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September 1st, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: Babylon A.D. towers over genre competition

Despite poor reviews, dystopian newcomer Babylon A.D. topped the genre Labor Day holiday weekend box office with just under $10 million in ticket sales. It was second overall, behind only the comedy blockbuster Tropic Thunder.

Lat week’s No. 1 – Death Race – fell to the No. 3 spot among genre films (No. 6 overall) with about $6.3 million in ticket sales.

The No. 2 genre spot was held by Batman flick, The Dark Knight, which passed the half-billion mark in North American sales this past weekend. Racking up $8.6 million in ticket sales for a grand total of $502.3 million in domestic sales, added to the $417 million foreign takem the film reached a total gross of $921.7 million worldwide.

Needless to say, there will be more Batman films in future years.

No genre films are set to debut over the next two weeks.

 

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the 2008 Labor Day weekend.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (2) Babylon A.D. – $9.6 million | $9.6 million [$70 million]
  2. (3) The Dark Knight – $8.6 million | $502.3 million [$185 million]
  3. (6) Death Race – $6.3 million | $23.1 million [$45 million]
  4. (11) Mirrors – $2.74 million | $24.8 million [unreported budget]
  5. (12) Star Wars: The Clone Wars – $2.70 million | $29.6 million [unreported budget]
  6. (13) The Mummy: Dragon Emperor – $2.6 million | $97.9 million [$145 million]
  7. (15) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $1.8 million | $94.6 million [$60 million]
  8. (18) Fly Me to the Moon – $1.5 million | $6.3 million [$25 million]
  9. (21) Wall-E – $1.1 million } $217.9 million [$180 million]
  10. (29) Hellboy 2 – $0.2 million | $75.4 million [$85 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

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August 25th, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: Death Race finishes first

Fans of action, dark science fiction and racing lined up this past weekend to ensure Death Race crosses the finish line in first place for genre movies.

With a total take of just over $12.6 million in 2,532 theatres, the film was No. 3 overall, bested by comedies, Tropic Thunder and The House Bunny. 

Race also  knocked mega-blockbuster Dark Knight to second place among genre films.

The only other sci fi flick to debut this weekend was Cthulhu, a gay-themed independent horror film from Regent Releasing starring Tori Spelling. In limited release, the film brought in $1,438 in one theatre. (That may seem rather dismal, but compare it to the No. 5 film of the week, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which made $1,640 per theatre.

Debuting next week in genre is the Vin Diesel science fiction thriller, Babylon A.D. which will be in wide release in 3,200 theatres in North America.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of August 22-24, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (3) Death Race – $12.6 million | $12.6 million [$45 million]
  2. (4) The Dark Knight – $10.5 million | $489.4 million [$185 million]
  3. (5) Star Wars: The Clone Wars – $5.7 million | $25.0 million [budget unreported]
  4. (7) Mirrors – $5.0 million | $20.2 million [budget unreported]
  5. (9) The Mummy: Dragon Emperor -$4.2 million | $93.9 million [$145 million]
  6. (15) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $2.2 million | $91.9 million [$60 million]
  7. (16) Fly Me to the Moon – $1.4 million | $4.2 million [$25 million]
  8. (17) WALL-E – $0.97 million | $216.3 million [$180 million]
  9. (19) Hancock – $0.64 million | $226.4 million [$150 million]
  10. (20) Kung Fu Panda – $0.58 million | $212.7 million [$130 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

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August 17th, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: Dark Knight dethroned by Ben Stiller

After more than a month as the top-grossing film in theatres, The Dark Knight was knocked aside as box office king this past weekend by Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, a non-genre comedy.

Still, out of Genre films, the latest Batman installment reigned supreme, finishing second overall with a weekend take of just under $17 million, bringing the film’s North American haul to $471.5 million ($735 million worldwide).

Weekend sales pushed Dark Knight to the No. 2 all-time box office champion, passing the original Star Wars: Episode 4′ s gross of $461 million (including sales from Star Wars‘ recent re-releases).

Speaking of Star Wars. the animated film, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, also made history this weekend. It is the first Star Wars film not to debut as No. 1 in box office sales with $15.5 million in tickets sold. The other animated kiddie flick debuting this weekend, the 3-D Fly Me to the Moon sold $2 million in tickets.

Gore horror flick, Mirrors, starring Kiefer Sutherland bowed in with more than $11 million in ticket sales despite negative reviews from critics. 

Rounding out new genre releases is the religious-themed Luke Wilson film, Henry Poole is Here, which opened in limited release and sold $800 thousand in tickets over the weekend.

Movies dropping out of the Genre Top 10: Hellboy 2, Wanted, Get Smart and The X-FIles 2.

Genre films set to debut next week: The Tom Cruise-produced Death Race, a re-imagining of the 1970s drive-in campy grind house classic, Death Race 2000. starring Jason Statham and Joan Allen.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of August 15-17, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (2) The Dark Knight – $16.8 million | $471.5 million [$185 million]
  2. (3) Star Wars: The Clone Wars – $15.5 million | $15.5 million [unknown budget]
  3. (4) Mirrors – $11.1 million | $11.1 million [unknown budget]
  4. (6) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – $8.6 million | $86.6 million [$145 million]
  5. (11) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $3.5 million | $88.1 million [$60 million]
  6. (12) Fly Me to the Moon – $2.0 million } $2.0 million [$25 million]
  7. (13) WALL-E – $1.84 million | $214.1 million [$180 million]
  8. (14) Hancock – $1.80 million | $225 million [$150 million]
  9. (16) Space Chimps – $0.82 million | $27.6 million [$37 million]
  10. (17) Henry Poole is Here – $0.80 million | $0.80 million [unknown budget]

 

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

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August 16th, 2008

Review of Reviews: Fly Me to the Moon a so-so historical kiddie flick

OPENS: August 15, 2008
RATING: G (Mild gross-out humor)
GENRE: Space, Children’s Film, Animation, Fantasy, 3-D, Historical Fiction

Almost 40 years ago, the first human walked on the Moon. The new film, Fly Me to the Moon, memorializes this event with an animated 3-D children’s movie.

Reviews have been mixed and split rather evenly down the line with “serious” film critics panning the film for being a bore for grownups and for its less-than state of the art in animation techniques and slightly creepy human character design.

More “fannish”-type critics are noting the limited appeal of this film for children – not adults. Also, they point out the film is a technological breakthrough in its effective use of 3-D technology.

Additionally, the movie contains historically accurate (minus the flies) sounds and dialogue from the actual Apollo 11 mission. And the movie creators use the animated flies as a window to allow young children a window into history.

WATCH THE TRAILER

<!– {rw_good}

  • Child-friendly film
  • Sunning 3-D effects
  • Educational in historic re-creation

{/rw_good} –>

<!– {rw_bad}

  • Story does not work on multiple levels for adults and children. It’s just a kiddie flick.
  • This ain’t Disney/Pixar and it shows – in the creepy-looking, slightly disturbing character designs.

{/rw_bad} –>

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{for="Newsday" value="1"}

"That premise is the first of countless problems in this 3-D animated movie aimed at very young children." – Rafer Guzman

{/for}

{for=”Space.com” value=”6″}

“At its heart, the new film Fly Me to the Moon offers immersive 3-D effects that will likely entertain kids with visions of America’s first lunar landing of even if its story falls flat with parents.” – Tariq Malik

{/for}

{for=”San Diego Union-Tribune” value=”7″}

“Fly Me to the Moon is slow and really silly in parts, but it is a kids movie. And any letdowns are more than made up for by the best part of the film – the story of three men making it to the moon.” – Jane Clifford

{/for}

{for=”Toronto Star” value=”7″}

“The movie used NASA blueprints for the animation and capsule transcripts for the astronauts’ dialogue. Aldrin lends his own voice and there are real sound clips from the lunar landing, including Armstrong’s historic words upon standing on the moon’s surface.” – Linda Barnard

{/for}

{for=”Boston Globe” value=”6″}

“A crummy movie for kids, yet it still holds out the prospect of past wonders and future marvels. It’s one small step for a housefly, one giant leap for 3-D.” – Ty Burr

{/for}

{for=”San Francisco Chronicle” value=”6″}

“while the script, by Domonic Paris, will probably pass muster with very young viewers, their parents may grit their teeth at its saccharine quality. ” – Walter Addiego

{/for}

{/rw_score} –>

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August 11th, 2008

Trailer: Fly Me to the Moon

OPENS: August 15, 2008
RATING: G
GENRE: Amination, 3D, Space Fantasy, Family Friendly

Starring: Voices of: Buzz Aldrin, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Begley Jr., Philip Bolden, Cam Clarke, Tim Curry, Trevor Gagnon, Grant George, David Gore, Steve Kramer, Christopher Lloyd, Mimi Maynard, Scott Menville, Lorraine Nicholson, Robert Patrick, Kelly Ripa, Nicollette Sheridan

Director: Ben Stassen

Writer: Domonic Paris

Plot: Three young houseflies stow away aboard the Apollo 11 flight to the moon.

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August 11th, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: 30 days of Dark Knight – a month at No. 1

The Dark Knight extended its reign to a month atop the weekend box office this past week. It brought in more than $26 million in ticket sales in its fourth weekend. Its grand total domestic take of $441.5 million has the film as the No. 3 all-time money maker in Hollywood and it should pass Star Wars to be come No. 2 by the end of August.

No new sci fi flicks debuted this past weekend. But in the upcoming weekend three new genre films are set to debut: the horror film, Mirrors, the animated space opera, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the animated children’s science fantasy, Fly Me to the Moon.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of August 8-10, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (1) The Dark Knight – $26.0 million | $441.5 million [$185 million]
  2. (3) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – $16.1 million | $70.7 million [$145 million]
  3. (7) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $4.9 million | $81.8 million [$60 million]
  4. (8) Hancock – $3.3 million | $221.7 million [$150 million]
  5. (10) WALL-E – $3.0 million | $210.1 million [$180 million]
  6. (11) Space Chimps – $1.7 million | $25.4 million [$37 million]
  7. (12) Hellboy 2 – $1.3 million | $73.5 million [$85 million]
  8. (13) The X-Files: I Want to Believe – $1.2 million | 19.6 million [$30 million]
  9. (15) Wanted – $0.7 million | $132.6 million [$75 million]
  10. (16) Get Smart – $0.5 million | $127.4 million [$80 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

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August 5th, 2008

MZB’s Sword & Sorceress Cover Contest #23 now open

Artists take note: This just in from Norilana Books, the publisher of the Sword and Sorceress anthology series.

Sword and Sorceress #23 Cover Image Contest

Here’s your chance to become a part of genre history!

Norilana Books is looking for a photo image of a warrior-like woman
with a sword or other old-fashioned weapon, striking a martial arts
pose, and dressed in an appropriate fantasy outfit (pre-industrial) to
be used as part of a design for the cover of the upcoming volume of
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress classic anthology series.

Get out those swords, go out there, get your friends to dress up in
gorgeous costumes, strike up some fun warrior poses, and use your
imagination! For best results photos should be full-body (as opposed
to head shot or torso only), against a plain background (try to avoid
too much background scenery).

Please submit your photos as a URL link via email to service AT
norilana DOT com. DO NOT send attachments.

The winning photograph will be used as part of the cover image and you
will receive credit in the book and a free contributor copy of the
finished anthology.

Send in your entries now!

Deadline: August 10, 2008

Good luck!

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August 3rd, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: Dark Knight 3-peats atop box office

The modern – and moody – spy fi re-telling comic book adaptation of Batman, The Dark Knight fought  off hordes of mummies to continued its reign as the box office weekend royalty this past weekend.

Dark Knight  brought in just under $44 million in ticket sales in its third weekend – besting horror comedy newcomer, The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, starring Brendan Fraser. Mummy brought in $42.5 million in its first weekend and debuted in the No. 2 spot.

Last week’s debut genre title, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, landed at No. 6 on the Genre Top 10 list (No. 9 overall.) with $3.4 million in ticket sales.

To make room for Mummy animated fantasy comedy Kung Fu Panda dropped out of the genre Top 10 after being a mainstay for the past 8 weeks. So far in its run, Panda brought in more than $210 million in North American sales alone on a $130 million budget; almost ensuring that a sequel will be made.

No genre films are set to debut next week, so this list is expected to largely be unchanged for the second weekend of August.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of August 1 -3, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (1) The Dark Knight – $43.8 million | $394.9 million [$185 million]
  2. (2) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – $42.5 million | $2.5 million ($145 million)
  3. (5) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $6.9 million } $73.1 million ($60 million)
  4. (7) Hancock – $5.2 million | $216 million ($150 million)
  5. (8) WALL-E – $4.7 million | $204 million ($180 million)
  6. (9) The X-Files: I Want to Believe – $3.4 million | $17 million ($30 million)
  7. (10) Space Chimps – $2.8 million | $22 million ($37 million)
  8. (11) Hellboy II: The Golden Army – $2.5 million | $71.3 million ($85 million)
  9. (12) Wanted – $1.3 million | $131 million ($75 million)
  10. (14) Get Smart – $1.2 million | $127 million ($80 million)

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

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August 2nd, 2008

Review of Reviews: The Mummy 3 critics all over the map

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Brendan Fraser is back, reprising his role in The Mummy franchise in the new film, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

{/rw_text} –>

OPENS: August 1, 2008
RATING: PG-13 (Violence)
GENRES: Horror Comedy, Action-Adventure, Fantasy

The heroes of The Mummy franchise returns — well not all of them, Rachel Weiss decided to forego this film, replaced by Maria Bello.

Film reviews are mixed. Many film critics hated The Mummy 3, citing that the film is dumb, violent and doesn’t take tell the audience a new story..

Other critics loved the film for those same reasons. Film Critic Roger Ebert says audiences comprised of fans fo this series will not be disappointed.

Sometimes people want mindless escapist adventure wit great special effects. Here, the film delivers.

Other critics say audiences should follow the example of the lead actress of the first two Mummy films – and skip this one as unneeded and unwatchable.

WATCH THE TRAILER

<!– {rw_good}

  • Great special effects
  • Film made for fans of the series

{/rw_good} –>

<!– {rw_bad}

  • Not much original; the plot is similar to the first film
  • Fraser is only 13 years older than the actor who plays his son, making the father/son dynamic awkward
  • Barrage of violence too scary for very small children. Adolescent boys, on the other hand, will love it.

{/rw_bad} –>

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{for="Wired" value="6"}

"A poor third installment to the Mummy series." – Ken Denmead

{/for}

{for=”Chicago Tribune” value=”3″}

“One Wow cancels out the last Wow, until the Wows start looking more like lowercase wows and soon the wows become merely eh, or worse, a string of low-grade, minimally inventive aggravations that fail even to hit the level of eh. They’re more like bleh.” – Michael Phillips

{/for}

{for=”Christian Science Monitor” value=”3″}

“This third “Mummy” movie takes us on a guided tour of the catacombs of ancient China and the peaks of the Himalayas, with a pit stop in postwar Shanghai. Anyone looking for a terrific summer popcorn movie should not hop on board.” – Peter Rainer

{/for}

{for=”San Jose Mercury News” value=”7″}

“Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is as stupid as it gets, with spear-carrying undead soldiers fighting men with 1946-era guns, yetis coming to the aid of humans and the phoniest-looking movie snow of all time. There’s also a trumped-up father-son schism that Rick and Luke must overcome.” – Betsy Pickle

{/for}

{for=”San Francisco Chronicle” value=”2″}

“The new installment, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, fails despite being given the best possible chance of success.” – Mick LaSalle

{/for}

{for=”Chicago Sun-Times” value=”8″}

“Now why did I like this movie? It was just plain dumb fun, is why. It is absurd and preposterous, and proud of it. ” – Roger Ebert

{/for}

{for=”Chicago Sun-Times” value=”6″}

“The film has its flaws: There’s plenty of lame dialogue, including a stomach-turning exchange in which archaeological terms such as “excavation” are applied to sexually desirable women. And the talents of two exceptional Chinese actors and martial artists, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, go underappreciated.” – Christy De Smith

{/for}

{/rw_score} –>

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July 27th, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: Dark Knight dominates box office – again

The latest Batman flick. The Dark Knight continued its reign at the box office this past weekend. It brought in more than $75.6 million in ticket sales in its second weekend – more than the next five top-grossing films combined.

The only sci fi flick to debut this weekend was The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which debuted at No. 2 on the genre movie list and No. 4 overall with just over $10 million.

To make room for X-Files, Eddie Murphy flick Meet Dave dropped out of the genre Top 10 after making slightly more than $10 million in North American sales. With a $60 million budget – a movie this unprofitable almost ensures a sequel for this will never see the light of day.

Genre films set to debut next week: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is set for wide release and Clive Barker’s Books of Blood short horror story Midnight Meat Train debuts on the big screen in big cities only.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of July 25 -27, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (1) The Dark Knight – $75.6 million | $314.2 million [$185 million]
  2. (4) The X-Files: I Want to Believe – $10.2 million | 10.2 million [$30 million]
  3. (5) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $9.4 million | $60 million [$60 million]
  4. (6) Hancock – $8.2 million | $206.3 million [$150 million]
  5. (7) WALL-E – $6.3 million | $195.2 million [$180 million]
  6. (8) Hellboy 2 – $4.9 million | $65 million [$85 million]
  7. (9) Space Chimps – $4.3 million | $16 million [$40 million]
  8. (10) Wanted – $2.7 million | $128.6 million [$75 million]
  9. (11) Get Smart – $2.3 million | $124.2 million [$80 million]
  10. (12) Kung Fu Panda – $1.0 million | $209.0 million [$130 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

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