Latest in Summer Movies

Hollywood rode a powerhouse summer lineup to post double-digit gains in box office and attendance, setting itself up to hit a new full-year record haul in 2018 as long as the holiday season delivers. According to figures just out from the National Association of Theatre Owners, summer box office totaled $4.398…

Time to hit that “holiday road” again with the Griswolds as Warner Bros and New Line Cinema have rebooted the highly successful ’80s comedy franchise Vacation, and as I say in my video review (click the link above) that is a very good thing. The new Vacation is decidedly NOT your father’s version which starred Chevy Ch…

I thought it would be hard to top Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, but this franchise just keeps getting better. The latest edition, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is not just the best movie of the summer, it is the best summer movie of the summer, with its smart script and direction from Christopher McQuarrie…

Anyone who predicts sleeper hits ahead of the summer is either very brave or very spun. But these are the pics expected to emerge through the cracks of tentpole action: All benefit from obvious counterprogramming, festival hype, and demo-targeted storytelling. In chronological order: — IFC's Frances Ha has high…

OK, I’ll say it: If the Oscars were held today (nearly two-thirds of the way through 2011) Woody Allen could have another Best Picture winner. Of course the 84th Academy Awards aren’t being held yet and we are still four and a half months away from the end of eligibility. But as I embark on the fall season beginning…

SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM, 7TH UPDATE: Arrrr, mateys, now I know why these marauders of the seas are always cranky. Because in North America this weekend, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened with only $35 million Friday and $32 million Saturday from 4,155 theaters because of weak demand for sequels and 3D…

MONDAY 2ND UPDATE: Here are the actuals for this weekend. Sony/Screen Gems’ Takers won despite a 668 locations advantage in The Last Exorcism‘s favor. I hear Joe Drake at Lionsgate phoned Jeff Blake this morning to congratulate him. #1 Takers (Screen Gems/Sony) -32% Sunday for $20.5M #2 The Last Exorcism (Lionsgate)…

SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM UPDATE: There is now a clear consensus over which motion picture was No. 1 at the box office this weekend. Sly Stallone’s action holdover The Expendables for Lionsgate is the easy winner after a nailbiter Friday. It was followed closely by a newcomer, another of those cheap Fox spoofs, Vampires Su…

SUNDAY AM: As July ended, three opening studio movies — Dinner For Schmucks, Charlie St Cloud (which collapsed 32% from Friday to Saturday because Zac Efron’s High School Musical fans frontloaded the grosses), Cats & Dogs 3D: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore — made for a crowded summer box office what with holdovers Salt, I…

SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM UPDATE: Friday, Saturday, and weekend numbers for North America’s Top 5 movie grosses: 1. What an impressive start for the Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures mind-bending scifi thriller from 3,792 theaters, with Friday’s $21.6 million (including $3M midnight shows in 1,600 locations) and Saturday’s…

SUNDAY AM: It was a great weekend at the box office with the total tally $202M, up an impressive +41.4% from last year. And that doesn’t factor in next week which features the most anticipated movie of the summer, Chris Nolan’s Inception. Year to date, 2010 revenues are running $5.9M, that up 5.06% over last year. But…

The TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE stars will be visiting theaters across the U.S. to introduce the latest film in the franchise now shattering box office records. Beginning Friday July 2nd and extending through the holiday weekend, approximately 20 cast members will be popping up in theaters all over the country “to show…