Baseball film ’42′ scores $27.3 million in box office win

LOS ANGELES – Baseball drama “42,” the story of Jackie Robinson becoming the first black player in the major leagues more than 60 years ago, took home a win at the movie box office after scoring $27.3 million from weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada.

The film about the Hall of Fame player topped industry forecasts for an opening of about $20 million. It defeated new horror spoof “Scary Movie 5,” the second-place finisher with $15.2 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates.

Animated Stone Age adventure film “The Croods” took the No. 3 slot. The Dreamworks Animation production rung up sales of $13.2 million in its fourth week for a total of $142.5 million in the U.S. and Canada.

In international markets, Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller “Oblivion” debuted with $61.1 million in 52 countries, distributor Universal Studios said. The film opens in the United States and Canada on Friday.

“42″ stars TV actor Chadwick Boseman, seen on shows such as “Fringe” and “Justified,” as the legendary Robinson. The title refers to Robinson’s jersey number with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Harrison Ford plays Branch Rickey, the Dodgers general manager who paved the way for Robinson to enter Major League Baseball as its first black player in 1947.

Audiences thought the movie was a home run, awarding a rare A+ rating in polling by survey firm CinemaScore. Critics also gave “42″ high marks, with 75 percent recommending the movie among reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

“It was big in small towns, large towns, urban markets and suburban markets,” said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros., the Time Warner Inc unit that distributed the film. Legendary Pictures produced the film for $40 million.

Box office analyst for Hollywood.com Paul Dergarabedian noted that the film’s 25 percent uptick on Saturday indicated strong word of mouth.

“Scary Movie 5″ revived a franchise that was dormant for seven years after the first four films grossed a combined $818 million worldwide.

The new installment, produced for less than $20 million, stars Ashley Tisdale and features cameos by troubled actress Lindsay Lohan and Hollywood bad boy Charlie Sheen. The film pokes fun at pop culture phenomena like racy novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” and recent Jessica Chastain horror flick “Mama.”

Ahead of the weekend, box office pundits predicted an opening of up to $17 million for “Scary Movie 5.”

“We would have liked to have seen a bit higher of a number,” said Erik Lomis, distribution president for The Weinstein Co, the privately held company that released the movie.

The fifth “Scary Movie” installment opened lower than any of the previous ones.

In fourth place was action movie sequel “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” which earned $10.8 million during its third week in theaters.

Last week’s box office winner “Evil Dead” fell to fifth place this week, taking in $9.5. The horror film is a remake of a 1981 classic of the genre.

“The Croods” was produced by Dreamworks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures released “G.I. Joe: Retaliation.” “Evil Dead” was distributed by Sony Corp’s movie studio.

Comcast Corp’s Universal Studios released “Oblivion.” Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures released “G.I. Joe: Retaliation.” “Evil Dead” was distributed by Sony Corp’s movie studio. Comcast Corp’s Universal Studios released “Oblivion.”

source: interaksyon.com

‘Hobbit’ fever beats Tom Cruise at box office

LOS ANGELES – The dwarfs and elves of “The Hobbit” overpowered Tom Cruise to take the box office title for a second time, grabbing $37.6 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales as a crowd of new films fought for pre-holiday audiences.

Cruise’s crime drama “Jack Reacher,” a film about a fatal sniper attack, landed in second place with $15.6 million. In third place, adult comedy “This is 40″ pulled in $12 million, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.

Domestic ticket sales for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” fell by about 57 percent during the film’s second weekend. Movie receipts typically drop 40 percent to 60 percent each week.

In international markets, “Hobbit” sales reached $284 million and brought the movie’s global take to $434 million, distributor Warner Bros. said.

“The Hobbit” is the first of three movies based on the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel set in the fantasy world of Middle Earth. The films, produced by MGM and Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema, are prequels to the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” franchise that brought in box office gold a decade ago.

Producers of “The Hobbit” and other films hope to enjoy a big boost this week around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The current crop will face competition starting on Tuesday, Christmas Day, from Quentin Tarantino’s Western “Django Unchained,” musical “Les Miserables” and comedy “Parental Guidance.”

Sales over the coming days are expected to push 2012 to a domestic box office record. The year is on track to finish with $10.8 billion worth of ticket sales in the North American (U.S. and Canadian) market, according to a projection from box office tracker Hollywood.com. The current record is $10.6 billion, set in 2009.

Over the weekend, “Jack Reacher” debuted just days after the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting sparked new debate about the impact of movie violence. “Reacher” begins with a sniper killing a handful of seemingly random victims. A red-carpet premiere and a screening to promote the $60-million production were postponed after the Newtown tragedy.

“We opened pre-Christmas with our eyes wide open,” said Don Harris, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution, adding that he expected the film’s box office take to grow over the coming weeks. He said the Newtown shooting had “no effect” on the movie’s opening.

Before the weekend, the studio had predicted sales of $12 million to $15 million.

Adult comedy “This is 40″ stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as a middle-aged couple. The studio billed the $35 million production from “Bridesmaids” producer Judd Apatow as a “sort-of sequel” to 2007 comedy “Knocked Up.”

The president of domestic distribution for Universal, Nikki Rocco, said the film exceeded the studio’s estimates for opening prior to a mid-week Christmas, and dismissed talk of a Judd Apatow slump since his comedy “Bridesmaids,” which opened to $26.3 million in May 2011.

“Adults have choices at this time of year,” Rocco said, citing the broad slate of films already on

offer and those opening on Christmas day.

Comedy “The Guilt Trip,” starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen as a mother and son on a cross-country drive, pulled in $5.4 million over three days. The movie opened two days before the weekend, on Wednesday, scoring a five-day total of $7.4 million.

Also this weekend, Walt Disney Co re-released 2001 animated Pixar hit “Monsters Inc” in 3D. The movie earned $5 million at domestic theaters. Next June, Disney is releasing a prequel to the film called “Monsters University.”

Another new release, the 3D “Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away,” with performances by the famous acrobatic troupe, earned $2.1 million.

In five theaters in New York and Los Angeles, thriller “Zero Dark Thirty” about the hunt for Osama bin Laden grossed $410,000 in what box office analyst for Hollywood.com Paul Dergarabedian

described as a “huge limited release start for the film.”

The movie, considered an Oscar contender, will expand nationwide on January 11.

“The Hobbit” was distributed by Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros. studio. Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, released “Jack Reacher,” “The Guilt Trip” and “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away.” Comcast Corp’s Universal Studios released “This is 40,” and Sony Corp’s film studio distributed “Zero Dark Thirty.”

source: interaksyon.com

Vampires foil Tooth Fairy, Santa as ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 2′ stays at No. 1

LOS ANGELES – Teen vampire film “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ continued to take a bite out of the domestic box office, drawing $64 million in ticket sales over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend to finish ahead of James Bond film “Skyfall.”

After opening with a massive $141.1 million last weekend, the finale of the “Twilight” franchise brought in a holiday swarm of fans to see teen favorites Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, pushing “Breaking Dawn” to $227 million in total domestic ticket sales.

“Skyfall,” starring Daniel Craig in the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise, finished second, collecting $51 million in weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates compiled by the box office division of Hollywood.com.

“Lincoln,” Steven Spielberg’s historical film on the last days of President Abraham Lincoln, grabbed third with $34.1 million over the Wednesday-through-Sunday period.

Making its debut in fourth place with $32.6 million was the animated film “Rise of the Guardians,” featuring the voices of Chris Pine and Alec Baldwin as the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and other childhood favorites who save the world.

“Life of Pi,” based on Yann Martel’s 2001 best-seller about a boy who survives on a raft with a tiger after his ship sinks, collected $30.15 million for a strong fifth-place finish.

“Rise of the Guardians,” produced by Dreamworks Animation for roughly $145 million, had been projected by distributor Paramount Pictures to gross $35 million in its first five days, according to Box Office Mojo.

Based on “The Guardians of Childhood” book series by children’s author William Joyce, the film will be the last Paramount will release for Dreamworks, whose films will be distributed next year by News Corp’s Fox studio.

Anne Globe, Dreamworks’ chief marketing officer, pointed to “the great parent reactions we’ve seen” to the film, and noting it was among the few choices for families through the end of year, said the studio was “hoping for very long legs through the holidays.”

The Ang Li film “Life of Pi,” on the other hand, performed stronger than expected. “We clearly exceeded our pre-release expectations,” said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox.

“We’re seeing word of mouth in action, and a remarkably balanced demographic,” including strong ticket sales among those under 25, he said, adding “Many felt it was impossible to film, but Ang Li pulled it off.”

The remake of the 1984 Cold War film “Red Dawn,” finished seventh with $22 million in sales, behind animated feature “Wreck It Ralph”‘s $23 million take.

“Red Dawn” arrived at movie theaters four years after it was shot by MGM, but was delayed when the studio filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Last year, MGM decided to digitally alter the villains in the movie, inserting North Koreans instead of Chinese, after Hollywood began courting Chinese companies to help finance its films.

Propelled by the vampires, secret agents, presidents and nursery school favorites, Hollywood ticket sales totaled $290 million for the holiday weekend, beating the holiday weekend high mark of $273 million recorded in 2009. Hollywood studios often release their biggest holiday films on Wednesday to take advantage of school breaks the day before Thanksgiving.

The continued rush of fans to see teen favorites Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner pushed the “Twilight” installment to $227 million in total domestic ticket sales, making it the year’s sixth-largest, according to figures compiled by Box Office Mojo.

“Skyfall” with $221.7 million is just behind at number seven, while the year’s box office champ remains “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which has taken in $623 million to date.

source: interaksyon.com