This week on Blu-ray, Wes Anderson’s latest comes to home video, the highest grossing film of all time gets a non-exclusive 3D release, and the Christmas season officially begins with a holiday favorite Blu-ray upgrade. Here’s a brief look at this week’s offerings:
Hit the jump for all the details.
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We all knew that Men in Black 3 would wind up overtaking The Avengers after three weeks of record-breaking dominance. What we didn’t know was that that would wind up as MIB3’s sole accomplishment this weekend. With a huge release in 4,248 locations, and on one of the biggest movie-going weekends of the year, MIB3 is not exactly setting the box office on fire with its three-day estimate of $55 million.
|
Title |
Weekend |
Total |
| 1 |
Men in Black 3 |
$55,000,000 |
$55 |
| 2 |
The Avengers |
$36,987,000 |
$513.6 |
| 3 |
Battleship |
$10,754,000 |
$44.2 |
| 4 |
The Dictator |
$9,600,000 |
$41.4 |
| 5 |
Dark Shadows |
$8,000,000 |
$62.9 |
| 6 |
Chernobyl Diaries |
$7,515,000 |
$7.5 |
| 7 |
What to Expect When You’re Expecting |
$7,150,000 |
$22.1 |
| 8 |
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel |
$6,350,000 |
$16.5 |
| 9 |
The Hunger Games |
$2,200,000 |
$395.2 |
| 10 |
Think Like A Man |
$1,400,000 |
$88.2 |
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Chernobyl Diaries marks the directorial debut of visual effects maven Brad Parker. The film eschews its found-footage conceit early yet still maintains that sub-genre’s documentary/cinema verite aesthetic. Chernobyl Diaries is a less-is-more type flick, with a majority of the “creatures” completely enshrouded in darkness and most of the character deaths happening just off frame. In the following interview, director Brad Parker discusses settling on a “looser” camera, the surprising films he emulated for Chernobyl’s ‘look’ (hint: think Woody Allen) and the budgetary & creative principles behind his less-is-more aesthetic. I also try and find out about his Bad Robot project, but he’s been trained well. For the full interview, hit the jump.
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Four weeks ago, the summer movie season started off with a super-powered bang in the form of Marvel’s The Avengers. Since then? It’s been difficult to prove that any other film was in theatres. That changed on Friday when Sony’s Men in Black 3 became the first post-Avengers release to take first place. From its very wide release in 4,248 locations (including 3D & IMAX), MIB3 took in an estimated $18 million. Despite becoming the first new number one title in 21 days, however, MIB3 is not looking like an automatic blockbuster. After a less-than enthusiastic midnight debut, projections for the film went from $90 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame down to a more modest $74 million. That’s about what the much-maligned Men in Black II made in its first four days (not adjusted for inflation) back in 2002. On a more positive note, Sony is expecting big numbers from MIB3’s international markets. As for The Avengers, Disney projects another $45 million for its superheroes through Memorial Day. Finally, Chernobyl Diaries – the latest from producer Oren Peli – earned an estimated $3.5 million on Friday from 2,433 locations towards what should be a $12 million four-day total. Ouch.
|
Title |
Friday |
Total |
| 1 |
Men in Black 3 |
$18,000,000 |
$18 |
| 2 |
The Avengers |
$9,700,000 |
$486.4 |
| 3 |
Chernobyl Diaries |
$3,500,000 |
$3.5 |
| 4 |
Battleship |
$3,000,000 |
$36.5 |
| 5 |
The Dictator |
$2,600,000 |
$34.4 |
We’ve got a bunch of new posters for you on this fine Friday morning. After the jump, you can find international posters for Rock of Ages, Men in Black 3, Iron Sky, Chernobyl Diaries, Ted, and domestic posters for Ted and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.
Hit the jump to check out the posters and for each film’s release date and synopsis.
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For some odd reason, I had assumed Chernobyl Diaries to be another entry into the ever-growing found footage horror sub-genre, perhaps due to Oren “Paranormal Activity” Peli’s moniker or to the trailer’s Cinema verite feel. But imagine my chagrin when about five minutes into Chernobyl Diaries, the film hastily eschews its found footage conceit instead opting for a third person narrative. I mean it’s still the same old, same old: a bunch of stupid American tourists go to a place they shouldn’t and then get offed one by one – but, hey, at least they’re smart enough to turn their fucking iPhone cameras off as their friends get dismembered.
More so: Is this discarding of the found-footage format indicative of something larger? Could it be a sign that Oren Peli – responsible for reigniting the craze in the first place – grows tired of all that camera shaking, fourth walling breaking shtick? This was the question on my mind when I sat down with Peli to discuss Chernobyl Diaries, which he co-wrote and produced. In the following interview, Peli discusses moving away from found-footage, whether or not he feels pigeonholed by the genre, and balancing the creative and business sides of his position as writer/producer. For the full interview, hit the jump.
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A few new photos have popped up online for director Bradley Parker’s Chernobyl Diaries and Sarah Polley’s indie drama, Take This Waltz starring Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams. First up from writer/producer Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) comes Chernobyl Diaries, the supernatural horror tale set on the site of the famous nuclear meltdown of 1986. Six tourists hire a travel guide to take them on an “extreme” sight-seeing tour of the abandoned area and find they are not alone and the inhabitants are none too friendly, which this trailer clearly shows. Chernobyl Diaries opens May 25th.
Take This Waltz features Rogen and Williams as a young married couple whose relationship is threatened when a handsome artist (Luke Kirby) enters the equation. Polley’s directorial debut, Away From Her, earned her an Oscar nod for best writing and adapted screenplay. The buzz around the indie has been quite positive; you can watch a sampling of it in this trailer. Hit the jump to see the new photos.
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Thanks to Steve and his trusty camera, you got an early look at the House at the End of the Street poster, plus dozens more posters, banners, and standees at CinemaCon. The official House at the End of the Street was released online shortly after along with a couple more one-sheets:
- House at the End of the Street – Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence and Elizabeth Shue star in the haunted house flick.
- Chernobyl Diaries – Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli presents the supernatural horror film set in the deserted site of the nuclear accident
- Jack & Diane – Riley Keough and Juno Temple star as the titular characters in the tale of a coming-of-age romance between two teenage girls in New York. Also, there’s a werewolf transformation in there.
Hit the jump for the posters and more on each project.
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The first trailer for the latest horror-thriller from Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli has gone online. Chernobyl Diaries follows a group of friends vacationing in Eastern Europe who find themselves stranded in a ghost town near the nuclear reactor incident site of Chernobyl. As expected, they begin to realize they’re not entirely alone. I actually think Chernobyl is an intriguing location for a horror pic, and though I’m not normally a fan of Peli’s stuff, the historical aspect of Chernobyl on display in the trailer is appealing. It’s hard to tell if the jump scares work or not from a computer screen, but I’m sure audiences will have a better idea of the film’s “scare factor” when they see the trailer in theaters. I still can’t figure out whether this is a found footage movie or not; either it is, or it’s filmed in a very handheld style. Peli was originally set to direct Chernobyl Diaries but he handed duties off to Brad Parker while assuming a producer role.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film stars Jonathan Sadowski, Jesse McCartney, Devin Kelley, Nathan Phillips, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Dimitry Diatchenko, and Olivia Taylor Dudley. Chernobyl Diaries opens May 25th.
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For those of you who are unfamiliar with Oren Peli, his three Paranormal Activity films have grossed over half-a-billion dollars and is the creator of ABC’s The River, a horror-thriller set deep in the Amazon rain forest. Back in November, we had word that Peli was developing a new horror feature that was filming in Eastern Europe. Now titled Chernobyl Diaries, the film was recently acquired by Alcon Entertainment. The synopsis is as follows:
An original story by Peli, Chernobyl Diaries is set in the city of Prypiat that once housed the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the horror-thriller follows a group of friends who, while vacationing in Europe, find themselves stranded in the abandoned city only to discover that they are not alone.
Chernobyl Diaries is expected to release this Memorial Day Weekend. Hit the jump for the full press release.
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