Archive: August 2010 (21-30 of 40)

Aug 14 2010 11:56 AM ET

'Expendables' and 'Eat Pray Love' score while 'Scott Pilgrim' loses a turn

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Categories: Box Office, Movies

expendablesImage Credit: Karen BallardHollywood’s battle of the sexes seems to be working out well for the studios and their male- and female-focused movies. The testosterone-fueled Expendables bowed to an impressive $13 million Friday, which could translate to $35 million weekend win. And the Julia Roberts-starrer Eat Pray Love opened to a strong $8 million, a number that should jump up to about $25 million by weekend’s end.

The weekend’s other new wide release, the PG-13 Michael Cera-starrer Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, bowed to a disappointing $4.5 million and a likely fifth place in the rankings. Despite the Edgar Wright film’s strong presence at Comic-con and its popularity on Twitter, the hipster action-romance is unlikely to earn more than $11 million for the weekend.

Spots four and five for the frame are likely to go to holdovers. The Other Guys grossed over $5 million on Friday for a weekend take that could reach $17 million and a total cume of close to $70 million. And Inception is likely to wind up in fourth spot for the weekend. The uber-successful Christopher Nolan-directed drama grossed another $3 million on Friday for a weekend total of $11 million and a total cume on the verge of $250 million. Come back tomorrow for full results. (UPDATE: Click to see three-day weekend box office estimates.)

Aug 13 2010 06:32 PM ET

'Toy Story 3' becomes highest-grossing animated flick of all time

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Categories: Box Office, Movie Biz, Movies

Toy Story 3 is now the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, with $920 million in worldwide box office receipts. It just surpassed Shrek 2, the previous record-holder, which racked up $919 million worldwide in 2004. Domestically, Toy Story 3 should cross the $400 million mark this weekend, making it only the second Disney film to do so. The animated hit also now holds the title of Disney’s fourth-most successful film in the company’s history.

Disney announced today that the DVD release of Toy Story 3 is now set for Nov. 2. Expect it to break records in that arena as well.

Aug 13 2010 12:01 AM ET

'Scott Pilgrim' vs. 'Eat Pray Love' and more: Owen and Lisa chow down on summer movie moments

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Categories: Eat Pray Love, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Summer Movie Watch, The Expendables, The Other Guys

Have you ever seen a movie you completely forgot in a week — except for one moment in it, which stayed with you for years? When you think about it, a lot of movies are like that. Lisa and I recently took time out to recall a handful of the movie moments from this summer that we suspect will be sticking in our heads for a very long time. (You know, like that final machete thrust in The Expendables. Or Julia Roberts savoring the perfect plate of Roman pasta in Eat Pray Love.) Of course, some movies are better than others, but what makes a moment memorable has its own mysterious chemistry. Check out our video conversation after the jump, and then tell us about some of your favorite movie moments from this summer. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 12 2010 11:25 PM ET

Justin Bieber movie lands filmmaking team

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Categories: Deals, Movie Biz, Movies

Step Up 3D director Jon M. Chu and the Magical Elves producing team of Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth have joined together to direct and produce Justin Bieber’s concert film. The trio will work with Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun, Island Def Jam chairman LA Reid and Grammy winning singer Usher to give Bieber fans a behind-the-scenes look into the 16-year old pop star’s life.

In addition to the last two Step Up movies, Chu also directed the Hulu web-series The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. Magical Elves is best known for its successful reality shows. The duo used to produce Project Runway when it aired on Bravo and currently produce Top Chef and Work of Art, among others.

Paramount Pictures will release the Justin Bieber movie on Valentine’s Day weekend 2011.

Aug 12 2010 06:22 PM ET

'Going the Distance' release pushed to Sept. 3

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Categories: Box Office, Movie Biz, Movies

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long’s relationship comedy is getting some distance from next weekend’s The Switch. The R-rated comedy from director Nanette Burstein will hit theaters one week later than initially scheduled, opening Sept. 2 rather than August 27.

The studio’s marketing campaign for the funny flick about falling in love while living across country seems to have just gotten started, and one more week will allow it to gain more traction with audiences. Another week should also let the Jason Bateman-Jennifer Aniston relationship comedy The Switch get out of the way.

You can find the trailer for Going the Distance here.

Aug 12 2010 05:46 PM ET

Box office preview: 'The Expendables' likely to dominate over 'Eat Pray Love'

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Categories: Box Office, Movies

jason-statham-expendablesImage Credit: Karen BallardIt’s the battle of the sexes this weekend, and the outcome is not likely to inspire any feminists, as Sylvester Stallone’s action hero mash-up The Expendables is set to rule over Julia Roberts’ year-long trek in Eat Pray Love. As for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, it seems the young males this movie is targeting are far more interested in watching Sly mix it up with Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham (pictured) et al. than seeing Michael Cera battle Ramona Flowers’ seven evil exes. Read on for my predictions. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 12 2010 12:05 AM ET

Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively compete for Alfonso Cuaron's next project: 'Gravity'

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Categories: Casting, Movie Biz, Movies

Call it the battle of the blondes: Sources confirm a report in The Hollywood Reporter today that Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively are the frontrunners to star in Alfonso Cuaron’s next project Gravity opposite Robert Downey Jr. Both women have tested for the role of an astronaut lost in space, fighting her way back to Earth. Neither Johansson nor Lively have yet to receive an offer, however.

Sources say that Lively auditioned for the role over a month ago along with 11 other women. Johansson only read for the part last week.

While Johannson is a bigger star internationally, Warner Bros. has long been a fan of cultivating young talent that it had a hand in discovering, which definitely describes Lively. She co-stars in the studio’s upcoming flick The Town as well as Green Lantern, in which she plays Ryan Reynolds’  love interest. Warner Bros. TV is also responsible for Gossip Girl, which co-stars Lively, on the CW.

It’s not lost on anyone that Reynolds is Johansson’s husband. Depending on the outcome of the Cuaron project, the Green Lantern premiere could be one awkward affair. Warner Bros. declined to comment.

Aug 8 2010 12:35 PM ET

'Other Guys' buddy cop movie scores; 'Step Up 3D' trips

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Categories: Box Office, Movies

other_guys_farrellWill Ferrell connected with audiences as a bumbling, clueless cop opposite an easy-to-rage Mark Wahlberg. The Other Guys earned an estimated $35.6 million, marking Ferrell’s second highest grossing opener ever and the first film to knock Inception out of the top spot. The other new wide release, Step Up 3D, benefited little from the extra dimension. In fact, the third iteration in the dance franchise opened to third place and $15 million, the lowest bow of the loosely connected trilogy. And the two films together couldn’t top the weekend box office tally one year ago this week, when G.I. Joe and Julie and Julia opened. Total box office was down some 7 percent. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 7 2010 01:08 PM ET

'Dragon Tattoo': Where is David Fincher's Lisbeth? She might not be a newcomer after all

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Categories: Casting, Movie Biz, Movies

In the past few days, Robin Wright and Stellan Skarsgard have begun negotiating with Sony Pictures for crucial roles in the highly anticipated The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. (Wright, in particular, is perfectly cast as Erika Berger, Mikael Blomkvist’s editor-in-chief and longtime lover in author Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series.) But where is David Fincher’s girl? A second round of screen tests were conducted last week with four fairly unknown actresses who donned complete Lisbeth Salander garb to play the troubled heroine opposite Daniel Craig as Blomkvist. Fincher and Sony, however, have yet to make a decision.

Perhaps the whole idea of going with an unknown to carry such an important franchise is too big of a gamble for the studio. No one at Sony is talking, but an insider assures me that an unfamiliar actress will land the role. But rumblings around town suggest a different scenario: Natalie Portman, who was rumored to have been offered the role by Fincher and to have declined, may be back in the mix. Word is the studio is pretty high on the diminutive actress, who could slip into the role of the troubled antisocial hacker with relative ease, at least from a looks perspective. Evan Rachel Wood has also been suggested — another interesting choice considering the actress’ penchant for dark roles (see: True Blood).

Regardless of experience, Lisbeth Salander isn’t an easy role. Making it more difficult is the filmmaker’s current plan to have all the players speak with Swedish accents, a decision that could potentially prove distracting. Should the accents not be delivered flawlessly, the film’s stars could also be a potential target for ridicule.

It’s radio silence from the studio as to when a decision will be made. Sony had such good luck announcing Andrew Garfield as their new Spider-Man to the world without advance press interference that they are hoping to do the same with Tattoo. With so much attention on the project, there could be a concerted effort to spread misinformation. But with a release date already set for Dec. 21, 2011, one thing’s for sure: Time is running out.

Aug 7 2010 12:01 PM ET

'Other Guys' scores Friday; 'Step Up 3D' stumbles

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Categories: Box Office, Movies

the-other-guysImage Credit: Macall PolayWill Ferrell is back and audiences are loving it. The Saturday Night Live alum’s pairing with Mark Wahlberg has proved to be a very successful combination, as The Other Guys scores a $13 million Friday, knocking Inception off the top spot for the first time in four weeks. The PG-13 buddy comedy directed by Adam McKay could reap $35-$36 million over the weekend, marking Ferrell’s second highest-grossing opening ever behind Talladega Nights in 2006.

Inception continues its incredible run, dropping only 31 percent from last Friday for another $5 million and a likely weekend take of $19 million. Launching the third iteration of Step Up in 3-D did little to boost the franchise. With a bit over $6 million on Friday, the Disney release is not expected to make much more than $16 million over the three-day frame, less than its last two predecessors.

Spot four is looking like a three-way race between Salt, Despicable Me, and Dinner for Schmucks. All three earned around $3.3 million on Friday night for a weekend that will be in the $10 million range. It seems Schmucks was the one movie hit the hardest by The Other Guys, down some 59 percent from its opening weekend.

Check back tomorrow for full results.

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