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David Poland

By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

Posted Friday, December 28th, 2007 - 14 Comments »

Box Office Hell – Pre-New Years

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14 Comments »

14 Responses to “Box Office Hell – Pre-New Years”

  1. RoyBatty says:
    December 28, 2007 at 2:00 pm

    (please move when item is listed separately)
    Wonder what will happen now that both Letterman has signed his side agreement and Bear, Sterns saying it should be settled in favor of the writers.
    I skimmed the post David made on failure of WALK HARD to get an audience and don’t remember him mentioning if he thought the strike might have had the biggest impact on those numbers. Apatow comedies are wholly dependent on the very audience that turns into late night shows, esp Daily Show. With no appearances by the actors, it really lowered the film’s profile.

  2. Alan Cerny says:
    December 28, 2007 at 2:37 pm

    Don’t be surprised if JUNO winds up in the top 5. The showing I went to was sold out and word-of-mouth seems to be overwhelmingly positive.

  3. IOIOIOI says:
    December 28, 2007 at 3:34 pm

    Will Juno even have enough screens to open in the top five?
    That aside; Walk Hard will not fail in the long run. It will gross it’s 50 million or so from DVD and other ancillaries. It only failed in the theatre because it came out on the wrong damn day of the year. Move it to November or October, and it does not fail. Location. Location. Location.

  4. LexG says:
    December 28, 2007 at 3:55 pm

    Did Woody Allen’s CASSANDRA’S DREAM get officially pulled from year-end consideration?
    I seem to remember it having a 12/28 limited release date, but LA Times’s site doesn’t have a review up today, and I can’t find it playing in any theaters; IMDB now lists a 1-18 release date.
    Much as I was looking forward to a new Allen flick, I’m a little relieved, as it’s one less movie I have to run out and see in the next few days.

  5. scooterzz says:
    December 28, 2007 at 4:29 pm

    lex– i got a press release from twc on 12/13 saying that the release date had moved to 1/18… since there was no mention of a ‘limited’ december run, i assumed they dropped it….

  6. LexG says:
    December 28, 2007 at 4:55 pm

    Thx for the info, scooterz.
    A straight, singular January release date doesn’t bode well, but you never know.
    Hell, I liked even the Biggs/Ricci one, so what do I know?

  7. movieman says:
    December 28, 2007 at 6:37 pm

    I think Weinstein decided to put all of their eggs in Denzel and Oprah’s basket (with a little love left over for Blanchett in “I’m Not There”).
    I saw “CD” at Toronto and enjoyed it very much. It’s not “great” Woody, but it’s definitely in the top-tier (more “Match Point”/”Crimes and Misdemeanors” than “Scoop”/”Hollywood Ending”). And historically, many of Woody’s most beloved films have been released very early in the year (“Hannah and Her Sisters,” for example, opened on February 7, 1986).
    I’m not saying that “CD” is necessarily Oscar-worthy, but I wouldn’t get too worked up about the date change. There were (as usual) too many damn movies scheduled to open between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day anyway. Separating it from the year-end clutter might actually prove to be a smart move in the long run.
    Also, compared to the usual January flotsam (“Mad Money,” “First Sunday,” etc.), I’m guessing that “CD” is going to look pretty damn good to my fellow inkstained wretches, lol.

  8. KamikazeCamelV2.0 says:
    December 29, 2007 at 5:55 am

    That’s the same argument people used to say Zodiac could still make it with Oscar, by comparing it to Silence of the Lambs, which was released in February. But the times are different.
    In fact, does anyone know what the earliest release to get a nomination was since, oh say, 2000? We’ll eliminate City of God because that was a big ol’ miracle.
    “Will Juno even have enough screens to open in the top five?”
    Borat.

  9. movieman says:
    December 29, 2007 at 8:28 am

    I didn’t say that Weinstein’s decision to move “Cassandra’s Dream” to January was a preliminary Oscar salvo for ’08. It’s not “Hannah and Her Sisters,” and probably won’t be remembered by this time next year anyway. I’m sure that Harvey & Co. are smart enough to realize that.
    What I did say was that “CD” is a damn good movie and should stand out (to my fellow critics if not audiences) like a truffle in a sea of Hamburger Helper next month when “Meet the Spartans,” “Rambo” and “First Sunday” are its screening room compatriots.

  10. movieman says:
    December 29, 2007 at 8:35 am

    “Juno” seems like a lock to become Fox Searchlight’s biggest hit to date (remember: “Borat” was released by Fox proper, not F-S).
    $100-million isn’t out of the question.
    Not really sure whether a less competitive/congested release date would have made all that much difference re: “Walk Hard.”
    It always seemed more like a “cult” than mainstream (i.e., “Superbad”) success anyway. DVD immortality is practically guaranteed, however.

  11. movieman says:
    December 29, 2007 at 8:36 am

    …and deserved. It’s a smart (maybe too smart for its own good) and seriously funny movie.

  12. Chucky in Jersey says:
    December 29, 2007 at 10:12 am

    “Juno” isn’t selling out in the great Garden State. “I Am Legend” and the Chipmunk movie are. Even “The Golden Compass” had a half-full hall for the early evening show I was at last night.
    As for overall takings “Juno” still has to surpass “The Full Monty”, which was from Fox Searchlight in US/Canada.

  13. KamikazeCamelV2.0 says:
    December 29, 2007 at 11:00 pm

    Movieman, you asked if it were possible for a movie to make the top 5 on the amount of screens that Juno has. I said Borat. The fact that Juno is Fox Searchlight wasn’t part of it.

  14. movieman says:
    December 30, 2007 at 4:06 am

    it wasn’t me who asked whether it was possible for “Juno” to crack the top 5 on less than a thousand screens….actually i agreed with you that it could, and only pointed out that they were released by 2 separate Fox marketing divisions.
    (“Borat” definitely looked more like FS than F proper, though)
    but a hit is a hit, etc., and i couldn’t be more pleased that “Juno” is doing so well

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