John Carter

Jon Favreau and Willem Dafoe Discuss the Legacy of JOHN CARTER in New Blu-ray Featurette Clip

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 25th, 2012 at 8:34 am

John Carter is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on June 5, and I hope it finds a second life in home release.  I don’t know what it would take to justify a sequel, but for the sake of ambitious, lush science fiction like this, it would be unfortunate if the lasting legacy was that of a flop.  The expansive universe, as designed by Edgar Rice Borroughs, is really built for serialization.  We have seen this potential realized on screen in the many properties that were inspired by John Carter of Mars.  Jon Favreau points to Star Wars and Superman as two indelible franchises that benefit from the Mars mythos in the featurette, “Influence of John Carter,” which will appear on the Blu-ray.  We were provided a one-minute clip from the featurette, with supporting remarks by Willem Dafoe (the voice of Tars Tarkas in the movie), and we’d like to share it with you after the jump.

Weekend Box Office – THE AVENGERS Claims Third Week On Top; $25.3 Million Debut Sinks BATTLESHIP

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: May 20th, 2012 at 8:59 am

For the third week in a row, The Avengers dominated the box office. Marvel’s superheroes added another $55 million to their domestic total – putting the film over $450 million in a record-breaking seventeen days. Meanwhile, the three new releases that lined up to challenge The Avengers all struggled in the blockbuster’s wake.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Avengers	$55,050,000	$457
2	Battleship	$25,350,000	$25.3
3	The Dictator	$17,415,000	$24.4
4	Dark Shadows	$12,770,000	$50.9
5	What to Expect When You’re Expecting	$10,500,000	$10.5
6	Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	$3,250,000	$8.2
7	The Hunger Games	$3,000,000	$391.6
8	Think Like A Man	$2,700,000	$85.8
9	The Lucky One	$1,765,000	$56.9
10	Pirates! Band of Misfits	$1,450,000	$25.3

Friday Box Office – THE AVENGERS Continue to Soar as BATTLESHIP Founders

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: May 19th, 2012 at 9:10 am

For the first time this month audiences had more than one new release to tempt them into theatres. Trouble is, no one seemed particularly tempted by the three titles that lined up to take down The Avengers. With an estimated $15.3 million on Friday, the Marvel superheroes are now assured their third weekend title with a projected $55 million. That won’t be a record, but who cares? At $1.048 billion worldwide, the film is already Disney’s highest-grossing release of all time. In second place, Universal’s Battleship took in an estimated $9 million from its 3,690 locations for a projected $26 million first weekend. Not only is that well below expectations for the pricey live-action boardgame, it’s also less than John Carter earned for its debut back in March. Draw your own conclusions. After opening to $4.1 million on Wednesday, Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator took in an estimated $5.7 million on Friday towards what should be a $16 million first weekend. Finally, What to Expect When You’re Expecting saw an estimated $3.9 million from 3,021 locations on Friday. Not exactly what Lionsgate was, um, expecting from their ensemble comedy.  Full details tomorrow.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	The Avengers	$15,300,000	$417.3
2	Battleship	$9,000,000	$9
3	The Dictator	$5,700,000	$12.7
4	What to Expect When You’re Expecting	$3,900,000	$3.9
5	Dark Shadows	$3,800,000	$41.9

Weekend Box Office – THE HUNGER GAMES Remains Victorious While Nostalgia-Fueled AMERICAN REUNION and TITANIC 3D Follow

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 8th, 2012 at 9:31 am

May the box office be ever in your favor! The Hunger Games outlasted competition from newcomers American Reunion and not-so-new Titanic 3D to top the box office for the third weekend in a row.  Hunger Games pulled in an estimated $33.5 million, a drop of about 43% from last week’s numbers, but still managed to cross a $400 million worldwide mark.   Second-week showings of Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror rounded out the top five respectively. Hit the jump for the analysis, including a big mover who almost cracked the top ten.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Hunger Games	$33,500,000	$302M
2	American Reunion	$21,500,000	$21.5M
3	Titanic (3D)	$17,350,000	$25.7M
4	Wrath of the Titans	$15,010,000	$58.9M
5	Mirror Mirror	$11,000,000	$36.4M
6	21 Jump Street	$10,200,000	$110M
7	Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax	$5,000,000	$198M
8	Salmon Fishing in the Yemen	$975,000	$4.64M
9	John Carter	$820,000	$67.9M
10	Safe House	$581,000	$125M

Weekend Box Office – THE HUNGER GAMES Stays Ahead of WRATH OF THE TITANS and MIRROR, MIRROR

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 1st, 2012 at 8:59 am

Surprising no one, The Hunger Games stayed in first place for a second week in a row with an estimated $61.1 million, or a decline of 60%.  Meanwhile this weekend’s new releases – Wrath of the Titans and Mirror, Mirror – had to settle for second and third, respectively. And, again, we’re back to being really, really not surprised.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Hunger Games	$61,100,000	$251
2	Wrath of the Titans	$34,200,000	$34.2
3	Mirror, Mirror	$19,000,000	$19
4	21 Jump Street	$15,000,000	$93
5	The Lorax	$9,010,000	$189.5
6	John Carter	$2,005,000	$66.2
7	Salmon Fishing in the Yemen	$1,274,000	$3.1
8	Act of Valor	$1,006,000	$67.7
9	A Thousand Words	$915,000	$16.5
10	Journey 2	$835,000	$98.4

Weekend Box Office – THE HUNGER GAMES Hits $155 Million for Third Highest Opening of All Time!

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: March 25th, 2012 at 8:40 am

The worst-kept secret in show biz is out: The Hunger Games is a hit of record-breaking proportions.  From its 10,000 prints at 4,137 locations, the film earned an estimated $155 million this weekend, blowing away the previous March record of $116.1 million.  The figure also stands as the third-highest opening of all-time and the single highest debut for a non-sequel. Score one for breathless, wall-to-wall media saturation!

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Hunger Games	$155, 000,000	$155
2	21 Jump Street	$21,300,000	$71
3	The Lorax	$13,100,000	$177.3
4	John Carter	$5,010,000	$62.3
5	Act of Valor	$2,062,000	$65.9
6	Project X	$1,950,000	$51.7
7	A Thousand Words	$1,900,000	$15.4
8	October Baby	$1,718,000	$1.9
9	Safe House	$1,390,000	$122.5
10	Journey 2	$1,370,000	$97.1

Weekend Box Office – 21 JUMP STREET Nabs $35 Million Opening

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: March 18th, 2012 at 9:48 am

After the high drama of last weekend’s John Carter opening, this morning’s box office is a bit anti-climactic: a comedy that was expected to take first place took first place.  From 3,121 locations 21 Jump Street earned an estimated $35 million.  But, as the only wide release of the frame, Jump Street could not keep 2012 in the black by itself.  For the first time this year the overall box office came in slightly below 2011 levels. But hey, it was nice while it lasted.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	21 Jump Street	$35,000,000	$35
2	The Lorax	$22,820,000	$158.4
3	John Carter	$13,515,000	$53.1
4	Project X	$4,005,000	$48.1
5	A Thousand Words	$3,750,000	$12.1
6	Act of Valor	$3,678,000	$62.3
7	Safe House	$2,755,000	$120.2
8	Journey 2	$2,460,000	$95
9	Casa De Mi Padre	$2,200,000	$2.2
10	This Means War	$2,125,000	$50.5

Friday Box Office – 21 JUMP STREET Shoots to the Head of the Class

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: March 17th, 2012 at 9:32 am

21 Jump Street is off to a very promising start – commercially and critically. Earning an estimated $13.1 million on Friday from 3,121 locations, the big screen adaptation of the former Fox TV series has also put up one of the most impressive Rotten Tomatoes scores of 2012 at 87% fresh.  As the only wide release of the weekend, box office watchers were pretty sure that the R-rated comedy was headed for number one, especially considering it stars two of the most popular young actors of this moment – Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.  With John Carter continuing to disappoint (off 60% from its less-than-stellar debut last weekend), the only challenge for Jump Street was conquering family-friendly holdover The Lorax.  21 Jump Street is now projected to take in $35 million this weekend; little wonder that a sequel is already in the works.  We’ll have details and analysis tomorrow.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	21 Jump Street	$13,100,000	$13.1
2	The Lorax	$6,700,000	$160
3	John Carter	$4,000,000	$43.7
4	Project X	$1,500,000	$45.6
5	A Thousand Words	$1,100,000	$9.4

JOHN CARTER Fan Base Demands a Sequel; Check Out a New Fan-Made Trailer

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: March 14th, 2012 at 6:22 pm

It’s safe to say that Disney’s sci-fi epic, John Carter, has been a box office disappointment thus far. But given that the movie has been out less than a week and that a rabid fan base is lending its support, there may yet be hope for the survival of the franchise. Recently we were contacted by the folks who cut this awesome fan-made trailer and run this John Carter fan site to let us know about the rapidly-expanding fan base behind the film. Started by fans, the Facebook group “Take Me Back to Barsoom! I want a sequel!” is recruiting followers in an attempt to make enough noise to encourage Disney to greenlight a sequel.

While I personally wouldn’t mind a return voyage to Mars, the thing that’s going to make the biggest splash and get the studio’s attention is plain and simple dollar bills. Social media goes a long way these days to resurrect things like NBC’s Community, but the roughly $250 million budget on the first John Carter is going to demand more than a Facebook page. I encourage fans of the source material to check out both of the above sites and by all means go see the film a second (or more) time to lend your support. In the mean time, you can get caught up on all of our previous coverage of John Carter here. Hit the jump to check out another awesome fan-made trailer (and if Disney is listening, please consider hiring these guys for your marketing team next time around…seriously). 

PSA Sunday: JOHN CARTER Reminds Us That Books Still Exist

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: March 11th, 2012 at 10:37 am

Disney’s visually spectacular interplanetary epic John Carter opened in theaters this weekend with Taylor Kitsch playing the titular hero who finds himself lost in a strange land, Lynn Collins portraying a Martian princess and Willem Dafoe as a towering alien warlord. Regardless of how well John Carter performs at the box office, none of it would have been possible without author Edgar Rice Burroughs’ long-running series featuring the exploits of an Earthling on Barsoom. It’s taken almost 100 years to translate Burroughs’ vision to the big screen, but I predict that the novel will enjoy a much longer lifespan than the film. We’ve brought you trailers, images, clips, posters and interviews, but none of it would exist without the original book, “A Princess of Mars,” which the Library of Congress has made available to read for free online. Definitely go check out the film while it’s still in theaters, but do yourself a favor and read up on this classic series as well. Hit the jump to see a PSA from the ad council reminding us that books still exist.

Weekend Box Office – THE LORAX Continues to Soar; JOHN CARTER Falls to Earth

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: March 11th, 2012 at 9:56 am

After its enormous opening last weekend, The Lorax continued to impress – capturing its second number one title with an estimated $39.1 million, or a week-over-week decline of just 44%.  For once, however, people seem more interested in the film that didn’t make it to number one than with the film that did.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Lorax	$39,100,000	$121.9
2	John Carter	$30,600,000	$30.6
3	Project X	$11,550,000	$40.1
4	Silent House	$7,010,000	$7
5	Act of Valor	$7,000,000	$56.1
6	A Thousand Words	$6,350,000	$6.3
7	Safe House	$4,950,000	$115.7
8	The Vow	$4,000,000	$117.6
9	This Means War	$3,750,000	$46.8
19	Journey 2	$3,685,000	$90.7

TOP 5: JOHN CARTER, Topher Grace Edits STAR WARS Prequels, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, SILENT HOUSE, First Image from THE LONE RANGER

by Jason Barr    Posted: March 10th, 2012 at 1:29 pm

I’ll use this week’s opening paragraph to offer a bit of foreshadowing. There’s a great chance that I’m going to be talking about 21 Jump Street here next week. Now, I’ll admit, I’ve never been one to laud the work of Channing Tatum. For the first time ever, though, I’m going into a film with high expectations for his performance. I think that everything I’ve seen of the film thus far looks terrific and Matt’s review and this NSFW extended trailer are just icing on the cake at this point.

On tap in this week’s “Top 5″ is a plethora of John Carter coverage including interviews with Taylor Kitsch, Andrew Stanton and more, a video blog recap of Topher Grace‘s Star Wars prequels edit, new images and a new trailer for The Cabin in the Woods, Silent House interviews with Elizabeth Olsen and co-directors Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, and the first image of Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger. Per usual, a brief recap and link to each await after the jump.

Friday Box Office – It’s Official. Disney Sees Disappointing $9.8 Million Debut for JOHN CARTER

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: March 10th, 2012 at 9:14 am

The wait is over. John Carter has arrived.  After years of speculation, we finally know how Disney’s BIG budget adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic is faring with audiences.  Long story short?  Not too well.  From 3,749 locations, John Carter earned an estimated $9.8 million on Friday – narrowly edging out The Lorax for first place. Trouble is, last weekend’s animated hit is expected to surge ahead on Saturday, all but guaranteeing John Carter an underwhelming second-place debut of around $28 million. That would be less than the $35.5 million of last year’s Battle: Los Angeles, a film that was considered a modest hit thanks to its $70 million price tag.  As you probably know, John Carter cost over three times that amount; which means it has a LONG way to go before it can escape the “flop” fate. Just in case anyone cares, two additional films saw releases this weekend, though only Open Road’s Silent House did well enough to make Friday’s top five.  In sixth place, Paramount’s A Thousand Words earned an estimated $1.9 million from 2,124 venues for what should be a weekend total in the $6 million range.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	John Carter	$9,818,000	$9.8
2	The Lorax	$9,600,000	$92.4
3	Project X	$3,985,000	$35.5
4	Silent House	$2,600,000	$2.6
5	Act of Valor	$2,000,000	$51.1

Producer Lindsey Collins Talks JOHN CARTER, Deleted Scenes, and an R-Rated GALAXY QUEST?!

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 9th, 2012 at 10:41 am

As I said in the intro to my interview with John Carter producer Jim Morris, while it’s always great to talk with actors, if you want to hear why certain key decisions were made, you’ve got to talk with the filmmakers.  After all, while an actor might have a great behind the scenes story (like my interview with Taylor Kitsch), the producer can tell you what deleted scenes will be on the eventual Blu-ray, and what the filmmakers learned from showing the film to the Pixar brain trust.   But without a doubt, the best part of talking with a producer is the stuff that comes up that you weren’t expecting.  Like hearing about an R-rated cut of Galaxy Quest!   If anyone at the studio is reading this, fans would love to see this cut.  Think about a special edition home video release.  Please!

Anyway, the other week, Disney held a big press junket in Arizona, and I landed an exclusive video interview with John Carter producer Lindsey Collins.  During our extended conversation we talked about how the movie doesn’t talk down to the audience, how they showed the film to the Pixar brain trust and what they learned, deleted scenes, her favorite movie, actor and director, and like I already said, she talked about how Sigourney Weaver told her about the original version of Galaxy Quest.  Hit the jump to watch.

Taylor Kitsch Talks JOHN CARTER, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Gary Oldman, and Playing a Male Camper on KYLE XY

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 8th, 2012 at 8:14 pm

It’s always great when you meet someone for the first time and they’re extremely nice, grounded, and willing to literally talk about anything.   Trust me, this is not the norm in Hollywood.  But when I walked in to speak with Taylor Kitsch for his great work in Andrew Stanton‘s John Carter, not only was Kitsch kind enough to let me use my flip camera for the interview, he was very willing to play along with my questions.

While I of course asked him about making John Carter and the challenges of working with the green screen, we also talked about his favorite movie, actors and director, how 2012 is a big year for him (he’s also in Battleship), how he based Tim Riggins on a Gary Oldman performance, his feelings on the way Friday Night Lights ended and whether or not he would come back for a movie.  In addition, he told me a great story about playing the “Male Camper” on Kyle XY and the audition that went with it, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

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