Nicholl Update

My script made the semi-finals of the Nicholl Fellowship. Which is what it did 3 years ago (the only other time I entered it), though it's nice to see that it wasn't a fluke. It put a smile on my face.

Good luck to the others who are hearing news today...

Weekend Box Office #149

And another week rockets by.

The only movie I saw in theaters this past week was BANDSLAM, which is a solid, solid teen movie that deserved to be sold better and seen by more people. This weekend, (weekend #3 for the film) it is in only 207 theaters, down from 2121 last week. Hopefully it'll find its audience on DVD or cable; it deserves it.

Opening wide this weekend:

THE FINAL DESTINATION (3121 theaters). It's a weird trend to give sequels similar names to the original movie in the series. This one is in 3D, and the basic premise is still a draw, so it should do fairly well, say $16.1 million.

HALLOWEEN 2 (3000 theaters). I don't think it's too wise to have two similar movies coming out the same weekend, and I think this one is going to be the one that suffers. $11.2 million.

TAKING WOODSTOCK (1393 theaters). They are advertising this a lot, but it's not a huge amount of theaters yet. Figure $9.4 million for the weekend.

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Last weekend, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS made $38.1 million, for Tarantino's best opening weekend ever, and probably saving The Weinstein Company for the near future.

SHORTS did only $6.4 million; I guess it looked too goofy even to draw a lot of kids. POST GRAD did only $2.7 million; X-GAMES 3D THE MOVIE stumbled in with only $837,216.

Weekend Box Office #148

The summer is just drifting by. I saw JULIE & JULIA -- and liked it -- but otherwise I haven't seen much of anything.

This weekend's new wide offerings:

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (3165 theaters). Apparently it's too long and slow, but has its moments, sort of like the script. It'll probably do okay, though the 2 1/2 hour running time will hurt the box office a bit. Prediction: $19.5 million for the weekend.

SHORTS (3105 theaters). They are trying to sell this as a film for kids and adults, but apparently it skews pretty young, despite the presence of Jon Cryer and James Spader. Call it $22.4 million, just for the kid factor.

POST GRAD (1958 theaters). I haven't seen any commercials for this, though the LA Times review was pretty dour. $2.6 million.

X-GAMES THE MOVIE (1399 theaters). A limited one-week run, but are there really a huge amount of X-Games fans ready to pony to see this in a theater? $5.2 million.

******

Last weekend, DISTRICT 9 made a very solid $37.4 million, and should hold well. THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE did an okay $18.6 million.

THE GOODS did only $5.6 million, while PONYO did $3.6 million, and BANDSLAM stumbled in with $2.2 million; wow did they sell this movie badly.

Weekend Box Office #147

Well I've sunk back into too much working and not enough posting. Such is life.

This weekend:

DISTRICT 9 (3049 theaters). I'd call it a big sleeper, except that it is opening on the most screens of any movie this weekend. But the buzz is great, and though it's lack of star might have it open a little small, it should build well if it's as good as they say. $21.3 million for the weekend.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (2988 theaters). I've seen a lot of ads for this, though the reviews aren't great. $21.2 million.

BANDSLAM (2121 theaters). I'd be ready to dismiss it except that it's directed by Todd Graff, whose movie CAMP I liked a lot, and reviews for this have been solid. Still, I don't see it being huge. $8.8 million for the weekend.

THE GOODS (1838 theaters). Decent reviews and it looks fun, though the title is kind dumb. $7.8 million.

*******

Last weekend, GI JOE made a solid $54.7 million.

JULIE AND JULIA did a pretty good $20.1 million. PERFECT GETAWAY stumbled in with just $5.9 million.

Weekend Box Office #146

Sometime this weekend I'll write a post on John Hughes, a man whose movies I generally loved; when he was at his best, in his teen comedy/dramas, he was gold.

Opening this weekend:

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (4007 theaters). I'm sure it'll make a lot of money, but I have no interest in seeing it. I don't think I ever owned a G.I. Joe, but if I did I don't think this was the kind of adventures I was imagining. Though again, blowing stuff up real good generally makes a lot of money. Call it $40.0 million for the weekend, but I could be way low or even way high; I'm just not sure this is really going to hit women that well.

JULIE & JULIA (2975 theaters). Look for this one to do really well, just because I think it's going to draw women, as well as an over-40 audience that might not go to the movies much. Prediction: $28.7 opening weekend, and then it'll hold well.

A PERFECT GETAWAY (2159 theaters). This might work as a compromise date movie: the girl doesn't want to see G.I. Joe, the guy doesn't want to see Julie and Julia, so they settle on this. $15.5 million.

Opening in only 38 theaters is PAPER HEART, which is on my short list.

*******

Last weekend, FUNNY PEOPLE did $22.7 million, a bit low, and I have a feeling it's going to drop a good 40% this weekend.

ALIENS IN THE ATTIC only did $8.0 million. THE COLLECTOR did $3.8 million. I overestimated everything...