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INTERNATIONAL BOX OFFICE NUMBERS through AUGUST 28 (and The Pathway to Profits)

Posted August 29, 2011 by Mitch Metcalf

>Through Sunday, worldwide box office results show that The Smurfs have moved up to #10 among 2011 releases (out of 88 wide-release films this year to date).  Rise of the Planet of the Apes is now at #12, about $70 million behind The Smurfs.  Although Rise will out-gross Smurfs domestically, the little blue guys are […]

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“THE TREE OF LIFE” – God, Man & Terrence Malick

Posted May 27, 2011 by Mitch Salem

> Worth A Ticket; An often stupendous achievement that courts ridicule–and sometimes earns it. Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE is at once the filmmaker’s most emotionally grounded and dizzyingly ambitious film, his most relatable and esoteric piece of work.  In a sense it’s the definitive Malick film, the one that explores his chosen themes […]

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ShowBuzzDaily SUMMER MOVIE DRAFT: June 20 Update

Posted June 20, 2011 by Mitch Metcalf

>Well, it’s officially a rout.  Team Salem has built a whopping $225 million lead, even with the under-performance of Green Lantern.  If Team Metcalf is going to get back into this contest, Cars 2 better behave like a high-end Pixar film and Transformers: Dark of the Moon needs to be a mega-hit.  Next update on […]

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THE BIJOU RETROSPECTIVE: “Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix”

Posted July 12, 2011 by Mitch Salem

> The magically moving portraits are pulled off the walls of Hogwarts in 2007’s HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, and the colors have started draining from the Potter universe.  Gone are the lush visuals of Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire; the palette of Slawomir Idziak’s photography (his films include Kieslowski’s […]

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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS Dec 30-Jan 1

Posted December 29, 2011 by Mitch Metcalf

>No new wide releases this weekend, the final weekend of the year as we welcome the arrival of 2012.  We are estimating a box office volume of $145 million for Friday-Sunday for the top 12 films, up 27% from $114 million last weekend (which was limited by Christmas Eve on Saturday) and down only 2% […]

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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS JUNE 10-12

Posted June 9, 2011 by Mitch Metcalf

>This weekend will be the first one in a while to underperform the same weekend in 2010.  One highly-anticipated film is looking like it will do well but not great, and one kid/teen movie is looking like it will come and go very quietly. Opening at about 3,200 theaters, Super 8 should average a strong […]

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THE SHOWBUZZDAILY RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

Posted July 9, 2011 by Mitch Salem

    Everything is a little smoother in 2002’s HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS.  The young actors give more assured performances; Steve Kloves’ script, having gotten so much exposition out of its way in Sorcerer’s Stone, is faster and more character-based; the camerawork (by Roger Pratt instead of John Seale) is more fluid; […]

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THE BIJOU BOX OFFICE: Mid-Week Update

Posted August 17, 2011 by Mitch Salem

> With Monday and Tuesday numbers in, here are some notes about how the new arrivals are holding up: THE HELP continues its impressive run:  its $8.3M on Monday-Tuesday represents a very robust 32% of its weekend total.  All signs continue to point to a strong second weekend hold, especially since early reviews for its […]

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