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Movies Play At Nearly Empty Theaters Overseas
28 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Overseas, the box office remained in the doldrums, with Forgetting Sarah Marshall placing first with just $7 million, according to Daily Variety -- $4.1 million from the U.K. alone. It was the best British opening for a Judd Apatow comedy yet and was likely helped by the fact that it costars stand-up comic Russell Brand, host of a popular Saturday night radio show that airs on the BBC. Sony's 21 and Fox's Horton Hears a Who! tied for second place overseas with $6.2 million, just ahead of Fox's Street Kings, which wound up with $6.1 million. Analysts suggested that the overseas box office was in a holding pattern until the launch of the summer season next weekend with the opening of Paramount's Iron Man.

Chan and Li Make 'Kingdom' Hot
22 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
A major-studio feature starring two Chinese actors -- something that in itself would have been unthinkable even a few years ago -- wound up at the top of the U.S. box office over the weekend. Not only did The Forbidden Kingdom bring together Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but it was also produced entirely in China mostly with Chinese crews, again something that would have been unheard of until recently. Finally the martial arts film was aimed at a family audience -- without the bloody violence of virtually all previous films of the genre. Nevertheless, it wound up with $21.4 million, at the high end of analysts' expectations, handily beating Universal's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which many analysts had suggested was the film most likely to come out on top. Instead, the R-rated comedy settled for second place with $17.7 million. Together the top 12 films grossed $82.88 million, up 13.46 percent from last year's $73.05 million. This was only the second week out of the past ten that the box office has seen a rise.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Forbidden Kingdom, Lionsgate, $21,401,121, (New); 2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Universal, $17,725,330, (New); 3. Prom Night, Sony, $8,670,364, 2 Wks. ($32,133,926); 4. 88 Minutes, Sony, $6,957,216, (New); 5. Nim's Island, 20th Century Fox, $5,687,072, 3 Wks. ($32,894,115); 6. 21, Sony, $5,520,362, 4 Wks. ($70,004,505); 7. Street Kings, Fox Searchlight, $4,179,505, 2 Wks. ($20,058,143); 8. Horton Hears a Who!, 20th Century Fox, $3,511,834, 5 Wks. ($144,418,495); 9. Leatherheads, Universal, $3,049,465, 3 Wks. ($26,605,235); 10. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, $2,970,848, (New).

'Kingdom' Wears Box-office Crown
21 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
The Forbidden Kingdom, the martial-arts family film that brought together Jackie Chan and Jet Li for the first time, wound up at the top of the domestic box office over the weekend with an estimated $20.9 million in ticket sales. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, said, "The film is a good, solid action movie and audience, especially young audience, is looking for that shot of adrenaline. ... This was kind of warming up to summer." Coming in second was the Judd Apatow R-rated comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, written by and starring Jason Segel, which brought in $17.3 million. Several analysts had predicted that it would emerge as the weekend winner, citing its much-talked-about billboard campaign that had heightened awareness of the movie. Two other newcomers flopped. Sony's 88 Minutes, starring Al Pacino, which had been mercilessly drubbed by critics, opened in fourth place with just $6.8 million, while the Ben Stein documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which argued on behalf of "intelligent design" -- that is, the biblical view of creation -- failed to bring out church groups in big numbers and settled for just $3.1 million to wind up in ninth place. Overall, the box office was up for the first time in five weeks, with the top 12 films earning $82.1 million, up 12 percent from the comparable weekend a year ago. "There is a collective sigh of relief in Hollywood," Dergarabedian told the Associated Press. So far this year, revenue is down 3.4 percent from last year while attendance is down 6.5 percent.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. The Forbidden Kingdom, $20.9 million; 2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $17.3 million; 3. Prom Night, $9.1 million; 4. 88 Minutes, $6.8 million; 5. Nim's Island, $5.7 million; 6. 21, $5.5 million; 7. Street Kings, $4 million; 8. Horton Hears a Who!, $3.5 million; 9. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, $3.1 million; 10. Leatherheads, $3 million.

'Horton' Remains In Lead Overseas
21 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Overseas, Horton Hears a Who! continued to hold onto the lead for the fourth straight week, earning $9.7 million and bringing its overseas total to $117.7 million. The results continued to dumbfound analysts, especially since the Dr. Seuss books are not nearly as popular overseas as they are in the U.S. In second place was Fox's Street Kings, which took in $8.5 million. In France, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis added another $7 million to its gross, putting it over the $200-million mark.

'Prom Night' Slashes Box Office
15 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
After a series of horrible performances at the box office by horror flicks, Sony's Prom Night graduated with honors over the weekend as it took in $20.8 million, far more than the studio said that it expected -- and about what it cost to produce. It beat the Keanu Reeves cop drama Street Kings, which opened with $12.5 million, by a wide margin. Overall, the box office grossed $95 million down from $118 million for the comparable weekend a year ago -- a drop of 19.6 percent. Through the first 15 weeks of the year, ticket sales are off 3.5 percent and attendance, 6.6 percent from last year.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Prom Night, Sony, $20,804,941, (New); 2. Street Kings, Fox Searchlight, $12,469,631, (New); 3. 21, Sony/Col, $10,470,173, 3 Wks. ($61,738,420); 4. Nim's Island, 20th Century Fox, $9,111,667, 2 Wks. ($25,391,566); 5. Leatherheads, Universal, $6,276,665, 2 Wks. ($21,976,580); 6. Horton Hears a Who!, 20th Century Fox, $5,920,566, 4 Wks. ($139,548,920); 7. Smart People, Miramax, $4,092,465, (New); 8. The Ruins, Paramount, $3,385,395, 2 Wks. ($13,548,871); 9. Superhero Movie, MGM, $3,216,247, 3 Wks. ($21,304,164); 10. Drillbit Taylor, Paramount, $2,044,988, 4 Wks. ($28,436,029).

Theaters Celebrate 'Prom Night'
14 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
After months of frightful box-office performances by horror flicks, Sony/Screen Gems's Prom Night debuted with $22.7 million over the weekend at the high end of analysts' predictions. It was the best debut for a horror film this year. In second place was Fox Searchlight's R-rated Street Kings, starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker, which brought in an estimated $12 million. In its third week, 21 was still showing a strong hand as it took in $11 million. Everything else on the theater marquees looked weak, however, as the box office wound up with less revenue than it did a year ago for the fourth straight weekend. The top 12 films earned $82.6 million, more than 19 percent below what it took in during the comparable weekend last year. The fourth-ranked film, Fox's Nim's Island, brought in $9 million, while the George Clooney comedy Leatherheads rounded out the top five with $6.2 million. The only other film to open wide this weekend, Miramax's Smart People, wound up with $4.2 million, to place seventh.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. Prom Night, $22.7 million; 2. Street Kings, $12 million; 3. 21, $11 million; 4. Nim's Island, $9 million; 5. Leatherheads, $6.2 million; 6. Horton Hears a Who!, $6 million; 7. Smart People, $4.2 million; 8. The Ruins, $3.3 million; 9. Superhero Movie, $3.1 million; 10. Drillbit Taylor, $2.1 million.

Movie Reviews: 'Street Kings'
11 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Street Kings, based on a novel by James Ellroy -- Ellroy also receives credit for contributing to the screenplay -- is not the kind of film that will win much applause from the law-and-order crowd. It's the story of an ultraviolent gang of LAPD officers operating outside the law. Keanu Reeves plays one of them. Stephen Cole in the Toronto Globe and Mail calls it "a bad-cop, worse cop movie." Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune calls it "a shrill, brutal bash." But the film has numerous fans. Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle calls Ellroy's story "a thing of beauty. It's satisfying and consistently surprising, and yet those surprises are always appropriate and right, and the directions Ellroy chooses are invariably better and wiser than anything anybody might have guessed." Chris Vognar in the Dallas Morning News says it's "the cinematic equivalent of solid crime-genre fiction. It keeps the visual pages turning for a couple hours and navigates the dark corners of corruption and dishonor among men." And writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times: "It's easy to laugh at Street Kings for its bigger than big emotions, its preposterously kinky narrative turns and overwrought jawing and yowling, but there's no doubt that it also keeps you watching, really watching, all the way to the end."

Critics Not Invited To 'Prom Night'
11 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
You won't be reading any reviews for it, but Sony Screen Gems's horror flick Prom Night is the favorite among box-office analysts to win this weekend's movie competition. Today's (Friday) Los Angeles Times reported that tracking surveys indicate that the film will take in $18-22 million, about the same as it cost to produce. The likely No. 2 film, according to the analysts, is the Keanu Reeves-Forest Whitaker drama Street Kings, which analysts figure will bring in $10-12 million. But Daily Variety pointed out that, with the exception of Cloverfield, horror films have performed weakly this year. It suggests that Street Kings could best it. Also opening this weekend, but in only about 1,100 theaters, is Miramax's Smart People, with Ellen Page of Juno, Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker. In limited release, France's controversial award winner Persepolis, an animated film -- it now has an English soundtrack -- about a girl's experiences growing up in Iran at the time of the Islamic revolution, is due to open in 136 theaters.

Federline Fired Before Showing Up for Work
15 August 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Dancer/rapper Kevin Federline, who got his 15 minutes of fame while he was married to Britney Spears, was turned away from the set of the Keanu Reeves movie The Night Watchman when he arrived for a wardrobe call, published reports said Tuesday. According to the reports, Federline's manager had forgotten to inform his client that the producers had decided at the last minute against using him in the movie.

Federline Dropped From Reeves' Movie?
14 August 2007 (WENN)
Britney Spears' former husband Kevin Federline has been dropped from a role in Keanu Reeves' new movie, according to reports. The dancer-turned-actor was due to appear in The Night Watchman - with rumors abounding Federline was "appearing opposite" the Speed star. However, reports allege Federline was fired from the forthcoming film, but was not informed of his "firing." A source tells the New York Daily News, "He had a very small role - he was in a montage. He was fired from the film, but his manager didn't tell him. Kevin found out when he turned up for a wardrobe call." Federline's manager declined to comment on the reports, however a representative for Fox Searchlight denied he was ever cast in the movie.