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3 articles from 2004

20 December 2004 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The box office was lemony sour over the weekend and represented a kind of unfortunate event in its own right. Although the Jim Carrey family movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events came in at No. 1 with $30.2 million, the figure was well off analysts' forecasts and was particularly disappointing compared with the performance of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King which debuted during the comparable weekend last year with $72.6 million. Even more frustrating was the lackluster debut of the Adam Sandler comedy Spanglish, directed by James L. Brooks, which debuted in third place with $9 million, less than half what analysts thought it would bring in and way below the average of a typical Adam Sandler comedy (which this was not). A third newcomer, Flight of the Phoenix, remained in the ashes, taking in only $5.3 million, to place eighth. Despite a 3.8 percent increase in ticket prices since last year, the top 12 films took in an estimated gross of just $100.2 million, down nearly 25 percent from the $133.4 million grossed by the top 12 films during the comparable weekend a year ago. The only bright spots on the box-office account sheet were the terrific performances in limited release of Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, starring Hilary Swank. Aviator grossed about $831,000 in 40 theaters, or $20,775 per theater; Baby took in $178,000 in eight theaters, or $22,250 per theater. By contrast, Snicket averaged just $8,300 per theater. Also holding up strongly in its sixth week was Warner's The Polar Express, which earned $8.6 million to place fourth and bring its gross to date to a respectable $123.6 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, $30.2 million; 2. Ocean's Twelve, $18.3 million; 3. Spanglish, $9 million; 4. The Polar Express, $8.6 million; 5. Blade: Trinity, $6.6 million; 6. National Treasure, $6.1 million; 7. Christmas With the Kranks, $5.7 million; 8. The Flight of the Phoenix, $5.1 million; 9. Closer, $3.5 million; 10. The Incredibles, $3.3 million.

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17 December 2004 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Director-writer-producer James L. Brooks, who ordinarily receives rather glowing reviews from critics, is being banged about like a piñata by some of them for his Adam Sandler-starring movie Spanglish. Gene Seymour in Newsday writes that Brooks "should be ashamed of himself for making such a dismal, befuddled mess." Lou Lumenick in the New York Post calls it "this unpleasant comedy-drama." Eric Harrison in the Houston Chronicle concludes that the movie "leaves you with nothing to think about, except for all the opportunities Brooks missed to make something worthwhile out of the material." But Wesley Morris in the Boston Globe praises Brooks as "a poet, a realist, and a wizard when it comes to creating characters who could pass for real people. ... What he's come up with is one of the most humane works ever made about the lives of working mothers." Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution concludes that Spanglish "isn't his best work, but it's infused with humor and humanity. And how many films offer either one?" And Mike Clark in USA Today remarks: "Spanglish is the one movie families search for every Christmas for an outing."

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12 February 2004 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Production bosses are finally bringing The Simpsons to the big screen after years of trying - but they're refusing to divulge any details about the project. According to creator and writer James L Brooks, an idea has been accepted which will see the family from the hit TV series - Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie - hit the big screen in the next few years. But As Good As It Gets director Brooks is keen to keep the project under wraps, because it's only in its infant stage. He says, "We've got a very good and interesting idea, and it's different from the show. You know, it's like the South Park movie where it's just a bigger, longer, amplified version of the show. I can't tell you anything specific about it. My wife doesn't even know the secret." Fellow writer Mike Reiss adds, "It's been 13 years of wanting to do The Simpsons movie. Finally Fox said, 'Let's just do it!' We never had the greatest idea that was compelling but Fox said, 'Maybe if we start paying you, you'll get inspired.' And sure enough, it worked!"

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3 articles from 2004