Tropic Thunder is still number one in the box office weekly race. Babylon A.D. is second with The Dark Knight in third place.

August 29, 2008 - September 4, 2008(*millions)

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The word is out; Tropic Thunder is still on top after three weeks running. Next is Babylon A.D. and then the ever money-maker The Dark Knight.

Domestically in the U.S. the movie biz still has Labor Day to make more dough.  We’ll see what the tally is later today or tomorrow morning.

Weekend Estimate

August 29, 2008 - August 31, 2008 (*millions)

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No surprises for this week’s box office tally.  Tropic Thunder is first, then The House Bunny and Death Race. Quite a few movies are opening this weekend. To name a few: Traitor, Babylon A.D., Hamlet 2 and College.

August 22, 2008 - August 28, 2008(*millions)

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Tropic Thunder stayed on top with The House Bunny close behind and Death Race in the next spot. I hear House Bunny is quite a laugher. 

August 22 - 24, 2008 

(*millions)

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Tropic Thunder took the top box office draw this weekend taking in an estimated $26 million with a five-day opening total of $37 million. It’s an R-rated film, which means the bulk of the audience is over 25 - that’s quite a draw.

Batman sequel The Dark Knight became the second highest grossing movie of all time domestically, passing up the original Star Wars. The Batman movie took in an estimated $16.8 million with a total of $471.5 million in just 30 days.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which opened to an estimated $15.5 million, came in third.  

Mirrors being a horror film, the only one currently, took that market and the number four spot with $11.1 million.

Vicky Cristinia Barcelona opened in only 692 screens took the number ten spot with an estimated $3.7 million.

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The Dark Knight came back Saturday and ended up winning the top box office spot for the fourth straight week.

Pineapple Express on Friday beat Dark Knight barely $7.9 million to $7.6 million margin. However, on Saturday the superhero movie gained the lead of the comedy, winning the day with $10.5 million to $7.6 million. Then, Sunday the box office climbed a little higher for the cape crusader ending the weekend comfortably at the top with $26 million

The Batman movie has now totals $441.5 million, surpassing Shrek 2 as the third highest domestic box office of all time. The movie most likely will beat the number two spot Star Wars $461 million total in the next week resting behind Titanic.

Final weekend box office for Pineapple comes to $22.4 million.

I should have the complete tally of the top ten box office spots for this weekend tomorrow.

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It’s Sunday morning and I am writing about Friday box office because it has just been brought to my attention that comedy Pineapple Express top the domestic box office Friday as it brought in $7.8 million while The Dark Knight was close with $7.5 million.

For three days Pineapple brought in $25.9 million to set at the number one spot for domestic box office for a continuous three days. Even though Dark Knight slumped 41% from the preceding Friday, it could take the weekend, which we will find out later today. So, stay tuned.

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Iron Man holds the number two spot for the highest theatrical box office tally for the year at $315 million. The superhero will be on the shelves on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

Paramount is releasing Iron Man as a two-disc “Ultimate Edition” on DVD and Blu-ray. The disc set includes a seven-part making-of documentary and a six-part feature on the origins of the Marvel superhero.

Other superhero extras include a documentary on the film’s visual effects; Robert Downey Jr.’s original screen test; deleted and extended scenes; a photo gallery of concept art; and behind-the-scenes images on the set.

A single-disc Iron Man DVD also will be issued with just the movie and the deleted and extended scenes. I’d go for the “Ultimate Edition.”

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We are not surprised to see Batman at the top.  This is awesome!

Weekly Box Office Report

July 25, 2008 - July 31, 2008(*millions)

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The final Box Office Report is in for the Weekend.  I am very happy for Mamma Mia!holding in at number three – go mamma! 

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The Dark Knight still soars at the box office with a bright estimate that places the movie at the top and for the second week, taking a domestic total of $314.2 million and putting it on track to reach $400 million in slightly more than a week from now. 

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The Dark Knight quite possibly will hit $300 million this weekend, an awesome box office standing, which will make it the first film in history to hit that mark in 10 days.
This week the cape crusader ranked number one with a huge margin.

Weekly Box Office Report

July 18, 2008 - July 24, 2008
                                    GROSS            TOTAL* (*millions)
1 Dark Knight, The $238,615,211- $238.62
2 Mamma Mia! $44,848,740 - $44.85
3 Hancock $20,667,083 - $198.17
4 Journey To The Center Of The Earth $19,605,961- $50.77
5 WALL-E $16,223,577 - $188.89
6 Hellboy II: The Golden Army $14,550,550 - $60.96
7 Space Chimps $11,630,542 - $11.63
8 Wanted $7,639,025 - $125.89
9 Get Smart $6,430,317 - $121.91
10 Kung Fu Panda $3,186,227 - $207.94

Thank you Variety and Rentrak for the report.

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The Dark Knight brought in even more money than actually estimated $158.3 versus $155.3 million.  I am happy to see that Mama Mia! came in second. It’s a great story that everyone can relate too.

                                                                            *in the millions

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Ever since the revival of soundtracks in the mid 90’s, the debate has become a tired one, always boiling down to the same few choices. It’s either a soundtrack that accumulates the latest and coolest tracks of the day, such as Trainspotting, or else one of Tarantino’s collections of disparate tunes that somehow manage to gain a new, hip meaning when he assembles them together. Scores rarely get a look in.

But that’s not to deny the importance of the soundtrack. Indeed, what would Scorsese’s film be without the barrage of rock n’ roll tracks. Or films like Gattaca, The End of the Affair, and The Piano would arguably be half as powerful if Michael Nyman’s compositions were removed. Yet there are strange occurrences in which the film’s makers, disappointing in their delivery, still manage to throw together the right songs and help slightly elevate the film’s lagging quality.

Below are five of the best examples I can find of film’s whose soundtracks suggest something far greater than the sub-par flicks themselves. Read on »

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The Dark Knight, Batman sequel, set a single-day box office record by taking in $66.4 million on opening day.

The total for the movie on Friday overcame the previous record of $59.8 million from last year by Spider-Man 3.

With such a big first day, The Dark Knight might set an opening weekend record of conquering the $151.1 million that was posted by Spider-Man 3 last year.

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The Dark Knight brought the highest number of dollars to any midnight showing, $18.5 million.  The Batman movie even beat out Revenge of the Sith, which brought in $16.9 million on its midnight showing.

The cape crusader is in for a huge money making weekend. Christian Bale is fantastic as Batman, and I always enjoy Michael Caine. However, watching Heath Ledger in his posthumous performance as The Joker will be hard for me.  Such a talented actor who is sorely missed.

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No surprises here with Hellboy 2: The Golden Army hitting the top of the box office this weekend with Hancock in the number two spot.  Journey to the Center of the Earth came in third, which is understandable by the limiting 3-D theaters; but still, just looking at the numbers, you know those theaters were packed.     The totals are for July 11, 2008 - July 13, 2008. (*millions)

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Hancock is Will Smith’s top grossing film on the 4th of July Holiday ever.  The movie about a flawed superhero brought in an estimated $18.8 million domestically. The total surpasses Independance Day $17.3 million in 1996.

Even though some reviewers seemed “so-so” about Hancock, it looks like movie goers are digging it. However, as I posted earlier in the week New Yorker film critic David Denby wrote a postive review.

With these numbers proves Will Smith has the box-office-bang touch.

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“Hancock” triumphs the Fourth of July holiday with $41.3 million in box office before the fireworks light up the sky.

The tally goes like this: an estimated $17.1 million Thursday, following carts of $17.4 million on its first official release day, Wednesday, and $6.8 million from “preview” play dates on Tuesday night.

Inspired by a graphic-novel series, the action film seems totally on the mark to go beyond $100 million domestically through Sunday.

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Who is the most bankable star in Hollywood?

According to a new ranking system by Box Office Power, Tom Cruise has consistently delivered the power to the box off over the last 20 years.

Second place is Tom Hanks, then Will Smith, following Jim Carrey at fourth. The first female star comes in at nine — Julia Roberts.

Esquire Magazine reported the new ranking system, which can be viewed online.

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It looks like “21” still held its position at number one for the box office this week. The weekend will prove different with “Leatherheads” and “Nims Island” opening.

WEEK BOX OFFICE FINAL
Mar 28 - Apr 03, 2008

1. 21                                                                       $31,432, 755       $31,432,755
2. Horton Hears A Who                                          $22,111,633        $121,960,781
3. Superhero Movie                                                $11,481,741        $11,481,741
4. Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns                          $8,775,518          $33,843,835
5. Drillbit Taylor                                                     $7,310,905          $22,084,546
6. Shutter                                                               $6,530,353           $20,307,941
7. 10,000 B.C.                                                        $6,507,155           $86,552,506
8. Stop-Loss                                                           $5,899,160           $5,899,160
9. College Road Trip                                              $4,353,342           $39,218,415
10. Bank Job, The                                                  $3,530,690           $24,835,127

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“Alvin and the Chipmunks” scored big time Tuesday to take the position of the fastest selling DVD of the year.

Fox Home Entertainment said it sold more than 2.6 million “Chipmunk” DVDs in a day in stores. The chipmunks beat first dayers: ”I AM Legend” and “Enchanted,” which is a wonderful film, by the way. 

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With St. Patrick’s Day preparations taking place around the world, what better time to take a look at Irish cinema? Last year I posted an article about my favourite Irish films. But, if there’s one thing that can madden an Irish person, it’s the perception that Hollywood often has about our little nation. Sure, it may be small in size, but we’ve produced some of the world’s greatest writers, not to mention Ireland has one of the strongest economies in the world at the moment, with Dublin rated as one of the world’s best cities to live in.

Which is all the more annoying when Hollywood has a history of portraying the Irish as rural and simple, with our Oirish exclamations (Bejaysus!) and our resident leprechauns. And while I didn’t enjoy the film, it was good to see Once fare so well, considering its modern depiction of Ireland’s capital city. But even still there’s numerous examples of how the old stereotype still squirms its way into representations of the Irish (the terrorists of Sin City being a good example). And of course there was Far and Away, possibly the most insulting film an Irish person could ever watch, with Tom Cruise portraying the Irishman as a rugged and passionate brute.

Below are what I consider to be some of the most convincing Irish accents made by a foreign actor, as well as a few of the worst examples that I can lure out of my memory. Enjoy. And Top O’ The Mornin to Ya. Read on »

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I don’t watch soap operas because I don’t have cable, and I have better things to do during the day.

This is a milestone for a soap opera to be at the top of the ratings for 1000 weeks in a row. Soaps have been having a hard time keeping and finding a mainstay audience. But it looks like “Young and the Restless” is doing just fine.  The CBS daytime drama has been on top since the final weeks of the Reagan administration — that says something wonderful about the show.

Variety reported that the soaps genre as a whole has been hit by declining ratings over the years, but “Y&R” remains its bellwether program. Sony sudser, which celebrates its 35th year on the air later this month, just achieved a major milestone by winning the ratings race in households for an amazing 1,000th consecutive week.

Michelle Stafford, who plays Phyllis Summers Abbott, is a wonderful person.  I am happy for her success and the show’s success.

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If you are looking for a romantic DVD to watch tonight, here are a few web sites that list the flicks.  Just scroll down the pages and review the stories and see which one fits your romantic mood.

Some flicks are longer than others, so keep that in mind.

My recommendation is a 1995 Cesar Award winning (Best Cinematography and Sound)French film starring Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez “Horseman on the Roof.”

About.com

Washington Post Interview with Patrica Hanson,  Film Historian

Moviefone

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