The Frickin' Big Screen Bulletin 08.11.08: Substition Edition
Posted by Matthew Motiuk on 08.11.2008
The weekend box office results, a rumored Terminator cameo, Lethal Weapon 5, Indiana Jones' future, and more!
Greetings and salutations. As I'm sure you've noticed, I am not Chad Webb. However, as Mr. Webb is on vacation, he has asked me to fill in for him. So this week you'll be getting a dose of me.
I have finally seen The Dark Knight, and it was worth the wait. Absolutely awesome. The movie almost feels like there's too much going on, but it's balanced well enough that it doesn't detract from it at all. Ledger as the Joker is utterly and undeniably fantastic, a hundred times better than Jack Nicholson. I was just blown away. Totally worth it.
So, let's get to the news!
Box Office: The Dark Knight Wins Again
The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.
Despite two more wide releases having entered theaters on Wednesday, The Dark Knight topped the box office for a fourth straight weekend, adding an estimated $26 million for a massive domestic total of $441.5 million. If the estimate holds, then the Christopher Nolan-directed film has surpassed Shrek 2 ($441.226 million) to climb to the third spot on the all-time domestic blockbuster list, trailing just Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ($460.998 million) and Titanic ($600.788 million). Warner Bros. Pictures said it expects "Dark Knight" to end up with about $520 million domestically. The movie cost $185 million to make.
Columbia Pictures' R-rated comedy Pineapple Express, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, earned an estimated $22.4 million in second place over the weekend and has made $40.5 million in 3,072 theaters since its Wednesday debut. Directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Judd Apatow, the film carried a budget of only $27 million.
Universal Pictures' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor dropped a big 60.2% in ticket sales its second weekend, collecting $16.1 million in third for a total of $70.7 million so far. The Rob Cohen-directed action-adventure was produced for $145 million.
Warner Bros. sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, starring Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn, took fourth place with $10.8 million this weekend and has earned $19.7 million from 2,707 theaters since opening on Wednesday.
Columbia's Step Brothers rounded out the top five with $8.9 million in its third weekend. The $65 million comedy has reached $80.9 million.
Universal's musical Mamma Mia! continued to do well in the sixth spot, adding another $8 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $104 million compared to its budget of $52 million.
While "The Mummy" suffered a big drop, Brendan Fraser's other summer action-adventure, Journey to the Center of the Earth, dipped just 27.1% in its fifth weekend, making another $4.9 million for a total of $81.8 million. The New Line/Warner Bros. release cost $60 million to make.
I don't think anybody should be too surprised that The Dark Knight is still at the top, considering just how massive the movie has become. It's too bad that it's not making more each week so it could have a shot at beating Titanic, though. Well, I mean, I still think it has a shot, but not as good of one. As for the rest? No really big surprises, I think. I figured Pineapple Express and The Mummy would be in the top three, and it's not really that surprising that The Mummy is dropping that fast. The rest are nothing special. Next weekend, look for Tropic Thunder to be right up there. I don't think Mirrors or The Clone Wars will do as well as they could with the continued competition of The Dark Knight along with the other new and current releases.
Eagle Eye in IMAX
Scooper 'Streets' alerted us today that DreamWorks/Paramount have prepared an IMAX trailer for Eagle Eye that will be attached to Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight in IMAX theaters shortly. It is to announce that the D.J. Caruso-directed film will get a simultaneous IMAX DMR release along with its 35mm opening on September 26th.
In the fast-paced race-against-time-thriller, Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan are two strangers who become the pawns of a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. Realizing they are being used to further her diabolical plot, they must work together to outwit the woman before she has them killed.
The movie co-stars Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton.
Eagle Eye looks good without the added appeal of seeing it on the big, big screen in IMAX, so this should be a good idea. The problem is that while The Dark Knight did well in IMAX, Eagle Eye doesn't have anywhere near the hype. The other odd slip here is how late they're starting to run the trailer. While I'm sure plenty of people will still see The Dark Knight in IMAX from this point on, they really missed the boat on the first round of people. Hopefully it doesn't hurt them in the end.
Porno Becomes R-Rated
Director Kevin Smith has won an appeal to lower the adults-only NC-17 rating for his comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, to an R rating.
Motion Picture Association of America spokeswoman Elizabeth Kaltman said Tuesday the rating was revised after the group's appeals board viewed the movie.
The NC-17 rating would have prohibited anyone younger than 17 from seeing the movie. With an R rating, those under 17 can see it in the company of an adult.
In the October 31st release, Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are two lifelong friends who are deep in debt and enlist the help of their friends to make a porno movie for some quick cash. But as everybody starts "doing" everybody, Zack and Miri realize that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought. Craig Robinson, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan, Ricky Mabe, Jeff Anderson and Jason Mewes co-star.
Well, this will definitely open the move up to a bigger crowd, and this is probably the crowd that will want to see the movie; the teens who have that one older friend who can get them into the racy movies like this one. The movie itself sounds like it could be hit or miss, although if you already like Smith's brand of humour you'll probably like this. This is definitely a big win for Smith, though.
Hamilton in Terminator Salvation?
Pause.com has posted an interesting rumor stating that Linda Hamilton will be reprising her role as Sarah Connor in flashbacks for Terminator Salvation. The site later spoke with a rep for the actress who said they hadn't heard of it, but we think there might be some truth to it!
Opening May 22, 2009, the McG-directed sci-fi action-thriller stars Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Jadagrace and Helena Bonham Carter.
Obviously she would only be able to appear in flashbacks, but this is as strange rumour all around. First off, they didn't get her for Rise of the Machines, even though they probably could have worked her in easily; why would they pull her for this one? Second, the fact that it appears she has no idea of this role (although we've all heard this double-talk before) indicates the unlikelihood of her involvement. We'll just have to see, I guess.
Lethal Weapon 5?
Hollywood tracking board TrackingB.com reports that Shane Black, who wrote the first Lethal Weapon movie, has written a spec script for Lethal Weapon 5 without telling anyone. The site adds that he contacted franchise producer Joel Silver and said that he wanted to continue the story.
This time, homicidal Riggs (Mel Gibson) is about to retire, but pulls Murtaugh (Danny Glover) out of retirement to solve one final case, before they both officially head off into the sunset.
TrackingB.com says that Gibson and Glover are down to return, but no deals have been signed.
The first film was released in 1987, the second in 1989, the third in 1992 and the fourth in 1998.
While I do like the Lethal Weapon movies, this doesn't sound like a good idea. Nobody has even really thought of Lethal Weapon in years, and it's effectively been finished. Reviving it now just seems like a bad idea. This just seems like a bad idea all around.
The Future of Indiana Jones
Last week, The Sunday Telegraph in the UK had a brief interview with George Lucas talking about the potential of doing a fifth "Indiana Jones" movie. The fourth movie is looking to be this year's third-biggest movie, having grossed over $300 million, and Lucas would be interested in carrying on if they can find an idea that works for another installment... and if Harrison Ford remains on board.
Newsweek has run a story from AP Television who sat down with Lucas to talk about the upcoming animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars and when they asked about the future of the franchise, Lucas told them that he has no plans of turning it over to Shia LaBeouf's character Mutt Williams, as some thought might happen:
"He is Indiana Jones," Lucas said of (Harrison) Ford. "If Indiana Jones wasn't in it, you'd have to call it 'Mutt Williams and the search for Elvis.' ... "Yeah, it's 'Mutt Williams and the Search for Elvis.'"
Lucas also repeats what he said earlier about the future of "Indiana Jones" relying on his own creative thoughts on what they could do next with the character:
"The franchise really depends on me coming up with a good idea," Lucas said. "And that series is very research-intensive. So we're doing research now to see if we can't come up with another object for him to chase... hopefully we'll come up with something."
Don't worry, as much as Lucas makes it sound like it'll be a challenge to find a new Indiana Jones story, they'll get one easily. Harrison Ford, though, that will be the challenge. And you've got to hand it to Lucas for not just passing things on to LaBeouf. He's right, without Indiana Jones, these movies wouldn't be the same. Whether they should be continued or not . . . well, I just don't know. They're restarted it already, might as well keep it going if everybody's willing.
RIP Bernie Mac, 1957-2008
Just days after being hospitalized for pneumonia, actor and comedian Bernie Mac passed away at the age of 50 at Northwestern Hospital early Saturday morning.
Mac was hospitalized with pneumonia on August 1st and the following day, a source close to the family said that Mac was in "very, very critical" condition. The news comes just one day after reports that Mac was recovering and would be released from the hospital in a few weeks.
"Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.
She said no other details were available and asked that his family's privacy be respected.
Career highlights for the Chicago native include his FOX sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show" and his co-starring role in the popular "Ocean's" series opposite George Clooney and Brad Pitt. He had recently completed the movie Old Dogs and has two movies opening in November, DreamWorks' animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Malcolm Lee's Soul Men.
Mac leaves behind Rhonda, his wife of 30 years, their daughter Je'Niece and a granddaughter Jasmine.
Wow, this is a huge shock to me. Especially after they were reporting he was recovering. He was a great actor and comedian, and he will be deeply missed.
Rapid-Fire: Octopussy (1983, starring Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan)
The second of my latest trio of Bond acquisitions, I watched this one while I was sick and I was watching movies to pass the time. So this week, here it comes:
As always, I've got to say it: this is James Bond. No surprises. Now that that's out of the way, this one is slightly different from the rest, I found. It's got some very strange sequences, as the main setting is India, and it lets the team experiment with some things, including a big game hunt. As well, I've been noticing with the Moore movies, whoever was in charge of the title sequence probably should have been fired for being on drugs, because they're a little stranger than what I'm used to. Maybe it's just that my usual base for measuring is the Brosnan movies, but they just seem wacky, like someone was given free reign with MS Paint.
The story is a bit confusing. Now whether this was merely a symptom of my sickness or not, I'm not sure, but I found it a bit more out of left field than usual, pulling things out of nowhere, basically, and trying to weave them together, then changing things up again. It just got a little bit crazy. Bond movies are usually fairly straightforward, and this one felt like they were trying to do a maze. Still, they save it with a fantastic ending, and the rest is far from unwatchable.
Moore does great as Bond, as always, and Adams is a good opposite to him in this one. Jourdan as the villain turns out to be fairly good, although he's hardly as threatening as his bodyguard. Desmond Llewelyn as Q gets more airtime than usual, and it's a welcome inclusion, because he's brilliant and fun. The Indian agent, Vijay (played by Vijay Amritraj, coincidentally), even though he seems like he's going to be annoying at the start, turns out to be a pleasant addition to the cast.
In the end, this is Bond as usual, with a bit of lemon zing. By the end, though, you know this is Bond, and it's still good. Not standard fare, but hardly worth turning off.
Closing Time . . .
Alright, that's it for me. It's been frickin' hot this past week, over thirty Celsius every day, and for Edmonton, that is just plain weird. At The Dark Knight I saw trailers for some upcoming movies, and I must say, as much as Quantum of Solace looks like it has a bit of action, overall, it looks like it's going to be even worse than Casino Royale. For those of you who don't know me, I despise the new Bond movies. Other than that, Watchmen really jumped out as looking fantastic, especially on the big screen, so I'm looking forward to that.
Well, I'm not sure if Chad will be back next week or not. If he is, it's been a pleasure providing you with a Monday read; if not, then I look forward to seeing you all back here next week!
