Box Office News

From Rotten Tomatoes

More records were smashed into bits by the unstoppable megahit The Dark Knight which remained at number one by a comfortable margin for the second straight time. Moviegoers had mixed feelings for the two new releases with the Will Ferrell comedy Step Brothers scoring a solid second place bow while the sci-fi sequel The X-Files: I Want to Believe underperformed barely reaching double-digit millions.

Audiences once again filled theaters all weekend for the superhero blockbuster The Dark Knight which grossed an estimated $75.6M dropping a reasonable 52% from its record-breaking opening weekend. With the cume soaring to an eye-popping $314.2M after only ten days, the Warner Bros. release shattered the $300M mark in record time. The old record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which banked $258.4M of loot over its first ten days and crossed the triple-century mark in 16 days.

The new Batman film also set a new record for the largest second weekend gross outdistancing the $72.2M that Shrek 2 hauled in back in May 2004. Knight has now virtually matched the $314.9M collected by Iron Man over the last three months and will become the year's highest grossing blockbuster on Monday. On the all-time list, the new Joker saga has quickly climbed up to number 23 sitting right next to 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Dark Knight's hold was impressive considering how much business it already absorbed on the first weekend. Looking at the largest opening weekends in movie history, second weekend drops were 62% for Spider-Man 3, 54% for Dead Man's Chest, and 56% for Shrek the Third. Word-of-mouth has been strong for the Christopher Nolan-directed sequel and the Imax showings continue to be a major event creating even more excitement and repeat business.

Given its sturdy hold, Knight now looks to be on a trajectory that will see it zoom past the $400M mark by the end of its third week of release. With most of the summer's tentpole titles already played out, and a full month before students go back to school, the Caped Crusader now has a realistic shot of breaking through the $500M mark domestically joining only Titanic in that exclusive stratosphere.

Overseas, The Dark Knight was a dominant force grossing an estimated $65.6M and ranking number one in 43 markets. The opening in the United Kingdom which followed last week's glitzy London premiere led the way with $22.3M, including previews, while holdover markets dropped by an average of only 38%. The early international cume rose to $126.3M putting the global tally at a stunning $440.5M with major territories like Japan, Germany, Korea, and France still to open. A worldwide haul of more than $1 billion is certainly possible for Bruce Wayne and pals.

TDK Records in order of occurrence:
figures provided by Media by Numbers

1. Largest number of opening theatres with 4,366 more than the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End in 2007.
2. Biggest midnight preview gross with $18.489 million in 3,040 theatres beating Star Wars EpisodeIII: Revenge of the Sith in 2,915 theatres in 2005 at $16.9 million.
3. Biggest IMAX midnight previews set an new record with $640,000 (this amount was appropriately included in the $18.489 million preview number).
4. Biggest single-day gross in Box-Office history with $67,165,092. Previous record held by Spiderman $59,841,919.
5. Biggest opening weekend gross in Box-Office history with $158,411,483 million. This best the $151,116,516 set by Spiderman 3 in 2007.
6. Biggest opening weekend gross for an IMAX release in box-office history with $6,214,061 million in 94 theatres ($66,107 per-theatre!) beating Spiderman 3 at $4.7 million in 2007 - IMAX showing at full capacity $1.9 million on Saturday alone.
7. Biggest single-day Sunday gross with $43,596,151, beating the $39,937,865 set by Spiderman 3 on its debut weekend.
8. Fastest sprint to $200 million domestically in just five days.

Sex and the City

Rating : 3 Stars

Cast : Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Director : Michael Patrick King

Music : Aaron Zigman

Distributor : New Line Cinemas

Warning : Movie Spoiler

Based on the successful television series of the same title, Sex and the City was a good change from this summer’s continuous release of action packed blockbusters. It’s a story of four best friends living in the Big Apple and their plight for a fairytale ending of their lives. A sensuous and paradoxical romance comedy revolving around their complicated relationships, sex lives and friendship.

Sarah Jessica Parker reprises her Emmy winning role of Carrie Bradshaw, who is now at a crossroad in her life realising that she has to finally make a decision about her relationship with Big (Chris Noth). The movie pretty much starts at the point where the couple is looking for a new apartment in which to live in. They find a beautiful penthouse and agree to move in together. This is where things start to go wrong. They agree to get married but she seems to leave him out of the picture as she darts for the wedding of her life. Feeling like he is simply playing a role of the groom, instead of solidifying the relationship, Big bails out almost unwittingly.

Samantha Jones (Cattrall) is also facing a dilemma of her own. She being used to having only to focus on her own needs realises that she may have to focus on her very supportive and understanding lover. Her flamboyant and almost nymphomaniacal nature drives her hormones and her mind up the walls.

Miranda Hobbes’s career finally drives her husband to a one-night stand. His confession shocks her into divorcing him. In her rage, she accidently says the wrong thing to Big on the eve of his wedding with Carrie.

Charlotte York on the other hand is leading the perfect life of the four and it gets better with the news of her pregnancy. She had already adopted Lily years before and had settle with the fact that she cannot have a child of her own. This puts her into a paranoid state afraid that she might lose the baby.

It took the Carrie awhile to realise that she had been so focused on her desires that she had completely neglected to ask Big for his opinion on the wedding affair. She automatically shut him out for a year without hearing his side. Samantha after a year of depression, shopping and gaining weight decides that she cannot dedicate herself to one man. It also took Miranda a year to see that “it takes two to tango” in a marriage and an affair. She learns to forgive her husband and they try to work things out. Charlotte goes on to deliver her baby.

Michael Patrick King returns in the silver screen release as director, producer and writer. King was the Co-Producer for 11 episodes of the television series in 1998 and Executive Producer of 78 episodes from 1999 thru 2004. He also wrote 30 of the 94 episodes that were released through the 6 seasons. Sex and the City seems to be his only saving grace in Hollywood.

For the most part, it seems like the movie was written entirely for the girls as everything seems to revolve around what the women wanted and that it was only right for them to get it their way. The men were all too stupefied to say anything. In fact I would go to say that the all the men in Sex and the City seem like docile, insecure pushovers. The women are always in control even when they themselves are completely lost. Their immediate solution often seems to be “If I want it, then it is right”. Fortunately the ending saved it a little as life showed them the error of their ways. But as I said earlier, the movie was written for the girls, so there was very little and almost irrelevant male perspective. Also, big names in the fashion industry almost stole the lime light. Constant name dropping and clothes line-up almost makes this a very long ad.

All in all, the movie was simply a 148 minutes long finale episode where everyone gets what they want and clearly made for the fans who want an ending. If this were a movie on its own, I would not even think to recommend it. However, as this is part of a rather successful televison series and more of a finishing, so I think it turned out rather well (male ego and all aside) but only for its sentimental values. It is a rather decent Sunday Matinee if you wanted to watch something nice and pleasant with no story depth for a change. Girls you will love this movie. Guys be prepared to feel stupid.

Box Office

The Dark Knight takes the lead in this week's box office at an opening weekend grossing of $155mil placing it just behind Kung-Fu Panda which had grossed $207mil since it opened on the 6th of June. Hancock trails behind the Panda at $192mil since release on July 2nd.
It's obvious that TDK will surpass these 2 movies by the next weekend.

In 1989, Tim Burton's Batman managed a clean $251mil in the States and $413mil worldwide. However, its opening weekend only grossed $40mil with a production budget of only $35mil. TDK's production budget was at an estimated $150mil. Currently, TDK sits at 156 position on the All Time Box Office ranking for the US. It is also obvious that TDK will outrank Batman before the month is out. The question now is how far is it going to go?

Could TDK reach Titanic's $600mil for US box office? and if so, will it also pass Titanic's worldwide grossing of $1.8bil?

It seems a possibility with TDK attracting all sorts of audience from comicbook fans to movie fans and even those who have no interest in either are raving about Nolan's genius work. The fact that this is Heath Ledger's last completed movie might even be a push factor for box office sales. Already, many have viewed the movie more than once in a 4 days period. TDK seems like it's heading to be the biggest movie event in the last decade, maybe even two. Come what may, TDK has made it good and it can only get better.

Till next week.

'Nuff Said.

Dark Knight

Cast : Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Arron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Director : Christopher Nolan

Music : James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer

Released By : Warner Bros.

The opening scene, now known as the “Bank Job” showcases the Joker’s talent in covering up his tracks and escaping the law. 5 men and a bus driver. Only one walks out. It was genius.

The movie was, in one word, awesome. Batman and Jim Gordon takes organized crime in Gotham and soon find themselves prey to a new criminal mastermind who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. At every turn, the storyline threw me into another wormhole. The plot constantly thickened. Just as you’d think it was about to end, a new plot is revealed. Moral issues were constantly questioned. Every character questioned themself while the Joker executed his plans with thorough accuracy limited only by his mind’s eye. Gotham was careened into chaos as both the good and bad were being blown to pieces. The citizens of Gotham the chess pieces while Harvey Dent, Commissioner Gordon, Bruce Wayne and Batman became unwitting players in a complex game weaved by the Joker. This is not what you’d expect from a Hollywood movie and more so for one based on a comic book character. Where most other comic book based movies have been simplified for the mass audience, Dark Knight took a gamble at complexity and depth of a storyline. It was a good gamble. Nolan and Goyer out did themselves in this one.

This is by far the best performance from Heath Ledger. It was brilliantly stunning and shocking at the same time. He portrayed the Joker as insane and conniving as he is in the books and in fact, at times so much more. Constantly calm as he mocked and agitated both the law and the underground. The Joker’s magic trick at the underground’s “therapy session” was brilliant. Ledger created what I perceive to be his trademarks of the character. His body language never expressing his thoughts, only intimidation. He slightly bows his head, a little tilted and stares intently past his brows. His darken eyes creates an intense feeling even as an audience, as if he was the devil staring into your soul. He emphasizes his words with expressive pauses and subtle movements. Ledger did retained one of Jack Nicholson’s Joker trademark; the constant lip licking just as he was about to say something profound. All in all, this was a Heath Ledger’s Joker. Calculated, insane, cruel, haunting and terrifying.

As for the Christopher Bale, he lacked no talent. His performance was as outstanding as it was in Batman Begins and Equilibrium. Unfortunately Ledger stole the limelight from him. As for the characters he portrayed, apart from Bruce’s desire to be with Rachel Dawes, Batman seems more of the focus this time around as Bruce Wayne takes a step back. The Joker’s focus on Batman throughout the movie exemplified the term “you complete me”. As it was in the comic books, both characters made and pushed at each other in their own ways. What was nice this time around was that Nolan and Goyer managed to tell a story about the human side of Batman. His desire to lead a normal life, his personal conflicts, the choices he has to make as the caped crusader, his vulnerabilities and his desire to make Gotham a good place to live in while constantly compelled to make choices as Bruce Wayne.

“And now you have not just a young man in pain attempting to find some kind of an answer, you have somebody who actually has power, who is burdened by that power, and is having to recognize the difference between attaining that power and holding on to it.”

Christian Bale on his role as Batman.

Unfortunately though Two Face did not last long in the movie, but his alter ego, Harvey Dent was a crucial component in the Joker’s plans and Aaron Eckhart did an excellent performance transforming from the District Attorney who wanted to clean up Gotham into the malevolent vengeful Two Face. What was more pleasing is that it was not a sudden flip of the coin. His “Two Face” persona was already evident from the beginning. All the Joker had to do was bring it out.

Oldman was in his usual subtle yet impressive element. He was definitely the right choice to play Jim Gordon. A man who has been trying to clean the streets of Gotham for too long on his own, while trusting the only one person he really knows nothing about, Batman. Unlike Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent who only acknowledged the presence of risks, Gordon had a clear understanding of the risks that came with his choices. He was constantly being the sensible one making tough decisions while standing firmly on his principles. Oldman as in all his past performances, always studied the characters he was to play resulting in pure artistry.

My only disappointment in the entire movie was Maggie Gyllenhaal. Her portrayal of Rachel Dawes was less than mediocre.

This city deserves a better class of criminal
and I'm gonna give it to them.

In short I can only say that at long last, Hollywood is beginning to understand Batman as how writers like Frank Miller and Alan Moore have often portrayed him to be; the complexity of being a billionaire playboy and city guardian at the same time. As I have for years been telling friends, comics are a lot more complicated than most have perceived them to be. Finally there is a movie truly worthy to be associated with comic books. Dark Knight will most definitely sit on my mantle next to the great works of Lucas, Roddenbarry, Harryhausen, Verne, Lewis, Homer and the likes.