Seeing as there are no other alternatives or romantic comedies, for that matter, I'm not at all surprised THE PROPOSAL is having a big opening. And it was quite good -- formulaic, as expected, but Bullock and Reynolds have great chemistry together and the film was entertaining.
If you want to see the textbook example of a word-of-mouth hit with tiny drop-offs from week to week, check out THE HANGOVER. With probably another $25 million+ weekend, there's no doubt this movie is the surprise hit of 2009 and is on its way to $200 million.
Looks like the summer of the prehistoric caveman movie is dead! lol.
BIG 'PROPOSAL' #1 With $12.5M Friday/$33M Wkd;
'Hangover' #2 With $8.3M/$26M;
'Year One' #3 With $8M/$21M
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/
Will update when numbers come in...
Box Office Weekend 6/21: THE PROPOSAL #1, HANGOVER Still Big
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AndyDursin
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AndyDursin
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He was horribly miscast in KONG.mkaroly wrote:I don't find Jack Black funny- his humor just comes across to me as sinister and hurtful. I have no intention of supporting his career by seeing his films, though I have seen KING KONG and KUNG-FU PANDA.
The sadder thing about YEAR ONE, which has gotten a lot of awful reviews, is that it was directed by Harold Ramis and written by two of the guys from "The Office". The same trio that are supposed to make GHOSTBUSTERS III...supposed to, that is.
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Monterey Jack
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There is nothing "sinister" or "hurtful" in Black's performance in School Of Rock, which was a sweet, funny charmer. I also really enjoyed his performance in Kung Fu Panda, which was in itself one of the best animated ffeatures Dreamworks has released to date ("Oh man, I've only seen paintings of that painting!").
Overall, however, I tend to find his presence in movies to be overbearing. Funny in small doses (like Tropic Thunder), but monotonous in the long run. He's one of those comedians, like Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey, who's rarely "off", constantly mugging and shreiking and capering around and hogging the camera whereas a more intelligent comedian (like Steve Carell or Paul Rudd) knows how to dial it down and present an at least semi-believable character the audience can emphasize with, as well as laugh at.
Overall, however, I tend to find his presence in movies to be overbearing. Funny in small doses (like Tropic Thunder), but monotonous in the long run. He's one of those comedians, like Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey, who's rarely "off", constantly mugging and shreiking and capering around and hogging the camera whereas a more intelligent comedian (like Steve Carell or Paul Rudd) knows how to dial it down and present an at least semi-believable character the audience can emphasize with, as well as laugh at.
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AndyDursin
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But Paul Rudd is actually a good actor, not just a comedian, and I wouldn't categorize his career with that of, say, Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, or what not. I love Carrell on THE OFFICE but I think it remains to be seen what kind of a career he's going to have outside that series, and if he can parlay his persona beyond Michael Scott into a flexible series of roles.
Ferrell's shtick falls along one or two lines but can be quite funny in the right project. Witness ANCHORMAN or BLADES OF GLORY, or even TALLADEGA NIGHTS. He's not always "the same," and I actually think his comedy is nothing like Carrey or Black, who are always mugging to the nth degree. Yeah Ferrell can act stupid, but he modulates well and there are moments scattered about his better movies that are hysterically UNDER-played, which isn't the case at all with most Carrey or certainly Black comedies. (Obviously this does NOT pertain to LAND OF THE LOST! lol
Black by comparison, for me, is just a one-trick pony. It's always the same with him. SCHOOL OF ROCK was fun but really that's been about it (I don't typically give actors much credit for their vocal "performances" in animated movies myself), and so many of his other projects are just....well, the same. Look, it's Black acting crazy again! Whether it's ORANGE COUNTY or TROPIC THUNDER or NACHO LIBRE or any number of films in which he's appeared, I see nothing from him other than him doing the same persona. When he tried to do something a little outside his "comfort zone," like in KING KONG, he failed miserably.
When my wife and I went to see THE PROPOSAL last night (we always go to the 9:30-10:30 shows so we avoid the kids, who typically get picked up after the earlier evening shows by their parents), teenagers were STREAMING out of YEAR ONE. That's really Black's core audience -- kids. And in the right project -- like SCHOOL OF ROCK -- it can work, but I don't see him having a really successful, long-term career as a topline star. His 15 minutes are going to be up sooner than later.
Ferrell's shtick falls along one or two lines but can be quite funny in the right project. Witness ANCHORMAN or BLADES OF GLORY, or even TALLADEGA NIGHTS. He's not always "the same," and I actually think his comedy is nothing like Carrey or Black, who are always mugging to the nth degree. Yeah Ferrell can act stupid, but he modulates well and there are moments scattered about his better movies that are hysterically UNDER-played, which isn't the case at all with most Carrey or certainly Black comedies. (Obviously this does NOT pertain to LAND OF THE LOST! lol
Black by comparison, for me, is just a one-trick pony. It's always the same with him. SCHOOL OF ROCK was fun but really that's been about it (I don't typically give actors much credit for their vocal "performances" in animated movies myself), and so many of his other projects are just....well, the same. Look, it's Black acting crazy again! Whether it's ORANGE COUNTY or TROPIC THUNDER or NACHO LIBRE or any number of films in which he's appeared, I see nothing from him other than him doing the same persona. When he tried to do something a little outside his "comfort zone," like in KING KONG, he failed miserably.
When my wife and I went to see THE PROPOSAL last night (we always go to the 9:30-10:30 shows so we avoid the kids, who typically get picked up after the earlier evening shows by their parents), teenagers were STREAMING out of YEAR ONE. That's really Black's core audience -- kids. And in the right project -- like SCHOOL OF ROCK -- it can work, but I don't see him having a really successful, long-term career as a topline star. His 15 minutes are going to be up sooner than later.
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AndyDursin
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Full weekend numbers...
1 N The Proposal BV $34,114,000 - 3,056 +2,239 $11,163 $34,114,000 $40 1
2 1 The Hangover WB $26,855,000 -18.1% 3,545 +190 $7,575 $152,919,000 $35 3
3 2 Up BV $21,336,000 -30.6% 3,832 -54 $5,568 $224,113,000 $175 4
4 N Year One Sony $20,200,000 - 3,022 - $6,684 $20,200,000 $60 1
5 3 The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Sony $11,300,000 -51.7% 3,077 +3 $3,672 $43,332,000 $100 2
6 4 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Fox $7,300,000 -24.1% 2,962 -403 $2,465 $155,953,000 $150 5
7 7 Star Trek Par. $4,700,000 -13.8% 2,307 -331 $2,037 $239,444,000 $150 7
8 5 Land of the Lost Uni. $3,976,000 -55.8% 2,945 -589 $1,350 $43,672,000 $100 3
9 6 Imagine That Par. $3,100,000 -43.7% 3,011 +3 $1,030 $11,351,000 $55 2
10 8 Terminator Salvation WB $3,070,000 -35.9% 1,920 -730 $1,599 $119,513,000 $200 5
11 9 Angels & Demons Sony $2,800,000 -31.9% 1,888 -548 $1,483 $128,139,000 $150 6
12 10 Drag Me to Hell Uni. $1,920,000 -51.2% 1,627 -646 $1,180 $39,180,000 $30 4
1 N The Proposal BV $34,114,000 - 3,056 +2,239 $11,163 $34,114,000 $40 1
2 1 The Hangover WB $26,855,000 -18.1% 3,545 +190 $7,575 $152,919,000 $35 3
3 2 Up BV $21,336,000 -30.6% 3,832 -54 $5,568 $224,113,000 $175 4
4 N Year One Sony $20,200,000 - 3,022 - $6,684 $20,200,000 $60 1
5 3 The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Sony $11,300,000 -51.7% 3,077 +3 $3,672 $43,332,000 $100 2
6 4 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Fox $7,300,000 -24.1% 2,962 -403 $2,465 $155,953,000 $150 5
7 7 Star Trek Par. $4,700,000 -13.8% 2,307 -331 $2,037 $239,444,000 $150 7
8 5 Land of the Lost Uni. $3,976,000 -55.8% 2,945 -589 $1,350 $43,672,000 $100 3
9 6 Imagine That Par. $3,100,000 -43.7% 3,011 +3 $1,030 $11,351,000 $55 2
10 8 Terminator Salvation WB $3,070,000 -35.9% 1,920 -730 $1,599 $119,513,000 $200 5
11 9 Angels & Demons Sony $2,800,000 -31.9% 1,888 -548 $1,483 $128,139,000 $150 6
12 10 Drag Me to Hell Uni. $1,920,000 -51.2% 1,627 -646 $1,180 $39,180,000 $30 4
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Monterey Jack
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AndyDursin
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It definitely didn't perform up to expectations...keep in mind the production budget doesn't include things like marketing. Given Raimi's involvement I'm sure they were hoping it'd do a lot more than just turn a bit of a profit.Monterey Jack wrote:God, it's killing me how poorly Drag Me To Hell is doing.Yeah, it's already made it's money back, but when you think of the crap horror movies that break the bank, it's disenheartening, to say the least.
In hindsight, I think the downer ending was a liability (not to mention predictable) and probably didn't help word-of-mouth.
well, all SAW Films have Downer Endings and everyone loves and expects that on them now...
I personally loved the ending and didnt find it a downer, but just fun!
spoiler!!!!
Of course the thing with the coin was predictable, still I thought now her boyfriend gets dragged to hell or something, that she actually ends there was still surprising I though... and she deserved it even! hahahahaha
I loved how they then slapped the title card on it!
spoiler end!!!
It is however really sad how poorly it performed... given that crap like FRIDAY remake and SAW 9 will still make more money than this one... so forget that Hollywood will make another original horror film... people apparently want their remakes, reboots and sequels...
so, give them what they deserve!
cant wait for the CD... the score was amazing!
I personally loved the ending and didnt find it a downer, but just fun!
spoiler!!!!
Of course the thing with the coin was predictable, still I thought now her boyfriend gets dragged to hell or something, that she actually ends there was still surprising I though... and she deserved it even! hahahahaha
I loved how they then slapped the title card on it!
spoiler end!!!
It is however really sad how poorly it performed... given that crap like FRIDAY remake and SAW 9 will still make more money than this one... so forget that Hollywood will make another original horror film... people apparently want their remakes, reboots and sequels...
so, give them what they deserve!
cant wait for the CD... the score was amazing!
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AndyDursin
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SPOILERS
I didn't find the end fun at all. I have no issue with that she "got what she deserved," my problem was that it was sooooo predictable.
We sit there and wait for the coin the entire time, and he saves it until the VERY end so that there's nothing else. Honestly I found it incredibly lame, because the only people who would find it surprising are teenagers who haven't sat through one of these films before. Maybe that was the point here because they intended this as a PG-13 throwback kind of movie, I dunno.
Either way when the end came I was disappointed. It just felt like there should have been MORE, and there wasn't. He played it like it was some big, huge twist that would send viewers out being shocked, when I think any reasonable genre fan would know it was coming well in advance. My reaction was "that's it?"
I didn't find the end fun at all. I have no issue with that she "got what she deserved," my problem was that it was sooooo predictable.
We sit there and wait for the coin the entire time, and he saves it until the VERY end so that there's nothing else. Honestly I found it incredibly lame, because the only people who would find it surprising are teenagers who haven't sat through one of these films before. Maybe that was the point here because they intended this as a PG-13 throwback kind of movie, I dunno.
Either way when the end came I was disappointed. It just felt like there should have been MORE, and there wasn't. He played it like it was some big, huge twist that would send viewers out being shocked, when I think any reasonable genre fan would know it was coming well in advance. My reaction was "that's it?"
yeah, I was a bit surprised by that Raimi played it like this. But then on the other hand with the coin was just a side thing in one scene at the beginning, Im surprised how well that sticked with the audience...
It is probably a fine line how to drop something like this... in THE DESCENT people hardly notice all the hints the film lays during the beginning about the lead's husband having an affair with her best friend. And even at the end people wondered what the necklace was suppose to mean... seems it was too subtle, though I thought it was perfectly clear and not even meant as a twist...
well, Im really surprised how obvious this thingy was... but again, then I thought it leads to another conclusion...
It is probably a fine line how to drop something like this... in THE DESCENT people hardly notice all the hints the film lays during the beginning about the lead's husband having an affair with her best friend. And even at the end people wondered what the necklace was suppose to mean... seems it was too subtle, though I thought it was perfectly clear and not even meant as a twist...
well, Im really surprised how obvious this thingy was... but again, then I thought it leads to another conclusion...
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AndyDursin
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The second that happened, you just KNEW there was some point to that, because the story was told in such a manner there was no peripheral material there. He could've put a box around the coin and put a graphic that said PLOT POINT flashing over and over and it would only have been a bit more obvious.But then on the other hand with the coin was just a side thing in one scene at the beginning, Im surprised how well that sticked with the audience...
don't get me wrong, I liked the movie, I just wish there was some way the film could've ended perhaps not differently, but in a more effective manner than a black-out with the title of the movie on-screen. It was like "Horror Movies for Dummies" or something if you didn't know that was coming.