Weekend Box Office #47
This weekend brings us Rob Zombie's unnecessary remake of Halloween. I'm not sure why anyone remakes good movies; why not redo Prom Night? Or Terror Train? Or Bonfire of the Vanities?
Rob Zombie's Bonfire of the Vanities. I'd see that.
HALLOWEEN (3472 theaters). I'm also not sure why they are releasing this movie two months before the holiday. It's also the biggest ever screen opening for Labor Day weekend. Still, expect this to land in the top spot, easily. $26.2 million for the 4-day weekend.
BALLS OF FURY (3052 theaters). This opened on Wednesday, and the sliding Superbad still beat it. People like movies that are dumb fun; this might be too dumb. $13.4 million for the weekend.
DEATH SENTENCE (1822 theaters). Seem sort of similar to Death Wish? Turns out it is based on the novel that was the sequel to Death Wish. It's getting terrible reviews (it's currently at 9% on Rotten Tomatoes), though Roger Ebert liked it. Welcome back Roger. $8.3 million for the weekend.
All three of these movies seem to be made for audiences who don't want to think, which might work this weekend, when temperatures are so hot that fried brains want to get AC while resting for a while. It was 109 degrees here in Woodland Hills yesterday.
Stay cool...
posted by Scott the Reader @ 8:54 AM
11 Comments:
My group of guy friends tried to convince me to go to a midnight screening of Halloween in Studio City. I declined to go home and work on my script.
I stand by my decision. As soon as they are awake I will ask them if they liked it.
I think I read somewhere recently that something like 70% of the major releases over the past couple years were either sequels, remakes, or based on existing books, games, rides, tv shows, toys, (what's next, commercials?)
It's the safety net factor Hollywood is falling further and further into...the notion being that a movie will perform better (especially when it opens) if it has a 'built in' audience or recognition factor. Even if the recognition is for a film that doesn't need to be remade, or doesn't deserve a sequel. It takes the greenlighting execs off the hook for some reason.
Sad, though. Just finished reading 'Easy Riders Raging Bulls' about the American films made in the 70's...now those were the days of movie making!
I might watch Balls of Fury. Some day. On video. If it's for free.
Halloween - it can't be worse than any of the sequels, can it? I mean, it's almost a physical imposibility. And yeah, the release date is retarded.
Death Sentence has a cool poster. But that's pretty much it.
Money? You mean, how much will they make?
Well, I ain't much of a marketing man, but I can tell you they'll all earn more than a nickel, or my name ain't S. A. Petrich.
By the way Scott, you forgot the single most important movie coming out this week:
THE NINES - 9 billion dollars opening weekend.
And why am I posting comments on people's blogs at 2 am? God knows.
Scott,
"Halloween" (1978) was one of the scariest movies ever made. After giving it a lot of thought as to why, I have come up with John Carpenter's BRILLIANT camerawork as the main reason it was so good. If you watch "Halloween" '78, in a lot of scenes Jamie Lee Curtis is in the f.g. with the white faced Michael Myers lurking in the background. The audience feels "safe" when Michael is a good distance away from Jamie Lee, not so safe when he is approaching her unaware or when Michael ducks off camera, and the audience no longer knows where he is, putting Jamie Lee in jeapardy of suddenly running into the killer again.
Anyway, I thought "Halloween" '78 was masterfully done. That said I could care less about how Rob Zombie butchers it.
"Balls of Furry" is a DVD rental when I'm bored.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
"Balls of Furry"?
E.C. gets points for naming the porno version of the movie (because "Balls of Fury" is just TOO obvious).
And what kind of porno is that? Adults in cat, dog, and bear costumes shining each others... kumquats... teabag... uh... yeah. Gonna go use the mental scrub brush now.
Terror Train?
But did you hear about Rod Lurie remaking Straw Dogs?
Bloody Sam would knock his f@ckn head off.
Actually, e.c., I don't think it was all camera work. I think one of the things that make Halloween so good is effective use of dramatic irony that builds tension and makes us nervous the whole film. I use that film in my English class to explain what dramatic irony is because it's so prevalent throughout the movie in just an appropriately used way.
My three friends did indeed go see the remake, two of them fell asleep. The other one said it was o.k.
Emily, pretend I'm one of the cute kids in your class. I've brought you an apple, I'm sitting on your lap after class waiting to her you explain to me how "dramtic irony" is used in "Halloween" (1978). How would you explain that to me?
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
P.S. While we're at it, Emily, do you have any superhero abilities? I'm thinking Uma Thurman bad-ass superhero abilites akin to what she had from the moive "My Super Ex-Girlfriend?" You see I'm starting to get picked on by a specialized breed of cyberspace haters (close relatives of fleas and ticks, me thinks), and I need someone who is part bad-ass, yet sweet and loving at the same time -- with an English teacher's skill no less, to get on board with the growing entourage of this E-train.
Zombie's Halloween is making a boatload as we speak.
And it's not that odd to release it now. I mean, it kinda is, but Halloween H20 was released in July and made a ton just a few years ago.
Well, first of all, e.c., my kids are teenagers. They don't sit in my lap. It's creepy and they weigh too much.
But honestly I have a whole stand up comedy routine where I act out the various emotional beats you go through as you watch the scene where Michael Meyers puts on the sheet and stares at the slutty girl on the bed. We know that's Michael. She doesn't. We keep trying to tell her but she just won't listen.
But my whole acting out of it usually leaves the class in tears because I'm fucking funny. That's my superpower.
Also my infectious enthusiasm. But that doesn't really help rescue babies or anything.
Postmortem:
Halloween made a solid $31 million.
Balls of Fury made an estimated $13.8 million. I was close.
Death Sentence tanked with only $5.2 million. And is it me, or does the new Jodie Foster movie look like it has pretty much the same plot?
John August's directorial debut, The Nines, made about $28,000 in two theaters. Not bad, though I'm sure he would have liked to see the numbers a little higher. Hopefully it'll get a wider release.
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