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Shutter Island set a new personal best opening for director Martin Scorsese over the weekend, scaring up $41.1 million at the box office.
The latest collaboration between Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio bested The Departed’s $26.9 million opening, and set DiCaprio’s best opening weekend numbers as well. The horror-thriller was the lone new wide release at the box office this weekend, which definitely helped it reach the top spot, but it also got a boost from the predictable tanking of last weekend’s holdovers. Valentine’s Day bled over 70% to 2nd place with $16.7 million, while Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and The Wolfman fell to 4th and 5th place with $15.3 million and $9.9 million, respectively. Avatar, now in its 10th weekend of release, held on to 3rd place with $16.2 million, and its $688 million domestic total will almost certainly cross the $700 million mark in the coming weeks.
The most worrisome news if for Wolfman, one of Universal’s most prized icons and, with a low-ball budget of $150 million, its $50.4 million total gross isn’t very encouraging. The studio is still moving forward with reboots/re-imaginings of several of its classic horror icons, and as a fan, I certainly hope they fare better. Read»
I guess a parade of famous actors and a timely holiday release is all you need to shatter records these days. Valentine’s Day became the biggest Presidents’ Day weekend release with its $56.3 million first place debut.
Including the Monday holiday, its four day total of $63.1 million led the charge as a trio of new releases helped make this the highest-grossing February weekend ever. The Wolfman narrowly edged out Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief with a $31.5 million 3-day total, just in front of Percy Jackson’s $31.2 million, but the four day totals put Percy Jackson well ahead of the horror icon revival. Chris Columbus’ latest hauled in $38.7 million against The Wolfman’s $35.6 million over the full holiday frame, thanks to a decidedly strong Monday for the kid-friendly pic. Meanwhile, Avatar may have fallen to 4th, but it certainly didn’t slow down as it hauled in another $28.8 million over the four days. Dear John rounded out the top 5 with $18.2 million. Read»
Finally, in its 8th weekend of release, Avatar was knocked from its perch atop the box office by Dear John’s surprising $30.5 million opening.
Avatar came in second with a solid $22.9 million, but Dear John’s counter-programming on Super Bowl weekend worked wonders as its 84% female audience breakdown led it to become the second-highest grossing Super Bowl opening ever, behind only the Hannah Montana concert film. Meanwhile, James Cameron’s latest declined by a mere 27% to bring its domestic total to $629.3 million (its worldwide total is north of $2.2 billion, by the way), so I don’t think anyone’s worried about this particular coup.
From Paris with Love proved a little too crazy for most audiences, coming in 3rd with an underwhelming $8.2 million. Edge of Darkness plummeted 60% in its second weekend, falling to 4th place with $6.9 million and bringing its total to $28.9 million in 10 days. Tooth Fairy rounded out the top 5 with $6.6 million. Read»
New posters have landed online for both Kick-Ass and The Wolfman. The Kick-Ass ones feature four character posters that compile into one giant awesome banner, while The Wolfman harkens back to its black & white roots with a grainy, spooky shot of Emily Blunt on the run. They’re definitely both pretty neat pieces of movie marketing, and I especially wouldn’t mind the Kick-Ass ones spanning across my apartment walls.
Check them out after the jump. Read»
A new trailer for Universal’s The Wolfman has hit, and I feel like it actually sells the movie better than the initial one we saw back in August.
And just how does it accomplish that, you ask? Well, by showing less, actually. The first trailer had a very straightforward approach, introducing us first to the characters, then the plot, and basically walking us through to the middle of the second act. By all accounts, the trailer seemed to be selling a very traditional, albeit gorgeous-looking, gothic monster tale. Here’s where the second trailer gets it right. It’s technically more of a teaser, and it hooks us by doing just that – it teases us. It doesn’t try to tell us too much, merely giving us glimpses of a shadow and fog-ballasted world, populated by a cadre of brooding, menacing characters. It sells a mood, and it sells it well.
We’re given lots of new footage, and once again, the transformation scenes look amazing. The action is also turned up a bit, hinting at more rabid destruction than the original trailer. Anthony Hopkins is straight-up terrifying, concealing an insidious threat with every line he utters. Mix it all together with a more modern, tempo-driven soundtrack, and you’ve got a pretty piece of marketing that I think will get a lot more people excited for this movie.
Check out the trailer after the jump. Read»
