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Neeson's `Unknown' wins weekend with $21.8M debut
February 21, 2011

Liam Neeson has proven himself a known quantity again at the box office.

Neeson's thriller, "Unknown," debuted as the No. 1 movie with $21.8 million, following in the footsteps of his 2009 action hit "Taken," according to studio estimates Sunday.

Another action tale, "I Am Number Four," opened at No. 2 with $19.5 million.

A Warner Bros. release, "Unknown" stars Neeson as a botanist who awakens from a coma to find his wife claims she does not know him and that another man has taken his identity.

DreamWorks' "I Am Number Four" stars Alex Pettyfer as a teenage alien refugee on Earth who develops superpowers to battle the evil invaders that destroyed his planet. It was the first DreamWorks movie released under the company's distribution deal with Disney.

While "I Am Number Four" held youth appeal, "Unknown" was a rare No. 1 film that did most of its business among older crowds. According to Warner, 54 percent of the movie's audience was 50 and over and 89 percent was 25 and over.

The 58-year-old Neeson has had action roles before but found unexpected success as an all-out action hero with "Taken," a $100 million hit.

"He's the new man. He's stepped up to the plate. Put him in the right role and he's every man's action star," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner.

Two movies that opened the previous weekend held the next two spots in the top 10.

Disney's animated comedy, "Gnomeo & Juliet," was No. 3 with $19.4 million, finishing so closely to "I Am Number Four" that the two movies could change rankings when studios release final numbers Tuesday, after the long President's Day weekend. "Gnomeo & Juliet" raised its total to $50.4 million.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston's romance "Just Go With It," which had been No. 1 the previous weekend, fell to fourth place with $18.2 million. The Sony release lifted its total to $60.8 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, Martin Lawrence's comedy, "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son," was No. 5 with $17 million. The 20th Century Fox sequel has Lawrence reprising his role as a federal agent who goes undercover as a hefty woman to crack a case.

Hollywood finally broke a long downturn in business during which revenues were off 14 straight weekends compared to last year's.

This weekend, receipts totaled $144 million, up 7.7 percent compared to the same period last year, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

But compared to President's Day weekend in 2010, which fell a week earlier, revenues this time were down 30 percent.

"This was certainly not a record President's Day weekend by any stretch, but it was a good weekend," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It was solid but not spectacular, but at least it broke the down streak."

Two top contenders at next Sunday's Academy Awards hit the $100 million mark.

The Weinstein Co. drama "The King's Speech," the best-picture front-runner, pulled in $6.6 million to lift its total to $103.3 million. Fox Searchlight's psychosexual thriller, "Black Swan," took in $1.3 million and raised its haul to $101.5 million.

Colin Firth of "The King's Speech" and Natalie Portman of "Black Swan" are considered the favorites for the lead-acting Oscar awards.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Unknown," $21.8 million.
2. "I Am Number Four," $19.5 million.
3. "Gnomeo & Juliet," $19.4 million.
4. "Just Go With It," $18.2 million.
5. "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son," $17 million.
6. "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," $13.6 million.
7. "The King's Speech," $6.6 million.
8. "The Roommate," $4.1 million.
9. "The Eagle," $3.6 million.
10. "No Strings Attached," $3.1 million.

’Roommate’ earns top box-office bunk wiht 15.6M
February 7, 2011

The college thriller "The Roommate" has moved into the top spot at the box office with a $15.6 million debut during a typically slow Super Bowl weekend in which the NFL championship game preoccupies movie fans.

The Sony release features Leighton Meester as a psycho freshman who becomes obsessed with her new roomie (Minka Kelly).

The 3-D underwater cave adventure "Sanctum," whose producers include "Avatar" creator James Cameron, drew modest crowds and came in second with $9.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Released by Universal, "Sanctum" is a survival story about explorers trapped underground in flooded caves during a monster storm.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Anthony Hopkins' exorcism thriller "The Rite," fell steeply to sixth-place with $5.6 million. The Warner Bros. release raised its 10-day total to $23.7 million.

Revenue estimates were off sharply on Sunday as football fans gave movies a pass in favor of the big game. Even without the Super Bowl, though, it was another sleepy weekend at theaters, with overall business down for the 13th-straight weekend compared to last year, when Cameron's 3-D sensation "Avatar" still was riding high.

"I think Hollywood would be crying right now were it not for the `Avatar' excuse. It really was an anomaly how well that film was doing in January and February last year," said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

This weekend's receipts came in at $86 million, down 25 percent from the same weekend in 2010, according to Hollywood.com. A year ago, the weekend was led by "Dear John" in first-place with $30.5 million and "Avatar" in second with $22.9 million, a huge number for a film that already had been in theaters for nearly two months.

Largely because of "Avatar," overall revenues so far this year are running 24 percent behind 2010's.

Still, Sony was happy with the results for "The Roommate," which nearly earned back its $16 million production budget over opening weekend.

Though trashed by critics, the movie gave room for a showy performance from "Gossip Girl" co-star Meester as the wacko roommate.

"She really goes for it," said Rory Bruer, Sony's head of distribution. "Crazy and beautiful. It kind of works for her."

"Sanctum" brought in spare change compared to the billions of "Avatar," though its opening weekend went a long way toward recouping the $12 million that Universal and partner Relativity Media paid for its distribution rights.

And the studio was happy to be in business with Cameron, a pioneer in digital 3-D production.

"Anybody working with this man, you have to revel in the opportunity," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal.

While Hollywood is off to a slow start in 2011, the industry still could have a record year for revenue once a huge lineup of late-spring and summer blockbusters arrive, Dergarabedian said.

Last year was front-loaded with "Avatar," but business slowed through much of the summer and fall.

"The long shadow of `Avatar' will start diminishing pretty soon," Dergarabedian said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Roommate," $15.6 million.
. "Sanctum," $9.2 million.
3. "No Strings Attached," $8.4 million.
4. "The King's Speech," $8.3 million.
5. "The Green Hornet," $6.1 million.
6. "The Rite," $5.6 million.
7. "The Mechanic," $5.4 million.
8. "True Grit," $4.8 million.
9. "The Dilemma," $3.5 million.
10. "Black Swan," $3.4 million.


 

Elijah Wood predicts "amazing" reunion on "Hobbit"
January 17, 2011

For Elijah Wood, shooting Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" is going to be like a Middle Earth family reunion.

Many of the actors who shot the original "Lord of the Rings" saga will return to New Zealand for the "Hobbit" shoot this winter. Wood himself confirmed he was reprising his character Frodo last week.

"(Ian) McKellen is back, Cate Blanchett is back, Andy Serkis, and Orlando (Bloom)," Wood told The Hollywood Reporter at the Art of Elysium 'Heaven' gala on Saturday. "It's going to be like going back in time."

As for who else might be joining the cast, Wood insisted he did not know. And that includes his "Rings" sidekick, Sean Astin. "I haven't even read the script," he said.

Wood does know his part will be small and it will be shot in February. Since Frodo doesn't appear in J.R.R. Tolkien's book "The Hobbit," Wood said he took the part knowing that it would respect the work.

"There only would have been reservation about taking the part if there had been something that had infringed upon the integrity of the original book," he said. "But that was never going to be the case."

While the "Rings" reunion is happening, the actor did not believe it will be a repeat session where the main actors opted for bonding tattoos during the filming of the original series.

"This time around, I don't think so," said Wood. "But you never know."
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'Green Hornet' star Jay Chou likes low Hollywood profile
January 17, 2011

Hollywood is usually the place to see and be seen, but for Taiwanese pop singer Jay Chou, star of the smash hit "The Green Hornet," Tinseltown offers a welcome break from the paparazzi in Asia.

"As an artist, I need a lot of space which I cannot really get in many places in Asia," Chou told reporters Monday ahead of the Chinese premiere of the superhero flick, which co-stars Seth Rogen.

"It felt like I was having a vacation in the United States -- I took my mother to the production, and it felt really good to have some time for myself. I didn't have that feeling of people surreptitiously taking my picture."

"The Green Hornet" -- the tale of a young playboy businessman who becomes a crime fighter -- topped the box office in its opening weekend in North America, taking in $34 million, according to industry data.

Chou, largely unknown in the United States but hugely popular in Asia, plays the role of Kato, sidekick to the Green Hornet played by Rogen.

French director Michel Gondry confessed to not knowing how famous Chou was when he started considering him for the part of Kato, adding he and Rogen -- who wrote the screenplay -- later hesitated about casting a pop star.

"We had a conference on Skype where Seth was reading with Jay and we felt there was already chemistry, even though it was with a 10-second delay, and we liked him for his acting," Gondry said.

Rogen has since declared himself a fan of Chou's music, and he and Gondry joked that the Taiwanese singer would "force" them to listen to some of his tracks.

"Jay many times took us in his car with his bodyguard and forced us to listen to his music very loud, and if we didn't like it, he would beat us up," Gondry joked.

Chou had to learn English for the part, and acknowledged the language barrier would be a challenge for any future work in Hollywood. But Rogen praised his co-star for his quick mastery of the language.

"He knew very little (English) when we started filming and a few weeks in, he could improvise his own dialogue and come up with his own jokes, which was very frustrating because that took me years to learn how to do," he said.

’Megamind’ gets mega bucks in debut weekend
November 9, 2010

Will Ferrell's animated supervillain comedy "Megamind" took in some mega cash over the weekend, with a 46-million-dollar debut at the North American box office, final data showed Monday. 

DreamWorks Animation's 3D movie, which also features the voices of Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill, pulled ahead of strong openings for the other two top contenders, "Due Date" with a 32.7 million dollars take and "For Colored Girls" with 19.5 million.

The anti-superhero tale sees blue-skinned, green-eyed supervillain Megamind trying to find purpose in his life after finally conquering his arch-rival, Metro Man.

Road-trip comedy "Due Date" features oddball travel companions Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis traveling from Atlanta, Georgia to Los Angeles in a frenzied bid to make it on time to the birth of Peter Highman's (Downey's) child.

It beat out Tyler Perry's female-centric drama "For Colored Girls," which includes performances by Whoopi Goldberg and Janet Jackson for an adaptation of Ntozake Shange's stage play.

In fourth place was "Red," a spy thriller with a marquee cast including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren, after earning 8.7 million dollars.

Blood-soaked horrorfest "Saw 3D" dropped to fifth place after spooking audiences to the top of the box office on Halloween weekend. It earned 7.7 million dollars.

Bumped from second to sixth spot was "Paranormal Activity 2," which claims to show ghosts caught on nannycams. It earned 7.0 million dollars, for a total take of 77 million over three weeks.

Johnny Knoxville's "Jackass 3D" took the seventh spot with 4.95 million in ticket sales. The slapstick stunt comedy movie has earned 110.7 million in four weeks of release.

Matt Damon's "Hereafter," a dovetailing drama about three lives touched by death directed by Clint Eastwood, was in eighth place with 4.1 million.

In ninth place was Disney's "Secretariat," about the horse of the same name that won the Triple Crown races, taking a little over four million dollars.

Critically acclaimed Facebook drama "The Social Network" earned 3.4 million dollars to round out the top 10, with a total take of 85 million over six weeks in theaters.

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Success at “Twin” Concert Leads to Phase Two
October 19, 2010

Tulsa has shown incredible interest and support for the rebuilding of the Admiral Twin Drive-In since it was destroyed by fire on September 3, 2010. Their heartfelt desire to see this Tulsa landmark rebuilt developed into a cause that was backed by the action, effort and dollars of many. The public took it upon themselves to start a grass roots project to help raise the needed funds and the owners enacted a fundraising committee to help coordinate all the efforts. 

Contributions have come from a wide variety of sources that include the personal donation of the Mayor of Tulsa to small businesses and even children's fundraising. It started as the people's cause and the money raised reflects the eclectic appeal of this effort.

After two major entertainment events were staged, and the results of all other projects were tallied, the Save The Admiral Twin Drive-In cause has raised a current total of $33,710.70. Over $17,000 of that amount was raised this last weekend in the benefit show at the Admiral Twin Drive-In.

The co-owners of the Drive-In always liked the idea of giving every donor something for their support and the two benefit shows were designed with that intention. They do not wish to put the burden on the public and time will, at some point, become an issue. They are overwhelmed by the public's support that continues to encourage them and that is what drives them to produce plans that match the public's passion.

Now the focus will turn to Phase Two of the plan. A strategy will now be enacted that will be based on the involvement of outside corporate partners and foundations that share the vision of making the Admiral Twin the premier Drive-In facility in the country.

Plans prepared by One Architecture for the new main structure were unveiled at last weekend's event at the Admiral Twin Drive-In. Those plans will be used, along with business proposals in the near future to attract other entities in the development of the new venue. This new design will soon be posted to the official website: www.savetheadmiraltwindrivein.com.

The funds that have been raised to-date remain a very important investment in the recruitment of outside companies. It shows that the people have an impressive interest in seeing this iconic outdoor theatre come back to life. These contributions will serve as a "down payment" by the people and will play a crucial factor in showing the interest of the general public to potential partners or investors.

It has been said before that the owners will donate the raised funds to local charities if the Admiral Twin Drive-In is not rebuilt. That is still the owner's direction. However, those funds are now being seen as very important seed money that will help grander ideas flourish. In the end, the people who have donated should know that every effort is being taken to make the best use of their contributions for the goal they have passionately expressed.

Update on Admiral Twin Drive-In
October 7, 2010
The effort to rebuild a Tulsa icon, the Admiral Twin Drive-In theatre has raised nearly $25,000 but today we learn it could take $250,000 to rebuild the screens. While the donations have come in $10 and $20, a benefit concert is set for later this month to help with the fundraising.
Jon Terry, with SRO Productions, is organizing the benefit concert on October 16th and says there will be 11 hours of music. Terry says there is a list of 11 bands who are participating including Admiral Twin, Grady Nichols and the Red Dirt Rangers.
At the same news conference releasing more details about the benefit concert and the participating bands, the architect says it could be an expensive project to rebuild the theatre screens.
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Fact or fiction? Facebook film the latest "truth" tale
September 30, 2010

They say Hollywood never lets the truth get in the way of a good story and while a new movie about Facebook has left some critics wondering if its story is fact or fiction, audiences are unlikely to care.

"The Social Network," which hits U.S. cinemas on Friday, has been scoring early critical raves and even Oscar buzz, yet its claim on depicting the true story of the birth of the hugely popular social networking website is drawn from a book that was slammed for its reporting methods.

Just like Oliver Stone's "JFK" was criticized as taking liberties with historical facts in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, "Social Network" by director David Fincher follows a long line of Hollywood films that have caused controversy for their creative depictions of real-life characters and for scenes of events that never happened.

But in an age where viewers demand reality TV, knowing it is often missing elements of the truth, audiences may care less about authenticity than ever before, film experts said.

"We blur the line between reality and fiction so much recently on television and in movies that screenwriters and authors taking liberties to dream up something dramatic and interesting is okay," said Deadline Hollywood columnist and film critic Pete Hammond.

"The Social Network" tells how Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg was transformed from a socially awkward, arrogant student at Harvard University with girl troubles to largely creating the social networking website that currently has more than 500 million members and is worth tens of billions.

Besides questions about the book on which it is based -- Ben Mezrich's "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal" -- stirring the debate is that Zuckerberg did not cooperate with the film.

"A lot of it is fiction," he told Oprah Winfrey last week on her TV talk show. "This is my life, so I know it is not that dramatic."

But the film's makers argue the movie is basically true, told from three perspectives: that of Zuckerberg, his former good friend and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and former classmates at Harvard, brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

It shows scenes of depositions taken from lawsuits filed against Zuckerberg by Saverin and the Winklevoss twins. Both lawsuits resulted in large settlements.

Sorkin told Reuters even though it is "is based on the book," he did his own research and said the movie had been "vetted within an inch of its life by a team of lawyers."

"They only care that I am not saying anything that is untrue and defamatory," he said. "When the truth is in dispute, we make that clear as well."

RAVE REVIEWS, OSCAR RACE

Movies that have the cooperation of their subjects -- such as box office hits "The Blind Side" and "Erin Brockovich" -- face little controversy. In fact, both movies won Oscars for stars Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts, respectively.

And lawsuits against films for falsely claiming they are based on true stories are hard to prove. Two years ago a judge dismissed a $55 million lawsuit filed by former DEA agents against the movie studio that made "American Gangster."

Even when the story or characters are in dispute, some audiences understand movies are embellishing, experts said.

"Most audiences are savvy enough to know that in the moviemaking process, some facts get ironed out into half-truths, and fictions are added to spruce up the narrative arc," said Village Voice columnist Michael Musto. "But some people still feel that if it's up there on screen, it must be 100 percent true. I feel sorry for them."

Other films have faced similar debate entering Hollywood's awards season, including "A Beautiful Mind," and "The Hurricane." Their luck with award voters has been mixed.

"The Hurricane" (1999), about boxer Rubin Carter who was wrongly imprisoned for murder, earned only one Oscar nomination for Denzel Washington but he lost. "Beautiful Mind" (2001), which told of brilliant mathematician who falls victim to mental illness, won four Oscars including best film.

Hammond noted early raves for "Social Network" could help it with Academy Award voters. The New York Times called it a "weirdly funny, exhilarating, alarming and fictionalized look at the man behind the social-media phenomenon Facebook," while Variety said it was "penetrating," "terrifically entertaining," and labeled it an Oscar contender.

"The debate about the movie has already begun, but Fincher and Sorkin, selecting from known facts and then freely interpreting them, have created a work of art," raved The New Yorker, saying Fincher had shown "delicacy and precision."

Fincher told Reuters the movie was about grand themes, and he pushed to get the film made and released before it was dated. "I love the idea of old-world business and ethics as epitomized by Harvard and the Information Age as epitomized by this rapidly prototyped Internet creation that happened in a dorm room fueled by Red Bull," he said. "That was delicious."

To save future debate over fact vs. fiction in Hollywood, Musto suggested movies should add a statement at the beginning or end that some scenes, facts or characters "were fudged."

"Good luck getting them to add that, though," he said.

’Resident Evil’ movie capitalizes on slow weekend
September 13, 2010

On a weekend that Hollywood was largely content to cede to football and late-summer barbecues, Sony-Screen Gems' "Resident Evil: Afterlife" led the box office.

The 3-D horror film earned $27.7 million over the weekend according to studio estimates Sunday, a total that exceeded expectations. It's the fourth "Resident Evil" film, all of which have starred Milla Jovovich. This installment opened better than the three previous movies.

"Resident Evil" was the only film in new release on the historically slow moviegoing weekend following Labor Day. With an estimated box-office total of $82 million, it was the lowest grossing weekend of the year.

Screen Gems' "Takers," in its third week of release, came in second with $6.1 million. Last weekend's top film, the George Clooney thriller "The American," took in $5.9 million for Focus Features.

With little competition, "Resident Evil" was able to capitalize on the post-Labor Day weekend, when two of the previous entries to the franchise were also released.

"It had all of what its core audience was looking for and more," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony.

Bruer credited the marketing of the film and the draw of its 3-D, which he said "was made to be that way." The film also got a boost from IMAX, where it was released on 141 digital screens and earned $2.6 million.

That the fourth "Resident Evil" performed so well suggests that a fifth is likely. Asked if he expects one, Bruer said he didn't know, as it's produced by Constantin Film. But he acknowledged: "It wouldn't surprise me."

Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian said the weekend's low performance wasn't reflective of any industry malaise but merely a historical trend. The same weekend last year performed similarly, with Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" debuting with $23.4 million.

"This is never known as a high grossing weekend, but it can be the land of opportunity for a film like `Resident Evil,'" said Dergarabedian. "That's turning lemons into lemonade if I've ever seen it."

Next weekend begins the fall moviegoing season in earnest, with releases such as the potential Oscar-contender "The Town" from Ben Affleck, "Easy A," the Emma Stone-starring update of "The Scarlet Letter," and the limited release of "Never Let Me Go," another film being positioned for awards contention.

After a bumpy summer of lower attendance and a crop of disappointing movies, many are glad to see the season come to a close.

"Thank God it's over," said Dergarabedian.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D," $27.7 million.
2. "Takers," $6.1 million.
3. "The American," $5.9 million.
4. "Machete," $4.2 million.
5. "Going the Distance," $3.8 million.
6. "The Other Guys," $3.6 million.
7. "The Last Exorcism," $3.5 million.
8. "The Expendables," $3.3 million.
9. "Inception," $3 million.
10. "Eat Pray Love," $2.9 million.

Cause of Admiral Twin Fire May Never be Known
August 6, 2010

Authorities said they may never know the cause of the fire at the Admiral Twin Drive In because so much of the structure burned. The fire broke out at the theater shortly before 2:00 p.m. Friday. By 3:00 p.m. all that was left of the screens were the charred support posts. The ticket office sustained some damage and small grassfires were also sparked by the blaze.
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‘The American’ reigns at weekend box office
August 6, 2010

Spy thriller "The American" rocketed to the top of the North American box office to beat out crime action flick "Takers," preliminary figures showed Sunday.

The debut weekend for George Clooney's atmospheric thriller, hailed by critics as a visually captivating but restrained departure for the Hollywood star, took in 12.3 million dollars in US and Canadian theaters this weekend, according to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Last week's winner "Takers," starring Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba and singers Chris Brown and T.I., earned 11.5 million dollars and fell to second place in its second week of release.

In third position was "Machete," mixing violence with a campy tribute to 1970s exploitation movies from directors Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis for an opening weekend take of 11.3 million dollars.

Fourth place went to the gruesome documentary-style horror movie "The Last Exorcism," which fell back from its competitive runner-up spot last weekend to take 7.6 million dollars.

The movie, directed by Daniel Stamm and co-produced by Eli Roth, a director known for his bloody thrillers, follows a disillusioned minister supposedly filming his last exorcism for a documentary.

At number five was new release "Going the Distance," a romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long about surviving a relationship where the couples live on different coasts of the United States. It earned 6.9 million dollars in its opening weekend.

In sixth was "The Expendables," Sylvester Stallone's film about a group of weathered mercenaries out to topple a South American dictator, which earned 6.8 million dollars in its fourth week in theaters.

Falling one position to the seventh spot was "The Other Guys," the latest Will Ferrell slapstick comedy, about two mismatched police officers paired on a high-profile crime investigation, which had a 5.4-million-dollar take at the box office.

"Eat, Pray, Love," Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's novel about a divorcee's jaunt to Italy, Indonesia and India, starring Julia Roberts, fell to the eighth position with a take of 4.9 million dollars in its fourth week of release.

Down two places to number nine was blockbuster "Inception" starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an expert infiltrator of people's dreams, which took 4.5 million dollars over the weekend to bring its eight-week earnings to 277 million dollars.

"Nanny McPhee Returns," the sequel to a popular kid's film starring British actress Emma Thompson in the title role, rounded out the top 10 with 3.6 million dollars.

‘Takers’ takes ‘Last Exorcism, ‘ Winning Box Office
August 31, 2010

Crime action flick "Takers" narrowly beat out "The Last Exorcism" to take the North American box office top spot this weekend, earning just 145,000 dollars more, final figures showed Monday.

The new release, starring Hayden Christensen, singers Chris Brown and T.I., and Idris Elba, earned 20.5 million dollars in US and Canadian theaters this weekend, according to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

That was enough to catapult the flick, which follows the exploits of a group of professional thieves on one last job, over runner-up "The Last Exorcism."

The gruesome documentary-style horror movie led the pack in preliminary figures out early Sunday, but the final figures showed the new release earning 20.3 million in box office receipts, just enough to push it back to number two.

The movie, directed by Daniel Stamm and co-produced by Eli Roth, a director known for his bloody thrillers, follows a disillusioned minister supposedly filming his last exorcism for a documentary.

At number three was "The Expendables," Sylvester Stallone's film about a group of weathered mercenaries out to topple a South American dictator, which earned 9.5 million dollars in its third week in theaters.

Down one spot to number four was "Eat, Pray, Love," Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's novel about a divorcee's jaunt to Italy, Indonesia and India, starring Julia Roberts. It earned 6.8 million dollars in its third week of release.

Staying put at number five was "The Other Guys," the latest Will Ferrell slapstick comedy, about two mismatched police officers paired on a high-profile crime investigation. It earned 6.2 million dollars.

Down four places to number six was "Vampires Suck," a send-up of the "Twilight" series of heart throb-meets-horror films, which took 5.2 million dollars after debuting last week at the number two spot.

After spending last week at ninth place, blockbuster "Inception" jumped back up two places to number seven, showing the movie's staying power with audiences.

The mind-bending flick, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an expert infiltrator of people's dreams, took 4.8 million dollars over the weekend to bring its seven week earnings to 270.5 million dollars.

"Nanny McPhee Returns," the sequel to a popular kid's film starring British actress Emma Thompson in the title role, stayed put at number eight, earning 4.7 million dollars, while Jennifer Aniston's latest romantic comedy "The Switch" slipped two spots to number nine with earnings of 4.6 million dollars.

Rounding out the top 10 was summer horror spoof "Piranha 3D," which slipped four places after its debut last week, taking in 4.3 million dollars.

Review:  ‘The Last Exorcism’ Startles Naturally
August 25, 2010

"The Last Exorcism" is one of the scariest movies to come along in a long time — until the last five minutes or so, when it completely falls apart.

Really, that's about how quickly it all collapses. Director Daniel Stamm's faux documentary starts out with deadpan delivery and a dry sense of humor, then it turns riveting, then truly frightening, then just plain silly. It's like it morphs from being a Christopher Guest movie to "The Blair Witch Project" — as if writers Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland didn't know where to go, so they went over the top.

Until then, the filmmakers keep you guessing as to what's real and what's imagined, what's a disturbing mental disorder and what's actually demonic possession. And the fact that this Eli Roth production uses all unknown actors helps us get sucked into this eerie world.

Evangelical Louisiana preacher Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) has been performing exorcisms for the past 25 years but he knows they're all a sham. He long ago lost his faith — if he ever had any, that is — and for a while has had no qualms about taking money from true believers in the name of supporting his own family. But now, with his conscience weighing on him, he decides to let a camera crew come behind the scenes to expose his tricks as he "performs" one last exorcism.

And it truly is a performance. Cotton is hugely charismatic, a natural showman, and he's all too happy to divulge how he uses his iPod to make evil groaning sounds, or how he gets a puff of smoke to come out of his crucifix at a climactic moment. But he's not arrogant about it, which is key: He's engaging and confident but never so full of himself that he's off-putting. Fabian finds the balance in his character's conflicting motivations, which is crucial to allowing us to go along with him on this tried-and-true one last job.

Randomly, he selects a letter from the Sweetzer family living in fictional, rural Ivanwood. There, teenage daughter Nell (the extraordinary Ashley Bell) has been acting strangely and the livestock are being slaughtered. Her father, Louis (Louis Hertham), a serious fundamentalist, begs Cotton to purge the demon he thinks has possessed his innocent little girl. Her younger brother, Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones, creepy in his stillness) isn't shy about telling the reverend and his camera crew he wants them to go away.

Cotton breezes in, works his magic and breezes out. Or so he thinks. In that classically frustrating horror-film fashion, he finds he can't leave. And as he gets dragged deeper into this family's troubles, he finds himself in deeper trouble than he ever could have imagined.

Even before things turn violent, though, Stamm capably creates a suspenseful mood through the naturalism of the film's look, the expert use of silence and pacing. The insularity of the Sweetzer family, the defiant way they've cloistered themselves from the outside world since the death of Louis' wife two years ago, is enough to put you on edge. There are moments in "The Last Exorcism" that will make you hold your breath, and others that will make you want to look away.

It's rated PG-13 but don't let that fool you into thinking it's soft. Actually, it's the vagueness, the unknown, that make "The Last Exorcism" so powerful — at least for a while.

"The Last Exorcism," a Lionsgate release, is rated PG-13 for disturbing violent content and terror, some sexual references and thematic material. Running time: 88 minutes. Three stars out of four.

Will Ferrell Cop comedy Collars Box Office Crown
August 9, 2010

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg grabbed the box office crown from Leonardo DiCaprio on Sunday as their  new cop comedy "The Other Guys" sold about $35.6 million worth of  tickets, the film's distributor said.

 The opening, which was in line with expectations, marks the  second-highest of Ferrell's career and a big rebound from his 2009  summer bomb "Land of the Lost."

Wahlberg, making a rare foray into comedy, achieved his best opening since 2001's "Planet of the Apes" remake kicked off with $68.5 million.

 In "The Other Guys," they play mismatched underdogs on the trail of a  con artist played by English comic Steve Coogan. Reviews were strong for the $85 million film, which skewed to young men, said Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures.

 Ferrell suffered disappointing openings for both "Land of the Lost"  ($18.8 million) and 2008's "Semi-Pro" ($15.5 million), raising  speculation that another flop could hurt his ability to get big-budget  studio films green-lighted.

 His best opening remains the 2006 comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad  of Ricky Bobby" with $47 million. "Talladega Nights," "The Other Guys,"  and Ferrell's 2007 hit "Blades of Glory" ($33 million opening) were  directed by Adam McKay.

 Ferrell and McKay are "one of the best comedy combinations in the industry," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution at Columbia.

 "INCEPTION" RETAINS LEAD OVERSEAS

 After three weekends at No. 1, DiCaprio's dreams thriller "Inception"  slipped to No. 2 with $18.6 million, taking the total for the hit Warner Bros. release to $227.7 million after four weekends.

 The film led the foreign box office for a second weekend after earning  $46.6 million from 58 markets. Its overseas tally climbed to $250  million, with Britain ($39.4 million) and Japan ($23.7 million) leading  the contributors.

 Also new in North America was "Step Up 3D," the underperforming third  release in the urban dance series. The Walt Disney Co release opened at  No. 3 with $15.5 million, well below its predecessors even with the help of higher prices for 3D engagements. Disney partnered on the project  with closely held studio Summit Entertainment.

 The acclaimed comedy-drama "The Kids are All Right" finally cracked the  top 10 in its fifth weekend, rising two places to the final spot with  $2.6 million. The total for the Focus Features release, starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple, rose to $14 million.

 Rounding out the top five were Columbia's Angelina Jolie spy thriller "Salt" with $11.1 million, and Paramount's Steve Carell comedy "Dinner for Schmucks" with $10.5 million. Their respective  totals rose to $92 million after three weekends, and $46.7 million after two.

 Ominously for Carell, "Dinner For Schmucks" lost 55 percent of its  audience, one of the biggest drops in the top 10, and far steeper than  the 34 percent second-weekend dip earlier this year for his comedy "Date Night." That film, which opened in the same range as "Schmucks," ended  up with $98.6 million.

 The picture looks even bleaker for Zac Efron, whose female-skewing  tearjerker "Charlie St. Cloud" tumbled 62 percent in its second round.  The Universal Pictures release fell three places to No. 8 with $4.7  million, taking its 10-day total to $23.5 million. That's still less  than the $23.7 million opening for his film "17 Again" last year.

 Warner Bros. Pictures is a unit of Time Warner Inc. Paramount Pictures  is a unit of Viacom Inc. Universal and Focus are units of General  Electric Co's NBC Universal.

Local News courtesy of KRMG