Networks go deep for Bonds' historic homer
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - When San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's career home-run record, ESPN and Fox Sports aim to bring the occasion to viewers live nationwide.
ESPN and Fox Sports said Thursday that they are negotiating with Major League Baseball for the rights to bring Bonds' at-bats -- and perhaps a game -- to a nationwide audience.
For Fox Sports, that could mean carrying an extra game beyond its Saturday afternoon exclusive package, as it did in September 1998, when it broadcast Mark McGwire's 62nd home run of the season to pass Roger Maris' long-standing record. For ESPN, it would mean carrying live Bonds' at-bats each game as he nears the record.
"Do we have an interest? Absolutely," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said Thursday.
Fox Sports has exclusive rights to the Giants' July 14 game against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. "It would be an appropriate game to set a record," Goren said.
Bonds hit his 751st career home run Tuesday (July 3) against the Cincinnati Reds, putting him four shy of Aaron's record.
ESPN already has the rights to break in to programming and cover historic events like this one if they happen during its regularly scheduled baseball programming -- the Sunday, Monday and Wednesday game windows or ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," which airs several times during the day. The only caveat would be that it couldn't break in and televise something that is exclusively on Fox or the other national TV partner, Turner. TBS will carry three Giants games with the Atlanta Braves July 24-26, but the network said it isn't in negotiations to carry any more.
But ESPN is, senior vp programming strategy Len DeLuca said.
"We are working with MLB, working out the details to be able to cover (Bonds' at-bats) from a certain point," DeLuca said. ESPN carried McGwire's 61st home run of the 1998 season on a Labor Day telecast that ranks as ESPN's highest-rated non-NFL telecast.
Box-office heavy hitters poised for strong weekend
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Transformers" triggered box-office fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday, "Ratatouille" successfully competed against family barbecues, and "Live Free or Die Hard" continued to wave its flag.
With no new wide releases scheduled to open on Friday, the weekend dynamics already are in gear, with the three dominant holiday players on track to extend their winning streaks.
On the Fourth, "Transformers," a DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures co-production, solidified its standing with an estimated $29.1 million gross for the day in 4,011 theaters.
The PG-13 demolition derby, directed by Michael Bay, roared out of the gate Monday with 8 p.m. screenings and grossed $8.8 million. On Tuesday, it pulled in $27.9 million and jumped another 4.3 percent on Wednesday. The domestic cume for "Transformers" now stands at an estimated $65.7 million.
Paramount, which is releasing the film, trumpeted the fact that "Transformers" racked up the biggest July 4 single-day gross in box-office history, beating the $21.95 million that "Spider-Man 2" claimed in 2004.
"Typically, when the Fourth falls on a Wednesday, business goes down," DreamWorks spokesman Marvin Levy said. "So the fact that it went up is a tremendous surprise to all of us. Certainly, it was a record-breaking Fourth of July."
COOKING UP BUSINESS
Buena Vista Pictures' release of Pixar Animation Studios' "Ratatouille," the G-rated toon directed by Brad Bird and set in a Parisian kitchen, built momentum of its own during the holiday.
The movie bowed the weekend of June 29 in first place with $47 million -- a low number for a Pixar title (last summer's "Cars" arrived to $60.1 million, and Bird's previous film, "The Incredibles," debuted at $70.5 million) -- but "Ratatouille" now appears to be picking up ground.
On Monday, it grossed $7.5 million, the best Monday performance ever for a Pixar movie, outdistancing the $6.95 million that "Finding Nemo" took in on its best Monday. On Tuesday, the food-intoxicated film collected $7.85 million, beating "Nemo's" best Tuesday number of $7.18 million. "Ratatouille" also registered a jump Wednesday and pulled in $10.2 million for the day, the best Wednesday performance for a Pixar movie, supplanting "Toy Story 2's" $9.5 million. As of Wednesday, the critically applauded film had collected an estimated $72.6 million.
After six days, "Ratatouille" was just a shade below the six-day, $73.3 million gross of "Monsters, Inc." and was chasing the six-day, $78 million gross of "Cars."
"When you go in the summer, the proportion of business that comes from weekend business changes," Buena Vista president of distribution Chuck Viane said. "In the fall, 70 percent of the total week's business comes out of the weekend, but in the summer, the weekend accounts for 55 percent to 60 percent of the week's business, with the rest moving to weekdays."
20th Century Fox's "Die Hard" also contributed to the holiday's explosion. The PG-13 actioner -- which opened June 27 -- rolled along, taking in an estimated $4.5 million Tuesday and an estimated $6.1 million Wednesday, bringing its estimated cume to more than $63 million.
NO ALTAR FOR 'WED'
Warner Bros. Pictures' romantic comedy "License to Wed" is heading into the weekend as an also-ran. The PG comedy directed by Ken Kwapis, in which Robin Williams plays a reverend who offers offbeat marital counseling to Mandy Moore and John Krasinski, was positioned as counterprogramming to attract female audiences. But it ran headlong into a slew of withering reviews and has grossed an estimated $5.2 million in 2,401 theaters since opening Tuesday.
For the upcoming three-day portion of what for many Americans is an extended holiday weekend, "Transformers"' haul should total about $60 million. While Paramount continues to downplay expectations -- which has the effect of making the resulting numbers even more impressive -- the movie is on track to coast beyond the $100 million mark and could even surmount the $125 million barrier.
While openings during the Fourth of July week make for inexact comparisons because the holiday falls on different weekdays, "Transformers"' 6 1/2-day gross is guaranteed to beat the $96.1 million that "Independence Day" earned in more than 5 1/2 days in 1996 and the $100.5 million that "War of the Worlds" took in over five days in 2005.
By the end of its first 10 days, "Ratatouille" should cross the $100 million mark with the help of a weekend in the $30 million range. "Die Hard" also should see a three-day gross in the high-teen-million range, which would see its cume rise to the low- to mid-$80 million range.
On the more limited front, Lionsgate Films' release of the Weinstein Co.'s "Sicko," from Michael Moore, added theaters Tuesday to increase its count to 626 locations and will up that to 703 on Friday. Its cumulative gross stands at an estimated $7.2 million.
MGM opened Werner Herzog's war drama "Rescue Dawn" on Wednesday in five theaters in Los Angeles and New York, grossing $37,878 for the day. It will add one theater Friday in Canada.
Warner Independent Pictures introduced the comedy "Introducing the Dwights," directed by Cherie Nowlan and starring Brenda Blethyn, in four theaters on Wednesday to the tune of $11,596.
Fox Searchlight will open the sinister family drama "Joshua," directed by George Ratliff, in six theaters on Friday.
'Sex and the City' movie in the works
NEW YORK - Are Carrie and Mr. Big still together? Did Charlotte adopt a baby from China? How is Miranda liking motherhood? Is Samantha still, uh, keeping things interesting?
Those questions, no doubt occupying the thoughts of many "Sex and the City" fans since the long-running HBO series ended in 2004, may finally be answered — in a much-talked-of but still unrealized feature film spun from the show.
New Line Cinema is close to inking a deal to finance and distribute the film in association with HBO, John Smith, a representative at New Line, confirmed Thursday. Daily Variety reported the news Wednesday. Smith said its report was accurate and did not provide further details.
The four principal actresses — Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon — will reprise their roles. Michael Patrick King, who executive-produced the series, is slated to direct.
The making of a "Sex and the City" movie has been bandied about since the show left the air. There have been reports that the delay was due in some part to Cattrall, who played the sex-obsessed Samantha Jones, asking for a higher salary and creative input.