By Bill Bonfanti on 12/29/2008 1:00 PM

It was a busy holiday weekend at the box office as 4 out of 5 new releases had scorching debuts. Family drama Marley & Me, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston led the way, with a big #1 debut, exceeding all industry expectations.  Adam Sandler’s family comedy, Bedtime Stories, and Brad Pitt’s Oscar contender, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, opened to similar results, although Button, performed better overall due to less theatres and less show times. Tom Cruise cemented his comeback, with World War II drama, Valkyrie, while Frank Miller’s solo directorial debut, The Spirit, bombed big time. 

Marley & Me opened on Christmas day to a huge $14.7M, setting a new record for the holiday. It went on to gross $37M over the weekend for a powerful $51.7M 4 day debut,...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/24/2008 4:46 PM

Christmas day arrives with 5 presents for moviegoers under the tree. This is one crowded holiday weekend with enough choices to satisfy everyone. All predictions for this weekend are for the 4 day holiday frame starting on Christmas day. 

First up, is Disney’s Bedtime Stories starring Adam Sandler. The film has been marketed really well and is sure to be a big hit. Sandler has made a brilliant career move making a family film and it will pay off. Sandler is in esteemed company in branching out into family comedies, joining Ben Stiller (Night at the Museum), Eddie Murphy and Mike Meyers (the Shrek movies) and Jim Carrey (The Grinch, Horton Hears a Who), all of which have had major success in the genre. Look for Bedtime Stories to rake in $45M over the 4 day frame and to become Adam Sandler’s 10th movie to gross over $100M. 

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/22/2008 11:44 AM

Jim Carrey’s latest comedy, Yes Man, opened at #1 this weekend edging out Will Smith’s confusing drama, Seven Pounds. Although Carrey had the top spot, he should keep the celebrating to a minimum, as Yes Man opened to a slim $18.2M. Yes Man opened lower than most industry expectations and even performed worse than the dismal Fun With Dick and Jane, Carrey’s last comedy offering (not counting Horton Hears a Who) from 3 years ago. Dick and Jane opened during the holiday season as well, and did go on to make $110M, so Jim has a chance to steer Yes Man into moderate hit territory. I would look for Yes Man to have slim declines over the holiday weeks and wind up with a final gross in the $90M range.

The trailer for Seven Pounds is unique in that it doesn’t give anything away...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/19/2008 11:30 AM

Moviegoers are offered three new films this weekend as Yes Man, Seven Pounds and The Tale of Despereaux invade multiplexes. It is quite a mixed bag ranging from comedy to heavy drama to animated adventure, and ones box office take should not influence the other.

Jim Carrey returns to his comedy roots for the first time in 3 years with Yes Man. Carrey plays a man who has never taken any risks, says no to everything in life, until one day he learns the power of the word yes and hilarious antics ensue. Jim Carrey fans can rejoice in the fact that the former comedy king is back after a long absence, but this one looks more like it will perform like the terrible Fun With Dick and Jane than his comedy classics such as Bruce Almighty and Liar, Liar. Don’t get me wrong,...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/15/2008 2:51 PM

The Day the Earth Stood Still grabbed the #1 spot at the box office this weekend, grossing $31M, even lower than my already low (for this type of movie) $40M prediction. Fox can be happy that it had its first #1 opening since Horton Hears a Who opened with $45M this past March. They won’t be happy when they realize that their Keanu Reeves sci-fi vehicle isn’t going to have any legs in the coming weeks. Reviews have been bad and word of mouth has been poor. Expect a 60% drop next weekend and the final domestic tally to be a disappointing $60-$65M.

The Christmas spirit didn’t extend to Latino family drama, Nothing Like the Holidays, which debuted with a paltry $3.5M despite decent reviews and a strong cast. Maybe it will have better luck on DVD next holiday season. This week’s third new release, the animated fantasy adventure film, Delgo, bombed even bigger than I expected,...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/12/2008 1:32 PM

This weekend moviegoers will have 3 new options at the multiplex; the Sci-Fi remake, The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves, family movie, Nothing Like the Holidays starring John Leguizamo and animated adventure film, Delgo, featuring the voice talents of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The marketing campaign for The Day the Earth Stood Still has been super strong making awareness of this film very high. Unfortunately, the reviews haven’t been good and Keanu Reeves box office performance is spotty at best. For every hit like Speed or The Matrix, there are big flops like The Watcher or Sweet November. Sci-Fi is his best performing genre though, so The Day the Earth Stood Still should attract a decent audience this weekend. Fox is also sweetening the pot by premiering the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine in front of the film which should definitely...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/10/2008 12:27 PM

 Ok… so I got my ass handed to me this week at the box office. I couldn’t have been more wrong with just about every prediction.

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/4/2008 5:36 PM

Only one film opened in wide release this weekend, the sure to be a bomb Punisher: War Zone The first Punisher (I say first... I mean does the Dolph Lundgren version even count?) bombed out a few years ago with a high profile cast including John Travolta and Thomas Jane so this one has no shot at all.

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By Bill Bonfanti on 12/2/2008 7:21 PM

Audiences were in the holiday spirit this weekend as the Yuletide comedy Four Christmases raked in the good cheer at the box office. The latest Vince Vaughn holiday comedy made $31.6M over the holiday weekend making for an impressive 5 day total (it opened on Wednesday) of $46.6M. This more than makes up for Vaughn’s Christmas turkey of last year, Fred Claus. Among other new releases, Transporter 3, opened as expected with $12.3M and Australia opened with an impressive (for a 3 hour movie) $14.8M. 

The biggest stories in the top 10 are Disney’s animated comedy Bolt and the terrific performance of the Sean Penn biopic, Milk. Bolt had a great holiday weekend, actually improving upon its performance from last weekend, grossing $26.5M. This is great news for Disney as the cartoon canine underperformed in its initial frame last weekend and now Disney can bark about having its third...

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By Bill Bonfanti on 11/26/2008 12:18 PM

This Thanksgiving weekend, moviegoers can be thankful for 3 new releases; holiday comedy Four Christmases, epic drama Australia and action sequel Transporter 3. There are also 3 major holdovers that can make a nice dent in the box office; last week’s #1 Twilight will try to retain the top spot, while animated comedy, Bolt will try not to slip off too much and of course James Bond will continue to slay audiences with Quantum of Solace.

Four Christmases is a holiday comedy that forces an unmarried couple (Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) to attend four Christmas celebrations in one day. The question is why Vince, why? After last year’s box office bomb Fred Claus, why in the world is Vince Vaughn starring in another Christmas themed movie? Was he visited by 3 ghosts that told him he had to change his comedy ways before its too late and discover the comedy in Christmas? Furthermore,...

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