Dave McNary and Pamela McClintock of Variety:
Amid all the hoopla over Summit Entertainment’s “Twilight,” don’t forget about Disney animated 3-D toon “Bolt.”
Both films open today in what’s expected to be another strong sesh for the domestic box office, which so far been resilient in the face of the economic crisis.
“Twilight” should have no trouble grabbing the weekend.
Final tracking was so strong for “Twilight” Thursday morning that competing studio predicted an opening gross of $50 million to $60 million, and perhaps higher. That’s because it’s not only girls who are expected to show up at theaters; interest has picked up among teen boys, while older women are amassing as well.
Last weekend, B.O. revs were up roughly 45% from the same frame last year on the strength of James Bond installment “Quantum of Solace.” This weekend could also see a dramatic gain over last year between “Twilight,” “Bolt” and “Quantum.”
“Bolt,” going out in 3,651 theaters, is the first toon produced by Disney proper since John Lasseter was installed to run all of animation for both Pixar and Disney. The last Disney animation title was “Meet the Robinsons,” which debuted to $25.1 million in March 2007. Tracking suggests that “Bolt” will beat that number, although there’s still another toon in the marketplace, DreamWorks Animation Paramount’s “Madagascar: Return 2 Africa.”
Depending on how well it holds, “Quantum” could give “Bolt” a run for its money in terms of which movie lands at No. 2 spot. Bond pic opened to $67.5 million.
“Bolt” marks a milestone in that it will play in approximately 982 digital 3-D screens, the most to date for a 3-D pic. “Journey to the Center of the Earth” opened in roughly 800 theaters this summer. The additional screens are part of the furious race to convert hundreds of conventional screens to digital 3-D, although the economy is hampering that effort.
“Bolt’s” opening gross will benefit mightily from the additional cost of a 3-D ticket.
Disney isn’t necessarily looking for a big opening, but rather, a strong run through Thanksgiving week and weekend.
Whatever the case, “Bolt” will have to cede the spotlight to “Twilight” in terms of headlines and attention. The teen romance vampire pic, opening in 3,419 has become the event title of the season, even though its core audience is tween and teen girls. “Twilight,” directed by Catherine Hardwicke and based on the bestselling book series by Stephenie Meyer, cost $37 million to produce.
Film arrived at Summit a ready-made franchise, since there are four books in the series...
Joshua Rich of EW:
Stephenie Meyer's story's spell on young women, ticket presales, and the zeitgeist add up to a blockbuster weekend ...
Next Week: Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman go to Australia courtesy of Baz Luhrmann; While Jason Statham is back to kick butt in the franchise that made him famous...yes it's Transporter 3...
No comments:
Post a Comment