Categories
News

Weekend Box Office: February 25 – 27

#1 Hall Pass from Warner Brothers debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $13.5 million in 2950 theaters. Budget was $36 million.

#2 Gnomeo and Juliet from Buena Vista jumps from #3 to #2 with a weekend gross of $13.4 million (-30.0%) in 3037 theaters (+23). Total gross to date is $74.3 million. Budget is unknown.

#3 Unknown from Warner Brothers drops from #1 to #3 with a weekend gross of $12.5 million (-42.5%) in 3043 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $42.9 million. Budget was $30 million.

#4 I Am Number Four from Buena Vista drops from #2 to #4 with a weekend gross of $11.0 million (-43.4%) in 3156 theaters (+2). Total gross to date is $37.7 million. Budget was $60 million.

#5 Just Go With It from Sony drops from #4 to #5 with a weekend gross of $10.5 million (-43.0%) in 3544 theaters (-4). Total gross to date is $78.7 million. Budget was $80 million.

#6 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never from Paramount holds at #6 with a weekend gross of $9.3 million (-29.5%) in 2810 theaters (-308). Total gross to date is $62.9 million. Budget was $13 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son drops from #5 to #7 with a weekend gross of $7.6 million (-53.2%) in 2821 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $28.6 million. Budget was $32 million.

#8 The King’s Speech drops from #7 to #8 with a weekend gross of $7.3 million (+12.4%) in 2386 theaters (+300). Total gross to date is $114.2 million. Budget was $15 million.

#9 Drive Angry debuts at #9 with an opening weekend gross of $5.1 million in 2290 theaters. Budget is unknown.

#10 True Grit (2010) jumps from #11 to #10 with a weekend gross of $1.9 million (-19.2%) in 1222 theaters (-243). Total gross to date is $167.1 million. Budget was $38 million.

#11 The Roommate drops from #8 to #11 with a weekend gross of $1.9 million (-50.4%) in 1726 theaters (-434). Total gross to date is $35.8 million. Budget was $16 million.

#12 The Eagle drops from #9 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.5 million (-56.5%) in 1568 theaters (-728). Total gross to date is $18.3 million. Budget is $25 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $96.0 million (-26.0%).

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Back Seat Producers Season 05 Shows

BSP Episode 167: The Naked Gun

Your Producers for this episode:

  • Tony
  • David
  • Darrell

This episode was recorded: 12/22/10.

Categories
Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Drive Angry 3D

John Milton is a man on a mission.  He’s found that a heinous act of violence has been committed against a member of his family.  He’s on the warpath to find the man who perpetrated this act, Jonah King, the leader of a devil worship cult.  Nothing will stop Milton, but he needs help and he gets it in the form of a sexy and feisty waitress named Piper.  Piper’s about to be brutally beaten by her boyfriend, when Milton gives a hand to help her settle the score.  Their quest begins, but looming in the background is a mysterious figure known as The Accountant in his own pursuit of Milton.

That’s about as broad a description of Drive Angry 3D as I can get without filling in all of the details and getting spoilery.  If you’ve seen the trailer for this, then you know already that there is a heavy supernatural aspect as well, but I’d rather you find those full details out for yourself.

Drive Angry 3D is directed by Patrick Lussier, who prior to this has made movies like My Bloody Valentine and Dracula 2000, neither of which I’ve seen.  It’s written by Todd Farmer, who previously worked with Lussier on My Bloody Valentine and on his own was one of the writers behind Jason X (which I have seen and had quite a bit of fun with).  Farmer’s also in the movie playing Amber’s boyfriend.

While it’s nothing wholly original, there is some fun to be had here.  It’s heavily profane with ample helpings of blood, guts, bullets, sex and muscle cars.  This brings a nice “grindhouse” element to the movie, and as a fan of “grindhouse” movies, I certainly appreciated that.  As a comic book fan, it looks to me like there’s been heavy influence on this movie by something like Garth Ennis’ Preacher, and that’s not a bad thing, it just doesn’t have the chance to fully develop as what that series had, due to having to fit this big story into a small running time.  But I don’t think that’s a concern of Lussier’s or Farmer’s, they just want to get in there and have a wild, good time.  There’s nothing wrong with that as long as I have a good time too, and I did.

The story and characters are all cliches that wallow in their attitude and the atmosphere of the film.  They’re here to have fun and give us an entertaining ride and for the most part, they do.  Where this falls a bit for me is in some of the action scenes.  They’re competently done and they are fun, but they’re not as stylish and over-the-top as they could be (though don’t get me wrong, they are over-the-top, I just think they could’ve gone a little further).

It’s only late February and already I’ve seen my second movie with Nicolas Cage in it this year (the first one also being a fun genre piece, Season Of The Witch).  Cage is solid here, his character is supposed to be stoic and bad-ass, and he does that.  He won’t win too many accolades for this, but I still thought he had enough charisma to make me follow him.  Amber Heard plays Piper, and she’s terrific.  She’s keeping pace with Cage, and pretty ballsy on her own.  Billy Burke plays Jonah King and he brings a real seedy and despicable quality to the guy.  You want to see him get his in the end.

Backing them up in support, we’ve got David Morse as Webster, an old associate of Milton’s.  Morse’s purpose is more for presence as to the type of character he is and what he means to Milton.  This gets a few extra points on the cool side for putting the great Tom Atkins to work as the law enforcement leader who’s also on the hunt for Milton.  For genre fans, Atkins is one of those guys who just gives a movie a little something extra just for sheer presence alone.

The best part of the cast though is William Fichtner as The Accountant.  I’ve been a fan of Fichtner’s for quite a long time now.  Whenever I see him connected to any piece of entertainment, it always gets a little extra fun for me.  Out of all of the cast, Fichtner’s the one who just looks like he’s having the most fun on-screen.  He’s a powerful presence, gets the best lines and makes the most of any action scene that he’s in.

The 3D in Drive Angry 3D is really quite good and for being promoted as being “shot in 3D,” it should be.  Well, I wasn’t disappointed by it.  There’s plenty of depth and this does what I think a good 3D movie should do, play with it’s gimmick.  When I recently saw Sanctum, the best thing about that night was seeing the trailer for Drive Angry 3D in 3D and it really stood out (that same night, I saw the trailer for Thor in 3D as well, and while I really liked the trailer, for now, I’m going to opt to see that one in 2D when it opens, but I digress).

Drive Angry 3D
won’t change anyone’s world, but it does offer up some profane, diversionary fun and it’s 3D is actually quite well done.  It could use a touch more style in it’s action sequences and had it had that, I could’ve seen this one as being something a little more special.  Still, I had a good time with it, and William Fichtner stood out to me as the film’s MVP.

Categories
Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #23

Got something to say? Head over the the Back Seat Producers forum and let us know what you think.

Last weekend’s results have Andrew coming in first with an anemic 17 points (0% old system) with Jonathan right behind with 16 points (0% old system) and Tony bringing up the rear with 14 points. Average scores for the first eight weeks of 2011 have Tony in first place with 20.875 points and Andrew and Jonathan are tied for second with 20.125 points.

Looking for an explanation of our scoring system? Check out our scoreboard here to find the answers you need. Play along at home, email or call your picks in before Friday night and get on the board.

Our two new wide release movie debuts this weekend are Drive Angry and Hall Pass.

Picks for the week:
Andrew

  1. Hall Pass
  2. Gnomeo and Juliet
  3. Drive Angry
  4. I Am Number 4
  5. Unknown

Jonathan

  1. Hall Pass
  2. Unknown
  3. Gnomeo and Juliet
  4. Drive Angry
  5. I Am Number 4

Tony

  1. Hall Pass
  2. Gnomeo and Juliet
  3. Unknown
  4. Drive Angry
  5. Just Go With It
Categories
Back Seat Producers Season 05 Shows

BSP Episode 166: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Your Producers for this episode are:

  • Tony
  • David
  • Darrell

This episode was recorded: 12/8/10.

Categories
News

Weekend Box Office: February 18 – 20

#1 Unknown from Warner Brothers debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $21.7 million in 3043 theaters. Budget was $30 million.

#2 I Am Number Four from Buena Vista debuts at #2 with an opening weekend gross of $19.4 million in 3154 theaters. Budget was $60 million.

#3 Gnomeo and Juliet from Buena Vista holds at #3 with a weekend gross of $19.2 million (-24.1%) in 3014 theaters (+20). Total gross to date is $50.2 million. Budget is unknown.

#4 Just Go With It from Sony drops from #1 to #4 with a weekend gross of $18.4 million (-39.4%) in 3548 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $61.0 million. Budget was $80 million.

#5 Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son from Fox debuts at #5 with an opening weekend gross of $16.2 million in 2821 theaters. Budget was $32 million.

#6 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never from Paramount drops from #2 to #6 with a weekend gross of $13.3 million (-54.8%) in 3118 theaters (+13). Total gross to date is $48.2 million. Budget was $13 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 The King’s Speech drops from #6 to #7 with a weekend gross of $6.5 million (-9.9%) in 2086 theaters (-177). Total gross to date is $103.2 million. Budget was $15 million.

#8 The Roommate drops from #5 to #8 with a weekend gross of $3.8 million (-52.0%) in 2160 theaters (-374). Total gross to date is $32.4 million. Budget was $16 million.

#9 The Eagle drops from #4 to #9 with a weekend gross of $3.6 million (-58.3%) in 2296 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $15.1 million. Budget is $25 million.

#10 No Strings Attached drops from #7 to #10 with a weekend gross of $3.0 million (-47.0%) in 1966 theaters (-790). Total gross to date is $65.9 million. Budget was $25 million.

#11 True Grit (2010) drops from #9 to #11 with a weekend gross of $2.4 million (-36.6%) in 1465 theaters (-607). Total gross to date is $164.1 million. Budget was $38 million.

#12 Sanctum drops from #8 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.6 million (-70.6%) in 1377 theaters (-1412). Total gross to date is $21.9 million. Budget was $30 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $129.6 million (-3.8%).

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Back Seat Producers Season 05 Shows

BSP Episode 165: Ice Station Zebra

Your Producers for this episodes are:

  • Tony
  • David
  • Darrell

This episode was recorded: 12/1/10

Categories
Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: The Illusionist

Originally, this was not going to be the movie that I was intending to see this weekend.  That would’ve been Unknown with Liam Neeson.  But unexpectedly (for me, anyway), Sylvain Chomet’s newest movie, The Illusionist came here to St. Louis, and further at one of my favorite theatres in town, so I had to leap at the chance to see it.

The Illusionist is a 2010 release and something you won’t necessarily find at your local multiplex, it is an art house movie, but with absolute universal appeal.  It’s also one of the three nominated movies for Best Animated Feature Film for the 2010 Academy Awards (the other two being Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon.

Tatischeff is a stage musician whose better days are now behind him.  As this is taking place, Rock ‘N Roll music is making it’s debut and television is becoming more and more pervasive.  Tatischeff is eking out a living, playing to very small audiences.  His act is appealing to a drunken Scotsman who happens to see him performing at a wedding.  The Scotsman invites Tatischeff to come to his town to perform where he’s actually a big hit with his act.  But the biggest appeal lies with a young serving girl named Alice, who’s not just drawn to Tatischeff because of his act, but also because of great kindness that he’s shown her.

Tatischeff leaves the small village, and unexpectedly finds Alice coming with him.  Soon Tatischeff finds more work performing at a theatre in Edinburgh, where he’s also faced with not just providing for himself, but Alice as well.

Previously, Sylvain Chomet really impressed me with his prior animated feature, The Triplets of Belleville. Now adapting an original, but unproduced, screenplay from French filmmaker Jacques Tati, we have this latest film and it’s an absolutely beautiful experience.

I am not familiar with any of Tati’s previous films.  Thanks to Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of the new Ebert Presents At The Movies (an excellent show that if you’re reading this, you should be watching as well), I’ve now sudden interest in seeing Tati’s Playtime. In addition, The Illusionist itself makes reference to Tati’s Mon Oncle. Those two movies, along with Tati’s M. Hulot’s Holiday are all available on Netflix Instant Play and have all been added to my own queue.  So now, I’m very much looking forward to discovering Tati’s work for myself, and if The Illusionist is any indication, I expect I’m in for a fantastic time.

The animation in The Illusionist is absolutely incredible.  This is traditional hand-drawn, 2D animation (with some digital enhancement).  What’s amazing about it is the subtlety of character that’s here and just how much Chomet has going on in any given scene.  Traditionally with American animation, we’re used to one major focus in a scene, and while that is here, there is just as much attention paid to all of little background elements.

There is actually very little spoken dialogue in the film.  When it does come up, it’s not necessarily meant to be taken literally, but more as expressing a feeling behind a moment, and it works.  We’re drawn into the characters of Tatischeff, Alice and their relationship purely through the visuals, with the small bits of dialogue being more scene punctuations more than anything else.

The Illusionist is a beautiful, bittersweet film that amazed me not just due to it’s technical prowess, but also due to it’s characters and the life they live throughout the piece.  It has genuine moments of comedy (though gentle), pathos and is a fine example of the type of adult animation that we should have more of.  I was sad to see that we only had about ten people in our audience to see this film (though we were seeing this at a later show time) and this deserves to be seen by more.  Toy Story 3 was one of my favorite movies of 2010, and I expect it to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, but I wouldn’t be unhappy at all if The Illusionist came in and took that award.  Very much highly, highly recommended.

Categories
Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #22

Andrew was on this week’s episode of Funnybooks with Aron & Paulie. It’s the best all around comic book podcast on the Internet. If you have any comic book love you should swing by and give it a listen.

Got something to say? Head over the the Back Seat Producers forum and let us know what you think.

Jonathan had a commanding performance last weekend with 24 points (80% old system), Tony came in second with 23 points (60% old system), Andrew is third with 20 points (20% old system) and Anthony is bringing up the rear with 15 points (0% old system). Average scores for the first seven weeks of 2011 still have Tony in first place with 21.86 points, Jonathan sliding into second with 20.86 points and Andrew falling back to third with 20.57 points. You can also check out the complete scoreboard here. Play along at home, email or call your picks in before Friday night and get on the board.

The three new wide release movie debuts this weekend are Unknown, I Am Number Four, and Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son.

Picks for the week:
Jonathan

  1. I am Number 4
  2. Just Go With It
  3. Unknown
  4. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
  5. Gnomeo and Juliet

Tony

  1. I am Number 4
  2. Just Go With It
  3. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
  4. Unknown
  5. Gnomeo and Juliet

Andrew

  1. I am Number 4
  2. Unknown
  3. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
  4. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
  5. Just Go With It
Categories
Back Seat Producers Season 05 Shows

BSP Episode 164: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Your Producers for this Episode are:

  • Tony
  • David
  • Darrell

This episode was recorded: 11/24/10