From director Genndy Tartakovsky and Adam Sandler comes…the highest grossing September release of all-time? Apparently so, as the critically panned CG comedy Hotel Transylvania defied its reviews and earned an estimated $43 million…not enough to top its $85 million budget, but a fine start to its theatrical run and more than surpassing the original high-grosser of September, Sweet Home Alabama, wh...[Read More]
The Possession remained at #1 at the box office, though with only one new release, it had little in the way of fresh competition. It also caps what is shaping up to be a major box office slowdown, as at an estimated $9.5 million, it did not even break into double digits, a major blow compared to last week when Labor Day weekend had three films do so. Lawless remained in second place with an estima...[Read More]
The lot of the PG-13 ghost story has been tough of late, with entries such as The Apparition disappearing almost as fast as its namesake, but The Possession, despite critical panning, drew in crowds handily enough, earning an estimated $21.3 million and blowing past its $14 million production costs. This probably comes as a shock to those behind Lawless, whose much better critical reception and We...[Read More]
They still have pull, though probably not as much as they would like…The Expendables 2 held the crown of the top draws at the box office, but at an estimated $13.5 million this week and $52.3 million in domestic success, it probably wishes it was doing much better to help offset its $100 million costs. Still, it was the only film this weekend to break into double digit earnings, which was enough t...[Read More]
Could the Bourne series survive without star Matt Damon? Quite possibly…though rising star Jeremy Renner has proven himself quite handily in other films (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and The Avengers), his The Bourne Legacy has not performed as well with critics as the previous Bourne films. It did have the third highest opening of the four films, earning an estimated $40.3 million, and he...[Read More]
Following the horrific events that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, Warner Bros. declined to release the box office estimates for The Dark Knight Rises for the weekend, opting instead to wait until Monday to show respect to those who lost loved ones in the shooting. Other studios did the same…there is a time and a place to be concerned about box office receipts, but this is not one of them. We here a...[Read More]
American audiences apparently have decided they’ve had their fill of talking cartoon animals for a little while, as Ice Age: Continental Drift, the fourth in the 20th Century Fox franchise, earned an estimated $46 million, about $14 million shy of DreamWorks’ Madasgascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’s opening weekend (which landed in tenth place this weekend for an estimated $3.5 million). However, th...[Read More]
Talk about winning streaks…Marvel, already rolling in dough with its major success of The Avengers, opened The Amazing Spider-Man on an off-kilter Tuesday debut. Turns out they may not have needed it: even without that extra cash, it entered at number one on the list with an estimated $65 million. But besides breaking records for Tuesday openers, it actually managed to best its reported $230 milli...[Read More]
Seth McFarlane’s name is gold, whether its on his three TV shows on FOX or in the theaters, as his comedy Ted did quite well for itself in its debut weekend. The adventures of the walking, talking, R-rated teddy bear made an estimated $54.1 million (already making back its $50 million budget), and is getting positive reviews as well. So is the second place finisher, Magic Mike, which made an even ...[Read More]
Put Pixar’s name on practically anything and you are guaranteed success at the box office…even the critically panned Cars 2 made over $550 million worldwide. So it should be no surprise to see their newest entry, Brave, make a solid opening weekend with an estimated $66.7 million. Though not earning quite the high praise of earlier Pixar efforts, it is far and away better reviewed than the aforeme...[Read More]
Despite overtaking first place from The Avengers, Men in Black III did not stay on top for long…the sci-fi action-comedy fell to secondnd with an estimated $29.3 million. First place went to Snow White and the Huntsmen, which, despite critical panning, hit a note with audiences with an estimated $56.2 million debut…far below its $170 million budget, but certainly a strong opening (and better than ...[Read More]
It was bound to be dethroned sometime, and The Avengers finally found its match in Men in Black III. Will Smith and Josh Brolin as Tommy Lee Jones have been scoring better than average reviews and made an estimated $70 million in box office over the four-day weekend (especially good considering the three-day take was the best opening of all three films in the series, with an estimated $55 million)...[Read More]