FRIDAY 11:30 PM, 2ND UPDATE: Bigger numbers are starting to come in for this Martin Luther King 4-day holiday weekend which is looking like the 2nd best ever with $165M overall moviegoing, or +9% over last year. The most important news is that there’s no sign of a 2012 box office slump — yet. Hollywood is very encouraged by these North American grosses so far. Both Universal’s Contraband and Warner Bros’ Joyful Noise earned ‘A-’ CinemaScores from audiences which is one reason both films are far exceeding Hollywood predictions for their openings. One note for you snarksters: Paramount’s The Devil Inside, which took big top honors last weekend, fell -84% from last Friday to this Friday and maybe -78% week to week because of word-of-mouth related to that ’F’ CinemaScore. As one rival studio exec told me tonight: “The drop could better depending on the late night moron crowd.”
1. Contraband (Universal) NEW [2,863 Theaters]
Friday $9M, 3-Day Weekend $25M, 4-Day Holiday $30M
2. Beauty And The Beast 3D (Disney) NEW [2,625 Theaters]
Friday $5.5M, 3-Day Weekend $18.5M, 4-Day Holiday $25.6M
3. Joyful Noise (Warner Bros) NEW [2,863 Theaters]
Friday $3.8M, 3-Day Weekend $12.3M, 4-Day Holiday $14.8M
4. Mission: Impossible 4 (Paramount) Week 5 [3,346 Theaters]
Friday $3.5M, 3-Day Weekend $12.1M, 4-Day Holiday $14.6M, Est Cume $189.9M
5. The Devil Inside (Paramount) Week 2 [2,551 Theaters]
Friday $2.6M (-84%), 3-Day Weekend $7.5M, 4-Day Holiday $8.7M, Est Cume $47.1M
6. Sherlock Holmes 2 (Warner Bros) Week 5 [3,155 Theater]
Friday $2.5M, 3-Day Weekend $8.8M, 4-Day Holiday $10.6M, Est Cume $172.2M
7. … Read More
Tag Weekend
No Slump Yet: ‘Contraband’ And ‘Beauty & Beast 3D’ Overperform For Big MLK Holiday
FIRST BOX OFFICE: #1 ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ Passes $300M Global
FRIDAY PM: I’m back with the end-of-holiday box office for end-of-year 2011. The Christmas and New Years topper is still Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol which passed $100M domestic on Thursday and $200M internationally Friday — which makes for $300+M global so far. Lots of analysis coming because sources tell me this final weekend will definitely be up over last year. North American Top 10:
1. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Paramount) Week 3 [3,455 Runs]
Friday $10.7M (+8% from last Fri), Est 3-Day Weekend $28.2M
Est 4-Day Holiday $40M, Est Cume $141M
2. Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows (Warner Bros) Week 3 [3.703 Runs]
Friday $7.4M (+10%), Est 3-Day Weekend $20.8M
Est 4-Day Holiday $27M, Est Cume $137M
3. Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (Fox) Week 3 [3,724 Runs]
Friday $7M (+29%), Est 3-Day Weekend $18M
Est 4-Day Holiday $23M, Est Cume $99.3M
4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Sony) Week 2 [2,914 Runs]
Friday $5.3M (+15%), Est 3-Day Weekend $13.9M
Est 4-Day Holiday $20M, Est Cume $60.8M
5. We Bought A Zoo (Fox) Week 2 [3,163 Runs]
Friday $4.7M (+56%), Est 3-Day Weekend $13M
Est 4-Day Holiday $17M, Est Cume $44.5M
6. War Horse (DreamWorks/Disney) Week 2 [2,547 Runs]
Friday $4.6M, Est 3-Day Weekend $13.1M
Est 4-Day Holiday $17.6M, Est Cume $42.8M
7. The Adventures Of Tintin (Paramount) Week 2 [3,087 Runs]
Friday $4.4M, Est 3-Day Weekend $11.4M
Est 4-Day Holiday $15.5M, Est Cume $50M
8. New Year’s Eve (Warner Bros) Week 4 [2,585 Runs]
Friday $2.3M, Est 3-Day Weekend $6.5M
Est 4-Day Holiday $8M, Cume $47.7M
9. The Darkest Hour (Summit) Week 2 [2,327 Runs]
Friday $1.6M, Est 3-Day Weekend $3.5M
Est 4-Day Holiday $5.2M, Est Cume $14.2M
10. The Muppets … Read More
Very Thin & Fit Sharni Vinson Bikini Pics From Sydney!
Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News
These were snapped over the weekend (Saturday, Dec. 17) as 28-year old Sharni Vinson enjoyed the summer in Sydney by running around in her flower print bikini. The extremely fit “Step Up 3D” star is reportedly dating “Twilight” star Kellan Lutz, who was spotted in Aspen, Colorado with a friends over the weekend. Assuming she wants to remain his girlfriend, let’s hope Sharni can utilize Kellan’s network & score herself a $100 million-plus summer blockbuster.
read more
Global Showbiz Briefs: UK, Africa, Australia
‘Arthur Christmas’ Slays ‘Em In The UK
Sony Pictures Animation and Aardman’
NO TWILIGHT SLUMP! ‘Breaking Dawn’ Breaking Records: $73.5M Friday For Franchise Best & 2nd Biggest Opener; $139M Weekend; ‘Happy Feet 2′ Slow
FRIDAY 10 PM, 5TH UPDATE: Oh sure, you’re too cool (or too male) for the Twilight Saga global phenom. But Summit Entertainment’s Breaking Dawn Part 1 is shattering the four-month-old North American box office slump today and shooting the overall moviegoing weekend up +11% from last year’s total. Hollywood should be grateful to females young and old for keeping the business buoyed this weekend. (Seriously, give thanks early.) Sources are giving me this Top 10 rundown. Full analysis later:
1. Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Summit) NEW [4,061 Theaters]
Friday $73.5M (including $30.2M midnights), Estimated Weekend $139M
Yowza! Summit Entertainment is cautiously optimistic now that this fourth Twilight Saga installment Breaking Dawn Part 1 will match or beat the biggest one-day and Friday opening in the franchise’s history. It’s also looking like the #2 best-ever Single day opening, behind only Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2‘s $91M. Despite director Bill Condon receiving the worst reviews of the franchise, this pic today earned a ‘B+’ CinemaScore and is besting the Twilight sequel New Moon’s $72.7M – but maybe not the weekend. Also, the penultimate pic based on Stephenie Meyer’s vampire romance novels is off to a great start internationally as it started its roll out in 54 markets around the globe with Wednesday screenings from select territories totalling $8.9 million.
2. Happy Feet Two (Warner Bros) NEW [3,606 Theaters]
Friday $6M, Estimated Weekend $22.5M
‘Immortals’ Box Office Lively #1 With $36M, ‘Jack And Jill’ $27M, ‘Puss In Boots’ $26M, ‘Tower Heist’ $14M, ‘J. Edgar’ $13.5M
FRIDAY 10 PM UPDATE: This weekend is starting to firm up. Latest Top 10 grosses show better North American box office than previously thought thanks to the Veterans Day holiday weekend when school is out in 60% of the country. The good news is break from slumping attendance with a $130+M total moviegoing weekend, up +15% from last year. Relativity’s Immortals is the #1 movie. It did $1.4M in midnight gross from approximately 900 locations then expanded locations and grosses during the day and evening. These days, a $35M weekend bow is something special. But not when you realize that Immortals is a 300-clone but won’t make 50% of the $70.8M opening amount that the original 2D movie did even with the higher 3D ticket prices. “300 was absolutely a big success, but we are in a different economy, marketplace, and time of year,” a Relativity exec tells me tonight. “Young males have been hard to get over the past year. It’
FIRST BOX OFFICE: ‘Puss In Boots’ #1, ‘Paranormal Activity 3′ #2, ‘In Time’ #3, ‘The Rum Diary’ #4, ‘Footloose’ #5
FRIDAY PM 2ND UPDATE: Sources are giving me these North American box office numbers tonight. DreamWorks Animation’s 3D leader Puss In Boots distributed by Paramount is poised to break the Halloween weekend record. The Shrek spinoff’s opening is in line with 2011′s other non-summer animated 3D hits like Rio ($39M, also 3D) and Rango ($39M but only 2D). Audiences gave it an ‘A-’ CinemaScore. But one rival studio exec snarked to me tonight, “What will DWA think about an opening in the $30sM? Dunno, but it could be more like Puss In Cement Boots.”
Fox’s sci-fi thriller In Time with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried is soft considering the wide release. It’s clear now that Justin, while talented on SNL, is no movie star. Audiences gave the film a ‘B-’ CinemaScore. FilmDistrict’s The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp also is performing ultralight as expected. Didn’t he make this movie before and wasn’t it called Fear And Loathing? (“Yes, with the same hungover result. Ouch,” one rival studio exec reminded me.) Audiences gave it only a “C’ CinemaScore. Sony Pictures’ Shakespeare backstory Anonymous earned $350K in 265 runs for an estimated $1.1M weekend opening. That’s an unremarkable per-screen average of $4,200 even though audiences gave it an ‘A-’ CinemaScore. The studio was right not topull it from wide release. Full analysis coming.
Here’s the Top 5 for now:
1. Puss In Boots 3D (Dreamworks Animation/Paramount) NEW [3,952 Theaters]
Friday $9.8M, Estimated Weekend $37M
2. Paranormal Activity 3 (Paramount) Week 2 … Read More
Jennifer Lopez shows human emotion during concert: famewhore move?
I have no idea why this story is picking up so much coverage. Everybody always claims they’
Hollywood Worries About Weak Box Office: ‘Footloose’ #1, ‘Real Steel’ #2, ‘The Thing’ #3; Big Comics Bomb In ‘The Big Year’
FRIDAY PM/SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Seriously, do movie moguls get into showbiz just to greenlight unnecessary remakes of teen movies and horror movies or unfunny comedies that humiliate big stars like Friday’s film fare? Maybe that’s why audiences are rebelling. According to tonight’s estimates, my sources say the North American box office is looking very weak again for this weekend. As a longtime studio exec worried out loud to me tonight: “I’m really concerned about how soft things are. Numbers were looking better during the day. But I’m sitting here looking at grosses tonight and I’m concerned for the Industry. What’s worrying me is where are those hardcore movie fans at this point?” Well, I say Hollywood should expect the worst when they release a lot of dreadful pics over recent weeks. This weekend’s total gross won’t edge much over $80M — which is a whopping -35% from last year when Jackass 3D opened to $50M. (I know what you’re thinking: Who are the jackasses now?) This is not a good situation for the studios to be in as moviegoing enters the all-important holiday season. Full analysis coming:
1. Footloose (Paramount) NEW [3,549 Theaters]
Friday $5.7M, Estimated Weekend $17M
2. Real Steel (DreamWorks/Disney) Week 2 [3,440 Theaters]
Friday $4.6M (-46%), Estimated Weekend $16M, Estimated Cume $51.3M
3. The Thing (Universal) NEW [2,996 Theaters]
Friday $3.5M, Estimated Weekend $9M
4. The Ides Of March (Sony) Week 2 [2,199 Theaters]
Friday $2.3M (-31%), Estimated Weekend $7.5M, Estimated Cume $22.1M
5. The Dolphin Tale … Read More
Lindsay Lohan is being Lindsay Lohan in Paris
Lindsay Lohan upskirt! A less-than-sober Lindsay Lohan partied at Rasputin nightclub in Paris on Saturday (what, you didn’t go on a fabulous European vacation this weekend?), and as she was leaving, she flashed her panties. Oh I know, right?…
…read full story
Snooki admits that her drastic weight loss is due to diet pills
Last weekend, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi spent her weekend much like any other in recent history; that is, she hosted a nightclub bash, this time close to home in New Jersey’s Atlantic City. From these pictures, it’s fairly obvious that Snooki (whlie no less orange than usual) has lost a lot of weight lately, and this [...]
Is Taylor Lautner Girlfriend Hunting?
With the opening of Taylor Lautner and Lily Collins movie, Abduction, during the weekend, rumours…
BuzzFoto Blind Item #615
This C list entertainer spent the weekend trying to cash in on the grief of those at the Ground Zero memorial this last weekend. Sources saw him trying to console women that were upset with the intent to sleep with them. No word on whether or not his sleezy tactics actually worked….
Participant Media Can Boast ‘Contagion’ #1 & ‘The Help’ #2; ‘Warrior’ #3 In Fewer Runs
FRIDAY PM: This is shaping up as 2011′s lousiest box office weekend in North America with only $70M total grosses. Yes, even worse than Hurricane Irene’s. But no surprise which new North American movie is No. 1 tonight.
1. With $8M and an estimated $22+M weekend, it’s Warner Bros’ Contagion playing in 42% more theaters — 3,222 — than its nearest newcomer. This Participant Media-backed disease movie looked like yet another yikes-you’re-all-going-to-die formula pic. But I’m surprised it didn’t generate more appeal what with Oscar-winning Steven Soderbergh directing 6 Academy Award winners or nominees: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne. That added oomph to credited screenplay writer Scott Burns’ material. “Yes, it was important to be provocative and to scare people,” a Warner Bros exec tells me about the $60M-budget pic. “But both the print and trailer and TV campaign present a more well-rounded view of the mystery. We did sell the visceral experience — a smart and thrilling look at a killer virus, the science behind it, and the aftermath.” Warner Bros took the film to Venice to solid reviews and conducted an aggressive consumer campaign. Besides, adult movies are working at the box office.
2. Entering its 5th weekend in release, DreamWorks/Disney’s hit dramedy The Help which is also backed by Participant Media made $2.6M going to $9M from 2,935 locations for the weekend. It’s estimated new cume of $137.4M by Monday.
3. This seemingly anticipated martial arts drama Warrior starring Tom Hardy (Bane … Read More
Pauly D made $100k over the weekend
Pauly D at the Midsummer Night’s Dream Party at The Palms in Las Vegas (8/13) Pauly D of Jersey Shore fame made $100,000 over the weekend. And he didn’t even have to do anything gay. I mean, besides that…
…read full story
SUMMER FADE: ‘The Debt’ Pulls Ahead Of ‘Apollo 18′ And ‘Shark Night 3D’ Which Labor At Box Office; ‘The Help’ #1 Again
MONDAY AM, 4TH UPDATE: What a very slow Labor Day weekend at the North American box office as Summer 2011 crawls to a close. DreamWorks/Disney’s The Help is an easy No. 1 again after 4.5 weeks in release. Focus Features’ adult-targeted The Debt came in No. 2 despite playing in far less theaters than its competition. Not much good to say about the other new offerings which audiences decided weren’t worth watching. The Debt earned a ‘B’ CinemaScore, Relativity’s Shark Night 3D a ‘C’, and bringing up the rear was Dimension/The Weinstein Co’s Apollo 18 with only a ‘D’ indicating just how disappointed audiences were with this pic. This is Weinstein’s 3rd summer underperformer in a row. Also this weekend, Disney returned Cars 2 for $1.6M through Labor Day bringing its worldwide total to $540.8M, and Lionsgate sneaked Warrior:
1. The Help (DreamWorks/Disney) Week 4.5 [2,843 Theaters]
Friday $3.6M, Saturday $5.3M, Sunday $5.5M
3-Day Weekend $14.6M, 4-Day Holiday $19M, Cume $123.3M
2. The Debt (Focus Features) NEW (Wed opening) [1,826 Theaters]
Friday $2.6M, Saturday $3.8M, Sunday $3.6M
3-Day Weekend $9.9M, 4-Day Holiday $12.5M, Cume $14.4M
3. Apollo 18 (Dimension/The Weinstein Co) NEW [3,328 Theaters]
Friday $2.8M, Saturday $3M, Sunday $2.8M
3-Day Weekend $8.7M, 4-Day Holiday $10.7M
4. Shark Night 3D (Relativity) NEW [2,806 Theaters]
Friday $2.7M, Saturday $3M, Sunday $2.6M
3-Day Weekend $8.3M, 4-Day Holiday $10.3M
5. Rise … Read More
FIRST BOX OFFICE: Slow Summer Fade
FRIDAY PM UPDATE: Sources are telling me it’s a “very slow” Labor Day weekend at the North American box office as Summer 2011 crawls to a close. DreamWorks/Disney’s The Help is going to be No. 1 again — after 4.5 weeks in release — with about $3.5M today. But the rest of the numbers are all over the place, so I’m waiting for some clarity. Among new releases, Focus Features’ The Debt, Relativity’s Shark Night 3D, and Dimension Films’ Apollo 18 from The Weinstein Co are fighting for Nos. 2 through 4. None is expected to open to more than $2.5M-$3M today and may not even do $10M for the 3-day weekend. CinemaScores have come in: The Debt earns a ‘B’, Shark Night a ‘C’, and bringing up the rear is Apollo 18 with only a ‘D’ showing just how disappointed audiences were were this pic. Wrinkles: ‘
Kendra Wilkinson is back to her old self . . . her old, slutty self
Kendra Wilkinson hosting a party at Wet Republic at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas (8/27) Kendra Wilkinson was proud to tell People over the weekend that she’s over this whole “being a mom” thing and is now back…
…read full story
The Help Absorbs Hurricane Irene to Maintain Box Office Supremacy
According to Sunday’