Blog Archives
Lucas Mangum’s Hidden Horror Gems: Bruiser
What do you get when you mix horror legend George A. Romero, a revenge fantasy, an existential study into the nature of identity, and an appearance by punk rockers The Misfits? You get Bruiser, one of the later efforts in Romero’s decorated career and one of his least recognized films. Maybe it’s because it didn’t have zombies in it. Maybe it’s because it wasn’t a high profile collaboration with Stephen King. For whatever reason, I rarely hear this film mentioned when discussing Romero’s many accomplishments with other fans. And what shame!
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Man Of Steel Soars Top The Top – Biff Bam Pop’s Weekend Box Office Wrap-Up Report
It was the weekend of the comeback from Superman, as Man Of Steel took flight for a stellar opening. Here’s what went down:
After years of hype and excitement, Man Of Steel hit theatres with more power than a locomotive, soaring to the top of the box office with an estimate $113 million. Any opening of $100 million is always stellar, and coming off the perceived lacklustre response to 2006′s Superman Returns ($52 million opening weekend), the reinvention of the character by Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer clearly resonated with audiences. Man Of Steel should have no problem making between $250-$300 million, and has given the DC film world a sensational shot in the arm.
Find out how the rest of the weekend turned out after the jump!
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Will Man Of Steel Fly? Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
This weekend sees yet another cinematic reboot of one of the greatest characters in pop culture history. Believe, over the next three days, we’ll believe a man can fly to the top of the box office. Here’s our prediction:
Produced by Christopher Nolan and directed by Zack Snyder, Man of Steel is the first Superman film since 2006′s Superman Returns, a movie that made over $200 million in North America but that failed to engage the imagination of audiences. With Man of Steel, the creative team goes back to the beginning, giving us the origin of Clark Kent as he tries to find his place on Earth. Hype is huge, and the steady stream of increasingly excellent trailers has helped create an unprecedented buzz for Man of Steel. Look for the film to have an amazing weekend, as it is guaranteed to outperform Superman Returns by a long shot. Look for a first place showing with $135 million.
Find out how the rest of the weekend will turn out after the jump!
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The Internship vs The Purge – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
Consider this weekend the calm before the storm that will surely be the release of Man of Steel. Only one high profile film hits theatres this weekend, about 8 years too late. Here’s our prediction for it’s success:
The Internship is a comedy that reteams Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn for the first time since Wedding Crashers was a massive hit nearly 10 years ago. Neither can open a film on their own, and it’s fair to say that each actor’s star power has diminished in the years since Wedding Crashers (though Wilson’s rep has been helped by his work in Midnight In Paris). Unfortunately, the timing for The Internship is just wrong. It’s a crowded summer and it’s doubtful anyone will be rushing out to see this one. Look for a fourth place showing with $15 million.
Find out how the rest of the weekend will turn out after the jump!
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Now You See Me Is Magic, After Earth Isn’t – Biff Bam Pop’s Weekend Box Office Wrap-Up Report
After this weekend, if my name is M Night Shyamalan, I would probably be looking to take a break from directing big budget films for a long time. Meanwhile, Fast & Furious fans continue to make the sixth instalment a huge hit. Here’s what went down:
Fast & Furious 6 held onto the top spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row, bringing in a stellar $34 million to raise it’s total to $169.8 million. Even though it suffered a 64% decline week to week, there’s no question that this franchise still has long legs, appealing to new and old fans alike.
Find out how the rest of the weekend turned out after the jump!
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After Earth Vs Now You See Me – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
Will a movie about magic see some money this weekend? Can the first M. Night Shyamalan film since The Sixth Sense to not use his name as a selling point make any impact? Here’s our prediction:
Jaden and Will Smith top-line the science fiction film After Earth, a big budget blockbuster like so many others from throughout the years that’s purpose simply seems to be to take away theatre counts from other films. The casting screams of nepotism, and where once director Shymalan was a drawing factor, his name is nowhere to be seen in marketing for After Earth. In one of M Night’s patented twist endings, I’m predicting that this film will have a seriously underwhelming debut. Look for a second place showing with $32 million.
Find out how the rest of the weekend will turn out after the jump!
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Biff Bam Pop Exclusive Interview: The Soska Sisters Talk American Mary
Jen and Sylvia Soska are two of the hottest names and brightest lights in cinema today, thanks to their brand new film, American Mary. I’ve made no bones about my love for this picture this week – you can read my review here. The Soska’s know their stuff – from horror to comic books and all things in between. As you can tell from our exclusive email below, they’re simply damn cool, and horror and pop culture geeks are lucky that these creative people are making a big name for themselves.
Andy Burns: Jen and Sylvia, you know from our tweets this weekend that I thought America Mary was a fantastic film. So, first of all, congrats! Could you tell me how the story came together?
Sylvia Soska: I’m so happy that you enjoyed it. When we wrote the script we were still trying to sell the first film, we were incredibly poor to the extent that we couldn’t afford food let alone bills, we were in the hospital for days on end with a loved one just watching the world that goes on there, venturing into the film industry with a naivety that was stripped away by meeting monsters, and we didn’t know if all our sacrifices would ever amount to anything. I was talking to a friend who said that I should focus on my other scripts, which at the time I had none, so I lied. I said that I had so many scripts that he should pick which one he wanted to read and listed off every idea that I knew Jen and I could write in two weeks. He picked the ‘one about the medical student’. With a self-imposed gun to our head we wrote the script which became a very therapeutic experience because all these uncontrollable instances in our life, now we had control and a distance to really examine them.
Jen Soska: Thank you so much! You’ve been so good to us and we want to sincerely thank you for spreading the word on the film. You’re just wonderful. The film itself is very much an analogy for our own ventures in the film industry. Growing up on the quest to be actresses and models, we’ve run into our fair share of sleaze, but the worst of it was what we experienced as filmmakers. The people that view women as sexual objects and somehow below men based on our age and gender are a sad actuality of this business and it’s often people who misrepresent as normal and respectable on the outside that are hiding their true intentions. It’s disgusting, but it is the reason there are stories about the sleazy Hollywood producers and young, naive film hopefuls, both men and women, should be very aware that this business is filled with people who want to take advantage of you.
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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!
