BuzzSugar

Box Office: 10,000 B.C. Has a Mammoth of a Weekend

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:30:00 -0700

The lion's share of box office dollars went to director Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C. which earned an estimated $35 million. This same weekend last year saw the outrageous success of 300, but while 10,000 B.C.'s opening comes nowhere near the debut weekend of that blockbuster, it still fulfilled studio expectations, Variety reports.

Disney's College Road Trip starring Raven-Simone and Martin Lawrence secured second place, despite poor reviews. Vantage Point and Semi-Pro took the third and fourth spots, respectively. Coming in at No. 5 was the R-rated bank heist thriller The Bank Job, which stars Jason Statham. The Other Boleyn Girl fell three spots this weekend to seventh place behind The Spiderwick Chronicles which was No. 6.

The charming Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day failed to crack the top ten (rounded out by Jumper, Step Up 2 the Street, and Fool's Gold) as it was only playing in limited release. Not an Oscar nominee in sight for the top 10 this week, so it looks like awards season might officially be over.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Box Office: Semi-Pro Semi-Beats Out Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Despite earning the top spot at the box office, the predictable laughs in Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro only earned $15.3 million over the weekend. This is considered a disappointing sum, especially compared to opening weekends of other Ferrell films like Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory. Variety reports that this underwhelming performance by the basketball comedy may have been due to mediocre reviews and an R-rating.

Vantage Point was only bumped down one spot to No. 2 over the weekend followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles at No. 3. The adaptation of Buzz Book Club's February selection The Other Boleyn Girl took the fourth spot earning an estimated $8.3 million. Penelope starring Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci also opened this weekend coming in at No. 8 behind Jumper, Step Up 2 The Streets, and Fool's Gold.

Filling out the top ten were Oscar-nominated films No Country for Old Men and Juno.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Box Office: Jumper Leaps Ahead

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:30:00 -0800

Despite mediocre reviews (including my own) audiences were still game for director Doug Liman's sci-fi movie Jumper which earned the top spot at the box office its first weekend out. Whether it was the combined star power of Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen or the craving for an action flick this Presidents Day weekend, audiences put Jumper ahead of the rest by a long shot, grossing nearly $33.8 million, according to Variety.

The other big surprise over the weekend was the No. 2 spot which belonged to neither the rom-com Definitely, Maybe nor family friendly The Spiderwick Chronicles but rather Disney's Step Up 2 the Streets. In fact, The Spiderwick Chronicles slid in at No. 3 and Definitely, Maybe came in fifth, behind Fool's Gold which has earned an estimated $42 million since hitting theaters last weekend. Juno, the only Oscar nominee in the top 10, came in behind Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins at No. 7.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:00:41 -0800

Hurray! The Indiana Jones trailer has arrived and now I can't get the music out of my head. Looks like a lot of you are excited for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 as well - the girls look so grown-up!
In other "Hurray!" news, the strike finally ended this week and everyone is moving on - including the studios, which have renewed some shows and are figuring out what the primetime schedule is going to look like. I know most of you are ready to head back to the couch, so I put together a guide to help you sort through the post-strike calendar.
If you haven't filled out my Oscar ballot yet, get cracking! The show is just around the corner. I've been running down nominees in a bunch of categories including live-action shorts, documentaries, and art direction so you can stay on top of your Oscar knowledge.
It's a big weekend for movies, and while I know a lot of folks are looking forward to Jumper, I warned you may be disappointed. I would highly recommend Definitely, Maybe and if you can't make it to theaters, there are stellar DVD choices out this week. Of course, there's always catching up on reading for the Buzz Book Club.
Hopefully this week's episode wasn't the last of Friday Night Lights we'll ever see. I know there are plenty of fans out there that would do anything to keep this show on the air.
I swapped ideas with you all for Valentine's Day songs for bitter love and new love this week. We also got a peek at some new music from Panic at the Disco, and the 25th Anniversary Thriller album hit stores featuring remixes and collaborations with lots of popular young artists.
American Idol's top 24 have been selected now that Hollywood Week has concluded. Pop and I duked it out with our snap judgments on who we think you'll be seeing in the top 12.

Photo courtesy of Paramount

Jumper: Teleport Yourself Far Away From This One

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:31:55 -0800

The sci-fi "thriller" Jumper can be described in one word: empty. Pretty much everything about this movie is devoid of any real energy, passion or substance. The performances are stale and lifeless, the plot is interesting in theory but fails in execution and the visuals aren't cool enough to keep us engaged. The plot is boringly similar to that of Heroes (which is itself like a clone of X-Men), and yet Heroes is so much more enjoyable. At least Heroes features intriguing characters who might band together for a higher purpose. Lacking both good characters and any kind of higher purpose, Jumper just lays there.

Here's the plot: David (Christensen) is a "Jumper," someone who can teleport himself. The Jumpers of the world are at odds with the Paladins, and one Paladin in particular, Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) is on a mission to rid the world of all Jumpers everywhere. In his pursuit, he has no problem killing all of the jumpers' loved ones. Hence, David's lady friend Millie (Rachel Bilson) is in danger, and David must protect her as well as elude Roland's grasp. That's it for the story, but for more of my thoughts on the film, read more.

In a seriously empty movie, the emptiest part is Hayden Christensen on whom I think we'd be hard-pressed to find a pulse. He must have been stoked to get this part that requires so little of him because this way he can be comatose onscreen and people are left to wonder if it's the actor or the material. I suspect it's a little bit of both, though Christensen definitely needs to be held accountable for his dismal performance. It angers me that he can't even be bothered to, say, add any kind of inflection to his voice. As though we're the ones wasting his time and not the other way around.

And in tired repetition of an old formula, the main female character is helpless and outrageously stupid and the lone black character is the face of evil. David's mother, played by Diane Lane, is also a hateful character. Christensen makes it impossible for us to care about David, so that leaves one interesting character: David's fellow Jumper Griffin, played with some degree of liveliness by Jamie Bell. When the audience is longing to find out more about this secondary character to the point of being annoyed with the protagonists for getting in the way of his story, there's a problem. Unless your eyes need some exercise in rolling, I think it's best you jump away from this movie.

For exclusive videos about Jumper - including a preview video - check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Movie Preview: Jumper

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:28:04 -0700

Jumper is a sci-fi movie starring Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson and Rachel Bilson. Christensen plays a teenager who discovers that he has the power to teleport himself to various places. Using this power, he begins an extensive search for the man he believes killed his mother. None of this is very apparent from the new trailer for Jumper, however, which mainly shows off the teenager's teleporting skills, a little Star Wars-y reunion with Christensen and Jackson, and Rachel Bilson playing the cute girlfriend. Jumper hits theaters February 15, 2008. To watch the trailer, read more

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