Weekend Box-Office: 'Ocean's 11' drowns 'Harry Potter' and sinks 'Enemy'!

[James Harvey]

The new remake film Ocean's 11 opened to the nice tune of $39.3 million, besting Harry Potter by almost $25 million. Potter fell a mere 30%, breaking the 50% - 60% drops from previous weekends. The rest of the top ten...well...they all took a tumble as well. Since LOTR does not open until Dec. 18th, Ocean's 11 may have one more weekend at the top. The remake of the 1960's Rat Pack movie has gotten some critical acclaim, some citing it as "just what we need right now". Here are the stats:

1. Ocean's 11 - $39,255,000 ($39.3 mill)
2. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone - $14,805,000 ($240 mill)
3. Behind Enemy Lines - $8,110,000 ($31.2 mill)
4. Monsters Inc. - $6,673,000 ($212.5 mill)
5. Spy Game - $4,600,000 ($54.1 mill)
6. Black Knight - $3,250,000 ($27.2 mill)
7. Shallow Hal - $2,550,000 ($64.8 mill)
8. Out Cold - $1,400,000 ($12.3 mill)
9. Amelie - $1,100,000 ($11.4 mill)
10. Domestic Disturbance - $950,000 ($43,751,000)

WB has the two top spots, making this a record 4th quarter for the AOLTW giant, and with LOTR coming - that looks to only sweeten the deal. The next few weeks will bring some interesting box office totals - that is for sure!

[Jowy Blight]

DG, how long do you think LOTR will stay at the top?

[James Harvey]

I don't know the compplete list of competition it has, but I give it three weeks for sure, possibly 4. It'll open with a $50 - $70 million take. It'll slip about 25% in the next week, and another 20% in the week after. It'll level out before having a slow descent. It won't slip as fast as Potter, but it will have a good run. LOTR is the first big fantasy movie that the theatres have seen in a long time, plus it has killer tv spots and trailers which are definatly drawing interesting. There are no other movies of similair fantasy nature to run against it this season, so I say it's pretty safe. I say LOTR will do good - very good.

That's my prediction.

[Bird Boy]

and not to mention that it's a 3 hour movie, so you're getting more bang for yer buck.. :)


-BB

[Failure]

Are there any "big" movies coming out after LOTR? If not, even if LOTR doesnt keep the top spot for long, it might be able to sustain steady numbers for a while like 6th Sense did.

[The Clown Prince]

Are there any "big" movies coming out after LOTR?

Well, in the kid market, Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius opens on December 21, two days after LOTR . Kids movies either do really well, or they don't. For example, Disney's Max Peebles Big Move didn't do really well, while of course Monsters Inc did. We'll have to see on that one.

In the teen market, Not Another Teen Movie opens December 14th. I think this movie will surprise and do really well like Scary Movie did. I honestly think it will top Vanilla Sky next weekend for number one, but definately won't be a contender against LOTR . Vanilla Sky will do OK, but not super.

Now for the other "big" movie of the month, that would have to be Ali which opens on TUESDAY December 25th following a yearly tradition of films opening on Christmas Day. It's honestly hard to say how good this film will do. It has Will Smith who a lot of people like even though it's not a comedy. But the character he his playing is a legendary one. The gap between LOTR and Ali is only one week so we'll see then. But I think it's gonna be close between those two. Neither one will blow the other out of the water. Their numbers will be respectivley close.

The Clown Prince

[The Clown Prince]

Forgot to mention that Tim Allen's comedy Joe Somebody opens December 21 along with Kate and Leopold with Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan. Another "big" movie opening on Decmeber 21 is Jim Carrey's The Majestic . We all know what drawing power Jim Carrey has, but since this is a drama and not a comedy, it's hard to say how much Carrey will bring in that weekend.

With a lot of movies opening with LOTR on that weekend, those who can't get in to see LOTR will see the other films. Numbers will be interesting to see for all movies that weekend.



The Clown Prince

[Kathy Kane]

Hey, I saw Ocean's 11! It was a great heist movie!
I guess I can't wait for the LOTR, but I can't stand all this spin off toys, etc. I read somewhere that Tolkin hated Hollywood, he's probably rolling in his grave now.

I also saw Vampire Hunter D: bloodlust, it was the best Anime I've seen it years. Say wasn't there a Oscar Animation thread somewhere on the Anigen page???
Also does anyone know when the Oscar nominees will be anounced?
:dot:

[Stinky Cat]

i cant wait till lotr comesout...? oceans11 i guess it isnt out in theaters yet where i live...

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Kathy Kane
I read somewhere that Tolkin hated Hollywood, he's probably rolling in his grave now.

I'm not aware of any special animus for Hollywood, except for Disney, which he passionately loathed.

From what I've read, it appears he was actually quite eager to sell the film rights to LotR. His stated attitude was "cash or kudos": either they had to pay him a huge amount of money (in which case they could do whatever they liked to it), or they had to do it right (in which case he would settle for a lot less money).

But during Tolkien's lifetime no one could figure out how to make it work, though lots of ideas were floated. An executive at United Artists (which briefly held the film rights during the 70s) recalled being approached by a producer with one idea: Turn LotR into a rock opera starring the Beatles. The UA executive thought it was a charming suggestion, but it didn't go anywhere.

Oscar nominees won't be announced until sometime in late February or early March, I believe.

[The Mad Hatter]

LOTR with the Beatles? Good lord, who would play Frodo? And maybe Saruman as a Blue Meanie? Or maybe the entire movie would be set in the Bombadil sequence?

I've still got to get over to see Ocean's 11, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I just need to convince some of my friends, who boycott every movie Julia Roberts is in simply on principle.

Anyway, the totals. Potter sounds like it'll probably tap out at about $350 mil or so, which isn't a bad take at all. I'm still glad to see Monsters Inc. hanging in there, it deserves to do well. And Amelie... that's it, I may have to plan a trip to Memphis to see it.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by The Mad Hatter
I've still got to get over to see Ocean's 11, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I just need to convince some of my friends, who boycott every movie Julia Roberts is in simply on principle

You can tell them she's barely in it. It's 95% boys with their toys.

[RockItShipper]

I wonder what Tolkien'd make of the BK toys

[Failure]

Apparently Tolkien had a "hatred of all things Hollywood."

Here's an article which has Tolkien's son talking about how his father might react to the movie

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011207/re/arts_tolkien_dc_2.html

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Failure
Apparently Tolkien had a "hatred of all things Hollywood."

Here's an article which has Tolkien's son talking about how his father might react to the movie

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011207/re/arts_tolkien_dc_2.html

Well, back in the 50s a producer of animated films (NOT Disney) approached Tolkien about acquiring the rights to LotR, and talks went far enough that the producer commissioned a plot synopsis for an adaptation and sent it to Tolkien for comment. Tolkien's response is in the "Collected Letters," where he tears it apart with great thoroughness. It was clearly a hack job and Tolkien minces no words in denouncing it.

But it is also clear that Tolkien recognized the need for enormous changes when a work is translated from one medium to another, and even made proposals for how it might be done in LotR. But he was uninterested in doing the work himself, and saw that the producer he was dealing with didn't know how to do it either. So the project was dropped.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'd read too much into any comments about how Tolkien would take the film. A lot of people have money or reputations invested in the films' success, and will say that he would approve of the adaptation. Equally, anyone who shares Tolkien's antipathy for Hollywood would have an interest in saying he would hate it. I really don't think it matters very much.

[Trent Lane]

Thank goodness Harry Potter's reign of terror is slowly but surely winding down :p Didn't get to see Ocean's 11 yet, but did finally make it out to see Shallow Hal. It's weird seeing your home town in a movie, even weirder seeing a car that parked at your school in it...

[James Harvey]

The following are the new major releases for the next two weeks.


December 14


"Not Another Teen Movie" Genre: Spoof Comedy. Directed by Joel Gallen (debut). Starring Jaime Pressly, Chyler Leigh, Chris Evans.


"Vanilla Sky" Genre: . Directed by (""). Starring .

Limited Release Highlight: The latest comedy from "Bottle Rocket" and "Rushmore" director Wes Anderson "The Royal Tenenbaums" bows in Los Angeles and New York with an all-star cast including Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson.

December 19


"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" Genre: Fantasy. Directed by Peter Jackson ("Heavenly Creatures"). Starring Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen.


December 21


"How High" Genre: Comedy. Directed by Jesse Dylan (debut). Starring Method Man, Redman, Hector Elizondo.


"Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" Genre: Animated. Directed by John A. Davis (debut).


"Joe Somebody" Genre: Comedy. Directed by John Pasquin ("The Santa Clause"). Starring Tim Allen, Jim Belushi, Patrick Warburton.


"Kate and Leopold" Genre: Romantic Comedy. Directed by James Mangold ("Girl, Interrupted"). Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber.


"The Majestic" Genre: Drama. Directed by Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"). Starring Jim Carrey, Martin Landau, Laurie Holden.

Limited Release Highlight: Opening in select cities is Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind." The drama based on the life of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash goes into national release on Jan. 4.

By comparison, the same period last year saw seven wide releases, all performed at least modestly well at the box office. The Tom Hanks drama "Cast Away" played to the largest crowds, pulling in $233.5 million. The Mel Gibson romantic comedy "What Women Want" grossed a universally appealing $182.8 million. The Sandra Bullock comedy "Miss Congeniality" won $106.8 million. Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" moved $89.2 million. Teen comedy "Dude, Where's My Car?" scored a sweet $46.7 million, and "Dracula 2000" sunk its teeth into $33 million.

[The Mad Hatter]

Some friends of mine just saw the advance preview for Not Another Teen Movie (I couldn't go, I was stuck at the office). They said it wasn't superb, but it was an enjoyable waste of time.

[James Harvey]

I may be seeing that Teen Movie with a bunch of friends this weekend as a last "hurrah" before we all go home for Christmas vacation. I'm not really looking forward to it, but I sorta wanna see it at the same time. That "Jannie's Got a Gun" sequence is probably the bets gag of the episode...