Celeb News Aggregate
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Universal's "Meet the Parents" continued to meet box office success, becoming the year's third film to place first for three consecutive weeks.
The PG-13-rated comedy was still laughing all the way to the bank in its third weekend with an estimated $16.32 million (-23%) at 2,619 theaters (+4 theaters; $6,230 per theater). Its cume is approximately $81.0 million, heading for a domestic theatrical gross of $130 million or more.
"Parents'" international release is through DreamWorks Pictures, which co-financed the film and will share equally in its success.
"Parents" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in wide release last weekend.
"Being number one for the third week in a row is extraordinary," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said Sunday morning. "It's only been twice this year that that's happened. The last time was with 'E
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"Charlie's Angels" won this weekend's box office election by a mile despite projections that "Little Nicky" might give it a devil of a time.
"Angels," Columbia's PG-13 action adventure comedy, continued kicking box office butt in its second weekend with a still sexy estimated $25.0 million (-38%) at 3,037 theaters (theater count unchanged; $8,232 per theater). Its cume is approximately $75.4 million, heading for $150 million or more.
"Angels" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in 500 or more theaters last weekend.
"Great news for us," Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide marketing & distribution president Jeff Blake said Sunday morning. "It's just a terrific hold considering the record opening we had the week before."
Asked where "Angels" is going, Blake replied, "We should be able to hit $100 million by Thanksgiving and still have t
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Insiders thought they knew "Witch" movie would top the Halloween weekend chart, but it turned out to be "Meet the Parents" and not the "Blair Witch" sequel.
Universal's PG-13-rated blockbuster comedy "Meet the Parents" was still meeting and greeting moviegoers in first place in its fourth week with a hefty estimated $15.06 million (-6%) at 2,647 theaters (+28 theaters; $5,690 per theater). Its cume is approximately $100.0 million, heading for a domestic theatrical gross $130-150 million.
"Parents'" international release is through DreamWorks Pictures, which co-financed the film and will share equally in its success.
"Parents" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in wide release last weekend.
"'Meet the Parents' has surprised everybody in the press," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said Sunday morning. "All of the estimators
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"Charlie's Angels" kicked off to a divine, butt-kicking $40.5 million, sending weekend ticket sales soaring about 37% over last year.
Columbia's PG-13 action adventure comedy had been a high flyer on Hollywood's advance radar screen with insiders anticipating a $25-30 million opening. Instead, "Angels" arrived to a spectacular, record-setting ESTIMATED $40.5 million at 3,037 theaters ($13,335 per theater).
"Angels" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in wide or limited release last weekend.
"It's the biggest non-summer opening ever -- period," Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide marketing & distribution president Jeff Blake said Sunday morning. Noting that "Angels" helped push weekend ticket sales by all key films in the marketplace to nearly $101 million, he added, "It's the first $100 million weekend since Labor Day."
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HOLLYWOOD, Oct 26, 2000 - Look for "Blair Witch 2" to do killer business this Halloween weekend.
Artisan Entertainment's R-rated sequel "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2," opening at about 3,000 theaters, should scare up enough ticket sales to end "Meet the Parents'" three week reign in first place.
"'Blair Witch' is going to play very young," explains an insider. "They ought to be able to open to $20 million." The original "Blair Witch Project," last summer's sleeper blockbuster, was made independently for about $35,000 and picked up by Artisan. It grossed about $140.5 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Joe Berlinger, "Blair Witch 2" stars Kim Director, Jeffrey Donovan, Erica Leerhsen, Tristen Skylar and Stephen Barker-Turner.
Universal's PG-13-rated comedy "Meet the Parents" should slide one slot to second place in its fourth
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Moviegoers don't seem bedazzled by "Bedazzled" and probably won't pay enough for "Pay It Forward" to finish first. That should mean a third consecutive chart-topping weekend for "Meet the Parents."
The PG-13-rated comedy from Universal finished first last weekend with $21.2 million. It actually held even better than its modest 26% decline suggests. Its drop was measured against the previous Sunday, which was a stronger than normal Sunday since the next day was Columbus Day.
"The way that picture's holding up, if it drops another 25% -- and it may actually hold better than that -- it will still do $15 million," an insider speculates. "There won't be anything else that can do $15 million."
"Parents'" strength has been its appeal to a broad audience of younger Ben Stiller fans and older Robert De Niro fans.
Directed by Jay Roach, "Parents" stars De Niro and S
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A rich "Parents" opening turned the box office green after two months of lackluster grosses.
Universal's PG-13-rated comedy "Meet the Parents" met with greater success than insiders had anticipated. Rather than the $18-22 million range that many Hollywood handicappers were expecting, "Parents" opened to a sizzling ESTIMATED $29.11 million at 2,614 theaters ($11,135 per theater).
"Parents'" international release is through DreamWorks Pictures, which co-financed the film and will share equally in its success. "Parents" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in wide release last weekend.
The film set records as the biggest October opening ever and the biggest openings ever for its stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, according to a Universal spokesman. It is Universal's fourth consecutive film to open in first place, following "Nutty Professor II:
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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 17, 2000 -- Steven Spielberg reportedly has won the race to bring Harry Potter to the big screen.
The Times of London says Spielberg will direct and produce "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," based on the hit children's book series about a schoolboy wizard.
Robert Zemeckis, Jonathan Demme and Mike Newell were among the directors Spielberg beat out for the movie, according to the paper.
Warner Bros., which owns the Harry Potter screen rights, dictated that Spielberg must make the film his next movie. Spielberg, whose docket also includes an adaptation of the best seller "Memoirs of a Geisha," had two possibles in the works: "A.I." and "Minority Report," both produced by his own studio, DreamWorks. "A.I" (the acronym for artificial intelligence) is based on a story outline by late filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. "Minority Report" is a