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| Immortals, VFX, box office, movie, animation, 3D, wallpaper, poster |
Of three high-profile pictures arriving this 11/11/11 weekend,
Relativity’s “Immortals” easily captured the top spot with an estimated
$32 million, landing ahead of expectations and marking a company best
debut. The stylized VFX-packed R-rated sword-and-sandal actioner from
the producers of “300” and director Tarsem Singh was expected to open in
the $25 million-to-$30 million range.
But while "Immortals" opened better than expected, it still fell short
of the $61.2 million opening of Warner Bros.’ “Clash of the Titans” or
the $70.9 million debut of “300.” Fully 66% of the weekend gross for
“Immortals” came from premium-priced 3-D theaters. It was the
third-highest opening this year for an R-rated film. Internationally,
“Immortals” opened in over 35 territories and generated an estimated $36
million, with several still yet to report, which brings the worldwide
total to an estimated $68 million. More details and top ten box office
chart are below.
“Anytime you exceed expectations, it’s a good thing," crowed Kyle
Davies, President of Worldwide Theatrical Distribution for Relativity,
who expects the film to hold well through the Thanksgiving holiday.
"There are no other action movies opening until Christmas, so we have a
wide open field ahead of us.”
The overall boxoffice was helped this weekend by two Friday holidays,
Veterans Day and Remembrance Day in Canada, giving a boost to Thursday
evening shows as well as Friday, with many schools and government
offices closed for the federal holiday.
Sony’s PG-rated “Jack and Jill,” the latest comedic outing from Adam
Sandler, arrived with an estimated $26 million to place second, better
than anticipated but less than his previous two films. Warner Bros.’
awards-bound “J. Edgar,” helmed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo
DiCaprio, generated a respectable estimate of $11.5 million to spy the
fifth slot, with a cume of $11.6 million since its limited opening on
Wednesday. “Edgar” expanded to 1,910 theaters on Friday, while
“Immortals” and “Jack and Jill” were in 3,112 and 3,438 locations,
respectively.
The opening of “Jack and Jill" was "right where we hoped we’d be this
weekend, in the mid $20 million area, and feeling really good about
heading into Thanksgiving and the holidays,” said Rory Bruer, President
of Worldwide Distribution for Sony. “Sandler is one of the few actors
that is able to make American comedies work abroad – he really does
resonate, not only here, but throughout the world." Sandler's opening
weekend in Mexico was the star's largest to date in that country.
Sandler's loyal fan base makes his comedies somewhat “critic proof”;
his best-performing projects are sometimes his worst reviewed. In this
case “Jack and Jill” ranked at 17% on the Tomatometer.
Of Sandler’s last eight wide release comedies, seven grossed more than
$100 million; only the dark comedy-drama “Funny People” failed to reach
that mark. Sandler's last film “Just Go With It” opened at $30.5 million
and went on to gross $103 million, while “Grown Ups” debuted with $40.5
million and rocketed to $162 by the end of its domestic run. Sandler’s
“Bedtime Stories” opened nearest “Jack,” with $27.5 million and went
onto $110.1 million.
With a modest budget of $35 million, “Edgar” is off to a solid start.
“We have a very well reviewed film that’s going to play extremely well
and we expect strong world of mouth, the great reviews and year-end
awards to propel us through the holidays,” said Dan Fellman, WB's
President of Domestic Distribution. The audience was 54% female, thanks
largely to DiCaprio, with 66% over 50 and 94% over 25.
“J. Edgar” opened in the general range of Eastwood’s recent releases:
“Hereafter” opened with $12 million and “Invictus” debuted with $8.6
million, and both films ended up totaling some $30 million. Eventual
Oscar-winner “Million Dollar Baby” opened with $12.3 million on its
first weekend of wide release and went on to over $100 million; “Mystic
River” grossed $10.4 million and ended up with $90.1 million.
After two weekends at number one, DreamWorks/Paramount’s animated “Puss
In Boots” moved into the third spot with an estimated $25.5 million,
slipping a slim 23% from a week earlier. The boxoffice gravity-defying
picture from DreamWorks Animation crossed the $100 million mark in 9
days as its cume reached an estimated $108.81 million through Sunday.
Universal’s “Tower Heist” dropped into the fourth spot with a gross of
an estimated $13.7 million, down a moderate 43% from its lukewarm debut.
The Ben Stiller-Eddie Murphy starrer has taken in an estimated $43.87
million in 10 days. Brett Ratner helmed the comedy-- during the last
week his name has been associated with a lot of drama due to his and
Murphy’s departure from producing and hosting this year’s Oscar telecast
due to Ratner's off-color remarks in various public forums; they were
swiftly replaced by Brian Grazer and Billy Crystal, respectively.
