filed under: Box Office, New Releases, Cinematical


Box Office Spotlight is a weekly column, appearing Monday mornings, that contains in-depth analysis of a single new release's (or, this week, two new releases') box office performance the previous weekend.

The Movies: Two high-profile limited releases: Big-time Oscar contender 'Black Swan,' directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman as a ballerina losing her grip of reality, and two-year old controversy magnet 'I Love You, Phillip Morris,' directed by 'Bad Santa' screenwriters Glen Ficarra and John Requa, and starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as lovers on the run from the law.

The Target Audience: 'I Love You, Phillip Morris' opened in six theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, while 'Black Swan' bowed in eighteen theaters in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Washington, Dallas and Toronto. Both aimed largely at the plugged-in, savvy audiences who would seek these movies out, though 'Phillip Morris' likely hoped to sweep in some unsuspecting Carrey and McGregor fans as well.

The Competition: Competition from other films is less broadly relevant when it comes to limited releases like these, which people are likely to seek out, travel to watch, etc. Still, with only one semi-wide release (the misbegotten 'The Warrior's Way'), and the weekend dominated by family-oriented holdovers, this was a great time to launch some well-reviewed R-rated flicks and possible awards players. For the (largely uneventful) full weekend results, take a gander at Moviefone's Box Office Report.
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Johnny Depp: Disney Hated Captain Jack and Thought He Might Be Gay

By Eugene Novikov (Subscribe to Eugene Novikov's posts), Posted Nov 30th 2010 12:31PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
Johnny Depp has finally provided a partial answer to the question that's plagued all of us for what seems like an eternity, namely, "Jack Sparrow: What's his deal?"

Depp has had and continues to have an almost incomparably brilliant career, but it wouldn't surprise me if the weird, fey, rum-loving rapscallion at the helm of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise turns out to be the role for which he is the most vividly remembered. But the character is so strange, so totally singular, that we have surely all wondered how he came to pass: was he purely Depp's creation?

How did Disney, which had invested upwards of $140 million dollars in the original film, let him get away with all that slurring and shambling and sexually ambiguous mannerisms? They were trying to build a blockbuster franchise, dammit; they needed an action hero pirate, not some sort of strung-out Bohemian fashion model pirate.
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Box Office Spotlight: 'Tangled'

By Eugene Novikov (Subscribe to Eugene Novikov's posts), Posted Nov 29th 2010 9:02AM
Filed under: Box Office, New Releases, Cinematical


Box Office Spotlight is a weekly column, appearing Monday mornings, that contains in-depth analysis of a single new release's box office performance the previous weekend.

The Movie: Disney's 'Tangled,' directed by 'Bolt''s Byron Howard and first-time director Nathan Greco – a CGI animated film designed to look like traditional cel animation, albeit in 3D. As is standard practice for both Disney and Pixar, the filmmakers didn't bother too much with names above the title: the movie stars Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi from the TV show 'Chuck', and Ron Perlman.

The Target Audience: Families headed to the mall over Thanksgiving; those with kids too young for the latest, darkest 'Harry Potter' installment.

The Competition: See above. Disney certainly threw 'Tangled' into the frey; not only did the 'Potter' juggernaut continue over the holiday weekend ('Deathly Hallows Part 1' picked up another $76 million over the five days), but Dreamworks' 'Megamind' was still going fairly strong in its fourth week of release. It turns out to have been a canny move, as there were enough family audiences to go around despite the glut of releases. For the full details of the Thanksgiving box office, check out Moviefone's Box Office Report.

The Number: $49 million for the three-day weekend; $69 million for the five-day weekend -- a very strong showing. Disney's had a (non-Pixar) animated release each November for the last three years. 'Tangled' handily outdid both 'The Princess and the Frog,' which followed a hype-building limited release with an extremely disappointing wide roll-out, and 'Bolt,' which opened to around $25 million the weekend before Thanksgiving and then held on to that number over the holiday.
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Box Office Spotlight: 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'

By Eugene Novikov (Subscribe to Eugene Novikov's posts), Posted Nov 22nd 2010 9:45AM
Filed under: Box Office, New Releases


The Movie: 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1,' the seventh and next-to-last film in the 'Harry Potter' franchise, directed by David Yates and starring every character actor to ever hail from the United Kingdom.

The Target Audience: Every die-hard, fan and admirer of the most widely appealing series since at least 'Star Wars,' and maybe ever. And their friends and families.

The Competition: Very little, predictably – Hollywood cleared the way for the juggernaut, with only Lionsgate offering 'The Next Three Days' as new counter-programming. It did not end well for 'The Next Three Days,' though it offered Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson, Paul Haggis, and a fun little high concept plot. Nor did it end well for every other film in the top 10, all of which saw at least a 50% drop – more evidence of 'Potter''s insanely broad appeal. For the full lowdown on the weekend's results, check out Moviefone's Box Office Report.
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Box Office Spotlight: 'Skyline'

By Eugene Novikov (Subscribe to Eugene Novikov's posts), Posted Nov 15th 2010 9:45AM
Filed under: Box Office, New Releases, Cinematical


The Movie: 'Skyline,' starring Eric Balfour, Donald Faison, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, and David Zayas, and directed by Colin and Greg Strause. The Strause Brothers are visual effects veterans ('The Day After Tomorrow' and 'Terminator 3' among many others) whose only previous directorial credit is 'Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem,' which is not terribly promising.

The Target Audience: Kids, teens, and undiscriminating action and sci-fi buffs. Mostly male ones.

The Competition: Largely Tony Scott's 'Unstoppable,' which went after the same demographic with more star power and marketing muscle. 'Megamind,' coming off a monster opening, and 'Due Date,' were also still around, making trouble and probably siphoning off some potential viewers. You can get the whole lowdown on the weekend's box office from Moviefone's Box Office Report.

The Number: An estimated $11.7 million. Which seems awfully weak for a major special effects blockbuster, until you consider that 'Skyline''s production budget is reported at $10 million.

I'll give the Strause Brothers this much: they sure stretched that $10 million. If asked to guess at the budget after seeing the film, I would have guessed $60 million, easy – maybe $50, accounting for the lack of expensive actors. Admittedly, it looks pretty great for $10 million and makes this a great investment for Rogue and Universal – even if the film did "underperform" for its genre and profile.
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Career Advice for the 'Harry Potter' Kids

By Eugene Novikov (Subscribe to Eugene Novikov's posts), Posted Nov 12th 2010 1:00PM
Filed under: Features

When the lead children's roles in the 'Harry Potter' franchise were handed to four acting naifs between the ages of 10 and 13 after a massive casting call, it was not remotely clear whether Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe would grow to be compelling adult actors, let alone prove themselves capable of handling the increasing complexities of their characters. Yet somehow they've made it through six movies, collecting almost nothing but acclaim.

With 'The Deathly Hallows Part 1' arriving in theaters next week and its 2011 conclusion already filmed, the 'Harry Potter' kids have effectively graduated -- financially secure but with an uncertain future in the business. Crafting a successful career is notoriously difficult for any former child star, but it just might happen with the right mix of hard work, good fortune and reliable counsel. Moviefone can't help the Quidditch-loving quartet with those first two, but here's our free advice for each of them.
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