Category Archives: box office
Star Trek: Into Darkness Shines (Kinda?) Bright: Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Wrap-Up Report
This week, instead of “Wrap-Up Report”, we should have titled this column the “Warp-Up Report”. I mean, really, there’s only one film to talk about, isn’t there?
Last Friday, our esteemed Editor-In-Chief, Andy Burns, threw down the gauntlet, decreeing that the latest iteration of the Star Trek franchise would beam up $90 million of box office revenue. Today, I get to sit in the catbird’s seat and reflect on his predictions alongside the actual numbers. It’s an easy job.
Did J.J. Abrams’ second stab at Trek beam up the goods? How did Iron Man 3 fare? And what did the classic The Great Gatsby garner from the movie-going public?
Find out after the jump!
Saturday At The Movies: The Greatest Gatsby
The summer movie season is in full swing and our next entry is Baz Lurman’s The Great Gatsby. This is a supposedly unfilmable novella. Other productions have been somewhat cursed. Even the Robert Redford version fell flat. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Baz stated box office sales were of no concern. The truly artistic director saw this as a challenge to his creative yen and that was satisfied just by making the movie. This attitude prepares you a bit for what you will see on the screen. The love and reverence for which Baz holds Fitzgerald’s actual words is obvious. Not only do they literally float across the screen in some places, we see Nick Carraway’s narration literally rips quotes from the book.
It’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation Vs. Evil Dead Vs. Jurassic Park 3D – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
All bets are off this weekend at the cinema!
No, it’s not the release of the summer’s first tent-pole feature (Iron Man 3 is still a month away) – it’s just BBP’s esteemed Editor-in-Chief, Andy Burns, asking me to do him a solid and come up with astute predictions for the box office this weekend. As you might recall, I’m not so good at this job, and on this particular weekend, the science of money prognostication is…even more complicated.
You see, it’s the second weekend of G.I. Joe Retaliation battling some downright Evil Dead remake, which are both up against the re-release of the classic Jurassic Park (in 3D this time out). Accounting has never been more difficult!
Check out my (hopefully not-so futile) attempts at number crunching after the jump!
Trailer Time: The Hangover Part III
Vegas
junkies, rejoice! The trailer for The Hangover Part III has just been released, and this spring the wolf pack heads back to the strip to wrap up the unhappy trilogy of errors – Vegas-style.
Slotted for release on May 24, 2013, the third and final chapter will see Galifinakis, Helms, Cooper, Jeong and other favourites going hard on the hijinks. Also rumoured? Melissa McCarthy – which has me sold.
But here, enjoy the trailer:
I’m a huge fan of sin city; this is why I loved The Hangover. I don’t think I’m alone… the first movie grossed almost $45 million in its opening weekend; this may look dismal compared to The Hangover Part II, which took place in Bangkok and took in over $85 million at its debut. But the Las Vegas antics were always at the heart of the movie’s success, and if the franchise hopes to continue its box office run to the bank, it’s wise to bring the wolf pack back to the familiarity of the strip.
No doubt The Hangover Part III will prove one of the bigger summer blockbusters; even if the movie can’t live up to the original, everyone loves a good Hangover story… not to mention another movie-based excuse to go on a Vegas binge of your own!
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Must End In Piles And Piles Of Gold – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
There’s a running joke among my pals that I can’t predict a movie’s gross take if my life depended upon it. You see, once upon a time, I foolishly thought that the crazily ambitious, and wonderfully looking, Speed Racer film, directed by cinematic visionaries, The Wachowski Brothers, was going to rake in over $125 million in its premiere weekend! The trailers looked amazing! The poster was phenomenal! It was a “can’t miss” event, I told everyone and anyone who’d listen.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more wrong.
Speed Racer did a big fat belly-flop that opening weekend, grossing only $18.5 million and getting critically panned by everyone and their pet chimp. Hell, even I still haven’t seen it.
And that brings us to Friday, December 14, 2012 – a date that every wannabe Nostradamus and every film studio not named New Line or MGM or WingNut fear. And it’s got nothing to do with the Mayan calendar ending. No, there are bigger machinations at work today. There’s only one film being released that needs talking about. One film to rule them all, and that film is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Check out my revisited attempt at box-office prophecies after the jump!
Skyfall Tops In Its 5th Week – Biff Bam Pop’s Weekend Box Office Wrap-Up Report
It wasn’t a good weekend for Gerard Butler, as his new flick Playing for Keeps flopped, earning a paltry $6 million. The star of the weekend? James Bond and Skyfall, which – with its return of $11 million – puts it on par to eclipse The Amazing Spider-Man as Sony’s top grossing film in over 5 years.
In 2nd place, a surprise appearance from Rise of the Guardians, proving that parents and kids were indeed interested in this movie. Though it’s probably not going to earn its budget back, it surprised us by earning over $10.5 million over the weekend. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 held in there for another week for 3rd spot, earning $9.2 million. Steven Spielberg’s biopic Lincoln came in 4th earning $9.1 million, and Life of Pi rounded out the top 5 with a respectable $8.3 million.
So to recap, here were our predictions:
1) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 – $10.5 million
2) Skyfall – $10 million
3) Lincoln – $9 million
4) Life Of Pi – $7 million
5) Rise Of The Guardians – $6.5 million
And here’s how the weekend turned out:
1) Skyfall – $11 million
2) Rise Of The Guardians – $10.5 million
3) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 – $9.2 million
4) Lincoln – $9.1 million
5) Life Of Pi – $8.3 million
Next weekend should be interesting with the release of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as well as This is 40 and Zero Dark Thirty – which has already received some Oscar buzz. Be sure to check back on Friday for our predictions!
Hit and Run vs Premium Rush vs The Apparition – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
And so we enter the dregs of the summer blockbuster season, where few (if any) notable releases hit theaters, and the ones that are remaining are picking up scraps of audiences tuckered out my invading aliens, dark knights and expendable action stars. Will any new release make an impact this weekend? Not likely, but here’s a few that will try.
Hit & Run is an action comedy chase flick starring Dax Sheppard, Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper and Tom Arnold, all of whom (with the exception of Cooper, who is in a supporting role) can’t open a film. Bell is getting there, but she’s really a draw for romantic comedies. Look for this one to open outside then top five with $5 million.
Find out what else is out this weekend after the jump!
Safe House and The Vow stay on top – plus other surprises! Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Wrap-Up Report, Weekend of February 17th, 2012
Box office results from this weekend’s movies are in! The top 2 spots this weekend went to familiar faces as both Safe House and The Vow hauled in another 23 million each. Great performances in both movies (though some would say Tatum’s lacks in the latter) should keep these 2 near the top for at least another week or so.
How did Nicholas Cage and The Rock fare? Which surprise under-performance made our results? See how our predictions stack up against the rest of this weekend’s Box Office Wrap Up.
