Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
UPDATED: TRANSFORMERS 3 - Box Office: $37.5 mil(!) 1st day
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| Oh! I can see TWO reasons why this is in 3-D!! |
According to Deadline Hollywood TRANSFORMERS 3 (I'm not calling it Dark of the Moon!) is going to break 2011's one-day record with $37.5million (PIRATES 4 has that with $35mil).
Universally panned (37% on Rotten Tomatoes) it could be just a case of fanboys racing out first day. Although...at this rate it could be on track for $200mil in 7 days but I'll hedge my bets and say $180mil in that time and $100mil this weekend. Don't forget, the 3-D surcharge which adds about $3 a ticket which inflates the gross by about 20-25% over non 3-D movies.
FYI, for first days the second movie in the series opened with $62mil(!!) and the first back in 2007 with $27mil.
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EARLY EARLY BOX OFFICE!! TRANSFORMERS 3 - $14mil. on advanced/midnights. Expecting $200mil. by July 4th!
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Ha! Just TRY to find a pair of 3D glasses for me!! |
On Tuesday night Transformers: Dark of the Moon grossed an estimated $14mil according to Deadline Hollywood. That's pretty strong but the real test will be now through Sunday. Many people were let down by the last episode in 2009 but then we also have the 3D (read: added $$) to consider too. Still the hope at Paramount is that it gets to $200mil by July 4th (its 6th day!)
Updates to follow as they come in all week 'til Sunday morning!
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Fountain drinks care about me too!
This strip started out with starvation/anorexia jokes and they'll always be there.
A sensitive topic yes, but jokes are always at MY expense. :-)
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Sunday, June 26, 2011
SEQUEL! (Well, at least the post-credits scene on GREEN LANTERN isn't a waste now...)
After collapsing 66% from the mild opening last weekend it seemed like a sequel just wasn't likely.
Now, according to this report Warner Bros. is looking to make a sequel. With Harry Potter ending this year and Batman finishing its trilogy next year the studio wants to build new tentpole series (franchises).
WEEKEND WRAP-UP: CARS 2 OK #1 - $69mil/BAD TEACHER surprises at $30mil/LANTERN duds out - Down 66%
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| Because explosions are necessary in every summer movie... |
CARS 2 made an estimated $69mil for the weekend. The original CARS made $60mil in its first weekend back in 2006 so this can be considered a somewhat mild success.
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| I'm there. Just say when Ms. Diaz. |
BAD TEACHER, made for $19mil grossed $30mil on opening weekend again proving counter-programming does work. The R-rated raunchy comedy has been well-promoted in the past two months on TV.
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| "At least it's not WAITING..." |
GREEN LANTERN is a dud. Falling 66% from its low debut of $53mil last week proves that this hero won't have legs. No sequel for you!
Remainder of the top 10 with weekend gross/total gross numbers:
4. SUPER 8 $12mil /$95mil
5. MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS $10mil/$39mil
6. X-MEN FIRST CLASS $7mil/$132mil
7. HANGOVER II $6mil/$243mil
8. BRIDESMAIDS $5mil/$146mil
9. PIRATES 4 $5mil/$229mil
10. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS $4mil/$28mil
http://moviecitynews.com/2011/06/the-weekend-report-june-26-2011/
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Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
UPDATED: EARLY BOX OFFICE: CARS 2 drives towards $75mil/ TEACHER high at $30mil/LANTERN drops 63%
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| "Bright lights and colours distract from little plot!" Early box office numbers for the weekend at Deadline Hollywood show CARS 2 grabbing the pole position with an expected (if not overwhelming) estimated $75mil (updated) for this weekend. This can be considered a disappointment of sorts as sequels are expected to perform higher than the originals (based on the original's DVD sales, repeated viewings, merchandising, brand name...). The original opened to $60mil in 2006 which adjusted for today's dollar equals $67mil. Comparisons for Pixar series opening weekends (unadjusted for inflation): TOY STORY 1995 $30mil TOY STORY 2 1999 $57mil TOY STORY 3 2010 $110mil So you see, each TOY STORY almost doubled whereas CARS 2 will barely top its predecessor. |
"Just say when Ms. Diaz and I'll be there!"
BAD TEACHER on the other hand, is exceeding expectations with an astounding $30mil opening weekend. Super number considering the budget for the film is about $19mil (plus add about the same for promotion/advertising costs for a grand total of about $40mil) and an audience limiting R-rating too.
AND...
GREEN LANTERN dropped like a stone this weekend. Last weekend it grossed a disappointing $52mil. This week it showed it had no legs as it went down 63% for a weekend gross of about $19mil. Ouch.
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Better Rover than me!!
Creepy face is back from this strip. I'm on the fence with him.
No, I'm literally sitting on the fence with him. It's a picket fence so it's really poking my ass right now.
(Have a good weekend my loving schmoes!)
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Thursday, June 23, 2011
Pants DO come in bigger sizes ya know?
You ever think that the people in line for McDonalds should trade spots with the people in line for the gym?
Just my thoughts....
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Keeping abreast of what's on the radio...
Good god I hope a guy doesn't win this. Or a woman who want's bigger back t*tties... GO SKELETON!!
http://www.ampradiocalgary.com/index.asp?mn=3&id=3183&cc=5.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Better you see me in a comic strip than in a real live strip...
Still haven't found my "style" yet so I'm playing around. Jokes have always been written first and laid out before any illustrations are added anyways.
My thoughts are: You can be the best illustrator in the world (which I am not) but if you don't have good jokes written your comic's gonna suck...
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Monday, June 20, 2011
My advice for worms? Sleep in!!
Did you ever notice the best sandwiches are the ones that require the most work? Egg salad, chicken salad, tuna...
Just my opinion. :-)
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Sunday, June 19, 2011
GREEN LANTERN = Fail??
I liked GREEN LANTERN but I cannot imagine non-fans clamoring to see it. But they'll all turn out for TRANSFORMERS 3D.
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
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Saturday, June 18, 2011
LATE SAT/EARLY SUN BOX-OFFICE UPDATE: LANTERN very low at $53mil!
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| "In brightest day. In blackest night. In emptier theatres." |
GREEN LANTERN is a disappointment no matter which way the studio will spin the numbers Sunday morning.
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| "I'll give you this ring if you buy a ticket!" |
It started with a less-than-stellar $21mil Friday, stumbled Saturday (down 21% from Friday with $17mil) and instead of numbers north of $60mil it looks to settle at about $53mil for the first three days.
High number? Sure. But as I wrote yesterday the movie final cost (production, prints, advertising) is about $400mil(!). A $60mil start means its domestic run ends at about $200mil (at most!). Hopefully it makes back more money internationally.
http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/green-lantern-makes-3-35m-midnights/
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A (Ganges) river runs through him...
Crudeness aside, I find Tanorexia! a learning experience as I try to get the facts right and often hit up Wikipedia (don't snicker) for basic facts like this:
My dad said "If you learn at least one thing a day, you've succeeded." He's right. :-)
Friday, June 17, 2011
EARLY BOX OFFICE: GREEN LANTERN $60mil/wknd. PENGUINS $18mil
GREEN LANTERN opened strong Friday with $24mil but looks like a slight disappointment with about $60mil projected for the three-day weekend.
Comparisons for the year: THOR opened with $65mil over three days while X-MEN: FIRST CLASS had $55mil in its opening weekend.
THOR looks to end its run with about $185mil which gives it a about a 3x multiplier (based on total gross divided by opening weekend).
Using the same math (most movies fall within a 2.5 to 3.5 multiplier) GREEN LANTERN should end up with about the same. The film's cost though is $300mil though plus millions more in advertising. It should be OK after foreign grosses get tallied.
MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS looks surprisingly weak for a kids film AND a Jim Carrey vehicle with only $18mil. It will probably lose a lot of its potential audience next week to CARS 2.
http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/green-lantern-makes-3-35m-midnights/
http://boxofficemojo.com/
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Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Early Thursday posting: Bruins fans get fired up. Canuck fans just start fires...
I'm so mad at those few "fans" who tarnished the city's reputation YET again.
I was at the gym and the PITTSBURGH news was showing footage from Vancouver.
Lovely. Just lovely.
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Air Canada and Canada Post. One more and we got a strike three!!
I hemmed and hawed about publishing this one. Not because of the punchline but because I don't enjoy making timely jokes. It dates the comic and just like watching This Hour Has 22 Minutes reruns the jokes have lost their punch and sometimes people don't get the references.
But I still love the punchline. :-)
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Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A Siamese twin hooker offered me a 2-for-1 for my birthday...
I won't be happy until I offend ALL of you! :P
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Monday, June 13, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Saturday update: SUPER 8 starts off with $12mil Friday for an est. $35mil wkend..Is this a disappointment?
First off: LOVE the new SUPER 8 poster. Very Struzan-inspired like the above examples.
So SUPER 8 started off with $12 million for it's first two days (it quietly opened Thursday on 300+ IMAX screens (not good for hyping it up people!) and about $35mil is expected for its first 3-days.
On paper that's pretty impressive for the first real non-sequel, non-comic-book-adapted event movie of this summer but is disappointing?
Look at the big numbers so far for 3-day opening weekends for the summer of 2011:
PIRATES 4 $90mil
FAST FIVE $86mil
HANGOVER II $86mil
THOR $65mil
KUNG FU PANDA 2 $47mil
The highest opening weekend of a non-sequel/adaptation is BRIDESMAIDS at $26mil (which can hardly be considered an event film).
So yes, $35mil versus those films is a letdown considering the J.J. Abrams/Spielberg pedigree but the real test will be at the end of season when the TOTAL dollars are tallied. All those event films listed above dropped like stones in their respective next weekends. Very few films have staying power and are very front-loaded (when the audience comes out first weekend) and with a new event film every week this summer every movie must make their money ASAP.
I still think this film will be a surprise sleeper hit.
Sources:
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A 500lb. trailer gal is like a scooter - Fun to ride but you don't want your friends seeing you with one...
As much as the headline and cartoon sounds mean it actually is making fun of me as I actually went to my high school grad alongside my friend David. *Sigh*
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Friday, June 10, 2011
I'm such a boob!
So if I held a mirror vertically just right she would appear all naked or all-dressed. I like all-dressed chips!
If I held the mirror so she looked all naked it would work unless she had a zit on one side of her crotch that would suddenly appear doubled. Yick!
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Thursday, June 09, 2011
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
I'm forty and I still think gas is funny :-)
I really should question how a skeleton can fart but that would then require me to ask how he's talking too. Too much thinking.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
My son graduates from Grade 8. F--k I'm old!
And here we are at his grad tonight...
F--k! Next to him I'm SO old!!
Monday, June 06, 2011
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Why I dislike prequels...
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| "We'll let you stand up when you tell us why you skipped us for Hangover 2!" |
SO...
It looks like the new X-MEN prequel FIRST CLASS is being considered a disappointment at $54mil for the weekend. What's surprising is that currently it's sitting at 87% at RottenTomatoes (a critics ratings site) and got a B+ score from audiences (from Cinemascore).
Sure, it loses some of its previous audience to those tired of X-MEN and superhero movies but in general I blame it on being a "what happened before" story or prequel.
Prequels and reboots (restarting a series) have become the norm these days to rescue series that have gone past their expiry date or a new way of re-casting (ie. save money) while keeping the brand name.
Yes, there's the THE GODFATHER: PART II but how many other prequels/reboots have worked? I think the Bond reboot (CASINO ROYALE) and 2009's STAR TREK succeeded but then there's THE PHANTOM MENACE....
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| To think I bought tickets two weeks in advance to THIS! |
The original STAR WARS trilogy was perfect. Three chapters: a start, cliffhanger and resolution. For 16 years it stood as the definitive trilogy. Then, George Lucas decided he had to explain EVERYTHING that was mentioned in the first three films.
The result watered down what the original STAR WARS accomplished. Using the STAR WARS prequel trilogy and other examples I'll try to explain why I don't like prequels...
1. EXPLAIN TOO MUCH = LESSENING THE IMAGINATION
When Obi-Wan Kenobi explained how Anakin Skywalker fell into the lava and came out as Darth Vader it asked us to utilize our imagination. Then George Lucas felt the need to show us his interpretation. Gee thanks...
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| "The floor is lava!!" |
When a movie adaptation of a book comes out so many people say the book is always better. Why? Because we're using our imagination, our greatest gift of our mind. To see it spelled out either in a movie or play seems to diminish the book's power to us.
The same rule applies to prequels. I didn't want to see what "peaceful Alderaan" looked like before Darth Vader blew it up in real good in STAR WARS. I had that picture in my mind before George Lucas showed me in REVENGE OF THE SITH...
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| I imagined a heavenly place before the big bang... |
...and after Lucas showed me
2. PREQUELS FEEL UNNECESSARY
When you walked out of the theatre after seeing RETURN OF THE JEDI or X-MEN: LAST STAND did you turn to your friend and say, "Boy! I hope they explain everything that happened before with prequels!" Of course not. Most prequels don't add anything new and feel like they're grabbing at straws to explain their existence. Would we have been left hanging without the STAR WARS prequel trilogy? Of course not!
3. WITHOUT THE ORIGINAL CAST, IT FEELS LIKE A SECOND RATE DRESS-UP PARTY
The original X-MEN trilogy utilized all its original actors and good actors at that. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry to name a few.
"I did #3 for the paycheck! Honest!"
The new movie? Kevin Bacon (yes a bigger name) then Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Bill Milner, January Jones.
Soon to be waiting on you in a trendy L.A. restaurant...
Umm, OK.
Yes, some people may know who they are but compared to the (costlier) cast of the original trilogy it just doesn't have that ooomph. CASINO ROYALE got away with this because it's been accepted by James Bond fans that it's OK to recast the main role.
"Bald, James Bald"
Quick! Name the original cast of STAR TREK. Good job. Quick again! Name the new cast of the 2009 reboot. Yeah, not so easy, huh?
4. TRYING TO CRAM TOO MUCH EXPLANATION INTO TOO LITTLE TIME
I'm trying to stay spoiler free with the new X-MEN movie but let's just say within the last 20 minutes of the movie so many things happen to wrap it up to fit in before the original X-MEN trilogy that it's preposterous. If Rome wasn't built in a day, the X-MEN universe wasn't built in two hours. It just was too much.
5. SHOWING WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WITH A SEQUEL OPENS UP MORE POSSIBILITIES
I've always believed that if George Lucas made a NEW trilogy that was a continuation of the original trilogy (let's call them 7,8 and 9) they would be the biggest movies ever. Imagine all the new storylines. Sure, they'd have to make up new characters or creatively cast the classic roles but so what? It's NEW STAR WARS!
Sequels are said to be watered down from the originals. Yes, for 99.99% of them out there that is very true. But take the right writers, cast, director and people who honestly CARE about the source material and you'll make a good story. THE GODFATHER: PART II was an inventive prequel/sequel mix that many consider better than the original. STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, ALIENS and TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY are others that are considered superior to their originals.
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| BHHK: Before Hired Help's Kid |
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| "I forsee your death. No, in real life Cazzale. Sorry!" |
What are your thoughts?
-bri
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