A shrewd marketing campaign propelled The Purge to a massive opening this weekend. The Ethan Hawke thriller, which cost only $3 million to make, took in $36.3 million (well above my generous $24.9M projection). The effective trailers clearly got audiences to the multiplex, but with a weak C Cinemascore grade, expect The Purge to experience a healthy decline next weekend.
Holdovers Fast and Furious 6 and Now You See Me both held up better than I predicted. Fast 6 was second with $19.8 million (my prediction: $16.4M) and Now You See Me was third with $19.5 million (my prediction: $15.8M).
Opening at fourth was the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy The Internship with a just OK $18.1 million. I predicted a little higher at $20.7M. It’s not surprising that Internship posted rather weak numbers with its unfunny trailers. This will be no Wedding Crashers for sure.
A small weekend to weekend decline helped the animated Epic stay in the top five with a $12.1 million gross. I incorrectly had After Earth being fifth with $9.5 million. It actually grossed $11.2 million, but that was only good enough for seventh place.
Tonight on the blog – I will make my projection for a little flick called Man of Steel. Tomorrow – my projection for the all-star comedy This is the End. Stay tuned!
Hard to believe it, but Mr. Johnny Depp turns the big 5-0 tomorrow. He was once known as that cool actor who eschewed big Hollywood projects in order to do it his way. Ten years ago, a certain project came along that made him the biggest movie star in the world… and the highest paid. There is no question that Depp belongs in the pantheon of most significant film stars in the medium’s history.
In order to celebrate Johnny’s half century on this Earth and the enjoyment he’s brought to audiences, I’ve compiled my personal Top Ten favorite Johnny Depp performances.
First, some notes about pictures that did not make the cut. Most famous actors have forgettable film debuts. Not Johnny Depp. Audiences first saw Depp meeting a rather unfortunate end in one of the best scenes in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street.
While 2010’s Alice in Wonderland may be his second highest grossing flick ever, you won’t find it in my Top Ten. I found it to be quite a disappointment. Johnny is apparently negotiating to star in a sequel and I hope it improves on the original considerably.
While a number of Depp’s Tim Burton collaborations are in the Top Ten – you won’t find Sleepy Hollow or Dark Shadows or Sweeney Todd. And even though he got an Oscar nomination for it, Marc Forster’s JM Barrie biopic Finding Neverland missed the cut, as did Michael Mann’s John Dillinger biopic Public Enemies.
So, let’s get to the movies that did make the list, shall we?
10. From Hell (2001)
The Hughes Brothers retelling of the hunt for Jack the Ripper is a violent and visionary feast. Depp is terrific as Inspector Frederick Abberline, the investigator whose drug-inspired dreams leads him down Jack’s trail.
9. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Robert Rodriguez’s follow-up to Desperado is the rare sequel that’s quite a bit better. And part of that has to do with Depp’s often hilarious and typically offbeat portrayal of a CIA agent. He’s got some great one-liners to work with here: “Are you a Mexican or a Mexican’t?”
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Anyone trying to compete with Gene Wilder’s brilliant work in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory faced an uphill battle. Smartly, Depp didn’t even try. He created his own take on Roald Dahl’s eccentric factory owner. The result: another top-notch performance from Depp in his collaboration with Tim Burton.
7. Blow (2001)
Based on the true life story of drug kingpin George Jung, Depp is on his game in this Ted Demme effort. This is a Depp performance that is mostly free of his character quirks that are found in most roles he chooses. He’s one of the best dramatic actors and Blow is evidence of it.
6. Don Juan DeMarco (1995)
One of the actor’s most underrated films and performances. Depp plays a patient at a psychiatric hospital who believes that he is Don Juan, the world’s greatest lover. His doctor is played by Marlon Brando. Don Juan DeMarco features fabulous work from these two titans of acting and if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor.
5. Donnie Brasco (1997)
Here we have Depp teaming up with another acting God, Al Pacino. Mike Newell’s film casts Depp as an undercover FBI agent infiltrating the Mob in the 1970s. Pacino is one of the gangsters who becomes close with Depp’s character. Based on a true story, Depp excels once again in another straight dramatic performance.
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Terry Gilliam’s tale of journalist Hunter S. Thompson on a drug fueled journey through Sin City gave Johnny an unforgettable role. There are simply too many terrific one-liners that Depp spews to list here and he has a solid partner with Benicio del Toro as his attorney. This is Johnny gone wild and boy is it fun!
3. Ed Wood (1994)
Tim Burton’s loving biopic of Ed Wood, often called Hollywood’s worst director, is a great film with Depp as the title character. Burton’s picture wonderfully displays the joy of movie making, even if the movies are crap. And Depp sells it as the man behind the camera. And he gets to cross dress in it, too!
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
It’s kind of hard to recall now just how amazing this picture was when it came out ten years ago. Much of that may be due to the three lackluster sequels that followed. However, Black Pearl is popcorn entertainment of the highest order. And it’s Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow that turned it into an instant classic. Disney was worried about Depp’s performance when it was being filmed. Turns out Depp’s quirky take on the pirate was its main selling point. This is what turned Johnny into the biggest movie star on the planet.
1. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Depp’s first collaboration with Tim Burton is still the best. Furthermore, Depp’s performance as the title character embodies everything great about this performer. There’s the aforementioned quirkiness. The vulnerability. The physicality. Edward Scissorhands is a special film with a very special leading performance.
So there you have it! My favorite work from one of the best actors in movie history. And Happy 50th birthday to Johnny Depp!
At the Oscar ceremony in 2003, Academy voters clearly were in the mode of honoring Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was the third and final entry in the series. The first two, Fellow of the Ring and The Two Towers, had been nominated for Best Picture in 2001 and 2002, but not won.
A similar fate would not befall Return of the King. The Tolkien adapted pic took the top prize over Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, and Gary Ross’s Seabiscuit.
I certainly haven no issue with King, Mystic, and Translation‘s nomination. While I liked Commander and Seabiscuit, other titles would’ve made the list for me. How about Fernando Meirelles’s terrific City of God, for one? Or American Splendor, the very original biopic about Harvey Pekar. Or Quentin Tarantino’s electrifying genre mix-up Kill Bill – Volume One.
Rings director Peter Jackson would win Best Director over Coppola, Eastwood, Weir, and City of God‘s Meirelles. Once again, I would’ve given serious consideration to Mr. Tarantino especially.
Sean Penn would win his first Oscar in the Best Actor race as a grieving father bent on revenge in Mystic River. He was expected to win and he beat out a solid group that included Johnny Depp in his first appearance as Captain Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean, Ben Kingsley in House of Sand and Fog, Jude Law in Cold Mountain, and the incomparable Bill Murray earning his first nomination for Lost in Translation.
I would have replaced Jude Law with Paul Giamatti’s brilliant work in American Splendor. William H. Macy also gave a fine performance in The Cooler. On the comedic side, how about Will Ferrell in Elf or Billy Bob Thornton as Bad Santa?
As expected, Charlize Theron’s shocking and highly effective performance in Monster would earn her Best Actress. Other nominees: Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider, Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give, Samantha Morton for In America, and Naomi Watts in 21 Grams.
I absolutely would have found room for Bill Murray’s counterpart in Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johannson and Uma Thurman in the first Kill Bill. Others for consideration: Jennifer Connelly in House of Sand and Fog and Maria Bello in The Cooler.
The Mystic River acting love would extend to Tim Robbins, who took Supporting Actor over Alec Baldwin in The Cooler, Benicio del Toro in 21 Grams, Djimon Hounsou for In America, and Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai.
Others for consideration: the fine work of Jeff Bridges in Seabiscuit. And, at this point, I will confess to being a huge fan of Love Actually. And the work of Bill Nighy as an inappropriate aging rocker might have made my cut.
While Cold Mountain did not get a Best Picture nod as the studio clearly hoped it would, Renee Zellweger would win Supporting Actress for the film. Zellwegger won over Shohreh Aghdashloo in House of Sand and Fog, Patricia Clarkson for Pieces of April, Marcia Gay Harden in Mystic River, and Holly Hunter for Thirteen.
Ms. Charlize Theron’s remarkable work clearly overshadowed Christina Ricci, who was left off in this category for Monster. I also would’ve considered Hope Davis in American Splendor. And for the comedic performers who are too often ignored, how about Joan Cusack as the tightly wound headmaster in School of Rock?
In retrospect, 2003 was the year of the King and Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking trilogy.
Two new entries join the box office fray this weekend to compete with the third weekend of the massive sixth Fast&Furious pic and the second weekend of the surprise hit Now You See Me, as well as the Will Smith bomb After Earth.
I am predicting our two newcomers will open 1st and 2nd. With the Ethan Hawke thriller The Purge, I am predicting above expectations and sticking with it. My extensive blog post on that pic can be found here:
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson reunite for The Internship. I’m not expecting Wedding Crashers numbers, but am predicting a respectable opening. My full post outlining its prospects is available here:
As for holdovers, Fast&Furious 6 will likely not experience the over 60 percent drop it received its sophomore weekend after a mammoth opening. I look for it to dip a tad above 50%. Now You See Me opened #2 last weekend with a much bigger than anticipated $29 million. With solid word of mouth, this may not dip below 50%, which would be a terrific hold. And, lastly, the Will/Jaden Smith sci-fi flick After Earth debuted last weekend with a very disappointing $27 million. Pretty much all buzz since its opening has been highly negative. A major drop seems assured.
And with that, my top five predictions for the weekend:
1. The Purge
Predicted Gross: $24.9 million
2. The Internship
Predicted Gross: $20.7 million
3. Fast&Furious 6
Predicted Gross: $16.4 million (representing a drop of 54%)
4. Now You See Me
Predicted Gross: $15.8 million (representing a drop of 46%)
5. After Earth
Predicted Gross: $9.5 million (representing a drop of 65%)
As always, I’ll have updates posted on the Facebook page this weekend and full results Sunday on the blog!
I would say that even a month ago, The Purge was really on no one’s radar screen when talking about potentially successful summer flicks. That has changed.
The Ethan Hawke thriller comes with a very cool concept. Set in 2022, The Purge refers to a 24-hour period that takes place every year in which all crime, including murder, is legal. Hawke is the head of a family who are terrorized by those looking to punch their free crime card. This pic seems to have gained momentum just in the last couple of weeks with frequent TV spots. I will admit – the trailers and ads for The Purge are pretty damn effective.
Five summers ago, a similar title The Strangers opened to a robust $21 million. I certainly believe The Purge could post similar grosses. Films like this tend to do more than what most prognosticators go with, so I’m tempted to predict on the high end of expectations. Mr. Hawke had a nice size hit just last fall with Sinister, which opened with a more than expected $18 million.
The sudden surge of Purge could mean a #1 opening this weekend. I believe it will be a close race between this and the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy The Internship. My prediction for that film can be found here:
Eight long summers ago, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson struck box office gold with Wedding Crashers, which was the surprise hit of the season with $209 million domestically. Since then, the two actors have seen more flops than hits. Fred Claus? You, Me, and Dupree? The Dilemma? Drillbit Taylor? Hall Pass? The Watch?
You get the idea. So it makes perfect sense that the two stars would team up again to recapture some box office magic. The Internship features Vince and Owen as obsolete salesmen who are forced to start over at Google headquarters. It costars Rose Byrne, John Goodman, and maybe even a surprise actor or two…
The question is: will the reunion of these actors be enough to guarantee solid box office returns? My feeling is – if so, the marketing campaign surrounding the picture is not doing it any favors. I simply haven’t found the trailers to be very funny at all. Some of the humor displayed in the previews looks curiously outdated. And I find the decision of a PG-13 rating to be possibly troubling – Wedding Crashers, after all, is known for its R rated humor.
When The Internship was first announced, there may have been a feeling of excitement about the two leads teaming up again. That anticipation seems to have dissipated. There’s also what I feel will be a real competition for the top spot this weekend. The Ethan Hawke thriller The Purge seems to be running an effective marketing campaign and its numbers could be strong. My prediction post for that will be up either later tonight or tomorrow.
The Internship is an excellent example of a movie that could easily over or under perform. We could see a $30 million opening weekend. We could see a $12 million opening weekend. I think Vaughn and Wilson reunited is most likely to equal a high teens or low-twenties opening weekend.
The Internship opening weekend prediction: $20.7 million
2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is the third entry in the series. It brings in a new cast and places its setting on a new continent. The results, however, are not too pleasing.
With Paul Walker, Tyrese, and everyone else out of the picture (for now), Tokyo Drift centers on Sean, a rebellious high school kid who loves drag racing. So much so that Sean gets into trouble after one particularly fouled up race and is sent to Tokyo to live with his military father.
Sean is played by Lucas Black, who you may remember as the kid from Sling Blade. He grew up to look a little bit like a young Dave Matthews. And he definitely grew up… I couldn’t help but chuckle when his character is supposed to be 17. The actor was 24 when he played the role. He looks 28. There’s one scene where some girls are flirting with Sean and his friend exclaims, “Ladies, he’s underage!” I wanted to shout “No he isn’t!!” back at the screen.
With the move to Tokyo, Sean strikes up a friendship with a famous actor played by Bill Murray who’s in town to shoot a liquor commercial. Wait. Wrong movie. Sean actually strikes up a friendship with Twinkie, played by Bow Wow. I’m assuming at one point his name was Lil Twinkie. Of course, Twinkie gets Sean right back into the street racing world.
This mixes Sean up with DK (Brian Tee), whose uncle Mr. Kamata (the legendary Sonny Chiba) is a fixture in the Yakuza. Naturally, DK has a girlfriend Neela (Natalie Kelley) that Sean stupidly goes after. Just like Paul Walker does! And there’s also Han (Sung Kang), who works for Mr. Kamata and takes a liking to Sean.
Tokyo Drift introduces us to the practice “drifting”, in which the driver intentionally loses traction in the rear wheels to get through corners, etc… And that’s straight from Wikipedia, folks, so ya know it’s true! We even get a couple of monologues after how drifting makes you feel like a free person. Or some nonsense like that.
The movie takes a long way to get where it’s going and the first hour is quite a bore. When we finally get a pretty badass race through the streets of Tokyo, Drift makes a rather severe shift in tone that feels a bit jarring.
Although there is that aforementioned race that works and the climactic race down a mountain that is effective, Tokyo Drift is mostly weak sauce. None of the acting is particularly memorable and the screenplay feels lazy (lame references to Justin Timberlake and Beyonce stand out). Director Justin Lin takes over the franchise and he can direct action, but there’s not enough of it. Some of the production design is rather sweet looking so props to the team behind that.
By the end, we do get a cameo from a major star in the franchise. I don’t wanna give too much away, but here’s a hint. It’s not Viola Davis, but it’s an actor with the same initials. Perhaps I’ve said too much.
The original was a mixed bag that had a lot of solid moments. I found the second to be an improvement because it knew it was trash, but was often fun as hell. Tokyo Drift simply doesn’t have much going for it and it definitely the worst of the bunch so far.
** (out of four)
The blog series will continue with film #4 Fast&Furious.
Continuing on with my blog series evaluating the films in the Fast and Furious franchise, we move onto #2 in the series titled 2 Fast 2 Furious. Released a decade ago, the sequel incorporates future Twitter speak with its title. Apparently Too Fast Too Furious didn’t work. Or The Faster and the Furiouser. Or the obvious choice – Fast and Furious 2. Due to their choice, I have chosen 2 incorporate Twitter speak as best I can 4 the remainder of this review:
2 Fast 2 Furious moves the action away from California 2 Miami w/lead character Brian (Paul Walker) going undercover once again 2 infiltrate drug lord Verone (Cole Hauser), who from here on out will b known as “Scarface lite.” If Brian successfully brings down Scarface lite, his criminal record achieved in the original film will b wiped clean. Furthermore, it will allow the character 2 try 2 rectify his deserved reputation as the Worst Undercover Cop in Film History. Brian enlists his childhood friend Roman (Tyrese Gibson) 2B his partner on the mission. They also partner up w/a hot undercover customs agent, played by Eva Mendes (#goslingsgirlfriend).
The film brings in Boyz N The Hood director John Singleton, taking over the franchise from Rob Cohen. There’s also no Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, or Michelle Rodgriguez, but Luda is in the house! (#standup) (#chickenandbeer) (#getback) (#southernhospitality) Like the original, the dialogue n character development often leave much 2B desired. Roman’s main character trait is that he likes 2 eat a lot. LMFAO! Scarface lite is a rather dull villain. And, once again, Brian chooses the 1 girl 2 develop a crush on (#goslingsgirlfriend) that he really shouldn’t.
Having said all that, I’ll B damned if 2 Fast 2 Furious isn’t mostly a whole lotta fun. This is more action flick than street racing flick & the action sequences r well-done n exciting. 2 Fast is certainly not an intelligent movie, but whaddya expect? I was highly entertained most of the time – more so, in fact, than I was w/the original. I know this goes against the general consensus, but I gotta B honest. YOLO. Plus, the 1st 1 didn’t have a bizarre sequence where a rat gnaws on a dude’s stomach! SMH
If u leave leave ur critical nitpicking behind going in2 the pic, there’s a good time 2B had here.
*** (outta 4)
I’ll b back w/the 3rd Fast movie Tokyo Drift soon… c ya! ttyl 😉
It’s certainly not every weekend that you can describe the box office results as truly shocking. However, this weekend… they were truly shocking.
This is for two reasons: the over performance of Now You See Me and the under performance of After Earth. No one figured the caper flick Now You See Me had a chance of making more than Will Smith’s sci-fi pic After Earth. That’s precisely what happened.
We begin where we should though and that’s with Fast and Furious 6 remaining in the top spot with $35.1 million, a tad below my $36M projection. The sixth F+F installment experienced a sophomore weekend decline right in line with other entries in the franchise.
This brings us to #2… Now You See Me. And that would be an epic failure of predicting on my part. I grossly underestimated the picture and predicted it’d open sixth with $14.2 million. Boy, was I wrong. Garnering a rock solid A- Cinemascore average, See Me took the runner-up spot with an impressive $29.3 million. Audiences clearly were in the mood for something original and different and this seemed to be just the ticket.
And now to the enormous failure of After Earth. The M. Night Shyamalan directed sci-fi pic starring Will and Jaden Smith earned brutal reviews and, as it turns out, audience ambivalence. I incorrectly figured Smith’s star power would propel the film to a #1 opening and a $39.1 million opening weekend. Again… boy, was I wrong! Placing third, Earth debuted with a very weak $27.5 million. Earning a tepid B Cinemascore grade, expect Earth to fade fast in subsequent weekends.
Star Trek Into Darkness took fourth with $16.7 million, edging out fifth place Epic at $16.6 million. I predicted a bit more for each at $18.5M and $17.7M, respectively. And continuing its disappointing results in sixth place was The Hangover Part III, which made $16.3 million in its sophomore weekend (I predicted $17.1M).
So there you have it – not a great weekend for me predicting the new openers at all. I’ll try to do better next weekend. Tomorrow on the blog, I’ll have my opening weekend prediction for the Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson comedy The Internship. Tuesday, my opening prediction for The Purge starring Ethan Hawke. And Wednesday, my usual Top Five predictions. Stay tuned!
Being that the top two grossing opening weekends in Universal Pictures history is the last two installments of the Fast and Furious franchise, I felt it was time for yours truly to take a look at the series.
Yes, believe it or not, I have only seen the original F+F picture. That was twelve years ago and I barely remembered it. So what’s a blogger to do? Why go out and buy the first five flicks and review them all for your perusal. Hopefully, I’ll watch ’em in enough time to catch the sixth feature in the theater and blog about it as well.
Let’s begin with the franchise’s first entry, 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. Director Rob Cohen brings us into the world of California street racing when LAPD officer Brian (Paul Walker) goes undercover to solve a series of truck hijackings. This introduces him to a team of racers led by Dominic (Vin Diesel). His crew includes his girl Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), the one that doesn’t like Brian, the one whose dad is in jail, and, um, the other one. Of course, Brian also falls in love with Dominic’s sister (Jordana Brewster) in order for him to be emotionally invested.
Dominic’s crew is in a long-standing rivalry with an Asian street gang, led by Johnny Tran (Die Another Day‘s Rick Yune) and it is that crew that Brian initially suspects of being the perps. It just can’t be Dominic, especially after he explains his daddy issues to Brian in a male bonding moment.
Truth be told, The Fast and the Furious is no great of example of writing or, in my cases, acting. Walker is a bit of blank slate and Brewster is rather dull as well. The one with screen presence is definitely Mr. Diesel, as well as Ms. Rodriguez.
It’s worth noting that Fast seems directly influenced by an action pic that came ten years before it, Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break. Call this Point Brake, if you will. Only it’s not near as good.
Where Fast often succeeds is its well choreographed car sequences that certainly make it highly watchable. Director Cohen directs the pic with energy and style with a soundtrack that bumps with Ludacris and Ja Rule beats for the first half and mostly techno in the second half.
Is it enough for me say the original Fast is a good movie? Not really, but it’s close. I certainly get why legions of moviegoers enjoyed it. If I’m being honest, though, I spent the last few minutes of the film wondering two things:
1) In the climactic truck hijacking, how come there’s zero traffic on a freeway other than the hijacked truck and Brian, Dominic, and crew?
2) Isn’t Paul Walker’s character literally the worst undercover cop in the history of undercover cops?
Still, the o.g. F+F gets the franchise off to a serviceable start. Who knew that this modestly budgeted flick would become the biggest franchise in the world that doesn’t involve superheroes or is based on a wildly popular series of books?
**1/2 (out of four)
We’ll see what the gang is up to as my blog series continues shortly with 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious.
