“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” beats everyone at the weekend box office

There wasn’t really any doubt which movie would be number one during the weekend… it was just a matter of by how much… “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” pulled in $112 million for the weekend and $201 million since its Wednesday opening. “Transformers 2″ set a new high for a June weekend, its also the highest-grossing non-holiday, highest grossing non-Friday opening weekend and becomes the seventh opening weekend overall.   “The Dark Knight” is still the biggest 5-day opening all time ($203.8 million).

“Transformers 2″ boosted the entire box office 35% more than last weekend and at $194.97 million, it marks the biggest weekend of the year.  “Up” has passed “Star Trek” as the biggest movie of 2009 with $250 million so far.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - $112.00 million ($201 million total) (1st week)

2. “The Proposal”  – $18.47 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 45% from last week)

3. “The Hangover” - $17.22 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 36% of audience from last week)

4. “Up” – $13.05 million  ($250 million total)
(5th week, was #3 last week, lost 45% from last week)

5. “My Sister’s Keeper” – $12.03 million (1st week)

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“The Proposal” beats Hangover” and ”Up” at the weekend box office

Audiences said yes to Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds’ “The Proposal”… the romantic comedy easily beat “The Hangover” and “Up”… “Year One” opened in 4th place, but is likely to start dropping quickly.

“Star Trek” is still the best holdover movie, losing the least of its audience (13.8%) and adding to its overall total, now at $239 millon.   The weekend’s offerings actually propped up the box office – up almost 7% from last week, making $140.6 million, a total that will easily be surpassed next weekend as “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” opens on Wednesday.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “The Proposal”  – $34.11 million (1st week)

2. “The Hangover” - $26.86 million
(3rd week, was #1 last week, lost 18% of audience from last week)

3. “Up” – $21.34 million  ($224.11 million total)
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 31% from last week)

4. “Year One” - $20.20 million (1st week)

5. “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ - $11.30 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 52% from last week)

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“Hangover” and ”Up” still tops at the weekend box office

The word of mouth and solid reviews (read mine) for “The Hangover” is keeping the buzz going for the R-rated comedy, with “Up” close behind, new movies “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ and “Imagine That” were 3rd and 6th respectively.

“Star Trek” dropped just two spots with the weekend’s two new movies, still losing just 33% of its audience and adding to its overall total, now at $231 millon.   But the weekend box office was down 17% from last week, making $131.97 million, the 2nd lowest total in the 7 weeks of the summer season so far.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “The Hangover” - $32.79 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 27% of audience from last week)

2. “Up” – $30.76 million  ($187.43 million total)
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 30% from last week)

3. “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ - $23.37 million (1st week)

4. “Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” – $9.62 million  ($143.46 million total)
(4th week, was #4 last week, lost 34% from last week)

5. “Land of the Lost” – $8.99 million
(2nd week, as #3 last week, lost 52% from last week)

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UPDATED!!!  Final numbers show “Hangover” beating “Up” at the weekend box office

R-rated comedy “The Hangover” ($44.98 million) burst the balloons of ”Up” ($44.14 million) to win the weekend, “The Hangover” was estimated to lose by less than a million behind last weekend’s number one movie.  But when the final results came in, “The Hangover” was the winner by $800,000.

Will Ferrell’s “Land of the Lost” ($19.5 million) was a distant and disappointing third… by more than $23 million.  “My Life in Ruins” barely made the top 10 in its debut weekend with $3.2 million.  “Star Trek” held onto to the 5th spot despite three new movies… as its slower descent keeps it near the top, adding more to its overall total (now $222 millon).

Overall, the weekend pulled in an estimated $160.14 million, down just a half-percent from last weekend.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “The Hangover” - $44.98 million (1st week)

2. “Up” – $44.14 million  ($137.31 million total)
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 35% of audience from last week)

3. “Land of the Lost” – $19.52 million (1st week)

4. “Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” – $14.65 million  ($127.34 million total)
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 40% from last week)

5. “Star Trek” – $8.40 million  ($222.80 million total)
(5th week, was #5 last week, lost 33% from last week)

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“Up” floats high above the weekend box office competition

“Up” beat other newcomer “Drag Me To Hell” easily, but its estimated $68.20 million also beat last week’s number one “Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” ($16.63 million) by more than 2-to-1.  “Star Trek” is still slowing its descent, losing the least of its audience and falling slower than the rest of the top 10 movies… a trend not as strong, but reminiscent of “Iron Man” last summer.  We’ll have to see if “Star Trek” can hold on another 16 weeks and/or earn another $118 million to match “Iron Man”… or if this summer’s blockbusters are just too much to keep it around long enough.

Overall, the weekend pulled in an estimated $162.99 million, that would make it the 3rd best weekend so far, but down 4% from the memorial day weekend that stands as the biggest weekend of 2009 (actual $169.81 million).

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Up” – $68.20 million (1st week)

2. “Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” – $25.50 million  ($105.29 million total)
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 53% of audience from last week)

3. “Drag Me To Hell” – $16.63 million (1st week)

4. “Terminator Salvation” – $16.14 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 62% from last week)

5. “Star Trek” – $12.80 million  ($209.50 million total)
(4th week, was #3 last week, lost 44% from last week)

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“Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” has a longer title and made more money than “Terminator Salvation” at Memorial weekend box office

“Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” clobbered “Terminator Salvation”… by more than $10 million during the 4-day holiday weekend (Friday-Monday), “Night at the Museum 2″ pulled in a estimated $70.0 million while “Terminator 4″ made an estimated $53.8 million.

Last week’s number one “Angels & Demons” dropped to 4th with $27.7 million… while “Star Trek” shows its staying power, actually moving up one spot to 3rd at $29.4 million.  The worst movie of the year, “Dance Flick” opened in 5th with $13 million.

Friday-Sunday of Memorial weekend was the biggest weekend of 2009 so far, with the top 12 movies pulling in $169.44 million… a 29% increase over last weekend and nearly $5 million more than the previous best of $164.76 million during the 3rd weekend of January (that included “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”).

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (4-day estimated results):
1. “Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” – $70.00 million (1st week)

2. “Terminator Salvation” – $53.83 million (1st week)

3. “Star Trek” – $29.40 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 32% of audience from last week)

4. “Angels & Demons” - $27.70 million
(2nd week, was #1 last wek, lost 40% from last week)

5. “Dance Flick” - $13.10 million (1st week)

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“Angels & Demons” barely beats “Star Trek” to top the weekend box office

“Angels & Demons” was number one with $48.00 million, but the second Dan Brown novel-turned-movie made almost $30 million less than “The DaVinci Code” (2006), which opened with $77.07 million.

It didn’t take long for “Star Trek” to crack the $100 million mark… with $147.61 million, its now the biggest earner ever for the franchise… passing the $109.71 million mark held by “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986).

“Monsters vs. Aliens” is still holding strong in its 8th week of release, actually moving up one spot from 8th to 7th as the rest of the field mostly moved down one spot.    Overall, the weekend earnings ($132 million) were down for a second straight weekend… 7% lower… but next weekends’ big openings of action franchiser ”Terminator Salvation” and the family friendly ”Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” should turn that trend around.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Angels & Demons” - $48.00 million (1st week)

2. “Star Trek” – $43.00 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 43%of audience from last week)

3. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” – $14.80 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 44% of audience from last week)

4. “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” – $6.86 million
(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 33% of audience from last week)

5. “Obsessed”  – $4.55 million
(4th week, was #4 last week, lost 31% of audience from last week)

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New at Theaters (Friday): “Angels & Demons”, “Is Anybody There?” (limited release), “The Chaos Experiment” (May 15-21 limited run at Celebration! Lansing only)

Best Bet(s): If you’re really looking forward to seeing “Angels & Demons” (read my review), then you shouldn’t be disappointed, but if you haven’t seen “Star Trek” (read my review) yet, its the movie to see even if you aren’t a fan of the franchise, it has wide ranging appeal and it may turn out to be the “Iron Man” of this summer with its wide-ranging appeal and positive reviews.

New on DVD (Tuesday): “The Grudge 3″, “Passengers”, “Personal Effects”, “Taken”, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”

Best Bet(s): One of the early surprises for many at the box office this year was the staying power of the action thriller “Taken”, for more, check out my interview with actress Maggie Grace about her role in the movie.

 CLICK HERE TO FIND A MOVIE SHOWTIME

Next Week at Theaters: “Terminator Salvation” (Thursday)

Next Week on DVD: “Fanboys”, “My Bloody Valentine”, “Outlander”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, “Valkyrie”

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY: 

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Director Ron Howard ups the suspense and the mystery, “Angels & Demons” is better than “DaVinci Code” (2006).

But… for some, you might consider waiting until after opening weekend, or even the DVD release.

Parents:  This movie is PG-13, there are some disturbing images that may not be suitable for younger children.
 

(spoiler free !)

The acting is solid, but not overwhelmingly impressive… Tom Hanks is back as Professor Robert Langdon, leading the hunt for answers of who.. or what is threatening the Catholic Church… and solving one puzzle of symbols after another.   Ewan McGregor trades the Jedi robes of “Star Wars” for the robes of the Catholic church, playing Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, a close friend of the Pope who has recently died.

The cinematography, editing, and score all play very well into the movies’ pacing, building the mystery and suspense as the audience follows along on this very intellectual adventure, based on the book by author Dan Brown.

Symbols, symbols, symbols… if I didn’t notice the plethora of symbols in this movie, my Film Professor would be disappointed in me.   I lost count, but there is something symbolic in almost every scene of “Angels & Demons”.    There’s the obvious: the symbols of the catholic church, the catholic neck collar, police badges and uniforms, the media, the bad guys, etc.    And there’s the not as obvious, but quite noticeable: crosses, wings, pentagrams, eyes and circles, water and fire, swords and spears… just to name a few.

In a world full of symbols, there are few places with more symbols than a church setting, and of all of them, the Vatican may just be the one setting with the most symbols per square foot.

But, as Commander Richter (played very well by veteran mean guy Stellan Skarsgård) says, “what a relief, the symbologist is here”… because we audience, have Professor Langdon to guide us through the tangled web of symbolic mysteries going on at the Vatican.    Much like “DaVinci Code”, this movie gives the audience the opportunity to follow along and try to solve some of the puzzles, but to solve some of the clues, we rely on the expert, Professor Langdon to sort it out.

As a movie fan, it was nice to see that “Angels & Demons” makes numerous references to the previous story (”DaVinci Code”) and almost makes fun of itself as Hanks’ Professor Langdon begins to point out things that those who work for and with the Vatican should probably know.

“Angels & Demons” also gives the audience some history lessons and an inside look at the papal conclave, the process of selecting a new Pope.   Its a process the world witnessed just four years ago when the white smoke emerged and Pope Benedict XVI was chosen to succeed Pope John Paul II.

You don’t necessarily have to be versed in Catholicism to understand, or for that matter like this movie.  But the filmmakers do seem to assume that the audiences knows a little something about the Vatican.   For the things that aren’t as clear or well known, this movie does a better job this time around at guiding the audience along, using devices like reporters and other characters to fill in the gaps.

“Angels & Demons” is a better story and has more heart than “DaVinci Code” as Professor Langdon’s faith is tested.   Much like “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989) when Dr. Jones is forced to think more deeply about his faith, than just his wits to solve the puzzles.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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Movies and Super Bowl 35

I know its all about the football, but many people will be watching Sunday for the commercials… and some of those commercials will be for upcoming movies: “Monsters vs. Aliens”, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, “Land of the Lost”, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, “Star Trek”, “Angels & Demons”, “Fast & Furious”, ”Up”, and “Race to Witch Mountain”.

So here is reportedly (I have not been able to confirm all of the exact promotions independently) what to look for from studios promoting movies on Sunday (in no particular order)….

 3D trailer for “Monsters vs. Aliens” (DreamWorks):

The promotion: One of this Spring’s bigger family movies gets the big treatment with a 3D trailer promotion and product tie-ins that include a episode of NBC’s “Chuck”. 
Click here to find out how to get free 3D glasses for promotion.

The movie: When a meteorite from outer space hits a young girl and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years.

Cast includes: Seth Rogen (voice), Hugh Laurie (voice), Paul Rudd (voice), Kiefer Sutherland (voice), Reese Witherspoon (voice), Rainn Wilson (voice), Will Arnett (voice), Stephen Colbert (voice).

Release date*: March 27, 2009

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 First look at “Transformers 2″ (Paramount Pictures):

The promotion: This isn’t just the first trailer for one of this summer’s biggest blockbusters, it will be the first images for the movie.. period.

The movie: Actually titled ”Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”… Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.

Cast includes: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Rainn Wilson, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Isabel Lucas, Tyrese Gibson

Release Date*: June 26, 2009

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 First trailer for “G.I. Joe” (Paramount Pictures):

The promotion: Last year, Paramount released a bunch of photos of individual characters and “character” posters (like this one of Snake Eyes” played by Ray Park – the actor who dazzled Star Wars fans as “Darth Maul” and popped as “Toad” in “X-Men”)… so Sunday will be the first footage from the summer blockbuster.  Joe fans, prepare to have your collective appetite whet.

The movie: Actually titled ”G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, this is one of the bigger movies of the summer that could be setting up for my biggest disappointment of 2009… if not done with all the care in the world.

Based on the cartoons of the 1980s – An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

Cast includes:  (more…)