The Latest in Latino Entertainment News

The Weinstein Company lays off 24 people

Recently we heard many conversations about Hollywood being recession-proof. Doesn’t look like that’s the case for big honcho Harvey Weinstein, owner of The Weinsten Company. This goes to show you that no one is escaping the topsy-turvy times of the economy.

The Weinstein Co. has succumbed to the economic pressure by laying off 11% of its staff, or 24 people.

The indie outfit is slimming down from 224 people to 200. The cuts affected all departments in offices in Gotham, L.A., the U.K. and Hong Kong.

No offices or departments are being shuttered. Staffers were notified of the layoffs Friday afternoon.

Formed three years ago by Harvey and Bob Weinstein with more than $1 billion in backing from Goldman Sachs and other investors, TWC has had a bumpy ride. After a spate of deals across the media spectrum yielded spotty results, the company refocused on its film slate and has touted its official detachment in January from distrib partner MGM and a pay TV deal with Showtime.

The Weinstein slate, however, has not borne a lot of fruit. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” the Kevin Smith-helmed comedy released on Halloween, is the latest under-performer. Woody Allen’s “Vicki Cristina Barcelona” is the only notable pic to far exceed expectations in 2008.

As the company seeks to get into a theatrical groove, it’s also been hit with a wave of staff turnover. Senior-level vets Glen Basner (international sales), Michelle Krumm (production) and Maeva Gatineau (U.K. acquisitions) are among those who have exited in recent months.

Matthew Frankel, who spent just a few months heading corporate communications, departed in the spring (he’s since resurfaced at AOL) and has not officially been replaced.

‘Twilight’ drains competition at box office!

Fangirls of all ages scored their biggest box office victory yet in delivering a $70.6 million opening for Summit Entertainment’s teen vampire romance “Twilight” at the domestic box office.

Based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book series, “Twilight” is a ready-made film franchise, and the opening reps a resounding victory for the relatively new Summit, which didn’t even wait for the weekend to finish before announcing plans for sequel “New Moon.”

A $70 million opening is generally reserved for family pics or fanboy fare. “Twilight,” playing in 3,419 runs, tied with “The Incredibles” for the fourth best November bow after three “Harry Potter” pics. Gross is the highest ever for a female director and also beats the $57 million debut of “Sex and the City” in May.

The competition didn’t stand a chance against “Twilight.” Disney 3-D toon “Bolt” opened below expectations as older girls and moms made “Twilight” their first choice.

“Bolt,” grossing an estimated $27 million from 3651 runs, ended the weekend in a virtual tie with James Bond holdover “Quantum of Solace,” which grossed an estimated $27.4 million from 3,458 for a 10-day cume of $109.5 million, according to Rentrak.

Sony/MGM’s “Quantum,” like other holdovers, saw steep declines due, at least in part, to “Twilight.” Bond pic fell 59% from opening weekend, far more than predecessor “Casino Royale.” But Sony’s hardly complaining; through Sunday, “Quantum’s” worldwide total was $418 million.

Other studios may have been envious of Summit’s win, but the overriding emotion was relief at the sheer volume of theater traffic despite the economy. Frame was up as much as 68% over last year, when the weekend before Thanksgiving saw the debut of “Beowulf.”

Even the specialty side had bragging rights as “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” landed in the top 10 for the first time, and Fox Searchlight’s “Slumdog Millionaire” clocked in with a boffo per-location average of $31,050 in its second sesh.

For Summit, “Twilight” brought good fortune from the beginning. Project landed at the company after MTV Films passed on it, while Fox Atomic also refused to bite. Conventional wisdom says that female-driven properties aren’t always the safest bet.

In more good news for Summit, Warner Bros. moved “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which was supposed to open on Nov. 21, to July 17. Summit and Disney quickly moved “Twilight” and “Bolt,” respectively, onto that date.

Summit also kept costs down by hiring a relatively unknown cast and keeping costly special effects to a minimum. “Twilight” reportedly cost $37 million to produce. At that price, pic’s profit margin will be substantial.

“Quite frankly, as we journeyed on this road, from the inception to

Comic-Con to announcing we were moving from December, it became a perfect storm,” Summit prexy of distribution Richard Fay said.

“It’s clear that none of this would have happened had it not been for the incredible popularity of Stephenie Meyer’s books,” Fay added. “Being an old English major, it’s good to know that kids still read.”

Meyer’s four books have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, including more than 8 million in the U.S. The most avid fans are tween and teenage girls, but women are part of the mix too.

According to Summit, 75% of the audience were females. The surprise came in that 45% of the audience was over age 25.

In marketing the pic, Summit reached out to boys by emphasizing the movie’s action and vampire lore. “Twilight” played well nationwide, but the biggest-grossing theaters were in Utah. (Meyer is Mormon).

By Friday morning, it became clear that “Twilight” would log a bigger opening than originally predicted. Thursday night midnight ticket sales clocked in at $7 million for a total Friday haul of $35.9 million. Mirroring “Sex and the City,” “Twilight” saw a significant Friday-to-Saturday drop, or 43%. Both pics generated enormous advance ticket sales.

Those who did turn up for “Bolt” gave the toon top grade. Pic saw a 66% increase from Friday to Saturday.

Mouse House expects “Bolt” to do well over the long Thanksgiving weekend as “Twilight” fervor dies down.

“It’s one of the busiest times of the year for family moviegoing,” Disney prexy of domestic distribution Chuck Viane said.

“Bolt” played on more than 900 3-D screens, the biggest count yet for a 3-D title. Those auditoriums did more than two times the business that conventional theaters did.

Still, “Bolt” is far down the list in terms of openings for animated films. Earlier this month, DreamWorks Animation/Paramount’s sequel “Madagascar: Return 2 Africa” debuted to $63.1 million. Among original toons, “Bee Movie” opened to $38 million in November 2007.

“Bolt” did beat the $25.1 million opening of Disney toon “Meet the Robinsons,” which cumed $97.8 million domestically.

“Madagascar” sequel, coming in No. 4 for the weekend, fell 54% in its third sesh, grossing an estimated $16 million from 4,007 runs for a cume of $137 million. Pic’s decline — more than usual for a family film — reflected the entry of “Twilight” and “Bolt.”

Elsewhere on the top 10 chart, Universal took the Nos. 5 and 6 spots with comedy “Role Models” and Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” respectively.

A sleeper hit, “Role Models” declined only 35% in its third weekend to an estimated $7.2 million from 2,733 runs for a cume of $48 million.

“Changeling” declined 38% to an estimated $2.6 million from 1,739; cume is $31.6 million.

Fox Searchlight’s “The Secret Life of Bees” kept buzzing away, declining 45% to an estimated $1.3 million from 1,095 runs for a cume of $35.7 million in its sixth week.

Penelope Cruz and Daniel Day Lewis – First image from ‘Nine’

Set in Italy, but currently being shot in the UK, the star-studded film tells the story of a middle-aged film director distracted by the many women in his life.

The director Guido Contini, played by Lewis, is experiencing something of a mid-life crisis as he struggles to finish his latest film in 1960s Venice.

Cruz plays his mistress Carla, who is vying for Contini’s attention with his wife Louisa, played by La Vie En Rose star, Marion Cotillard, and his muse Claudia, played by Nicole Kidman.

Nine was originally a hit on Broadway in 1982 and ran for 729 performances, making a star out of the Puerto Rican actor Raul Julia.

The film version is being directed Rob Marshall, who directed the acclaimed screen version of the musical Chicago.

Nine’s impressive cast also includes Judi Dench, Kate Hudson and the Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, who is said to be putting on weight for her role as prostitute Saraghina.

Cruz and Lewis were photographed on set in the Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough, but the Spanish actress appeared to suffer from the cold, shivering as Lewis wrapped his overcoat around her.

Filming is expected to finish in January.

‘The Soloist’ has another release date

DreamWorks and Paramount have agreed to release fact-based Jamie Foxx–Robert Downey Jr. drama “The Soloist” on April 24 instead of March 13.

DreamWorks was caught off guard last month when Par pushed back the release of “The Soloist” from this year to March 13 at the 11th hour.

The Joe Wright-directed pic was originally to have opened Nov. 21.

In the April 24 slot, “Soloist” will open one week before the official start of the summer box office, which is primetime for moviegoing.

Based on a series of articles by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, film tells the story of a homeless schizophrenic musician’s dream to play at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

After moving “The Soloist,” Par relocated Paul Rudd comedy “I Love You, Man” from Jan. 16 to March 20, according to Rentrak. Peter Jackson‘s “The Lovely Bones” is still tentatively skedded to bow on March 13, but the DreamWorks/Par film is ultimately expected to open later in the year.

Bond sets franchise record at the box office!

It’s a Bond market .

“Quantum of Solace,” with Daniel Craig returning as James Bond , easily made for the best opening weekend for the spy franchise, earning more than $67 million at the box office. The series’ first direct sequel opened with nearly $30 million more than its predecessor, 2006’s “Casino Royale.”

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC:

1. “Quantum of Solace,” Sony/MGM, $67,528,882, 3,451 locations, $19,568 average, $67,528,882, one week.

2. ” Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ,” Paramount, $35,017,301, 4,065 locations, $8,614 average, $116,905,195, two weeks.

3. ” Role Models ,” Universal, $11,150,030, 2,798 locations, $3,985 average, $37,577,245, two weeks.

4. ” High School Musical 3: Senior Year ,” Disney, $5,656,162, 3,202 locations, $1,766 average, $84,169,216, four weeks.

5. ” Changeling ,” Universal, $4,254,080, 1,896 locations, $2,244 average, $27,631,772, four weeks.

6. ” Zack and Miri Make a Porno ,” Weinstein Co., $3,146,312, 2,210 locations, $1,424 average, $26,465,482, three weeks.

7. “Soul Men,” MGM, $2,350,141, 2,048 locations, $1,148 average, $9,370,925, two weeks.

8. “The Secret Life of Bees,” Fox Searchlight, $2,338,279, 1,449 locations, $1,614 average, $33,627,359, five weeks.

9. ” Saw V ,” Lionsgate , $1,767,405, 2,002 locations, $883 average, $55,380,488, four weeks.

10. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua ,” Disney, $1,579,080, 1,617 locations, $977 average, $90,878,127, seven weeks.