Box Office
Box Office Guru Wrapup: This Is It Tops Box Office Worldwide (55 comments)
Four months after his death, Michael Jackson was the king of the box office as his concert documentary This Is It thrilled fans opening at number one. But with no other new films opening in wide release, and with Halloween dampening ticket sales on Saturday, the Top 20 slumped to its lowest point of 2009 with just $83M. Sony scored its seventh top spot debut of the year with This Is It, a look at preparations the music superstar was making for his sold-out London concerts, which grossed an estimated $21.3M over the weekend and $32.5M over five days since its Wednesday launch. Worldwide, the Kenny Ortega-directed pic grossed an estimated $101M with 68% of the total coming from overseas markets where Jackson's popularity has remained stronger over the years despite his many legal troubles. Domestically, This Is It averaged a solid $6,119 from 3,481 theaters over the Friday-to-Sunday span. The studio has reported that the Jackson pic has broken the all-time record for top-grossing concert film worldwide beating the $71.3M of last year's Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus 3D concert flick. But that's not much of an achievement since very few concert films get wide releases in the first place and even fewer are given massive global launches like This Is It which unspooled on over 15,000 screens worldwide simultaneously. Montana bowed in North America on a Friday in just 683 3D locations (albeit with higher $15 tickets) and grossed $31.1M for a scorching $45,561 average on its way to a $65.3M domestic final representing a whopping 92% of its final global take. Its international release was much more limited.
Box Office Guru Wrap-Up: Theaters Buzz With Paranormal Activity (48 comments)
This weekend what looked to be a close race between two major horror films ended up being no contest at all as moviegoers demanding a scare on the final full weekend before Halloween rallied behind the indie sensation Paranormal Activity which rose to number one in its fifth frame brutally punishing the opening for Saw VI which suffered the worst debut ever in the profitable franchise's history. Three other new releases ended up with small chunks of change outside of the top five while the overall marketplace slumped below last year's performance.
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Eat Up Wild Things (26 comments)
Three new releases hit the multiplexes while one indie sensation expands nationally hoping to strike gold and shake up the establishment. Leading the charge is the family film Where the Wild Things Are which gets the widest release by far and stands the best chance of capturing the number one spot. Also debuting is the horror film The Stepfather and the action drama Law Abiding Citizen. Meanwhile, the micro-budgeted thriller Paranormal Activity will capitalize on its enormous buzz by widening into all major markets on Friday making a serious play for the number two spot this weekend. Moviegoers poured into multiplexes to see a wide range of appealing films powering the box office to the biggest October weekend in history. Leading the way was the new adventure pic Where the Wild Things Are which bowed at number one followed by an exceptionally strong debut for the action entry Law Abiding Citizen in second. The most impressive performance came in third with the national expansion of the indie thriller Paranormal Activity which delivered the best average of any film. The four new wide releases kicked in a stunning $86M powering the Top 20 to $135M, a new record high for the month.
RT on DVD
RT on DVD: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ( comment)
This week, the little movie that could: celebrated arthouse auteur Michael Bay overcomes funding difficulties and triumphs over the studio system with his moving, personal vision in 'Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen'. Plus, Harrison Ford gets back to playing old grouches in earnest political dramas, Jennifer Aniston gets stalked (go figure) and Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo play brothers of the non-'Bloom' variety.
RT on DVD: Star Trek Beams In (4 comments)
This week, J.J. Abrams' critically-acclaimed hit Star Trek reboot arrives on DVD, plus we look at a Halloween treat that's earning some strong reviews.
Win Stellar Star Trek Prize Packs (5 comments)
To celebrate the release of 'Star Trek' on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia, we're giving you the chance to win one of five Star Trek prize packs -- which include the new film, all 10 previous films, a Scene It game and USB port.
Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints (40 comments)
This week at the movies, we've got some modern-day Dickens (Disney's A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman); a button-pushing thriller (The Box, starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden); vanishing Alaskans (The Fourth Kind, starring Milla Jovovich and Elias Koteas); and some psychic soldiers (The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney and Jeff Bridges). What do the critics have to say? Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is one of literature's most haunting morality tales - and one of the most adapted. Critics are largely split on two key aspects of Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version starring Jim Carrey: whether it honors the, ahem, spirit of Dickens' classic, and whether the motion-capture technology is aesthetically appealing.
Critics Consensus: This Is It Is Certified Fresh (47 comments)
This week at the movies brings only one wide release: the hotly-anticipated performance documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It, which captures the King of Pop in rehearsals for what was to be a comeback tour. What do the critics have to say? Before its release, it was difficult to escape the notion that Michael Jackson's This Is It was little more than a cynical cash-grab -- an attempt to strike at the wallets of the great star's fans after his death precluded a potentially lucrative concert tour. Such concerns may have been unwarranted, however; now that the film's actually here, the critics say it's an intriguing portrait of the artist at work, and a reminder of Jackson's protean talents, as well as a farewell gift to fans.
Critics Consensus: Astro Boy Doesn't Quite Soar (62 comments)
This week at the movies, we've got an anime hero (Astro Boy, with voice work from Kristen Bell and Nicolas Cage); a vampire war ( Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, starring Chris Massoglia and John C. Reilly); an aviation pioneer (Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere); and gore galore (Saw VI, starring Costas Mandylor and Mark Rolston). What do the critics have to say? Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is one of anime's most iconic and venerable characters. Now he's getting the big-screen CGI treatment, and the result, critics say, is an energetic but derivative affair. In the film, Astro Boy is a young robot with super powers who learns, slowly but surely, what it means to be human; he also must protect his new-found friends from danger.
Total Recall
Total Recall: George Clooney's Best Movies (88 comments)
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. We hear it all the time, but George Clooney is living proof that perseverance pays off: Despite the inauspicious beginnings of a career that threatened to pigeonhole him as a Ted McGinley-style supporting player on fading sitcoms, he's risen to the ranks of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, and has appeared in some of the last decade's most critically and commercially successful films. This fall, Clooney surfaces in three major releases: Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, and The Men Who Stare at Goats, opening this weekend. If that kind of star power doesn't deserve the Total Recall treatment, what does?
Total Recall: Our Favorite Rock 'n' Roll Movies (105 comments)
Rock music has been a big part of the movies since Blackboard Jungle made Bill Haley a legend in 1955, and although the marriage of the two mediums hasn't always been a happy one (see: Elvis Presley in Harum Scarum and Paul McCartney's Give My Regards to Broad Street -- or better yet, don't), it's also produced some cinematic classics. With Pirate Radio hitting theaters, we thought it would be a good time to share our staff's favorite rock 'n' roll movies -- flicks that will get your toes tapping and your hands strumming the old air guitar. Hey, RT users, what are your faves?
Total Recall: The Best-Reviewed Coen Brothers Films (110 comments)
For more than two decades now, Joel and Ethan Coen have been thrilling critics -- and, here and there, audiences -- with their distinctive blend of dark humor, colorful violence, and singular visual flair. Not all of the Coens' films have been critical darlings (alas, poor Ladykillers), but with lifetime Tomatometers above 80 percent, the brothers are easily two (or is that one?) of the most respected directors in the business. Their latest effort, A Serious Man, is another winner, currently riding high with 86 percent on the Tomatometer, and to celebrate, we've freshened up our previous look at their filmography, Total Recall style! After branching out into broad espionage comedy with Burn After Reading, the Coens went back to their roots for A Serious Man -- quite literally, in fact: It takes place in an ordinary Jewish home in the suburban Midwest of the late 1960s, leading many critics to proclaim Serious the brothers' most personal film to date.
Weekly Ketchup
Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear (20 comments)
This Week's Ketchup includes news about movies based upon Micronauts, Arabian Nights and The Berenstain Bears, as well as casting news for Sir Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Depp, George Clooney and Owen Wilson; and a new movie for the director of Slumdog Millionaire. FRESH DEVELOPMENTS #1 J.J. ABRAMS WANTS TO PLAY WITH YOUR OLD MICRONAUTS TOYS Hot off the success of his reimagining of Star Trek, J.J. Abrams is in negotiations to produce a movie based upon the popular 1970s-1980s Japanese toy franchise Micronauts, which was also a long-running Marvel Comics series. Micronauts was a series of interchangeable science fiction heroes, robots and vehicles (sort of imagine a cross between action figures and LEGO) that collectively told the story of alien warriors in the grip of an intergalactic war. The best part was that they have crashed on the strange world of Earth where they find themselves just the size of little toys. Among the most popular Micronauts figures were Biotron, Microtron, Acroyear and Baron Karza.
Weekly Ketchup: A Paranormal Sequel, Hopkins Joins Thor (35 comments)
This week's Ketchup includes news of sequels for Paranormal Activity, Mad Max, and Men in Black franchises, as well as casting news for Sir Anthony Hopkins, Matt Damon, Keira Knightley, Tom Cruise, and Adam Sandler.
Weekly Ketchup: Robert De Niro in Thor? (19 comments)
This Week's Ketchup includes casting rumors for Green Lantern and Thor, movie plans for two hit Broadway plays (Miss Saigon and Rock of Ages) and new roles for Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kirsten Dunst. On top of that, we've got the usual roundup of Rotten Ideas, which this week include a possibly not-quite-so-rotten Disney adaptation of a retro-futuristic themed novel, a sequel to the urban dance movie Stomp the Yard, a tweenier repurposing of Mel Gibson's What Women Want from the female perspective, and the most Rotten of all, a new movie entitled Monster Squad that not only has nothing to do with the 80s fan favorite, but is also brought to us by various people involved with Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo and Wild Hogs.
What the Hell Happened To...
What The Hell Happened To ... Cuba Gooding Jr.? (86 comments)
This week, Rotten Tomatoes turns its gaze upon the once promising, now perplexing career of a certain boat-tripping, dog-sledding Oscar winner in hopes of pinpointing just where things went wrong. So what the hell happened to Cuba Gooding Jr.?
What The Hell Happened To Shannon Elizabeth? (101 comments)
In our second installment of What The Hell Happened To... we again turn to the Tomatometer to chart the rise and fall of a once-promising Hollywood talent. [To read our inaugural assessment of Wesley Snipes, click here.] What will the Tomatometer tell us, and is there any remedy for Shannon Elizabeth?
What The Hell Happened To Wesley Snipes? (103 comments)
In the first part of a new Rotten Tomatoes feature, we examine the career ups and downs of our favorite fallen celebrities -- as charted by the Tomatometer, of course, and with only the best of intentions in mind.
Five Favorite Films
Five Favourite Films with 24's Carlos Bernard (33 comments)
24 star Carlos Bernard is one of the show's few fixtures. With all the double-crossings, cliff-hangers and back-stabbings, it's a wonder anyone has survived from the first season, but his character Tony Almeida was an integral part of the season just aired, the seventh in the show's run. All indications suggest that he'll be back in a big way for Day 8, set to kick off in January. The actor came to London this week to promote the DVD release of the show's seventh season - available on Blu-ray for the first time, and RT sat down with him to guage his five favourite films, talk about the show and do our best to learn all we could about Day 8. We failed spectacularly on the latter point, for he choose instead to invent an plot too implausible even by 24 standards, but read on for the rest...
Five Favorite Films with F. Gary Gray (29 comments)
Director F. Gary Gray began his career creating music videos for several big name R&B and hip-hop artists in the early 90s, including Ice Cube, TLC, and OutKast. In 1995, Gray made a big screen splash with a little stoner comedy called Friday, starring a pre-Rush Hour Chris Tucker and an up-and-coming Ice Cube, a friend of Gray's. Friday was a surprise hit, opening the doors for future high profile projects such as The Negotiator, 2003's The Italian Job remake, and Be Cool. This week, Gray continues his strong track record in the crime/action genre with Law Abiding Citizen, and we got the chance to sit down and chat with him about his favorite movies, his career, and what it's like to sit in on a viewing of one of his films.
Five Favorite Films with Ong Bak 2's Tony Jaa (84 comments)
Tony Jaa began his career as a stuntman for other actors, much like one of his martial arts inspirations, Jackie Chan. Working under his master and mentor, Thai director Panna Rittikrai, Jaa took hits and tumbles in equal measure before getting his first starring role in 2005's Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior. Now, the much anticipated sequel Ong Bak 2(whose story, interestingly, does not tie in with either Ong Bak 1 or The Protector), finally opens this month in limited release, and it looks to be much grittier than his previous two films. We decided to ask Tony what his Five Favorite Films were, and the choices he offered reflect the various influences that have shaped his career.
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