by Roy on 25 Oct 2009 | Comments Well, it looks like the Saw franchise’s reign of horror has lost a bit of its foothold in the late October box office. Micro-budgeted Paranormal Activity continued to steamroll the competition in theaters, finally taking the top spot in its fifth weekend of release with an estimated $22 million.

That brings Paranormal’s total to a hefty $62.5 million. To put that into perspective, that’s over 4000 times more than the $15,000 it cost to make. Ridiculous. Saw VI pulled in a not-disgusting $14.8 million in its 2nd place debut, but that’s less than half of what Saw V made in its bow last year in the same frame. Lionsgate execs probably paled visibly today after hearing that Paramount is considering a Paranormal Activity 2 (which, for the record, is probably about as good an idea as Blair Witch 2 was). As tired as I am of Jigsaw, I can at least see why the Saw formula works in a franchise. There’s a certain novelty to Paranormal Activity that I’m not sure can be captured in a sequel.

Meanwhile, Where the Wild Things Are, last week’s number 1, plummeted 56% to 3rd with a $14.4 million haul. It’s $54 million total is still well shy of its $100 million budget. Law Abiding Citizen dropped to 4th with $12.7 million, and Couples Retreat rounded out the top 5 with an $11.1 million weekend. Read»

by Roy on 19 Oct 2009 | Comments Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are took over the box office this past weekend, grossing an estimated $32.5 million for the top spot in its much-anticipated debut.

The total was a little shy of ambitious estimates after a surprisingly strong Friday and Saturday, but nonetheless is still a strong bow for Warner Bros. It was an uncharacteristically active weekend, with three different films crossing the $20 million mark. You have to go all the way back to 2004’s Shark Tale to find the last time a film managed that in this frame.

Law Abiding Citizen opened at number 2 with $21.3 million, but once again it was Paranormal Activity that comes away with the most impressive victory. Expanding to 760 theaters, the ultra low-budget horror film pulled in $20.2 million for the number 3 spot, or a staggering $26,530 per-theater average in its fourth weekend of release. Couples Retreat held on to fourth place with $17.9 million over its second weekend, and The Stepfather opened in 5th place with a so-so $12.3 million. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, meanwhile, crossed the $100 million mark with an $8.1 million weekend, bringing its total to $108.3 million. Read»

by Ryan on 11 Aug 2009 | Comments New trailer for Imagi Studios’ adaptation of the Japanese classic! Read»

by Ryan on 4 Feb 2009 | Comments Two new images from the remake of the Japanese classic are now online. Read»

by Ryan on 21 Nov 2008 | Comments Moviefone has posted a teaser trailer for the upcoming Astro Boy (and we mean real upcoming–it’s not due out until October of 2009). The movie, being made by Imagi Animation Studios and directed by Flushed Away’s David Bowers, is an adaptation of the iconic manga series from the 1950’s. Series was created by Osamu Tezuka (often regarded as the “god of manga”) and debuted as an animated program in Japan in 1963. It was later adapted for overseas audiences in the 1980’s, and remade again in 2003. This latest version … Read»