Monthly Archives: November 2009
New Moon? No Good. Andy Burns On The Twilight Saga – New Moon
After watching The Twilight Saga: New Moon I can now confirm that I am on neither Team Edward or Team Jacob. I am on “Team I Can’t Believe I Paid Money For This Movie”. 2 hours of my life down the drain – unbelievable.
A couple weeks ago I wrote about my undeniable interest in the first Twilight film and how somehow it continued to suck me. I even admitted my plans on seeing the second film in the theatres, unlike the first, which I first experienced on DVD months ago. So this past weekend the Queen and I and her visiting friend made our way to the check out New Moon.
I wasn’t optimistic. The reviews for New Moon have been absolutely dreadful. Mind you, I wasn’t expecting some work of art or anything – the franchise doesn’t lend itself to that. I was just hoping it would be better than the first film.
Nope. Hardly close. But I will get the good out of the way. The special effects in New Moon are definitely better than Twilight. The wolves look pretty cool, and there is some great scenery to look at. Dakota Fanning, a child actress I firmly believe has some talent, has a relatively quick cameo as a badass vampire named Jane and acquits herself well enough. New Moon also introduces us to the Voltari, who rule the vampires and are kind of cool, though far from an original idea.
That’s it. As far as I’m concerned the rest of New Moon is freakin’ awful. Kristen Stewart is remarkably wooden as Bella Swan (zero development from the first film), as is Robert Pattinson, when he’s onscreen, which actually is much. In fact, Pattinson’s Edward Cullen is missing for more than half the film so whatever chemistry that the two have is rarely seen and when it is, it is literally just more angst. But worse than thoroughly unremarkably performances from the leads is simply the fact that NOTHING HAPPENS. It’s 2 hours of unentertaining angst, between either Bella and Edward or Bella and potential new beau Jacob. Plus, it is still ridiculous that these vampires are all shimmery in the sunlight. Sunlight kills vampires. That’s how it should be. I can’t bend on this.
I wasn’t expecting much from New Moon but amazingly, it still managed to underwhelm. I’m pretty certain I won’t be watching this film ever again.
Though sadly, I do believe I’ll wind up at The Twilight Saga: Eclipse when it hits theaters in 2010. I guess I’m a masochist that way.
Scotty G’s Box Office Wrap Up Report
I had a very stellar weekend of predictions, guessing all 5 of the films that would be in the top 5, and getting 3 of them in order. The American Thanksgiving weekend was booming so let’s get right to it.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon was the #1 film in the land for the second week in a row, but fell a disturbing 70.2% from last weekend in doing so. The Twilight Saga: New Moon grossed $42.5 million (I predicted it would $45.6 million and correctly predicted it to be the #1 film). The 70.2% is the 4th largest drop in movie history for a film that grossed over $30 million on its opening weekend. Everything I wrote about this film came true. The up front demand was satisfied, as young women went out in droves on the opening weekend. The other demographics are not interested in this franchise, and it dropped fast. Now $42.5 million is still a total most films would love to have, but in terms of the power of the Twilight franchise, I would say that this is a most disappointing result. The film had a per theatre average of $10,515 which was 3rd highest in the top ten. The total gross stands at $230.6 million after two weeks.
Following closely in 2nd place is The Blind Side with $40.1 million (I predicted it would be the #2 film and gross $35.8 million). The film had a perfect strategy with its release date. It opened last weekend, and created buzz, and with this weekend being American Thanksgiving, football is a big part of it, so the football theme was perfect for families going to see the film. The film actually rose 17.6%, which is an impressive accomplishment. The per theatre average for the film was $12,779 – highest in the top ten. The total gross stands at $100.2 million after two weeks.
Another holdover finished in 3rd place. 2012 grossed $18 million (I predicted a 4th place finish and a gross of $15.8 million). The disaster pick held up well over the holidays as it only dropped 31.8%. 2012 had a per theatre average of $5,226 and has a total gross of $138.7 million after three weeks.
Finally – one of the new releases for this weekend makes an appearance as Old Dogs finished in 4th place with $16.8 million (I predicted a 3rd place finish and a gross of $18 million). I was reading that this film should have been made in the 90’s when Travolta and Williams hard much more star power, and I agree with that. Audiences did not seem to care for the film, as it had a per theatre average of $4,919 (lowest of any film in the top five). Expect this film to fade quickly from theatres.
In 5th place, my gamble paid off. Here’s what I wrote on Friday. To round out the top five and I’m going with an underdog pick with Disney’s A Christmas Carol. The reason is simply that I’m comparing this film to The Polar Express. 5 years ago when that film was released, it had a boost of 23.8% on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Disney’s A Christmas Carol is the same style of film, is also about Christmas, and should have the same result. My prediction came true as Disney’s A Christmas Carol remained in the top five with an increase of 30.4% from last weekend, and a gross of $16 million (I predicted a gross of $15.2 million and a fifth place finish). Its per theatre average was $5,311. The gross is a little inflated, because the film has the advantage of 3-D screenings, which are more expensive. When final numbers come out on Monday, there is an outside chance that it will be the #4 film, as its gross is close to Old Dogs gross. The total gross for Disney’s A Christmas Carol stands at $105.3 million after four weeks.
As for the other new releases, here is how they did:
Ninja Assassin seems to be dead on arrival. It finished in 6th place with a gross $13.1 million and a per theatre average of $5,248.
The Road with Viggo Mortensen fared really well. It was the #11 film with a gross of $1.5 million from 111 theatres for a per theatre average of $13,721.
Disney’s The Princess and The Frog was the #18 film in the land from only 2 theatres. It had a gross of $712,00 for a per theatre average of $356,000. It’s Disney’s first hand drawn animated film since 2004’s Home on the Range. Advance buzz on the film has been positive, so let’s see if it continues and helps the traditionally animated film return to cinemas.
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee starring Robin Wright Penn had a less than stellar opening. It grossed $96,00 from 12 theatres for a per theatre average of $8,000.
Me and Orson Welles fared a little better with a gross of $64,800 from 4 theatres for a per theatre average of $16,200.
Other notable films:
The Fantastic Mr. Fox jumped, and I mean jumped into the top ten with a 3,349.4% improvement from last week. It finished as the #9 film with a gross of $7.02 million.
Precious: Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire did not have the box office increase I was expecting it to have this weekend. It fell 34.8% from last weekend and was the #8 film with a gross of $7.09 million.
So my predictions are as follows:
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon – $45.6 million
- The Blind Side – $35.8 million
- Old Dogs – $18 million
- 2012 – $15.8 million
- Disney’s A Christmas Carol – $15.2 million
So my predictions are as follows:
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon – $42.5 million
- The Blind Side – $40.1 million
- 2012 – $18 million
- Old Dogs – $16.8 million
- Disney’s A Christmas Carol – $16 million
Scotty G’s Predictions Were Off By $11.6 million.
Next weekend does not bring us a big line-up of new releases. We have Armored, Brothers, and Everybody’s Fine. In limited release, Up In The Air with George Clooney will make its debut and try to capitalize on the buzz that it has built up at film festivals the past few months.
Until Next Friday.
Scotty G’s Box Office Predictions – Weekend of Friday November 27th, 2009
It’s the U.S. Thanksgiving, so expect big boosts to some existing films, and some good openings from the new releases. Let’s begin.
I’m not going to start by talking about a specific film, but instead, I’m going to talk about the Wednesday and Thursday box office, as two new films went into wide release that day. The top five are as follows:
Wednesday November 25th
- New Moon – $14.3 million
- The Blind Side – $7.9 million
- 2012 – $3.6 million
- Ninja Assassin – $3.3 million
- Old Dogs – $3.1 million
Thursday November 26th
- The Blind Side – $9.4 million
- New Moon – $9.2 million
- Ninja Assassin – $4.5 million
- Old Dogs – $4.2 million
- 2012 – $4 million
Two things to note: 1) The same five films were in the top 5 both days, in a different order each day. 2) The Blind Side beat New Moon at the box office on Thursday. Does that mean that The Blind Side will be the #1 film this weekend? Before I start on the existing films, here is my take on the new films.
John Travolta and Robin Williams star in the Disney comedy Old Dogs. It is from the director of Wild Hogs, and is being sold heavily on the star power of Travolta and Williams. It looks like a safe family comedy that will appeal to the broadest demographic. Unfortunately with the film being played safe, the critics have torn it apart. It currently has a 9% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I think the makers of the film did not care about what the critics had to say about the film when they were making it. So the star power of Travolta and Williams is being put to the test, and they are no longer at the peak of their careers. I think the film will have a decent, but not spectacular opening. Launching in 3,389 theatres, I expect Old Dogs to gross $18 million and be the #3 film.
The Wachowski Brothers return as producers along and their V for Vendetta director friend James McTeigue team up to bring us Ninja Assassin. The film is a revenge tail of a ninja seeking retribution on his own clan, as they killed his best friend. Ninja Assassin is going to live and die on its marketing campaign. Were the trailers stylized and exciting enough to bring men into the theatres? I thought the trailers were good, but not great, and I think more people are going to see this on DVD rather then theatres. Rotten Tomatoes only has a 28% positive rating, so critics are not supporting the film. Opening in 2,503 theatres, I think Ninja Assassin will be the #6 film with $14 million.
So the new releases have been taken care of, and now onto the existing films. New Moon had a monster opening weekend, but will it hold up over this weekend? I think it will have a big drop this weekend, and I can use the first film Twilight as an example, as that film had its second weekend over the same holiday period as well last year. Twilight dropped 62.2% in its second weekend, and as sequels have a larger up front demand, I think that New Moon will suffer a 68% drop this weekend and gross $45.6 million, which will still make it the #1 film.
The Blind Side was a big surprise to me last weekend; because I did not think that it would do well. It has surprised me again in being the #1 film in the land on Thursday. I think that the film is going to surprise people this weekend, as it is going to have a slight bounce because of the holiday weekend. I think the film will go up by 5% this weekend for a gross of $35.8 million and it will be the #2 film.
2012 is holding up well, and I think this weekend will be a weekend where people who have not seen the film will go out and check it out. Holidays are big and loud and overtop, and those adjectives can describe 2012 as well. I’m predicting a 40% drop for a gross of $15.8 million and that it will be the #4 film.
To round out the top five and I’m going with an underdog pick with Disney’s A Christmas Carol. The reason is simply that I’m comparing this film to The Polar Express. 5 years ago when that film was released, it had a boost of 23.8% on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Disney’s A Christmas Carol is the same style of film, is also about Christmas, and should have the same result. I’m predicting that the film will see a 25% boost and gross $15.2 million to be the #5 film.
Here’s what’s opening in limited release this weekend:
The Road which stars Viggo Mortensen and is based on the Cormac McCarthy novel. This is a very dark film, as it has a post-apocalyptic storyline, so it is not going to get audiences in right away. This is a word-of-mouth film, that critics are going to have to support, and people are going to have to talk about with their friends. From the critics standpoint, so far so good. Rotten Tomatoes has the film listed at a 70% positive rating. It’s only being release in around 100 theatres, so we will see how its per theatre average is
Disney returns to hand drawn animation with The Princess and The Frog. It is only being released in 2 theatres but early word on the film is great. Rotten Tomatoes has the film listed at 88%. It will build some buzz in limited release, and then go into wide release.
Zac Efron tries something different as he stars along with Claire Danes in the film Me and Orson Welles. Popular indie director Richard Linklater takes on the film which is about a young actor joining Orson Welles theatre company and the making of Welles landmark version of Julius Caesar. Rotten Tomatoes has the film at 79%, and it is only in 4 theatres this weekend.
Notes:
Be on the lookout for Precious to have a strong weekend, and make a charge to be in the top five. Although I did not predict it to finish in the top five, I wouldn’t be shocked to see that it ends up being the #5 film.
So my predictions are as follows:
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon – $45.6 million
- The Blind Side – $35.8 million
- Old Dogs – $18 million
- 2012 – $15.8 million
- Disney’s A Christmas Carol – $15.2 million
Check back on Sunday to see how I did!
Galu Loses Its Matriarch: Pdawg Looks Back at Episode X of Survivor 19
Only a short three weeks ago it looked certain that the inevitable winner of Survivor 19 would come from the Galu tribe. They had a commanding 8-4 advantage in players and they seemed smart enough to realize that it is never a good idea to let a weakened tribe back in the game. But, here we are at episode ten and Galu has all but self-destructed. I’m not saying a Foa Foa player will win the $1,000,000, but it sure is starting to look that way – even my pre-season pick Mick still has a chance; he’s all but flown under the radar so far not making any enemies and playing the game with dignity and honesty. Only time will tell.
In episode ten, the Galu tribe is shown coming apart at the seams after being blindsided by Foa Foa plus Shambo in the elimination of Kelly. While Dave congratulates Russell on his bold and strategic move, Laura and the Galu girls struggle to deal with their loss. Shambo takes great pleasure in Laura’s disappointment and vows to help Russell find another hidden idol or win immunity to knock Laura out of the game one and for all.
Shambo begins her crusade by trying to get John in on the plan to remove Laura. John is no dummy and realizes that Shambo has flipped and his alliance is slowly fading away. While he doesn’t commit to axing Laura, he does realize that John needs to do what’s right for John.
At the reward challenge the tribe is divided in to two groups of 5 to compete in one of the coolest games to date. One player from each team is suspended in the air face down on a board attached to four ropes that the other players manoeuvre in order to guide their team-mate to pick-up fifteen flags, one at a time, and place them in their appropriate numbered spot. The team of Russell, Brett, Dave, Laura and Natalie take an early lead and due to the flexibility of Nathalie and strength of Russell, Brett and Dave, easily win the reward. The winners are off on an airplane trip to another island to enjoy a picnic lunch, more waterfalls and a snazzy new Palm Pre phone to capture photos of their journey. The phone also includes a clue to the location of the newly hidden idol and a video. All they know is that “a rolling stone gathers no moss” and they have a photo of a mossy rock. More than enough for Russell!
When the challenge winners return to camp, the hunt for the idol is on. Dave sticks close to Russell and at one point, Dave looks at a few rocks but doesn’t find the idol. Recalling the photo from the phone, Russell believes Dave has found the location of the idol so he attempts to lure him away from the rocks by jogging off in to the jungle. Dave takes the bait and Russell quickly doubles back to the rocks Dave had been looking at and, with very little effort, finds the idol. This guy is amazing.
The immunity challenge is another two-parter. First, the players throw a rock at coloured plates. Each plate of their own colour that they break equals one spear in the second part of the challenge. Not much excitement here as Mick wins immunity meaning Laura is fully exposed for the first time in two weeks.
Back at camp and with the idol once again in his pocket, Russell tries to get John to vote for Laura. Right now it’s 5-5. Spit down the middle. Five votes for Laura and five for someone on Foa Foa (either Russell or Nathalie). Shambo reveals to her former Galu team that she is voting Laura and they all realize that the vote will be a tie. The rules of Survivor state that in the event of a tie, the two players at risk are removed from the vote and there is a re-vote. If it’s still tied, all the players draw stones – the one with a different colour is out of the game – like drawing the shortest straw.
Galu tries to come up with a plan to get Nathalie out of the game by risking John. They will tell Foa Foa that they are voting John, but then actually vote for Nathalie. Everyone likes this idea except for John. He suggests they tell Foa Foa they are voting for Brett instead of him. In the meantime, Shambo and Russell try to convince John that leaving his fate to chance – the rock thing – is a bad idea. Eventually, Russell and John reach an agreement. If the vote is tied after the first round, John will flip in the second round as long as Russell agrees to vote out a Foa Foa member next vote. They shake on it.
At tribal you can cut the tension with a knife. Everyone is vulnerable tonight. Laura and John could be going from Galu while Russell and Nathalie have their necks on the line for Foa Foa. The vote goes as expected and is tied at 5-5. Jeff explains the rules and there is a second vote. Dramatically it comes down to the final vote and John stays true to his word and flips on Galu. Laura is the latest Galu player to be cannibalized by her own tribe.
The Scribe has spoken…
The Buzz With Andy Burns: The Rules of Zombies…in 3D?
One of the highlights of this past year was just how great Zombieland was. It really just popped out of nowhere and managed to scare up some decent box office returns ($84 million worldwide on a $23 million budget) on its way to becoming the top grossing zombie film of all time. The flick is a great combination of horror and comedy, something quite rare these days, and it also put Woody Harrelson back on the map as a leading man.
It makes sense that with the films success that there would be talk of a sequel, and wouldn’t you know it, there is. Apparently all of the principles are eager to return (Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin) and the latest word is that the filmmakers are hoping to the 3D route for the next one. Let’s hope this turns out better than the last zombie flick that got the 3D treatment.
You can take a pass on Night Of The Living Dead 3D, and mark February 2nd 2010 down as the day that Zombieland hits DVD and Blu-Ray.
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