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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»
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»
Where the Wild Things Are is Spike Jonze’s ode to childhood. Specifically, it focuses on the confusing, mercurial, and powerful emotions that command us as children when we haven’t been forced or trained or taught to master them yet. In that sense, it is a piercingly honest film, with a reverberant beauty gracing both its visual aesthetics and narrative movements.
Before diving into the film’s potent storytelling successes, I feel a brief mention must be made about its technical achievements. The creatures in WTWTA are beautifully crafted and lushly realized. The visual effects work done to animate their faces is stellar, to say the least. Jonze’s team really brought the monsters to life with a convincing mix of physical size and dynamic expressions. It’s important to note this because since so much of the movie is centered around them — and Max’s usually very physical interactions with them — filling them in with entirely CG characters or failing to allow them to adequately express themselves would have been damning to the film. The movie wouldn’t have worked otherwise. Nailing this one aspect has gone a long way towards allowing the inherent poignancy of the film to shine through.
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Vince Vaughn still knows how to attract a crowd. His new comedy Couples Retreat pulled in a record-setting $34.3 million at the box office to come in at number one over the weekend, becoming the highest grossing Columbus Day weekend opener ever.
Paranormal Activity, which has been getting all sorts of buzz thanks to a strong marketing campaign and Paramount’s “demand it!” release scheme, expanded to 160 theaters and absolutely packed the houses. It pulled in $7.9 million for the number 4 spot, which is an astounding $49,379 per-theater average, especially considering the number of screens it played. It set the record for highest grossing movie playing at under 200 theaters, and don’t be surprised to see the micro-budgeted horror film expand to even more venues soon to scare up even more dollars.
Zombieland held over well from last weekend, dropping to number 2 with $14.8 million. Its $47.6 million total is already spawning talks about a possible sequel, as well as close to making it the highest grossing zombie movie ever (2004’s Dawn of the Dead currently holds the title with $59 million). Meanwhile, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is still holding on strong, finishing third with $11.5 million in its fourth weekend of release. Toy Story / Toy Story 2 3D rounded out the top 5 with $7.8 million. Read»
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who participated in our contest! We’ve selected a winner and have sent them a message notifying them of the win. Please check your inbox/Twitter/Facebook as YOU may be the one who’s won! We had a great response this time, and we’ll be sure to let you guys know when we host another giveaway!
Original story follows:
It’s long overdue, but we’re finally making our return!
Relocating our offices was a process that took a little longer than expected, but after clearing that hurdle (along with some issues getting our internet access re-established), we’re back. We’ve made a few minor tweaks here and there, but have survived the big move otherwise intact. Sorry to have kept you, our loyal readers (or maybe even some new ones), out in the cold for so long, but hopefully you’ve been able to follow all the action in the movie business through our Twitter page. Now that we’re set up and ready to rock once again, you can expect your usual dose of regular updates to come in packages slightly larger than 140 characters.
A little late, a little shorter, but still good! Read»
The amazing trailer for Spike Jonze’s next hits the net! Watch it now! Read»
Featuring some trailers, some announcements, and some tasty bits inbetween! Read»
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