Tarsem Singh’s Immortals may not be wowing the critics (38%
/ 5 score on Rotten Tomatoes; 47 on Metacritic) but it still managed to find
$32m worth of business to take the number 1 spot in North America. It’s definitely
a good news / bad news situation though. On the one hand an opening over $30m
is not to be sneezed at; but on the other hand Relativity (however much Tarsem
didn’t like it) have been using 300 to
sell this film since day 1 and 300 opened to $70m 4.5 years ago. Still it is definitely
a pick up for Tarsem Singh who saw Snow White & The Huntsman steal yet another
march on his Mirror, Mirror as the Snow White film most people are interested
this weekend. Having stolen headlines with casting, images and finally the
trailer this week, SWATH has raced to 5,193,480 YouTube views in less than 48
hours! (More on that at this link)...
Snow White & The Huntsman Trailer passes 2.3 million YouTube hits in a day! UPDATED now 5.1m
It is also a good opening for Henry Cavill and has given a fair number of viewers (who for reasons unknown have not seen Cavill's excellent work in TV show 'The Tudors' a glimpse at the new Superman.
The film pulled 66% of its takings from 3D screenings and
managed to grab the elusive “young” audience. 60% of the audience were male,
which is perhaps not as high as some would like o suggest. (There was an
impression from some films like this are almost exclusively watched by males.)
Synopsis...
“Visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) and
producers Gianni Nunnari (300), Mark Canton (300) and Ryan Kavanaugh (The
Fighter) unleash an epic tale of treachery, vengeance and destiny in Immortals,
a stylish and spectacular 3-D adventure. As a power-mad king razes ancient
Greece in search of a legendary weapon, a heroic young villager rises up
against him in a thrilling quest as timeless as it is powerful. The brutal and
bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are
rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the
invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and
become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion
and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will
stop the evil king's mission. As village after village is obliterated, a
stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother
in one of Hyperion's raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra
(Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man's future convince her
that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus
assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate
battle for the future of humanity.”
Locked in a neck & neck battle for the number 2 spot are
new release ‘Jack & Jill’ and 2 time number 1 ‘Puss In Boots’. Falling
short of the “standard” $30m+ openings of Sandler’s comedies Jack & Jill
has still managed open over $25m at a time when big openings are few and far between
in North America and when it was thought that his “routine” may have been
wearing more than a little thin. The best news though is that after years of
being a virtual non-event in the international market, Sandler’s films now
regularly make comparable amounts outside North America to the domestic
takings, so a weaker domestic performance is no longer the end of the story. The
film also stars Katie Holmes & Al Pacino.
Synopsis...
“Jack and Jill is a comedy focusing on Jack Sadelstein (Adam
Sandler), a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful
wife and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his
identical twin sister Jill (also Adam Sandler). Jill's neediness and
passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life
upside down. Katie Holmes plays Erin, Jack's wife.”
DreamWorks Animation continue to laugh loudest at the
doomsayers as Puss In Boots held extremely well in its 3rd weekend to
collect $25.5M for a total of $108.8M so
far. The film has shown remarkable legs since it opened to $34m 2 weeks ago and
this 22% drop bodes well for DreamWorks Animation’s hopes of a new ‘franchise’.
Dropping 45% to $13.2m was Tower Heist. Brett Ratner’s week
of hell as been extended as this film does not appear to be displaying the kind
of legs that it will need to be even a modest hit. The Ben Stiller, Eddie
Murphy starrer lost a sizeable chunk of its audience to fellow comedy Jack
& Jill; it also lost some of the ‘adult’ audience it has been counting on
to Clint Eastwood’s Leonardo DiCaprio starrer J Edgar.
J Edgar is a bit of a curious one. Despite being a film that
is clearly “awards friendly” it has received some pretty harsh reviews; it has
a 41% / 5.8 on Rotten Tomatoes and a 59 on Metacritic. An $11.4m opening weekend
is actually on the high end for recent Eastwood directed films (where he doesn’t
also star at least)
Synopsis...
“During his lifetime, J. Edgar Hoover would rise to be the
most powerful man in America. As head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
for nearly 50 years, he would stop at nothing to protect his country. Through
eight presidents and three wars, Hoover waged battle against threats both real
and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe. His methods
were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most
coveted, if ever elusive, prize. Hoover was a man who placed great value on
secrets--particularly those of others--and was not afraid to use that
information to exert authority over the leading figures in the nation.
Understanding that knowledge is power and fear poses opportunity, he used both
to gain unprecedented influence and to build a reputation that was both
formidable and untouchable. He was as guarded in his private life as he was in
his public one, allowing only a small and protective inner circle into his
confidence. His closest colleague, Clyde Tolson, was also his constant
companion. His secretary, Helen Gandy, who was perhaps most privy to Hoover's
designs, remained loyal to the end...and beyond. Only Hoover's mother, who
served as his inspiration and his conscience, would leave him, her passing
truly crushing to the son who forever sought her love and approval. As seen
through the eyes of Hoover himself, "J. Edgar" explores the personal
and public life and relationships of a man who could distort the truth as
easily as he upheld it during a life devoted to his own idea of justice, often
swayed by the darker side of power.”
The here new entries helped this weekend to a 15%+ improvement on the same period last year. Paranormal Activity 3 has now passed
the $100m mark in North America; Footloose continues its steady dance into
profit and Real Steel & In Time continue to puzzle at why their
international successes haven’t been replicated at the North American box
office. Although with Real Steel the alack of interest or even knowledge of the
game ‘Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots (Which has absolutely nothing to do with the
film and was created after the story on which the film is based) may have
helped avoid the negative connotations many Americans had with the film.
North America
Film
|
Weekend Gross
|
Total Gross
|
Budget
|
|
1
|
Immortals
|
$32,000,000
|
$32,000,000
|
*$75m -
$120m
|
2
|
Jack & Jill
|
$26,000,000
|
$26,000,000
|
$80m
|
3
|
Puss in
Boots
|
$25,500,000
|
$108,809,000
|
$130m
|
4
|
Tower Heist
|
$13,177,000
|
$43,869,000
|
$85m
|
5
|
J Edgar
|
$11,470,000
|
$11,569,000
|
--
|
6
|
A Very Harold
& Kumar 3D Christmas
|
$5,900,000
|
$23,222,000
|
$20m
|
7
|
In Time
|
$4,150,000
|
$30,667,000
|
$35m
|
8
|
Paranormal Activity
3
|
$3,625,000
|
$100,823,000
|
$5m
|
9
|
Footloose
|
$2,735,000
|
$48,876,000
|
$24m
|
10
|
Real Steel
|
$2,000,000
|
$81,748,000
|
$110m
|
* The budget for Immortals was initially reported by Relativity
as $120m, but recently has been stated as $75m. It may be that they have
deducted the money earned from selling the film to international markets, but the
budget is unclear. (Deadlince.com confirm)
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