I'm a little surprised "Charlie" is still doing so well, after the mixed
reviews about Depp's creepy Willie Wonka. More surprised that "Wedding
Crashers" is doing that well. As for "The Island"? Can't say I am
surprised. First, you know I'm not a fan of the directing style of
Michael Bay and his ilk. The film's trailers throw out the concept, then
assault you with lots of vehicle crashes, explosions, and people
running. Looked no different from Bad Boys or The Rock or something.
That did nothing to make me want to see it despite McGregor and
Johannson, actors I really like. I went to see "Batman Begins" for the
third time, which is becoming, as I expected, my favorite of the
scifi/comic films of this part of the year. "Hustle and Flow" is on the
agenda for this evening.
Depp still tempting moviegoers with 'Chocolate'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" conquered
moviegoers' taste buds for a second weekend on Sunday, while the costly
new sci-fi movie from action director Michael Bay flopped. "Charlie"
sold about $28.3 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning
Friday, taking the 10-day total for the Johnny Depp fantasy to $114.1
million.
Director Tim Burton's $150 million adaptation of the famed Roald Dahl
book about oddball confectionery mogul Willy Wonka is on track to hit
$200 million, said Dan Fellman, president of distribution at Time Warner
Inc.-owned Warner Bros., which released the film.
It was followed closely by the comedy "Wedding Crashers," starring Owen
Wilson and Vince Vaughn, which held at No. 2 with $26.2 million, and a
10-day haul of $80.9 million. It was released by New Line Cinema, also a
unit of Time Warner.
Twentieth Century Fox's comic-book adaptation "Fantastic Four" was No. 3
for a second weekend with $12.3 million, and a three-week tally of
$122.6 million.Bay's "The Island" opened at No. 4 with $12.1 million,
having cost just over $120 million to make. The film stars Ewan McGregor
and Scarlett Johansson as inhabitants of a utopian society with a
terrible secret.Clearly this is a disappointing opening," said Jim
Tharp, head of domestic theatrical distribution at closely held
DreamWorks SKG Inc. "We can only hope that the film finds its audience
in the coming weeks."
While the studio knew it had a problem on its hands, it had hoped "The
Island" would open nearer $15 million, Tharp added.
Bay is best known for such big-ticket action films as "Pearl Harbor" and
"Armageddon," which enjoyed explosive openings even if critics were
appalled. This time, critics and moviegoers were on the same page.
TICKET SALES DOWN
The top 10 list of films at U.S. and Canadian theaters contained four
other new entries, but their arrival was unable to prevent overall
year-on-year sales from resuming their downward trend, following a
two-week winning streak.
The top-12 films grossed $128.1 million, down 7.8 percent from the
year-ago weekend, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. Before
the short-lived uptick in sales, business had fallen for 19 weekends in
a row, the longest slump in more than two decades. Paramount Pictures'
"Bad News Bears," starring Billy Bob Thornton in the role of the
curmudgeonly baseball coach memorably played by Walter Matthau in the
1976 original, opened at No. 5 with a modest $11.5 million.
The acclaimed hip-hop movie "Hustle & Flow," starring Terrence Howard as
a Memphis hustler who dreams of becoming a rapper, was No. 7, with an
impressive $8.1 million, having opened on far fewer screens. The
low-budget film was acquired for $9 million at the Sundance Film
Festival in January by Paramount's art house wing, Paramount Classics.
It was followed at No. 8 by Lions Gate Films' horror film "The Devil's
Rejects," which opened with $7 million, a figure that matched its
production budget. The film was directed and written by rock musician
Rob Zombie, and represents a follow-up to his debut effort "House of
1000 Corpses.The documentary "March of the Penguins" jumped two places
to No. 10 with $4.3 million after expanding its theater count in its
fifth weekend of release. It was distributed by Warner Independent
Pictures, also a unit of Time Warner, and has earned $9.3 million to
date.
Fox is a unit of News Corp. Additionally, "Fantastic Four" was produced
in association with Marvel Enterprises Inc.. Paramount is a unit of
Viacom Inc. Lions Gate Films is a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
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