13 years after Heat put acting titans Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on the big screen for the 1st time Righteous Kill (reviews) puts them together for more than two scenes! Meanwhile, Ethan and Joel Coen's Burn After Reading (reviews) reunites George Clooney & Brad Pitt; Tyler Perry is back as well with The Family That Preys (reviews); And the estrogen is everywhere in The Women (reviews) with Diane English writing and directing a modern remake of a 1939 flick.
Pamela McClintock of Variety:
The weekend box office could prove a slugfest as four prominent films all aimed at adults bow -- Focus Features' "Burn After Reading," Lionsgate's "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys," Overture's "Righteous Kill" and Picturehouse's "The Women."
The film biz is hoping that the crowded class of new wide releases invigorates the fall box office after a rocky start last weekend. All four pics are tracking well in their respective target demos.
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton topline "Burn After Reading," Ethan and Joel Coen's follow-up to best pic winner "No Country for Old Men."
Both "The Family That Preys" and "The Women" -- an update of George Cukor's 1939 classic film that was based on the 1936 play by Clare Booth Luce -- are rated PG-13, while "Righteous Kill" and "Burn After Reading" are rated R. "The Women," opening in 2,962 runs, is the final release from Bob Berney's Picturehouse. "Burn After Reading" opens in 2,651; "Righteous Kill," 3,152; and "The Family That Preys," 2,070. Given that "Righteous Kill" and "Burn After Reading" are going after the same aud, at least to some extent, and Perry's popularity among African-American auds, "The Family That Preys" could win the weekend crown. The dramedy marks a departure for Perry in that one of the pic's lead characters is white.
"The Family That Preys" stars Alfre Woodard, Kathy Bates, Jennifer Hudson, Sanaa Lathan and Perry, who wrote and directed. Film concerns two matriarchs who come from opposite sides of the tracks but must both navigate family intrigue. Pic is Perry's sixth for Lionsgate.
"Burn After Reading" is a comedy romp along the lines of the Coens' "The Ladykillers" and "Intolerable Cruelty," both of which bowed to roughly $12.6 million. "Burn After Reading" will likely do more than that, but its opening performance will depend upon how much it splits its aud with Jon Avnet's cop drama "Righteous Kill," which teams Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
The Coens' latest outing concerns an ex-CIA agent whose memoir falls into the hands of a bumbling gym staffer and a co-worker determined to find a way to pay for plastic surgery. John Malkovich and Richard Jenkins also star. Working Title Films produced for Focus.
"Burn After Reading" has been receiving mixed reviews. Pic made its North American debut at the Toronto Film Festival last weekend. Many of the Coen brothers' films have begun as limited releases, including "No Country for Old Men," which went on to cume $74.3 million domestically -- the best gross of any film made by the duo. Like "Burn After Reading," "Ladykillers" and "Intolerable Cruelty" were wide releases.
"Righteous Kill," produced and financed by Millennium Films and Emmett/Furla Films, should skew more male than "Burn." Pic was penned by Russell Gewirtz and also stars Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, 50 Cent, Brian Dennehy and John Leguizamo.
Pacino and De Niro have appeared together in two films, "Heat" and "The Godfather: Part II," but only had a few scenes together in "Heat" and none in the "Godfather" sequel. "Kill" revolves around two veteran NYPD detectives who track a serial killer. "The Women" will seek to replicate the success enjoyed by recent female-skewing films, although it's appealing mostly to femmes over age 25, according to tracking.
Comedy stars Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, Annette Bening, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett Smith.
In keeping with the original film and stage play, there are no men in the film. One twist: Smith's character is openly gay.
"The Women" marks the feature directorial debut of TV showrunner Diane English, creator of TV sitcom "Murphy Brown" (Candice Bergen appears in the film).
Film is Picturehouse's widest release ever. English produced "The Women" with Mick Jagger's production shingle, Jagged Films...
Joshua Rich of EW:
Dramedy... ''Family That Preys'' leads four new movies aiming to save Hollywood from a deepening rut...
The only film really wowing the critics is Burn...I, of course, am pulling for Al and Bobby..
Next Week: Samuel L. Jackson meets new neighbors in Lakeview Terrace. Ricky Gervais visits a Ghost Town...Dane Cook Kate Hudson and Jason Biggs form the latest on screen love triangle in My Best Friends Girl.
No comments:
Post a Comment