Month: June 2018

Al Pacino Joins Quentin Tarantino’s Manson Movie

Quentin Tarantino’s star-studded “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” just landed another legendary actor: Al Pacino.

Pacino will play Marvin Shwarz — Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s agent in the Sony film — marking his first collaboration with Tarantino. Dating back to his first feature film, 1992’s “Reservoir Dogs,” Tarantino has always cast movie stars he grew up watching, from Robert Forster in “Jackie Brown” to David Carradine in the “Kill Bill” films. Pacino fits that mold of A-list actors who rose to fame in the 1970s.

Also joining the cast are Damian Lewis, who will play acting icon Steve McQueen, Luke Perry as Scotty Lancer, Emile Hirsch as hairstylist Jay Sebring, Dakota Fanning as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme — a member of the Manson family — Clifton Collins as Ernesto the Mexican Vaquero, Keith Jefferson as Land Pirate Keith, and Nicholas Hammond as legendary director Sam Wanamaker.

The movie, which Tarantino is writing, directing, and producing, also stars DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Burt Reynolds, and Timothy Olyphant. David Heyman and Shannon McIntosh are producing as well.

The pic takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), the former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double, Cliff Booth (Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they no longer recognize. But Dalton has a very famous next-door neighbor … Sharon Tate.

The film will be released worldwide on August 9, 2019. Opening on the 50th anniversary of the day that the Manson family committed the LaBianca murders and the day after Tate was killed, the film will face off against “Artemis Fowl,” Disney’s adaptation of the popular sci-fi and fantasy series.

Pacino is coming off rave reviews for his performance as Penn State coach Joe Paterno in HBO Films’ “Paterno,” and can be seen next in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.”

‘Ocean’s 8’ Will Run Off With Weekend #1 & ‘Hereditary’ Readies Record Debut for A24

One year ago, fueled by female audiences, Wonder Woman was lighting up the summer box office, en route to becoming the third largest domestic release of 2017. This weekend, the female-led ensemble cast of Ocean’s 8 looks to deliver some solid results of its own following a downer weekend last week. Also hitting theaters is A24’s much-talked about horror film Hereditary as well as Global Road’s Hotel Artemis. Meanwhile, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is getting its start internationally this weekend, two weeks ahead of its domestic bow.

Debuting in a healthy 4,145 theaters, Ocean’s 8 features a massive ensemble including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina and Mindy Kaling. The film fits within the Ocean’s film franchise, which began with the 2001 remake starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon and debuted with $38.1 million. That filmed spawned two sequels, the last of which hit theaters eleven years ago, which is just one of the reasons comping for this title has been a little difficult.

While some are pointing to the 2016 Ghostbusters remake as a comp title, or even 2008’s Sex and the City, a variety of factors make both films, along with the original Ocean’s features, a difficult comparison to this latest release. Looking at films over the past five years or so, we’ve used IMDb page view data to draw our attention to films such as Cinderella, Maleficent and Dwayne Johnson’s San Andreas, the latter of which played to an audience that was 51% female and 70% of the overall audience was over the age of 25.

Analysis of IMDb page view data over the two weeks leading up to release shows Ocean’s 8 pacing about 20% behind Cinderella and Maleficent and just 10% behind San Andreas. It’s also dramatically outperforming the Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat, and while that film played to an older audience, of which 65% were female, its R-rating makes it a tougher comp to rely on.

Overall, Warner Bros. is anticipating a debut in the mid-thirties while tracking as of last week had the film performing within the $35-40 million range. That being said, we’re having a hard time finding reason to go that low and we’re seeing signals this one could hit $50+ million. Right now we’re going out with a $45 million forecast, but won’t be surprised to see this one pop even higher.

Looking at a second place finish is Disney and Lucasfilms’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, dropping about 47% for a weekend around $14.5 million, pushing the film’s domestic gross to $175 million as it begins its third week in release.

Third place could be a tight race between Fox’s Deadpool 2, which begins its fourth weekend in release, and A24’s Hereditary, which will be the studio’s widest release yet, debuting in nearly 3,000 locations. Deadpool 2 should drop around 44% and bring in right around $13 million as it nears $280 million domestically, but will that be enough to hold off Hereditary?

After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Hereditary has earned rave reviews including a review from The Hollywood Reporter saying it is “[a]rguable the most effective domestic horror chiller since The Conjuring and The Babadook” and Time Out called it “a new generation’s Exorcist”. That’s lofty praise and A24 is looking to take advantage, debuting the film in 2,964 theaters, the studio’s widest release yet topping It Comes at Night, which opened with $5.9 million in 2017 from 2,533 locations, the studio’s second largest opening ever. A24’s largest opening ever currently belongs to another festival darling and horror feature in The Witch, which opened in just 2,046 theaters with $8.8 million. So how does Hereditary stack up?

Fandango.com reports the film is second to just Ocean’s 8 heading into the weekend in terms of ticket sales and looking at IMDb page view data for the last two weeks, Hereditary is out-pacing both It Comes at Night and The Witch at the same point in the release cycle. In fact, it’s pacing just ahead of Oculus ($12m opening) and ahead of The Boy ($10.7m opening). All told, while we wouldn’t be at all shocked to see it slide into third place, right now we’re anticipating a fourth place finish with a strong $12 million three-day.

Rounding out the top five, look for STX’s Adrift to drop right around 45% for a $7.3 million weekend as it nears $25 million domestically.

Outside the top five we have Global Road’s Hotel Artemis, which will open in 2,340 theaters with the studio anticipating a debut in the mid-to-high single digits, which meshes well with our pre-release analysis. IMDb page view comparisons to films such as Criminal and The Last Stand all suggest debuts right around $7 million while comps to films including Collide and Bullet to the Head push expectations down closer to $5 million. Heading into the weekend our anticipated range is anywhere from $4-7 million with our current forecast targeting a $5 million debut.

Elsewhere, keep an eye on The Orchard’s American Animals which topped the weekend charts this past weekend based on per theater average with a solid $33,698 from four locations. This weekend the film expands into a total of 42 theaters and by the end of the month should be in over 400 locations nationwide.

Finally, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom began playing internationally yesterday in seven of the 48 markets it will release in this weekend before its North American release on June 22. The studio is reporting a $20.2 million opening day from Korea, France, Indonesia, Germany, Philippines, Belgium and French-speaking Switzerland including a record-breaking opening day of $9.7 million in South Korea. Previews also began in select markets on Wednesday including $2.9 million in the UK.

While the studio isn’t expecting the film to reach the heights of 2015’s Jurassic World it’s worth mentioning that film debuted in 67 markets and delivered the third largest overseas opening of all-time with $316.7 million. Other markets where Fallen Kingdom will see release this weekend include Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Thailand, India, China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico just to name a few.

This weekend’s domestic forecast is directly below. This post will be updated on Friday morning with Thursday night preview results followed by Friday estimates on Saturday morning, and a complete weekend recap on Sunday morning.

Ocean’s 8 (4,145 theaters) – $45.0 M
Solo: A Star Wars Story (4,335 theaters) – $14.5 M
Deadpool 2 (3,823 theaters) – $13.0 M
Hereditary (2,964 theaters) – $12.0 M
Adrift (3,015 theaters) – $7.3 M
Avengers: Infinity War (2,882 theaters) – $6.0 M
Hotel Artemis (2,340 theaters) – $5.0 M
Book Club (2,802 theaters) – $4.6 M
Upgrade (1,458 theaters) – $2.5 M
Life of the Party (1,848 theaters) – $1.9 M

Solo box office plummets in second weekend, Action Point fizzles

The Millennium Falcon is hitting some turbulence on a slow post-Memorial Day weekend.

Disney and Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story is on track to earn about $29.3 million in ticket sales from 4,381 theaters in the U.S. and Canada during its second frame, holding on to its box office crown but dropping a steep 65 percent after an already lackluster debut.

That brings Solo’s domestic haul to an estimated $148.9 million after 10 days in theaters — which is less than the opening weekend of the previous Star Wars “anthology” movie, Rogue One ($155.1 million). Solo will add an estimated $30.3 million overseas this weekend, pushing its international total to about $115.3 million.

Marking the 10th film in the Star Wars saga and the second standalone movie, Solo explores the younger years of Han Solo and features Alden Ehrenreich in the title role. Ron Howard directed the film, which cost upward of $250 million to make, in part because he took over for original helmers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and undertook significant reshoots. Reviews have been mixed to positive, while audiences gave Solo an A-minus CinemaScore.

As the fourth Star Wars movie in less than three years and the weakest yet of the Disney era, Solo could indicate some franchise fatigue. Still, the studio has Episode IX on the calendar for Dec. 20, 2019, and is considering new movies about Boba Fett, Lando, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Taking second place this weekend is Fox’s Deadpool 2, with an estimated $23.3 million in its third frame. The superhero sequel starring Ryan Reynolds will have grossed about $254.7 million at the domestic box office through Sunday.

The highest-grossing newcomer this weekend is STX’s survival drama Adrift, with about $11.5 million, good for third place. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur and loosely based on a true story, the film stars Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin a couple who get stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean during a hurricane.

Reviews have been mixed to positive, and moviegoers gave it a so-so B CinemaScore.

Also arriving this weekend are BH Tilt’s sci-fi thriller Upgrade, in sixth place with about $4.5 million, and Paramount’s theme park comedy Action Point, in ninth place with about $2.3 million.

The latter figure represents a hard landing for the Johnny Knoxville vehicle, which reportedly cost about $19 million to make. Film critics panned Action Point, and audiences gave it a C-plus CinemaScore.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 6.2 percent year-to-date. Check out the June 1-3 figures below.

1. Solo: A Star Wars Story — $29.3 million
2. Deadpool 2 — $23.3 million
3. Adrift — $11.5 million
4. Avengers: Infinity War — $10.4 million
5. Book Club — $6.8 million
6. Upgrade — $4.5 million
7. Life of the Party — $3.5 million
8. Breaking In — $2.8 million
9. Action Point — $2.3 million
10. Overboard — $2 million

Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special to Hit Movie Theaters This Summer

Elvis Presley’s legendary television special Elvis, better known as the “’68 Comeback Special,” will be screened in movie theaters this summer to mark the 50th anniversary of its airing. The screenings will take place on Presley’s death, August 16th, and again on August 20th.

The owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Authentic Brands Group–which also owns and manages branding for Marilyn Monroe and Shaquille O’Neal, among others–is arranging the screening with Fathom Events. They have yet to announce the screening times.

“Seeing Elvis onscreen is one of the most memorable and influential brand experiences and we look forward to bringing this special and future events to audiences around the world,” ABG’s senior vice president of entertainment, Marc Rosen, said in a statement.

“ABG is recognized as a global leader in the brand space and the company’s commitment to creating immersive brand experiences aligns perfectly with Fathom’s dedication to providing our audiences with exclusive, interactive and memorable cinema events,” Fathom Events CEO Ray Nutt said. “We look forward to working together on many exciting projects for cinema audiences worldwide, beginning with this rare concert experience for Elvis fans.”

Presley’s comeback special came at a time when the King had been appearing in movies rather than recording music or performing live. It opened with footage of him dressed in a slick, black leather jumpsuit–curling his lip the way his fans remembered–and included a loose, “sit-down” set where he played his early hits with members from his backing band in the Fifties.

“Elvis was hardly ever nervous–but he was then,” drummer D.J. Fontana told Rolling Stone in a feature about the special last year. “We played a couple of songs, and it got loose after a while, and it turned out fine. He just had been out of the public eye for a long time.”