Box Office Actuals (6/10/11-6/12/11): "Super 8" Soars...

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

With a year-long build and teasers regarding what secret lies within the film, "Super 8" opened #1 at the box office with a less-than-estimated $35.5 million take. While critics had a largely favorable, if not somewhat tempered reaction to the film, audiences reportedly loved the film and reports show that the film could have strong word-of-mouth heading into its first full week and second weekend.

Estimates and expectations for the film were all over the board with "Super 8". On the one hand, the start was a disappointment when compared to director J.J. Abrams' two previous films, 2006's "Mission: Impossible III" (opened at 47.7 million) and 2009's "Star Trek" (opened at $75.2 million). "Super 8" was not a franchise or relaunch and thus, served as Abrams' first foray into wholly original content. And yet, even describing "Super 8" has completely or wholly original will generate guffaws from those who claim the film is too much of a copy of co-producer Steven Spielberg's own directorial and writing efforts of the past; namely, "E.T.", "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind", and "The Goonies".

Confounding pundits further was the more muted viral efforts of Paramount in promoting the film. Previously, with Abrams' TV creation "Lost" and the Abrams-produced feature "Cloverfield", several curiously named websites appeared with clues, anecdotes, and labyrinthine games and paths for fans and those interested to follow, send around, discuss, and debate. Short of wondering if there was in fact a monster, or monsters, or what it or they looked like, the only real non-trailered promotion for the film came in the form of a short film, truncated in the finished product, which shows archived government footage of a scientist attempting to feed something in a darkened cage. Near the end of the footage, one giant arm of a creature swoops down and takes the scientist high into the air.

All of this to say that Paramount reportedly was very satisfied with the opening weekend and feel the film is positioned to withstand the oncoming "Green Lantern" and "Mr. Popper's Penguins" this weekend, and then will have a strong foothold in the market to hold off an expected huge opening for Pixar's "Cars 2". Then, with the arrival of "Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon" on Wednesday, June 29, Paramount feels that both "Transformers" and "Super 8" will have cemented themselves as huge hits with legs to carry the studio and audiences through to July 22, when "Captain America" arrives.

A children's adaptation of a popular book series whimpers into theaters, Woody Allen makes history again, and huge attendance continued for "The Tree Of Life". Plus, a handful of indies look to make their mark. All of this and the Top 40 after the cut!

Circuit Round-Up, 06/12

* Last week, Joey Magidson loved Beginners, was intrigued by Kaboom, shrugged at Priest and despised Passion Play. Mike Ward very much enjoyed X-Men: First Class, and both of them recommended Super 8.

* Joey admitted his cinematic “blind spots.” What films are seemingly forever in your “To Watch” pile?

* Joey’s DVD Pick of the Week was not what most would expect.

* “The Oscarettes” make a triumphant return to Anna Belickis’ Women in Cinema, this time evaluating the victories of Sandra Bullock and Mo’Nique as well as their competition.

* The relatively modest slate of weekend releases was also previewed by yours truly.

In honor of Super 8 coming out today, here's a retro Poster for the flick!

My review will be up soon enough, but I highly recommend the movie...it's a lot of fun!

Tonight I learn the secrets of Super 8...

...and I'm actually pretty excited. It's rare that you can go into a big movie without knowing all the major beats these days, so credit where credit is due for that alone. Fingers crossed that J.J. Abrams has crafted something memorable, but that's not in my control. If anyone has seen it yet, feel free to chat it up below, but no spoilers! Aside from that, stay tuned for my reactions!

Could Super 8 be heading to an only modest opening at the Box Office?

Here's what The Hollywood Reporter has to say:

Trying to debunk buzz in Hollywood that pre-release tracking is soft for J.J. Abrams' Super 8, Paramount says the $50 million-budgeted movie doesn't need a big opening weekend because it cost far less than a big studio tentpole.

Paramount has its job cut out for it in managing expectations.

Super 8, opening in theaters Friday, is one of the summer's more high-profile projects because of Abrams and Steven Spielberg, who produced the sci-fi alien pic, set in the late 1970s in a small Ohio town.

However, the studio has refrained from showing the creature at the center of the film in trailers or its ad campaign, hoping to build interest in the film among those curious to see its secret revealed. A similar strategy worked well with the Abrams-produced Cloverfield in 2008, but some are questioning whether more should have been shown with Super 8.

Take a gander at a new Trailer for Super 8!

With the release Friday, this is likely our last look at the flick. Here you go:

Tags:
Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

-Joey's Two Cents: This appears to give away a bit too much, but I'm still digging it...thoughts?

Super 8 started life as a heist film...and some more interesting tidbits!

The Playlist has the details:

After a year of secrecy, J.J. Abrams’ nostalgia-fuelled monster movie “Super 8” is finally done—the film is locked, it has screened for critics (a Playlister has seen it, although we can’t yet tell you what we thought) and it hits theaters in a couple of weeks. While most of the details are still under wraps, Abrams, and producer Steven Spielberg, have started doing the PR rounds ahead of the film’s release two weeks from now.

Empire have some pretty ace access with the film: not only does their latest issue, which hit newsstands yesterday, has an extensive feature on the film, but they also talked to Abrams and Spielberg for a lengthy video interview on their site. While they kept characteristically tight-lipped about the film, there’s a few interesting tidbits that are worth checking out. Below, the ten most interesting pieces of info. For more, check out the video on Empire’s site, or get the July 2011 issue of the magazine.

The juicy bits are after the jump...

Super 8 has been seen by a select few...what's the early word?

Well, it's pretty positive, with some people even talking it up for a Best Picture nomination. Here's the compilation of the buzz from /Film:

The first public screening of JJ Abrams‘ Super 8 took place this Saturday in Hollywood. A few movie journalists were in attendance, and today Paramount Pictures gave word that we were allowed to “tweet about your thoughts on the film” before the review embargo breaks on June 1st. I’m sure more than a few of you already follow me on Twitter and already heard what I thought (if you don’t, you can find my tweets on @slashfilm). I’ve decided to do a round up of all the early tweet reactions to the film. Hit the jump to find out what people thought of Super 8.

Slashfilm: Loved it, they don’t make these types of movies anymore. The best thing I can say about the film is that I loved the characters/setting/tone so much that I probably would have enjoyed it just as much as a Stand By Me-like coming of age drama without the sci-fi/train crash/action. Its one of those films that feels like it was made just for me. (someone asked if its more E.T. or Cloverfield, I responded: It’s Cloverfield with the characters and setting of E.T.)

FirstShowing: absolutely loved it, lived up to my high expectations. Felt like watching an Amblin classic. Of course, it’s expected I’d love it, considering how excited I was for it, but yes, it’s that good. Really need to see it again!

Collider: It’s great. Made me feel like a kid again

Jen Yamato: I enjoyed Super 8′s Goonies vibe; the kids are great. Has its problems, but none are deal breakers for me…though they will be for others.

LA Times Hero Complex: Remember how the academy expanded the best picture race to include crowdpleasers and sublime spectacle films? Meet “Super 8″…

More after the jump...

Could Super 8 be a real Best Picture contender this year?

From Movie Line:

The response to the Super 8 trailer debut has been sweeping and overwhelmingly positive. One look, and you can see why: Standard-issue marketing voodoo aside, J.J. Abrams’s latest portends a rare harmony of sweetness and ambition, homage and envelope-pusher, sincerity and mastery. Believe the hype or not, at least one thing seems clear: At least one Best Picture nomination next year is spoken for, right?

We all probably could have deduced this without a trailer, obviously: Abrams’s Star Trek was on the bubble for last year’s “blockbuster wild-card” spot that eventually went to District 9, and friends (i.e. producers) like Steven Spielberg — whose sci-fi fantasias of the late ’70s-early ’80s are paid tribute here — definitely won’t work against Abrams. (Though the Spielberg-directed Oscar-bait War Horse might.) “Wild card” may be too vague, though, for the creative and commercial success Super 8 is shaping up to be. When you scan the the list of summer 2011 releases, Super 8 has a monolith stature more reminiscent of Inception than District 9 — a sleek, determined, massive entertainment positioned as much for its long shadow as for its blinding mid-June flashpoint.

Today's Posters: Super 8, Hesher, and Sympathy for Delicious

The other posters are after the jump...

Behold the full length Trailer for Super 8!

It certainly looks like something interesting:

-Joey's Two Cents: I love how much it resembles early Spielberg...I'm in. Thoughts?