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‘Marley and Me’ is #1 at box office

The box office this weekend brought more of the same, which for Hollywood was a good thing, as the comedy “Marley & Me” and other Christmas films continued strongly. The top five films — and some others down the ladder — kept their positions from last week.

“Marley & Me,” from 20th Century Fox, with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, was the weekend’s top film, with about $24 million in domestic ticket sales and $106.5 million since it opened on Christmas.

It was followed by another comedy, “Bedtime Stories,” from Walt Disney Company, with Adam Sandler. That film took in about $20.3 million over the weekend, for a total of $85 million since opening. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” from Paramount Pictures with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, was third, with about $18.5 million in weekend sales for a $79 million total.

In a similar display of staying power, “Valkyrie” from MGM, with Tom Cruise, remained the No. 4 film for a second weekend. The film took in $14 million, for a total of $60.7 million since opening on Christmas. Its success has laid to rest months of public speculation about whether the audience would accept Mr. Cruise in his role as a German officer who tried to kill Hitler.

Another holdover, the comedy “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey, from Warner Brothers, took in about $13.9 million, for a total of $79.4 million since opening.

A number of the season’s potential Oscar contenders continued to jockey for position in a field packed with movies that have been released to a relatively limited number of theaters.

“Doubt,” from Disney’s Miramax unit, among the more widely played of these, took in about $5 million for the weekend and $18.7 million since opening, to reach No. 8, up from 10th place.

“The Reader,” from the Weinstein Company, took in $1.6 million, as it moved into 398 theaters, and became the weekend’s 17th-ranked film, up from 22nd last week, when it played in a much smaller number of screens. It has total sales of $3.6 million.

Woody Allen won’t be coming back to film in New York

US filmmaker Woody Allen said Tuesday he hopes to shoot a new comedy in Paris next summer, continuing his recent run of choosing to film in European cities over his native-New York.

“I have always wanted to shoot a film in Paris. I have a scenario for Paris all written. I was going to shoot it a few years ago but when we came here and I started to put the film together, suddenly it became such an expensive film that I could not do it,” he said.

Allen’s last batch of films, including “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and London-based drama “Match Point”, were filmed in Europe.

He said financial problems should not derail the Paris project completely but added that he is prepared to film the comedy during the summer of 2011 in the event of more delays.

“Now that there is a new tax incentive in Paris we are returning and trying to see if it is possible to come again to do it,” he said after meeting with French Culture Minister Christine Albanel.

“If I can’t do it, then I will probably do another film in the US this year,” he added.

Pooch film ‘Marley and Me’ barks to #1 at the box office

“Marley & Me,” the story of a mischievous dog who grows up alongside the young couple who owns him, made $37 million in sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, emerging as the top film in one of Hollywood’s most-competitive weekends.

“Bedtime Stories,” starring Adam Sandler, finished second with $28.1 million, box-office tracker Media By Numbers LLC said today in an e-mailed statement. Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” debuted in third place with $27 million.

‘Benjamin Button’

Christmas ranks among the busiest times for Hollywood studios in terms of new releases, making this holiday weekend among the most competitive, Media By Numbers President Paul Dergarabedian said in an interview.

Second place’s “Bedtime Stories” stars Sandler as a father whose nighttime tales come to life. It will surpass $100 million in sales, which will be the second Sandler film this year to do so, after “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” Pandya said.

“Benjamin Button,” which finished third, is the tale of a man who ages in reverse and is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film has garnered five Golden Globe nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, including best drama and best actor. The Paramount Pictures movie cost about $150 million, according to Internet Movie Database Inc.

‘Valkyrie’

Also debuting this week was Tom Cruise in “Valkyrie,” the story of a German officer in World War II who leads a group trying to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The movie, the second from Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc.’s United Artists studio, opened in fourth place with $21.5 million. The cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson.

Last weekend’s No. 1 movie, “Yes Man” from Time Warner, slid to fifth with $16.5 million. Jim Carrey plays a man who transforms his humdrum life by saying “yes” at every opportunity for a year. It has made $49.6 million in two weeks of release.

Rounding out the top 10 in sixth through 10th places, respectively, were “Seven Pounds,” from Sony Corp., at $13.4 million; “The Tale of Despereaux” from General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures with $9.37 million; Fox’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” at $7.9 million; “The Spirit,” from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., opened ninth with $6.51 million; and Disney Miramax’s “Doubt” finished in 10th with $5.68 million.

Receipts for the top 12 movies rose 7.6 percent to $182.5 million from the year-earlier period, Los Angeles-based Media By Numbers said. For the year, box-office sales have dropped 0.9 percent to $9.55 billion. Year-to-date attendance has declined 5.3 percent.

The following table has figures provided by studios to Media By Numbers. The amounts are based on gross ticket sales from Dec. 26 and yesterday and estimates for today.

‘The Spirit’ is a total disaster at the box office

Things have not gone as Frank Miller had hoped for. The Spirit only managed to collect $6,510,000 from Friday to Monday and $3,842,000 on Christmas day. That is considered a calamitous result for a big budget film over this holiday weekend.This is also bad news for the actors associated with it like Eva Mendes and Gabriel Macht.

I scoured the internet and found a few quotes summarizing this abysmal outcome:

iO9.com says:

“We can only hope that this poor opening – and presumed subsequent disappointing box office, as I can’t see this movie suddenly becoming a hit based on word of mouth – means that TPTB will rethink their plan to let Miller recreate Buck Rogers for a new generation.”

Comicmix.com says:

“Frank Miller’s interpretation of Will Eisner’s classic character met with horrified reviews from those familiar with the source material and poor reviews from everyone else.  Spirit is considered the second straight misfire for Lionsgate, which also flopped with Punisher War Zone at the beginning of the month”.

Manodogs.blogspot.com says:

“Frank Miller’s film adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit was soundly pummeled by ‘Marley and Me.’ Perhaps it’s a mixed blessing: if recent superhero movie performances are an indicator of audience taste, maybe the superhero movie fad is finally over; no longer will studios be able to churn-out cookie-cutter crap with a cape and expect big box office returns. Only time will prove either theory true. If The Spirit is a good film, it may have been overlooked in the wake of the superhero fad’s death; it may (also) have been overcome by bigger box-office star-power; or it could just be a bad flick. Only time will tell.”

Let’s see if Frank Miller gets a big budget for Buck Rogers now. Only time will tell.

The Spirit

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of stylized violence and action, some sexual content and brief nudity.
Release Date: 2008-12-25
Starring: Frank Miller, Will Eisner (Comic)
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.mycityscreams.com/

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Tina Fey is the ‘Entertainer of the Year’!

Tina Fey was voted The Associated Press‘ Entertainer of the Year, an annual honor chosen by newspaper editors and broadcast producers across the country. Fey was selected by AP members as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008.

The 38-year-old comedian bested runner-up Robert Downey Jr., whose comeback was capped with the blockbuster smash “Iron Man,” and the third-place vote-getter, Heath Ledger, who posthumously wowed audiences as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

But it was Fey who most impressed voters largely with her indelible impression of Gov. Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live.” Her cameos on her old show (where she had been a head writer until 2006) helped drive the show to record ratings and eventually drew an appearance from Palin herself.

“Tina Fey is such an obvious choice,” said Sharon Eberson, entertainment editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “She gave us funny when we really needed it and, in a year when women in politics were making huge strides, Fey stood out in the world of entertainment.”

Fey’s 2008 was a full year, though.

She also starred for the first time on the big screen in “Baby Mama” (which grossed $60 million at the box office) and won three Emmys for her critically lauded NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” which she created, stars in and writes. In the comedy series category, she won for best lead actress and best writing, and shared in the award for best comedy series.

“She simultaneously entertained us with her wit and put a mirror up to the nation during the election and made us think about what was going on,” said Scott Shive, assistant features editor at the Lexington Herald-Leader. “She is the epitome of the smart kid coming out on top for once.”

As soon as Palin was chosen as Sen. John McCain‘s running mate, conjecture mounted that the similar-looking Fey would have to return to “SNL” to play her.

In an interview earlier this fall, Fey recalled watching early TV coverage of Palin: “That was the first time I thought, ‘Well, I kinda do look like her. I’d better really listen to how this lady talks.'”

Fey debuted the impression on the “SNL” season premiere and a sensation quickly followed. She made four more pre-election appearances as Palin on the late-night satire.

“From the winks to the nods to the accent, she nailed it,” said Marc Bona, assistant entertainment editor of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland. “And she did so at a time when it seemed the whole country was tuned in — both to the presidential race as well as ‘Saturday Night Live.'”

Her Palin impression has benefited “30 Rock,” too. The show premiered its fourth season to 8.5 million viewers, a million more than last year’s opener.

Recently, she was also nominated for a Golden Globe (for best performance by an actress in a TV series, comedy or musical), as well as a Screen Actors Guild award.

“The ‘SNL’ stuff has certainly changed things for me,” Fey said in October. “A lot more people seem to know who I am.”

Last year’s AP Entertainer of the Year also went to a comedian whose satire blended in with politics: Stephen Colbert.