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2009/06/29 at 12:00am

Monday Box Office – "Transformers 2"

06.29.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Aside from its whopping five-day domestic tally — the second highest of all time — Paramount’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” broke records in several countries overseas, leading to a massive $387.3 million worldwide through Sunday, one of the best global launches ever.

The five-day opening gross of $201.2 million from 4,234 theaters domestically easily eclipsed the $152.4 million earned by “Spider-Man 2,” which previously held the five-day record for a Wednesday launch. And “Transformers 2” nearly matched the best five-day gross of all time: $203.8 million for WB’s “The Dark Knight.”

Overseas, the action tentpole opened to an estimated $162 million, the fourth best international opening of all time, after “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” ($216.3 million), “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” ($193 million) and “Spider-Man 3” ($164.9 million). The sequel’s foreign cume was $186.1 million when factoring in the $24.1 million earned the previous weekend in the U.K. and Japan.

Although the Michael Bay-helmed pic sucked up most of the oxygen at the box office, other pics scored notable numbers. Disney-Pixar’s “Up” surpassed Par’s “Star Trek” to become the year’s highest-grossing title at the domestic B.O. (The film’s cume through Sunday was an estimated $250.2 million, boosted by the added charge for 3-D tickets.)

Warner Bros.’ “The Hangover” passed $200 million at the worldwide B.O. Domestically, it saw $17.2 million from 3,525 for a cume of $183.2 million. Abroad, film earned $10.1 million from 1,250 runs in 29 markets for a cume of $46.2 million and worldwide tally of $229.2 million.

Several specialty titles popped, including Summit Entertainment’s “The Hurt Locker.” Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film posted a per-screen average of $36,000 as it opened in four theaters in L.A. and New York, grossing an estimated $144,000.

The weekend’s only wide release besides “Revenge of the Fallen” was Cameron Diaz-Abigail Breslin drama “My Sister’s Keeper.” The film saw modest biz in grossing $12 million from 2,606 runs to come in No. 5 for the weekend.

In other holdover action, Fox’s “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” crossed the $200 million mark internationally as it grossed $5.2 million from 4,000 runs in 62 territories for a foreign cume of $202.3 million and worldwide tally of $365.5 million.

Sony continued to see strong international results for “Terminator Salvation,” which grossed $10.1 million for the sesh from 7,470 theaters in 70 markets for a foreign cume of $193.7 million. Accounting for territories where Sony isn’t distributing, pic’s total foreign gross is $219.5 million.

The romantic comedy “The Proposal,” from the Mouse House, continued to click. The Sandra Bullock-Ryan Reynolds starrer dipped 45% to an estimated $18.5 million from 3,058 runs; cume is $69 million. The pic grossed another $7.2 million overseas for the weekend, putting the worldwide cume at $91.7 million in its first 10 days.

On the domestic front, Focus Features’ dramedy “Away We Go” landed in the No. 10 spot in its fourth week, grossing $1.7 million as it expanded into 495 locations for a per-screen average of $3,390 and cume of $3.4 million.

And Woody Allen’s “Whatever Works,” from Sony Pictures Classics, grossed $386,286 in its second frame for a per-screen average of $11,036 and cume of $765,433.

Miramax’s Michelle Pfeiffer period piece “Cheri” grossed $408,000 as it opened on 76 screens for a per-location average of $5,368.

Not having such a good weekend domestically was Sony’s Jack Black-Michael Cera laffer “Year One,” which tumbled 70% in its second frame to $5.8 million for a domestic cume of $32.3 million.

But the big news, of course, is the “Transformers” sequel, the first tentpole since “Dark Knight” to truly rocket into the B.O. stratosphere.

Paramount co-chair Rob Moore said the pic played to a much broader audience than its predecessor, noting that the first time around, males made up 60% of the audience. This time, that number dropped to 54%.

More important to Moore: Despite negative reviews, more than 90% of those polled as they left theaters said the sequel was as good as, or better than, the first.

“To us, that’s the most compelling data point,” Moore said. “The thing that works so much about this franchise is the level of optimism and fun that’s inherent in it. It transports you to a world that stretches reality but is a ton of fun.”

Par execs were particularly pleased, since the studio pegs the pic’s production and worldwide marketing at $350 million — which the film already surpassed in five days.

In terms of just the three-day weekend, “Transformers 2” grossed $112 million domestically. That, plus the $163 million international opening, makes for a worldwide weekend bow of $274 million, the third best after “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World End” ($356.1 million) and “Spider-Man 3” ($315.9 million).

The international haul was led by China at $21.9 million — the biggest opening of all time for an English-language movie. While it played strongest in Asia, “Revenge of the Fallen” performed ahead of the first film in almost every market, proving that the franchise has taken hold, Paramount prexy of international distribution Andrew Cripps said.

“Transformers,” which Par and DreamWorks debuted over the Fourth of July holiday in 2007, opened to $70.5 million domestically on its way to cuming $319.2 million in North America and $700 million worldwide.

Imax also participated in the “Transformers 2” bounty. The pic played on 169 Imax screens domestically. Five-day opening gross at Imax sites was a record $14.4 million.

The “Transformers” franchise was among the projects that reverted to Paramount after its split with DreamWorks, although Steven Spielberg remained an exec producer on the sequel and DreamWorks’ logo appears at the opening of the pic and in ads.

Adam Goodman, who arrived at Par six months ago from DreamWorks, helped guide both “Transformer” pics. Just days before the “Transformers” sequel opened, Paramount chair-CEO Brad Grey announced that Goodman was being upped to Paramount Film Group prexy as production toppers John Lesher and Brad Weston were exiting the studio.

Grey also lauded Bay’s ability to connect with audiences. He said the entire Par family is “proud to be behind him, and we look forward to our collaboration with him in the future.”

“Transformers 3” is tentatively slotted to open July 1, 2011.

In the meantime, “Revenge of the Fallen” is expected to remain a sizable B.O. force in the coming days, looming over such new fare as 20th Century Fox’s 3-D toon “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” which opens Wednesday.

Also opening Wednesday is Universal’s Johnny Depp gangster pic “Public Enemies.”

Janet Jackson returns to film in Perry’s "Married" sequel

By Mack Chico

2009/06/26 at 12:00am

Movies

Janet Jackson returns to film in Perry’s "Married" sequel

06.26.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Janet Jackson will reprise her role in Tyler Perry’s comedy sequel “Why Did I Get Married Too.”

The thesp will again portray a successful author and psychologist who prefers to analyze other’s relationship problems rather than deal with her own marriage.

Jackson’s the first announced casting for the project other than Perry. Lionsgate announced in March that it had acquired rights to “Why Did I Get Married Too” and “I Can Do Bad All by Myself” with Perry writing, directing and starring in both projects.

“Bad,” which features Perry’s Madea character, is set for release Sept. 11.

“Why Did I Get Married Too” has been set for release on April 2, the start of next year’s Easter weekend. The first pic, based on Perry’s stage play, grossed $55 million domestically.

By Mack Chico

2009/06/25 at 12:00am

Movies

The Oscar’s: From 5 there will be 10

06.25.2009 | By Mack Chico |

And the winner is… well, actually there are lots of winners with the decision to broaden the best-picture Oscar race to 10 films.

The board’s decision to double the category to 10 nominees “may make it more interesting and less cloistered,” said Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences prexy Sid Ganis at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Ganis speculated that the longer list could include a documentary, foreign-lingo film, animated feature and, he deadpanned, “maybe even a comedy.”

The expansion to 10 slots increases the chances of films in those three categories, which have long been eligible for best-pic bids but may have missed out because they have their own categories, as some Oscar voters have said in the past. And indie films gain, because there’s more room for “little” movies.

The other big winners could be the TV audience — and, by extension, the Academy — if the expanded list includes more populist fare. And it can’t hurt that more films will be in line for a potential Oscar bump at the box office.

What’s more, one Acad member in the know predicted that this change is just the first in Oscar’s world.

Ganis’ “less cloistered” observation was a deftly phrased acknowledgment that the org has been charged in recent years with being elitist in some of its choices. After the 2008 noms came out, many media pundits, industry workers and film fans bemoaned the omission of such crowd-pleasing films as “The Dark Knight” and “Wall-E.”

Conventional wisdom says that when well-known films are nominated, such as “Titanic” or “The Lord of the Rings,” ratings for the Oscarcast rise. As for answers to other questions being asked around town Wednesday:

The foreign-language, feature doc and feature toon races will not be affected.
The nomination ballot will have space for 10 entries instead of five. That’s the only change, and the awards schedule will remain the same, since PricewaterhouseCoopers won’t need more time to count ballots.
Acad execs said they don’t feel the move will add significantly to the running time of the show, and the idea of cutting some categories from the telecast didn’t even come up.
No other categories — such as director — will be expanded to 10 nominees.

One awards pundit said the move makes the director race the one to watch, since it’s still five slots and could be a better indicator of the favorites. (However, it’s rare when the five director nominees exactly mirror the pic race.)

On Wednesday, many kudos vets were surprised but positive about the change. A few had qualms: The Acad will need more seats for more nominees, and the additional best pic clips could add to the ceremony’s running time. A few skeptics worried that the voters may have to scrounge around to come up with 10 worthy films (unlikely, since about 300 films qualify annually).

And one pundit said that with 10 nominees, a pic could win with only 11% of the vote.

That’s absolutely true. But a close race among 10 films is unlikely, and in the past, with five movies, there always seemed to be two or three front-runners. (The PWC accountants are too discreet to ever reveal how close or lopsided some of the races have been.)

Asked whether “Dark Knight” was a factor in the move, Ganis said that many titles were mentioned in the post-mortem, including that one.

“We’ve been mulling what we can do to make everything more valid,” Ganis said.

Though the move sounds radical, Ganis began his remarks at the confab by saying that the Academy is returning to an old tradition — a fact emphasized by two posters flanking him that gave the titles of the 10 best-pic contenders for 1939. The titles showed the breadth of choices, including “Gone With the Wind,” “Love Affair,” “Stagecoach” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”

The Acad had 10 pic nominees between 1931 and 1943.

Every year, an AMPAS awards committee does a post-mortem on lessons learned from the recent show. Ganis said this year’s Oscarcast producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark suggested to the committee that it would be great if “the spectrum was wider” for best-pic contenders. Ganis said some at the Academy had been thinking the same thing, invoking the ’39 race. (The org is currently doing a tribute to those 10 contenders.)

It’s likely that Acad honchos were particularly receptive to Mark and Condon’s ideas since they came in the wake of their show, which changed the DNA of the Oscarcast by jettisoning many old traditions — which resulted in a positive reaction and improved ratings. And those changes opened up a lot of possibilities elsewhere.

Acad exec director Bruce Davis said Wednesday that the awards-review committee was enthused by the expansion of the best pic nominees. There were no dissenting votes at the board meeting held Tuesday night, Davis said.

Sean Penn says no to ‘Cartel’ and ‘3 Stooges’

By Mack Chico

2009/06/17 at 12:00am

Movies

Sean Penn says no to ‘Cartel’ and ‘3 Stooges’

06.17.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Sean Penn‘s busy shooting schedule has suddenly gone dark.

In an announcement that has caught two studios by surprise, Penn has pulled out of two films, citing personal reasons.

Penn has informed Universal and Imagine that he will be unable to star in the Asger Leth-directed drama “Cartel,” which was to be his next movie. His role will be recast. Studio is putting together a list of actors now and hopes to stick with an early fall start date.

Scripted by Peter Craig, the movie follows a man who journeys to protect his son after his wife is murdered by Mexican cartels.

Penn will also be unable to make the start date of MGM comedy “The Three Stooges.” He was to star as Larry in the pic, directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly. “Stooges” also stars Jim Carrey as Curly and Benicio Del Toro as Moe. It’s unclear if the studio will recast or wait for Penn to return to work.

Penn has completed two films for River Road, both earmarked for release next year. “Fair Game,” the Doug Liman-directed drama about outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, co-stars Naomi Watts. The Terrence Malick-directed “The Tree of Life” also stars Brad Pitt.

During the Cannes Film Festival, Penn was revealed to be in talks to star in “This Must Be the Place,” which will mark the English-language feature debut of Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, with a script co-written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello (Daily Variety, May 17). Pic was to be produced by Nicola Giuliano of Indigo Film and Andrea Occhipinti of Lucky Red. Financing and scheduling were not yet complete on that film, but Penn still intends to make the film at some point.

Penn is taking an undetermined sabbatical — possibly as much as a year — to focus on his family.

Javier Bardem and Julia Roberts will star in ‘Eat, Pray, Love’

By Mack Chico

2009/06/08 at 12:00am

Movies

Javier Bardem and Julia Roberts will star in ‘Eat, Pray, Love’

06.8.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Javier Bardem is negotiating to star in “Eat, Pray, Love,” the Ryan Murphy-directed adaptation of the Elizabeth Gilbert memoir for Columbia Pictures.

Bardem joins Julia Roberts and Richard Jenkins in the cast.

Roberts plays the author, and Bardem will play Felipe, the man Gilbert meets and falls in love with on the final leg of a journey of self-discovery that began with the end of her marriage.

Richard Jenkins plays a Texan whom the heroine befriends at an Indian ashram.

Pic was adapted by Murphy, the “Nip/Tuck” creator who last helmed “Running With Scissors.”

Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner are producing through Plan B.

Bardem, last seen in the Woody Allen-directed “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” most recently starred for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in “Biutiful” for Cha Cha Cha and Focus Features.

Jack Nicholson is reteaming with James Brooks

By Mack Chico

2009/06/03 at 12:00am

Movies

Jack Nicholson is reteaming with James Brooks

06.3.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Jack Nicholson is closing in on a deal to reteam with James L. Brooks on the helmer’s untitled romantic comedy at Columbia Pictures.

Nicholson is the last piece of casting to come together on the ensemble project, which stars Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson.

For months, Bill Murray had been in talks to portray the blueblood father of Rudd’s character, but no deal closed. In recent weeks Murray’s interest in the project waned and he fell out of touch.

With Murray unresponsive and production scheduled to start in less than two weeks, Brooks reached out to Nicholson.

Brooks, who also penned the screenplay, is producing alongside Paula Weinstein (“Blood Diamond”), Laurence Mark (“Dreamgirls”) and Gracie Films prexy Julie Ansell.

Story involves a love triangle, with Rudd playing a white-collar executive vying for Witherspoon’s affections, and Wilson portraying a professional baseball pitcher who is also a love interest.

Two of Nicholson’s three Oscars have come via Brooks films: 1983’s “Terms of Endearment” and 1997’s “As Good as It Gets.”

Adam Rodriguez gets ‘Caught’ with 50 Cents

By Mack Chico

2009/06/02 at 12:00am

Movies

Adam Rodriguez gets ‘Caught’ with 50 Cents

06.2.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is starring with Chris Klein, Adam Rodriguez and Richard T. Jones in “Caught in the Crossfire,” a police corruption drama. Newcomer Brian Miller wrote the script and is directing.

Lensing is just getting underway in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jackson’s Cheetah Vision Films partner Randall Emmett is producing with R.D. Miller, who raised the equity to finance the film through his company Miller and Miller Films. Jackson is executive producer with Chris Lighty and Tim Roth.

The drama concerns two homicide detectives who find themselves caught in the crossfire of a gang-related homicide and a group of dirty cops. Jackson plays a gang-banger who becomes a reluctant informant.

Miller went to film school in Grand Rapids and is making his directing debut on “Crossfire.”

Jackson and Emmett launched Cheetah Vision at Sundance. Aside from “Crossfire,” they are producing “Jekyll and Hyde,” the Abel Ferrara-directed retelling of the classic story that will star Jackson and Forest Whitaker. They are also planning another untitled drama they will self-finance as a star vehicle for Jackson, with Benny Boom (“Next Day Air”) directing. Production will begin in October.

‘Night at the Museum 2’ tops Terminator at B.O!

By Mack Chico

2009/05/25 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Night at the Museum 2’ tops Terminator at B.O!

05.25.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Twentieth Century Fox‘s sequel “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” won the domestic war against Warner Bros.’ reboot “Terminator: Salvation” at the holiday box office.

“Museum 2” grossed an estimated $53.5 million from 4,096 theaters Friday through Sunday, while “T4” grossed an estimated $43 million from 3,530 runs. Opening Thursday to $13.4 million, “T4’s” cume is $56.4 million.

Four-day totals for the long Memorial Day weekend won’t be released until Monday. But even with Monday’s grosses yet to be factored in, “Museum 2” appears to have the race sewn up.

Box observers had expected the contest between “Museum 2” and “T4” to be much closer, despite the fact that one is a family film, the other, a sci-fi actioner.

Benefiting from being the first family summer tentpole, “Museum 2” reps the best live action opening for a Ben Stiller pic.

Overseas, “Museum 2” also made a strong debut, grossing $50.1 million from 8,100 playdates in 93 markets. That puts the film’s worldwide opening at roughly $103 million through Sunday. “Museum 2” came in No. 2 overseas, beat by Sony holdover “Angels and Demons” ($60.4 million).

“Museum 2” saw a boffo 30% jump Friday to Saturday. Also, 52% of the audience were non-family. Film was able to overcome a box office hit in Los Angeles and Denver as sports fans in both cities tuned in to the NBA basketball playoffs.

Sequel easily bested the $43 million opening of “Night at the Museum” over the Christmas holiday in 2006.

In a not-so-good sign for “T4,” “Museum 2” beat it on Friday. Fan-driven pics usually do better on Fridays, while family films do bigger business on Saturday and Sunday.

However, “T4’s” five-day opening number should be in the vicinity of the five-day opening of “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” which clocked in at $68 million.

“T4”–directed by McG and toplining Christian Bale–was produced by Halcyon. Project was a negative pickup for Warners, which invested roughly $50 million in the reboot (not including marketing costs).

Sony, which is handling “T4” overseas, invested roughly $75 million. “T4” doesn’t open at the international box office for another two weeks.

Scorsese and ‘Sinatra’ to unite on screen!

By Mack Chico

2009/05/13 at 12:00am

Movies

Scorsese and ‘Sinatra’ to unite on screen!

05.13.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Martin Scorsese will direct the biopic “Sinatra” for Universal Pictures and Mandalay Pictures.

Phil Alden Robinson is writing the screenplay for Sinatra based on the life of the iconic entertainer.

Universal and Mandalay have been quietly developing the project after securing the Frank Sinatra life rights and music rights from Frank Sinatra Enterprises — a joint venture of the Sinatra Estate and Warner Music Group. The process of acquiring the rights took years.

Peter Guber and Cathy Schulman are producing.

Nicole Kidman says ‘adios’ to new Allen film

By Mack Chico

2009/05/13 at 12:00am

Movies

Nicole Kidman says ‘adios’ to new Allen film

05.13.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Nicole Kidman has ankled her role in Woody Allen’s latest, untitled project.

Pic, which co-stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts and Freida Pinto, is set to start shooting in London in the summer.

A scheduling conflict arose due to Kidman producing (through her Rabbit Hole productions)and starring with Aaron Eckhart in the film “Rabbit Hole,” being directed by John Cameron-Mitchell and filming on the East Coast this summer.

There is no word yet on who Kidman’s replacement will be.

Steve Tenenbaum, Gravier Prods.’ Letty Aronson and Mediapro’s Jaume Roures are producing, with Mediapro also financing.

Gravier and Mediapro previously teamed to make Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

Allen’s London-set project will be the first of a three-picture deal between Allen and Mediapro.

Spain’s Imagina Intl. is handling international sales.