By Bill Bonfanti on 3/30/2009 5:02 PM

It was a big weekend at the box office as 3-D animated movie, Monsters vs. Aliens enjoyed the biggest opening weekend of the year so far. Horror film, The Haunting in Connecticut got off to an amazing start, coming in 2nd, while the final new release of the weekend, action flick, 12 Rounds, stumbled out of the gates, landing in 7th place.

Despite opening in early Spring as opposed to the more family friendly Summer season, Monsters vs. Aliens opened in first place with a robust $58.2M, exactly as I predicted. The opening was right in line with this past summers, Kung Fu Panda, which opened just north of $60M. M vs. A was able to reach $58M with the help of higher ticket prices for 3-D venues. The 3-D theatres accounted for about $25M of the overall...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/26/2009 1:15 PM

This weekend 3 new movies are unleashed on audience; one surefire blockbuster, a mid-range hit and a box office dud. Monsters vs. Aliens is the surefire hit and will have no trouble at all taking the top spot this weekend. Even it was to only make a third of what I’m predicting it would still be #1. Based on a true story, spooky frightener, The Haunting in Connecticut will have a decent debut, while action flick, 12 Rounds starring the WWE’s John Cena will have a difficult time attracting an audience.

Monsters vs. Aliens is the latest from DreamWorks Animation (the Shrek movies, Madagascar) and it is poised to conquer multiplexes everywhere this weekend. The last 2 movies from DreamWorks Animation, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, both...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/24/2009 2:02 PM

I’ve been watching Heroes since the very first episode and both Anders and I have expressed our feelings about this series on many occasions. I felt like this once promising series had lost its way and would probably never find its way back. That is until last night’s episode “Cold Snap” aired. This episode was filled to the brim with all the elements that made the show so fun to watch in the first season. We saw characters die, discover powers and even learned the identity of the mysterious Rebel who has been helping the heroes throughout the Fugitives story arc.

Volume 4: Fugitives has been extremely uneven up until last night, with a crappy episode to match every good one. We the viewers have been subjected to plots that seem to meander forever and character motivations that really seem to...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/23/2009 3:16 PM

 

It was a tight race for the box office crown this weekend with 3 new releases vying for the top spot. Nicolas Cage with his latest action flick, Knowing, managed to come in first, beating out Paul Rudd in bromantic comedy, I Love You, Man and Julia Roberts in spy caper, Duplicity, which opened in second and third respectively.



Despite poor reviews, Nicolas Cage powered Knowing to a $24.8M opening, enough to land in the top spot in front of some steep competition.  Knowing performed as one of the best openings (6th best to be exact) of Cage's varied box office career, just below the $25M earned by The Rock way back in 1996. Of course, at todays ticket prices, The Rock would have outgrossed Knowing by quite a bit.  When adjusted for inflation, The...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/20/2009 2:57 PM

This weekend moviegoers are offered 3 new releases; romantic, buddy comedy, I Love You, Man, action thriller, Knowing and spy comedy, Duplicity. These films should take up the top 3 spots at the box office, but the question is which one will find its way to the top? Let’s take a look.

Paul Rudd and Jason Segel star in I Love You, Man, the story of a man out to find the perfect best man for his upcoming nuptials. Both Rudd and Segel are coming off big comedy hits (Role Models and Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and pairing together should translate into the same comedic box office gold. Both Role Models and Sarah Marshall were rated R, as is I Love You, Man, which should appeal to the same broad audience. Role Models opened to $19.2M and Sarah Marshall opened...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/16/2009 3:06 PM

Dwayne Johnson, the former Rock, had his sixth #1 opening as families flocked to see Race to Witch Mountain. The Last House on the Left posted solid numbers for a horror flick opening in third and raunchy comedy, Miss March failed to excite moviegoers, opening in 10th place. Last weekend’s champ, Watchmen, suffered a big decline, falling nearly 70%, just as I expected.

Race to Witch Mountain got off to a solid start grossing $25M (a little lower than my $27M forecast) and taking the top spot for the weekend. Dwayne Johnson continued to show his appeal as a family friendly star with Race, his second film for Disney. The first, The Game Plan, opened to $23M and found its way to an overall $90M. Race to Witch Mountain’s life at the box office should follow the same...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/12/2009 1:04 PM

This weekend at the movies there are 3 new choices; family film, Race to Witch Mountain, horror remake, The Last House on the Left and raunchy comedy, Miss March. The big question this weekend however, is how well Watchmen will perform in its second outing? 

Race to Witch Mountain is an updated version of the classic Disney film series from the 70’s. The updated version stars Dwayne Johnson as a cab driver who picks up two teenagers who turn out to be aliens and need his help getting back to Witch Mountain. Johnson has carved out quite the career in Hollywood leaving his persona as wrestler The Rock in the dust and with his last film, The Game Plan, successfully has branded himself as a family friendly star. The Game Plan, also a Disney feature, opened...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/9/2009 2:28 PM

Who watches the Watchmen? Apparently just comic book fans and men over 25. Just like the films reviews were polarized, the box office take this weekend can be viewed as a success or a failure depending on your school of thought.

Let me start by saying that I was way wrong with my prediction of $65M. Watchmen grossed $55.6M this weekend. Not even close to my expectations for the film. I overestimated the audience for Watchmen and also didn’t put as much stock into the nearly 3 hour running time and the R rating as I should have. I thought that those two things would be nullified by the ultra wide launch in over 3600 theatres. After seeing the film I do believe that it deserved a $65M (or higher) launch but it is what it is. 

Let’s take a look at the positive side of a $55.6M debut. Overall it was enough to be the biggest debut of the year so far, the third largest March opening in history behind Zack Snyder’s own 300 ($70.9M) and Ice Age: The Meltdown ($68M) and the sixth best opening for an R rated film. Take a look:...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/9/2009 9:40 AM

Howdy FILMGOAPHYTES! It's been a while, but Anders has returned to the place that started his writing career (not sure if that's a good thing or not). I like to write something for FILMGO every now and again to express my love and gratitude. Today's topic HEROES. The NBC television program that coined the phrase “Save the cheerleader, save the world". It airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

   

 I have been following this show before it even aired back in the fall of 2006. I had heard earlier that year that NBC was going to add a program to its stable that would follow a group of people who were discovering they had amazing abilities. It was right in my wheelhouse and I counted down the days until the pilot premiered. I was not disappointed. It was everything I had hoped it would be....

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By Bill Bonfanti on 3/6/2009 6:00 PM

Let me start by saying that after seeing Watchmen, I understand why the reviews were so polarizing. I understand how someone could watch it and hate it. I also understand why someone could love it. I myself fall into the latter category. I freaking loved it! It was one of the best (if not the best) cinematic experiences of my life. Words and star ratings can’t truly describe what a masterpiece this film is, but I’m going to try. Using the traditional four star rating system, I give Watchmen five stars. Yes my friends… it is that good.

Visually the film is astonishing. There is not one frame of the movie that fails to draw the eye. The special effects were spectacular. Every angle that director, Zack Snyder (my new god) employs is both breath taking and original, from the spectacularly...

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