Day: June 30, 2011

Top movie flops of 2011 (so far)

LOS ANGELES – It’s been a rough six months for Hollywood, which turned out a string of disappointments at the domestic box office.

Some hurt more than others, depending upon their production budgets and marketing spends. The following list doesn’t account for how much was spent on marketing, since studios hold those figures closed to their chests, but we’re talking many, many millions.

MARS NEEDS MOMS

Robert Zemeckis’ motion-capture pic was one of the most expensive bombs in Hollywood history, costing at least $150 million to produce and grossing $21.4 million at the domestic box office. Overseas, it didn’t do much better, grossing $17.6 million for a total $39 million.

YOUR HIGHNESS

The raunchy comedy, set in medieval times, didn’t go over well with audiences, even if it starred newly anointed Oscar winner Natalie Portman (along with James Franco and Danny McBride). Costing $50 million to produce, the film earned $21.6 million domestically and a paltry $3 million overseas.

ARTHUR

The remake of the classic Dudley Moore comedy failed to rustle up many laughs, topping out at $33 million domestically. Starring Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner, “Arthur” did even less overseas, earning $12.7 million for a global total of $45.7 million. The production budget was reportedly $40 million.

PROM

“Prom,” earning a mere $10.1 million at the domestic box office, was the first movie greenlit by newly installed Disney chairman Rich Ross to hit theaters. It’s the lowest grossing studio film of the year so far, but luckily for Ross, “Prom” cost only $8 million to produce.

JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER

The producers of “Precious” were hoping to launch a new film franchise based on the popular kids book series. But the $20 million film, distributed by Relativity Media in the U.S., has grossed just $13.4 million to date.

GREEN LANTERN

Costing at least $200 million to produce, “Green Lantern” needed to do a big number worldwide to be financially solid (think $500 million plus). Now, it seems the Ryan Reynolds superhero pic will top out at roughly $250 million or $260 million worldwide. It didn’t help that the movie was bashed by critics.

PRIEST

The supernatural action film, based on the Korean graphic novel, was the most expensive movie ever made by Screen Gems, costing $60 million to produce. It earned $29.1 million domestically, but made up some ground overseas, where it earned $46 million.

SUCKER PUNCH

Zack Snyder’s female action-fantasy couldn’t find its groove, grossing $36.4 million domestically and $53.4 million overseas for a worldwide total of $89.8 million. The movie, which cost roughly $82 million to produce, came in No. 2 on its opening weekend behind “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.”

HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL

The first “Hoodwinked!” was a sleeper hit at the worldwide box office, grossing $51.4 million domestically and $58.6 million internationally. The sequel, however, came and went quickly, earning only $10 million in North America and $3.6 million overseas. Its production budget was a reported $30 million.

THE BEAVER

There was heat around actor/director Jodie Foster’s high-profile movie for months, but it quickly disappeared at the domestic box office, grossing less than $1 million. Many saw it as a referendum on Mel Gibson, who stars in the $20 million film.

Theron: ‘I won’t get married’

Charlize Theron is convinced she will never walk down the aisle, despite campaigning for same-sex couples to have the right to marry.

The South African star, who lives in the U.S., has long claimed she will not wed until marriages between gay partners is made legal in all American states.

But when quizzed during a candid chat with CNN’s Piers Morgan over whether she wants to get married, the Oscar-winning beauty insisted she has no urge to become a bride.

And the star – whose mother shot and killed her father in self-defence when he attacked her – is adamant her parents’ bad marriage is not the reason she is so against the tradition.

She says, “It’s (marriage) a divine right and when (the) government starts to tell us who can love and what is good love, whether government or a government built on a certain religion, I do have a problem with that… I do have a problem with the fact that our government hasn’t stepped up enough to make this federal, to make this legal.

“I’ll be the first to say, here on your show, marriage – before I felt this way about this issue – was never something that was important to me. I don’t know the exact reason for that, some would say it’s because I came from a very troubled marriage, my parents didn’t have a good marriage. But I don’t think it’s that, I know a lot of friends who come from divorced parents or bad marriages who don’t feel that way. I really want for myself a long-term relationship and I have been in long-term relationships… That’s the kind of union that I want. The actual ceremony is not something that is important to me – but I see the importance for other people.

“I don’t (see myself getting married). When you’re in a partnership with someone, you have to respect the way that person feels… I treat my relationships as marriage, I really do.”

The actress split from Stuart Townsend last year after almost a decade together.