'Saw IV' Cuts the Competition to Pieces
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The killer of the "Saw" franchise may be dead, but his sadistic spirit lives on. Lionsgate's "Saw IV" led the weekend box office with $32.1 million, maintaining the horror franchise's position as a Halloween perennial, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Saw IV
Debuting at No. 2 was Disney's "Dan in Real Life," a romance starring Steve Carell , Juliette Binoche and Dane Cook that took in $12.1 million.
Overall Hollywood revenues declined for the sixth-straight weekend, though business was off only a fraction compared to the same weekend last year. The top-12 movies took in $86.1 million, down 2 percent, better results than the previous weeks, when business had fallen significantly more.
The results for "Saw IV" were on par with the debut of "Saw III," which pulled in $33.6 million over the same weekend last year. Since the original low-budget "Saw" became an out-of-nowhere fright sensation in 2004, Lionsgate has released a new chapter each October, all hits.
"I would expect to see 'Saw V' next year, 'Saw VI' the year after that and 'Saw VII' the following year if they can keep it up," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "There's just something inherently gruesome and compelling about these movies. I don't know what that says about society in general, but it certainly works at the box office."
"Saw IV" features post-mortem horrors concocted by the fiendish killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell , seen in flashbacks), whose autopsy turns up a cassette tape in his entrails that leads the cops into a new snare of torture puzzles the madman left behind.
"Dan in Real Life" was the prime choice for the date crowd. The movie stars Carell as a widower raising three daughters who falls for his brother's new girlfriend (Binoche) during a family reunion.
In narrower release, Roadside Attractions' "Bella" opened solidly with $1.3 million. The film stars Eduardo Verastegui as a former soccer player who hooks up with a pregnant waitress (Tammy Blanchard).
Thinkfilm's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," directed by Sidney Lumet ("Dog Day Afternoon," ''Network"), opened strongly in limited release at two New York City theaters with $73,500. The film, which gradually expands into nationwide release through November, stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke as brothers in financial straits who plot to rob their parents' jewelry store.
A high-profile documentary, Sony Pictures Classics' "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains," had a poor debut, taking in just $10,573 at seven theaters. The film from director Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs") follows the former president during a tour to promote his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Saw IV," $32.1 million.
2. "Dan in Real Life," $12.1 million.
3. "30 Days of Night," $6.7 million.
4. "The Game Plan," $6.3 million.
5. "Tyler Perry 's Why Did I Get Married?", $5.7 million.
6. "Michael Clayton," $5 million.
7. "Gone Baby Gone," $3.9 million.
8. "The Comebacks," $3.45 million.
9. "We Own the Night," $3.4 million.
10. "Tim Burton 's the Nightmare Before Christmas," $3.35 million.
Saw IV
Debuting at No. 2 was Disney's "Dan in Real Life," a romance starring Steve Carell , Juliette Binoche and Dane Cook that took in $12.1 million.
Overall Hollywood revenues declined for the sixth-straight weekend, though business was off only a fraction compared to the same weekend last year. The top-12 movies took in $86.1 million, down 2 percent, better results than the previous weeks, when business had fallen significantly more.
The results for "Saw IV" were on par with the debut of "Saw III," which pulled in $33.6 million over the same weekend last year. Since the original low-budget "Saw" became an out-of-nowhere fright sensation in 2004, Lionsgate has released a new chapter each October, all hits.
"I would expect to see 'Saw V' next year, 'Saw VI' the year after that and 'Saw VII' the following year if they can keep it up," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "There's just something inherently gruesome and compelling about these movies. I don't know what that says about society in general, but it certainly works at the box office."
"Saw IV" features post-mortem horrors concocted by the fiendish killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell , seen in flashbacks), whose autopsy turns up a cassette tape in his entrails that leads the cops into a new snare of torture puzzles the madman left behind.
"Dan in Real Life" was the prime choice for the date crowd. The movie stars Carell as a widower raising three daughters who falls for his brother's new girlfriend (Binoche) during a family reunion.
In narrower release, Roadside Attractions' "Bella" opened solidly with $1.3 million. The film stars Eduardo Verastegui as a former soccer player who hooks up with a pregnant waitress (Tammy Blanchard).
Thinkfilm's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," directed by Sidney Lumet ("Dog Day Afternoon," ''Network"), opened strongly in limited release at two New York City theaters with $73,500. The film, which gradually expands into nationwide release through November, stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke as brothers in financial straits who plot to rob their parents' jewelry store.
A high-profile documentary, Sony Pictures Classics' "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains," had a poor debut, taking in just $10,573 at seven theaters. The film from director Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs") follows the former president during a tour to promote his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Saw IV," $32.1 million.
2. "Dan in Real Life," $12.1 million.
3. "30 Days of Night," $6.7 million.
4. "The Game Plan," $6.3 million.
5. "Tyler Perry 's Why Did I Get Married?", $5.7 million.
6. "Michael Clayton," $5 million.
7. "Gone Baby Gone," $3.9 million.
8. "The Comebacks," $3.45 million.
9. "We Own the Night," $3.4 million.
10. "Tim Burton 's the Nightmare Before Christmas," $3.35 million.
Labels: Movie, Movie News, New Films
Quentin Tarantino Plans Erotic Film
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Cult filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is set to stun fans with his next project - an erotic movie. The Kill Bill director is a big fan of 1970's European soft-core sex films and admits he can't wait to make a modern day version.
He says, "If I actually do an erotic movie, I'm going to have to reveal what I find sexy, what turns me on. And when it comes to sex in movies, it's got to be kind of kinky, because that's what's cinematic, that's what's fun. Everything else is just - shagging."
However, he had doubts over the enterprise - and it's not filming the explicit scenes that bother him, it's the thought of promoting the movie that fills him with worry.
He adds, "My problem won't be revealing myself. My problem would be doing a press tour talking about me revealing myself. And how creepy that would be, how creepy the questions would be."
Brad gets a bloody nose!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Brad Pitt was spotted with a bloody nose on Sunday. He was seen holding a bike helmet and screaming.
But fret not all you fans, he did not have an accident like pal George Clooney, the blood was fake.
He was shooting a scene for his new movie Burn After Reading, which is being filmed in New York City.
Jen’s just getting started
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Who says there’s no life after Friends? Certainly not for Jennifer Aniston. Her latest project, He’s Just Not That Into You, has her looking amazing and thinking positively.
Jennifer’s new look has everybody talking. Recent pictures of the actress revealed her killer tanned body. A source said, “The reaction of people seeing her in that itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini did more for Jennifer’s self-image and self-confidence than all the years of therapy put together!”
The actress has been living life to the fullest as of late, with a bevy of new film projects, as well as a new pad.
Then again, how could she go wrong, starring alongside Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly and Drew Barrymore.
Could it be that Jennifer’s budding film career will turn out to eclipse her former Friends fame?
Labels: Actress, Career, New Films, Self-Confidence
