Movie News
Record Crowds Feast On "Alice"
The box office had a taste of magic mushroom on Friday as Alice in Wonderland grew out of all proportion to a record $41 million. It was the biggest opening in history for any film outside of May, June, July or Nevember. Analysts quickly set aside their predictions that it would earn $70-75 million over the entire three-day weekend and began speculating that it had a reasonable chance of hitting $100 million. The current record for a March opening is held by Warner Bros.' 300, which collected $70.89 million over its three-day debut in 2006. (Alice's Friday total included receipts from midnight previews the night before.)
Source: Studio Briefing
"Alice" To Challenge "Avatar" At Box Office
Avatar will lose all of its IMAX screens as well as nearly 300 of its 3D ones as well as Alice in Wonderland takes over as the 3D box-office favorite this weekend. According to Box Office Mojo, Alice will be appearing in 3,728 2D and 3D theaters this weekend, while Avatar will be reduced to 2,163 after opening in 3,461 twelve weeks ago. The reduced number of theaters has barely slowed Avatar's pace. On Wednesday it was the top-grossing film at the box office on a per-theater basis and No. 2 overall, barely edged out by Shutter Island. Its total domestic gross has shot up to $712 million, and it is likely to see another surge following Sunday's Oscar ceremony, where it is nominated in nine categories. Still, virtually all box-office gurus are forecasting that Alice will take the crown as opening-weekend champ of 2010. Several suggest that it could earn as much as $70-75 million including a midnight Thursday/Friday preview. The Los Angeles Times said on Thursday that the film's weekend domestic gross could exceed $90 million. Avatar opened in December with $77.03 million. The record for a winter opening is held by Mel Gibson's 2004 religious epic, The Passion of The Christ, with $83.8 million. However, some writers cautioned that the box office could be negatively impacted on Sunday by the Academy Awards telecast, which is expected to be watched by 35-40 million viewers, many of them traditional Sunday moviegoers.
Source: Studio Briefing
Movie Reviews: "Brooklyn's Finest"
Most studios have decided to give Alice a wide berth, assuming that it would be futile to challenge it this weekend. The sole exception is Overture Films' cop drama Brooklyn's Finest, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and Wesley Snipes, which is opening in fewer than 2,000 theaters. "These are fine actors," Roger Ebert writes about the stars, who play cops acting outside the law. "The milieu involves a tough, poker-playing, substance-abusing, hard-bitten world where the law meets crime, and the two sides have more in common with each other than with civilians." But he is turned off by "the level of the violence and killing" in which "the gun becomes the instrument of merciless self-will." John Anderson in the Washington Post says that ticket buyers are likely to be put off by "what is not just a relentlessly violent but [a] relentlessly grim drama." Linda Barnard in the Toronto Star observes: "Violent and almost cartoonish in its use of blood, Brooklyn's Finest underwent some editing since its premiere at Sundance a year ago, most notably a change to the ending. What's missing is a sense of purpose and a satisfying story." On the other hand, Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News comments that the film "has an unexpectedly epic emotional sweep and a trio of great performances to anchor it." A.O. Scott in the New York Times also praises the performances. "Particular scenes are not always entirely credible," he writes "but the sheer charismatic force of much of the acting keeps you in the movie." Likewise Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer remarks that the three stars "are all very good, even if the guys they're playing are, if not bad, then tragically corrupt, or corrupted."
Source: Studio Briefing
Movie Reviews: "The Ghost Writer"
Roman Polanski's Ghost Writer is expanding to 143 theaters this weekend, and winning additional critical praise as it does. The Chicago Sun-Times's Roger Ebert, who initially reviewed the movie last month, gives it four stars and remarks that it "is the work of a man who knows how to direct a thriller. Smooth, calm, confident, it builds suspense instead of depending on shock and action." Stars Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor also receive much praise for their performances, and Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News singles out McGregor's, which she calls "his best work in recent memory." Polanski, she writes, is "an expert at building the sort of intense atmosphere that leaves his audience in a state of edgy paranoia. It's a safe bet you'll be looking over your shoulder when you leave the theater to head home." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times, who also reviewed the movie last month, describes it as "a dark pearl of a movie whose great flair and precision make it Polanski's best work in quite a while." But Kyle Smith in the New York Post dismisses it as a "corny paranoid thriller." And Roger Moore, who gives the movie 2 1/2 stars, concludes in the Orlando Sentinel: "It's not one of Polanski's masterpieces, but The Ghost Writer doesn't dilute his reputation as a master of suspense."
Source: Studio Briefing
Alice To Enter Wonderland At Midnight
Disney is opening Tim Burton's 3D Alice in Wonderland at midnight tonight (Thursday/Friday) on about 1,000 screens in the hope of boosting its weekend total, which some box-office analysts predict could exceed Avatar's $77-million debut. Alice, starring Australian newcomer Mia Wasikowska in the title role and featuring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham Carter as other Lewis Carroll characters, will move into about 3,700 theaters by Friday evening. It is also scheduled to open overseas in 41 countries. The Hollywood Reporter noted that "pre-release tracking looks strong in all demos, with must-see interest apparent well beyond family moviegoers." Somewhat ironically, the film's main rival is not any other movie currently on screen -- but all the top films of 2009, as Sunday's Oscar ceremonies are certain to draw many moviegoers away from theaters.
Source: Studio Briefing
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