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17 Oct 2010 13:41

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Culture: Idiots rule the world: “Jackass 3D” tops box office, and then some

  • $50
    million     the amount “Jackass 3D” made in its first weekend, topping the box office by a wide margin
  • $20
    million     the amount it cost to make the film, which was helped greatly by 3D ticket sales source
  • » Compared to the series: The latest film in the “Jackass” franchise, which is known for having a really huge opening weekend and falling off fast, is doing pretty good even by those standards. The most successful film in the series, “Jackass: Number Two” has made $72 million, which “Jackass 3D” is bound to top by accident. It might have also helped that the franchise has been relatively dormant for a few years.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 5 Comments • Permalink

02 Oct 2010 15:00

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Culture: “The Social Network” on track to top box office this weekend

  • $8 million made by the Facebook movie in its first day alone source
  • » So how real is it, anyway? Not particularly. Writer Aaron Sorkin took artistic license with the idea of the film. While many of the plot points are true (Sean Parker did leave the company after a cocaine arrest, for example), the tone of many of the characters, as well as the school itself, didn’t match those of the Harvard students who saw the film. And cyberlaw expert Lawrence Lessig, while praising the film itself, took issue with the lessons that Sorkin took from the storyline, both with its characters (“I know Parker. This is not him.”) and with its feel of what makes the Web tick (“Sorkin boasts about his ignorance of the Internet. That ignorance shows.”). The movie is very good and one of the year’s best, but don’t let the wool get pulled over your eyes. It’s fiction based on fact.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2010 21:57

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Culture: Greed good for Oliver Stone: “Wall Street” his best opener ever

  • $19 million for anticipated sequel “Money Never Sleeps” source
  • » A surprising fact: Despite his long film career, filled with iconic zeitgeisty films, he’s only broken the $100 million barrier once – with his second film, “Platoon,” which scored $138 million at the box office. Many of his films – not counting for inflation – tend to plateau around the $70 million mark, including 2004’s similarly ripped-from-the-headlines “World Trade Center.” At 3,500 theaters, it’s his largest opening ever, and is well along to topping the $43 million the original “Wall Street” made way back in 1987.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Sep 2010 20:46

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Culture: Ben Affleck as director: It’s catching on, according to the box office

  • $20 million the amount Affleck’s acclaimed directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone,” made in its entire run
  • $23 million the amount Affleck’s acclaimed follow-up, “The Town,” made just this weekend alone source
  • » What’s the difference? A few things could’ve caused it. First, Affleck is the star of “The Town,” whereas he didn’t show up in front of the camera at all during “Gone Baby Gone.” Second, “Baby” could’ve been a strong calling card for Affleck the director. Third, there was a more obvious studio push of “The Town,” which meant that people knew about it. That said, our money was totally on “Easy A” to win this weekend. Emma Stone killed in that movie.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

25 Aug 2010 14:30

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Culture: Vanity Fair really thinks you should see “Scott Pilgrim” NOW

  • So, if the movies have been so bad—if, as we complain, there’s nothing good playing—why is a good movie having such a hard time finding an audience?
  • Vanity Fair writer John Lopez • Making an over-the-top plea for people to go see “Scott Pilgrim” in the theater. And he’s absolutely right. It’s a great movie that got the budget it deserved and a and it’s doing miserable at the box office. “Scott Pilgrim was a risk, a gamble, a leap of faith,” Lopez writes. “The sad-but-true fact is that studios and their corporate parents just don’t know how to do that, and when they do, you need to smack them upside the head with box-office success for them to understand the lesson.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2010 01:33

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Culture: It’s official: Will Ferrell’s new movie is an actual freaking hit

  • $35 million the size of the opening for “The Other Guys,” Ferrell’s new buddy-cop flick with Mark Wahlberg
  • $47 million the first-week box-office of Ferrell’s biggest opener, “Talladaga Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Aug 2010 21:30

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Culture: “Inception” coasting its way into August atop box office

  • $27.5M the amount “Inception” made this weekend alone
  • three the number of new movies that tried to topple it this weekend
  • $193M the amount “Inception” has made in three weekends source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Jul 2010 17:59

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Culture: “Twilight: Eclipse” lures fewer teenage girls than “New Moon”

  • $165M the amount “Twilight: New Moon” took in its first five days
  • $173M the amount studio heads expected “Twilight Eclipse” to get
  • $162M the amount the film earned at the box office instead (tiny violin) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2010 10:43

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Culture: “Eclipse” eclipsed the last “Twilight” movie’s midnight showings

  • $30 million in early box office for the latest vampire tale source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jun 2010 21:12

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Culture: Tom Cruise’s star power losing its luster at the box office

  • 1992 the last time a Tom Cruise film opened this low
  • $59M the amount “Toy Story 3” made in its second weekend (a solid showing)
  • $41M the amount Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups” opened with (OK, not great)
  • $27M the amount Tom Cruise’s “Knight & Day” made – over FIVE freaking days source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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