Box Office Actuals: April 15-17, 2011

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

Despite a slight overestimation, "Rio" still delivered the biggest opening weekend of 2011 with $39.2 million in box office receipts. "Rio" was just the latest in a steady stream of popular animated features for the year, following in the footsteps of "Hop", "Rango", and "Gnomeo and Juliet". "Rio" has already amassed $170 million in worldwide box office, as the film was released overseas a week ahead of its North American release.

"Rio"'s success was supposed to be in concert with comparable numbers for the much anticipated "Scream 4", a rekindling of the 90's franchise that earned $300 million domestically from its initial trio of films. 11 years went by, the stars of the franchise traveled up and down the A-list, but back together once more, excitement was there. Some terrific reviews, with most of them average-to-good, did not translate to audience. An opening Friday led to a diminished interest as the weekend went on and the film opened to a disappointing $18.7 million. The hopes of a comparable final gross are seemingly dashed as this muted "Scream" should earn approximately $50-$55 million by the end of its run.

Although initially reported as a Top 10 debut for Robert Redford and Roadside Attractions, "The Conspirator" opened at #11 with actual receipts counted. Top 10 debut or not, the film still delivered a comparable number to its estimate with $3.5 million earned at 707 locations. "The Conspirator" has become the largest opening gross for a Roadside Attractions film and could move past the Oscar-nominated "Winter's Bone" ($6.5 million) and "Bella" ($8.1 million) as the upstart's biggest success to date.

The Tea Party-endorsed "Atlas Shrugged Part I" amassed an intriguing $1.7 million at a mere 299 locations. The film, an adaptation from the writings of Ayn Rand, drew miserable reviews from critics but supporters of the film used those dismissals as a galvanizing effort in getting out to see the film. Rocky Mountain Films released the film strategically around the country and received a large amount of promotion for Right-wing and Republican-themed talk shows. This attention allowed Rocky Mountain to save on buying TV ad spots and other expensive marketing vehicles. Time will tell if this is going to sustain a second weekend and Rocky Mountain had not yet announced whether they would be expanding the film this coming weekend.

"Win Win" continues to grow and more analysis after the cut:

Cannes announces their 50th annual Critics Week lineup!

Here's the slate:

Feature Films
• Las Acacias, directed by Pablo Giorgelli – ARG
• Ave, directed by Konstantin Bojanov – BUL/FR
• 17 Filles, directed by Delphine & Muriel Coulin – FR
• The Slut (Hanotenet), directed by Hagar Ben Asher – ISR/ALL
• Snowtown (Les Crimes de Snowtown), directed by Justin Kurzel – AUS
• Sauna on Moon, directed by Zou Peng – CHI
• Take Shelter, directed by Jeff Nichols - US

Short Films
• Alexis Ivanovitch vous êtes mon héros, directed by Guillaume Gouix - FR
• Black Moon, directed by Amie Siegel - US
• Blue, directed by Stephan Kang - NZ
• Boy, directed by Topaz Adizes - US
• Bul-Myul-Ui-Sa-Na-Ie, directed by Moon Byoung-gon - COR
• Dimanches, directed by Valérie Rosier - BEL
• In Front of the House, directed by Lee Tae-ho - COR
• La inviolabilidad del domicilio se basa en el hombre que aparece empunando un hacha, directed by Alex Piperno - URU/ARG
• Junior, directed by Julia Ducournau - FR
• Permanencias, directed by Ricardo Alves Junior - BRE

Special Screenings
• La Guerre est déclarée, directed by Valérie Donzelli – FR – Opening Film
• Pourquoi tu pleures?, directed by Katia Lewcowicz – FR – Closing Film
• Walk away Renée, directed by Jonathan Caouette – US/FR/BEL
• My Little Princess, directed by Eva Ionesco – FR

-Joey's Two Cents: I'm very interested in Take Shelter, but the lineup itself seems pretty good...thoughts?

Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi epic Gravity is actually getting ready to shoot?

Via The Playlist:

Things had gone fairly quiet on the front of “Children Of Men” helmer Alfonso Cuarón‘s much-anticipated 3-D sci-fi epic “Gravity” since George Clooney replaced Robert Downey Jr. and joined Sandra Bullock in the cast, but it looks like producer David Heyman has now broken the silence with a refreshing update.

Heyman recently spoke with Collider and revealed that production on the long-gestating feature is due to get underway in London at, “The end of May. The whole film has been pre-vised and figured out, it’s fuckin’ awesome. I mean, unlike anything you’ve seen in space. It’s just great. He’s a privilege to work with—he’s a real visionary.”

“We’re using technology that’s never seen before,” he said. “This film will be more immersive, I believe, than anything you’ve seen before. You will really feel like you are in space. It will not be an objective view of space, it will be an immersive view of space. And you know as you say, with ‘Children of Men,’ he loves these long shots. It’s gonna be a really bold, bold film.”

The producer also adds that Cuarón won’t be shooting in 3D as presumed and the film will be converted into the format in post-production instead. “Because this film is being made almost entirely digitally, a huge amount of it’s being made digitally,” Heyman added. “3D felt like a really organic—because so much of it’s being done digitally, you can make the 3D in a post process much more easily than if you were shooting all live-action or sitting in a room.”

We’re just excited to hear that the talented Mexican filmmaker will soon be back in the game, after all, the development, casting and pre-production drama had threatened to see the pic fall by the wayside at several points along its history. Our original script review describes the story as a “streamlined thrill ride” that would see our protagonist in a “nonstop race to get back to earth” after an outer space accident puts her in danger. Previous reports have also teased a 20-minute single shot opening scene , an $80 million budget which may or may not be still the case, and—for better or worse—CGI to dominate about 60% of the film.

Clooney is currently finishing off his third directorial effort with political drama “The Ides Of March” with this scheduling likely meaning he’ll leap over to London fairly soon after he wraps. Similarly, Bullock has been shooting Stephen Daldry‘s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” with Tom Hanks but that should be (if not already) nearing completion, while Cuarón has been on quite the hiatus in the past few years and is surely eager to get his next fllm going.

Mickey Rourke has some interesting things to say about Passion Play...

...though he's since backed off on them, according to New York Mag:

A few days ago, NY Mag approached Mickey Rourke and asked him about his upcoming movie "Passion Play," which is directed by his good friend Mitch Glazer.

The actor called the movie "terrible," adding that it's getting a limit release "because it's not very good." When asked whether he still thinks that his co-star Megan Fox is "one of the most talented actresses of all time," Rourke replied smirking: "that I've worked with."

NY Mag now caught up with Rourke again, but this time, the actor took the opportunity to apologize for his statements. "When I talked to you, I was at a party. It was loud and crowded, I was in a sh*tty mood and I was trying to get rid of your reporter," he said. "Mitch is one of my best friends since we were kids. I loved working with him and would do it again tomorrow. I don't know why I said that stupid sh*t. I love Mitch, I love Megan. My bad."

Could Superman be headed to West Africa in Man of Steel?

Possibly, according to Collider:

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have spent recent weeks casting their Superman reboot, Man of Steel. Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent. Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Michael Shannon as General Zod. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent. The inclusion of Zod and hiring big names for Clark’s adoptive parents give some indication of where the story — conceived by David S. Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan — takes place in the Superman lore. And Lane claims Man of Steel “does cover the entire range of years, from infancy on.”

But these are just nuggets. What will the film actually be about? A new synopsis has emerged that may confirm Superman is headed to West Africa. Read more after the jump.

Box Office Bulletin: "Rio" mutes a "Scream"

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

Branded as the comeback weekend for the middling North American box office, 20th Century Fox's "Rio" dominated the weekend, presaged by a huge international opening the weekend prior to its domestic release. "Rio", if numbers hold, will have the largest opening of 2011. With its approximate $40 million North American haul, coupled with $127 million already taken in across the water, "Rio" is the international breakout film of the year and could settle in for a long run at the top of the rankings. "Rio" looks to have virtually no competition for its dollar for the foreseeable future, as next week's "African Cats", and the following week's"Hoodwinked Too!" and "Prom" have a muted interest and/or limited audience at best.

NEW OPENINGS:

Landing in second place is The Weinstein Company and Dimension's joint release, "Scream 4". Projections were high for this franchise's return, which had earned nearly $300 million domestically and was making a much-hyped return to the big screen for the first time in more than 11 years. Message boards were alive, reviews were good-to-mixed, and interest resurfaced in the 3 previous slasher flicks. And then when it opened...no one came. Or at least to the anticipated levels the studio and analysts were expecting. "Scream 4" opened with an estimated $19.3 million and stands to finish in the mid-$50 million range when the film runs its course theatrically, more than $30 million less than "Scream 3"'s take. Reports show that audiences bailed on Saturday and Sunday and may have opted instead to check out another horror flick playing in another theater down the hall, but more on that in a moment.

On just 770 screens, Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" (Roadside Attractions) scored a Top 10 debut and one of the highest per-screen averages for the weekend. Earning $3.9 million with an older-skewing audience, this re-telling of the Abraham Lincoln assassination delivered an impressive cast and became Roadside's biggest opening weekend of all time. It will be interesting how Roadside handles this better-than-expected result, as "The Conspirator" needs only to earn a little less than $5 million going forward to become the studio's biggest grossing film (2007's "Bella" earned just over $8 million). The film could have legs and attendance grew over the weekend with some matinee showings selling out. Stay tuned...

One other notable opening at #14 is the long-simmering "Atlas Shrugged, Part I", an adaptation based on the writings of Tea Party-favorite Ayn Rand. Hollywood has always been interested in bringing Rand's writings to the big screen but it took indie Rocky Mountain Pictures, a studio known for releasing Christian-themed and inspirational fare, to make it a reality. Critics were less than kind to the film and it holds a 10% from Rotten Tomatoes at press time. The film has been a galvanizing entity within the Tea Party movement and on just 300 screens, the film scored an estimated $1.7 million, providing a slightly higher per-screen average than "The Conspirator" and virtually every other film in platform, medium, or wide release not named "Rio" or "Scream 4". The negative reviews were re-tweeted and shared via Tea Party supporters and were seen by some as a catalyst in drumming up impressive attendance numbers. Budgeted at $10 million, Parts II and III are reportedly ready if the film can draw enough money to support their being made.

ALSO OF NOTE

FilmDistrict's first two releases, the inspirational "Soul Surfer" and intense horror film, "Insidious" were quite impressive in their second and third weekends respectively. "Soul Surfer" dropped a mere 30% in its second weekend, a high retention of audience for an inspirational sports drama. But "Insidious", despite sliding to #7 overall, continues to hold strong, slipping a scant 27% and undoubtedly hampering "Scream 4"'s overall take. "Insidious" has earned nearly $36 million on its $1.5 million budget and remains a much buzzed-about and talked about film.

The twisty-turning romantic mystery/thriller, "The Double Hour", an Italian film released by Samuel Goldwyn Company, scored an impressive $15,400 per screen average in its two-screen opening.

Another highly anticipated foreign release from IFC Films, "The Princess of Montpensier", a historical period French film about a female aristocrat forced into an unwanted marriage while she carries on a passionate affair, scored a $7,800 per screen average on 4 screens.

The documentary, "Armadillo", discussed by our own Robert Hamer in his weekend preview, did not have its estimates reported.

Overall, the weekend box office surged to nearly $120 million grossed by the Top 12 films, a gain of 16.6% from the previous weekend, and earning the highest tally amongst the Top 12 since "Rango" opened on March 4.

THE TOP 10 (Estimates, with Actuals reported on Monday)

1. "Rio" (20th Century Fox), $40.0 million, NEW
2. "Scream 4" (Weinstein/Dimension), $19.3 million, NEW
3. "Hop" (Universal), $11.2 million, $82.6 million, 3 wks
4. "Soul Surfer" (TriStar/FilmDistrict), $7.4 million, $20.0 million, 2 wks
5. "Hanna" (Focus), $7.3 million, $23.3 million, 2 wks
6. "Arthur" (Warner Bros.), $6.9 million, $22.3 million, 2 wks
7. "Insidious" (FilmDistrict), $6.9 million, $36.0 million, 3 wks
8. "Source Code" (Summit), $6.3 million, $37.0 million, 3 wks
9. "The Conspirator" (Roadside), $3.9 million, NEW
10. "Your Highness" (Universal), $3.9 million, $16.0 million, 2 wks

Is Ryan Gosling in talks to play the Lone Ranger?

Apparently so, according to The Wrap:

Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in Disney's "The Lone Ranger," TheWrap has learned.

It's early, and Gosling's schedule might not permit him to take the role of the Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp as Tonto. Gosling is starring as Logan in "Logan's Run" which is scheduled to begin production this fall.

"The Lone Ranger" is a big movie: Gore Verbinski, who directed the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, is directing the adaptation of the durable franchise for producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

The Lone Ranger started as a radio serial and was later turned into a TV series. The Lone Ranger is a masked lawman who, with his Native American friend Tonto, fights injustice. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels starred in the "Lone Ranger" television series form 1949 to 1957.

"Revolutionary Road's" Justin Haythe is writing the screenplay.

Gosling was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in the 2006 film "Half Nelson."

Paramount Vantage sets a release date for the Sundance hit Like Crazy!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount Vantage has officially scheduled a release date for Sundance winner Like Crazy.

The well-received Like Crazy, which stars Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence, will be in limited release Friday, Oct. 28.

Jones was awarded a special jury award for acting at Sundance for her performance. The 21-year-old Yelchin said in an interview with THR at Sundance that the improvisation done in the film was "magical."

The romantic drama, which won the grand jury prize for U.S. dramatic film at this year’s festival, revolves around two college students -- one American (Yelchin) and the other British (Jones) -- who meet in Los Angeles and fall in love. It was the first film to be bought during the Park City-set fest, with Paramount and Indian Paintbrush paying $4 million to release the Drake Doremus-directed film worldwide.

-Joey's Two Cents: I've targeted this to be potentially this year's 'An Education' or 'Blue Valentine', so expectations are high on my part...thoughts?

Might some of the films at Cannes be Oscar contenders this year?

Entertainment Weekly ponders this:

Last year, several films that played at the Cannes film festival — including Biutiful, Blue Valentine, Another Year, and Inside Job — ended up scoring major-category Oscar nominations. Now that this year’s Cannes lineup has been announced, let’s take a very preliminary look at which films could become next year’s award contenders.

This Must Be the Place Just look at this photo of Sean Penn as an ’80s new-wave star. Are you as intrigued as I am? The film, directed by Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, is a bit of a mystery, but when Penn takes on a physically transformative role, it usually piques the Academy’s interest.

We Need to Talk About Kevin I’m already hearing great things about Tilda Swinton’s performance as the distraught mother of a school gunman. After her strong turns in Julia and I Am Love failed to gain awards-season traction, it would be terrific to have her back in the game.

Martha Marcy May Marlene Director Sean Durkin’s moody drama (one of the best films I saw at Sundance this year) features another creepy supporting turn from this year’s Winter’s Bone nominee John Hawkes as a charismatic cult leader. And rising star Elizabeth Olsen carries the film with her memorable breakout performance.

The Tree of Life It’s never great when a movie finally has its premiere years after it was shot. But director Terrence Malick’s last three films all received at least one Oscar nomination. And the cast (featuring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and touted up-and-comer Jessica Chastain) certainly has potential.

The Skin I Live In The first feature-length collaboration between Pedro Almodóvar and Antonio Banderas in over 20 years is alone cause for celebration. Though it’s an adaptation of a novel rather than an original screenplay, Almodóvar’s works are always strong contenders to become Spain’s foreign-language submission.

-Joey's Two Cents: Malick's film could go either way, but I think one of the safer bets is a lot of buzz building for Elizabeth Olson and her film, much like Jennifer Lawrence last year...thoughts?

Today's Trailers: Cowboys & Aliens, Sleeping Beauty, Passion Play, and Casa de mi Padre

First up is a new look at the summer blockbuster 'Cowboys & Aliens':

The rest after the jump...

Here are some of the films NOT playing at Cannes that we thought might...

...courtesy of The Playlist:

As one of the most highly anticipated film festivals on the planet—the Olympics of cinema as it were—each spring the looming arrival of the Cannes Film Festival line-up brings with it a near feeding frenzy of anticipation (except for those actually awaiting the summer tentpole season).

But the Cannes line-up is generally divided into two sections: 1) the pre-announcement speculation which always makes the festival sound like its going to have every titan of cinema on board and 2) the reality of the situation which is the slightly less awesome line-up announced this a.m. This generally leads to the thinking that “XYZ director/film got snubbed!” when its simply more of a case of the trades making much ado about nothing, and/or simply talking a certain film up too much.

Regardless, let’s look at some “awol” filmmakers and what may have happened to their selections. And lastly, let’s not forget that there are three remaining Cannes competition slots open, likely being saved for filmmakers that are trying to finish up on time. And while some of these could potentially snap up those few spots, most of them likely will not, here’s why.

George Clooney to make a movie about the Wall St. bailout?

So it seems, according to Variety:

George Clooney and Grant Heslov's production shingle is onboard to produce a Wall Street bailout pic based on 2009 Washington Post article "The $700 Billion Man."

Project is being developed as a potential directing vehicle for Clooney. Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban's 2929 Entertainment optioned the rights to Laura Blumenfeld's article about TARP mastermind Neel Kashkari for Clooney and Heslov's Smoke House banner.

Kashkari, a top official under then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, helped develop the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, which bailed out the big banks following the economic collapse in 2008. Kashkari subsequently left Washington and moved to an isolated cabin in Northern California.

Zach Helm ("Stranger Than Fiction") has been tapped to write the pic. Clooney will produce with Heslov and Double Feature Films partners Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher.

Today's Posters: Drive, One Day, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and Love, Wedding, Marriage

The rest are after the cut...

Roger Deakins goes digital...

...marking the end of an era for him (he seems to have been one of the last film holdouts). Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

After dozens of films and NINE Oscar nominations, cinematographer Roger Deakins is going digital.

Considered one of the pre-eminent directors of photography by his peers, he has remained committed to shooting on film through such movies as No Country for Old Men and True Grit, dismissing many of the images shot in recent years with digital cameras as "rubbish."

Although many independent filmmakers were quick to adopt digital cinematography because it can be cheaper, for a master of the art like Deakins, it's been a question of aesthetics: To his eye, digital has not always captured the richness of film.

But with the rapid advancements in digital cinematography, Deakins is becoming a convert. He shot his most recent film, Andrew Niccol's Now, using the new Arri Alexa digital camera. And as he prepares to shoot the next James Bond movie, which Sam Mendes will direct this year, he tells The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm probably going to use Alexa on my next shoot — it seems very likely."

Sally Field is finally confirmed for Spielberg's Lincoln film?

Indeed, and here's the press release to prove it:

Two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field will star as Mary Todd Lincoln, wife to the 16th President of the United States, in DreamWorks Studios’ “Lincoln” to be directed by Steven Spielberg. The announcement was made today by Spielberg and Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios.

Sally Field joins Daniel Day-Lewis, who has been cast to play Abraham Lincoln in the Spielberg film.

"I'm excited to be working with Sally for the first time,” said Steven Spielberg. “I've admired her films and she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln."

“To have the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis and to play one of the most complicated and colorful women in American history is simply as good as it gets,” said Sally Field.

Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner. It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.

It is anticipated that the film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.