BOX OFFICE
Weekend Estimate
January 2-4, 2009 (*millions)
FILM GROSS
1 Marley & Me (2008) $24.1M
2 Bedtime Stories (2008) $20.3M
3 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) $18.4M
4 Valkyrie (2008) $14M
5 Yes Man (2008) $13.8M
6 Seven Pounds (2008) $10M
7 The Tale of Despereaux (2008) $7.02M
8 Doubt (2008) $5.03M
9 The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) $4.85M
10 Slumdog Millionaire (2008) $4.77M
PROJECT UPDATES
- John Curran is set to direct “The Beautiful and the Damned,” a Film Department period drama that will star Keira Knightley. Pic begins production in March. Hanna Weg script concerns the turbulent marriage of alcoholic writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and his mercurial wife Zelda Sayre, who was schizophrenic. The tempestuous relationship, which unfolded in the high society of the Roaring ’20s, inspired some of the novelist’s works. Curran previously helmed “The Painted Veil” and “We Don’t Live Here Anymore.” Knightley will play Sayre, which reportedly had Nick Cassavetes as its director last September. He fell out along the way.
BUSINESS NEWS
- The record-breaking 2008 domestic box office proves Hollywood isn’t as dependent on by-the-book franchises as everyone feared. It will also be remembered for prospering even as the economy collapsed. Ticket sales for the year — Jan. 2, 2008, through Jan. 1, 2009 — clocked in at $9.63 billion, ahead of the $9.62 billion earned in 2007. Admissions were down roughly 4%, far less than declines in other sectors of the economy. Warner Bros. led the pack, posting B.O. revs of $1.77 billion, the best ever for any studio. Paramount followed at 1.58 billion. Heading into 2008, studios were worried they wouldn’t be able to replicate the success enjoyed in 2007, when franchises (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Shrek,” “Harry Potter,” “Spider-Man”) dominated the marquee. The range and breadth of 2008 titles that ended up working — including the most successful crop of female pics in history — impressed even the most cynical studio execs. No one imagined that Warner’s Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” would become the most successful superhero title of all time hands down, or that Paramount and Marvel Entertainment’s Robert Downey Jr. starrer “Iron Man” would turn into an instant franchise. The Christmas sesh saw a number of films do well, even if the marquee seemed too crowded heading into the holiday. All told, 24 titles grossed north of $100 million in 2008, nearly as many as in 2007.
- After more than two months of negotiations, Relativity Media has closed a deal to buy Rogue Pictures from Universal Pictures for roughly $150 million. Move bolsters Relativity’s library, adding some 30 titles, including Rogue’s debut pic “Unleashed” and summer horror hit “The Strangers,” which earned $53 million. Relativity’s new assets also include more than 30 Rogue projects in various stages of development, such as a “Strangers” sequel, which has a finished script. Relativity will inherit a number of producing deals as well, including those with Wes Craven and Intrepid. A source familiar with the deal dubbed the $150 million sale price a bargain, adding that in a better economy, the consistently profitable genre label could have fetched perhaps more than double that sum. But Universal also comes out of the deal a winner, taking a lump cash payment now and retaining a distribution stake in future Rogue films. As part of the deal, U will continue to release Rogue titles for most of the world and collect a discounted distribution fee of roughly 10%, which is less than the standard rate of 12% but more than the 8% that companies like Marvel and DreamWorks Animation pay.
STRIKE NEWS/LABOR ISSUES
- With his future at SAG in question, Screen Actors Guild national exec director Doug Allen has kept pushing hard for a strike authorization from the guild’s 120,000 members. In his latest message, sent Friday to members, Allen argues that a strike authorization can be justified in a time of economic crisis. Opposing that assertion has been a rallying cry for those against the vote, with 1,900 members – including George Clooney, Russell Crowe and Tom Hanks – seeking a withdrawal of the authorization referendum.
WEBSITE TO WATCH
The proliferation of geotagging and location-specific services should serve notice to news organizations everywhere: people want their news and information tailored to where they live. A site on the forefront of hyper-targeted news is this Brooklyn-based start-up, which just closed on a new round of funding from existing venture and angel investors, including Union Square Ventures, the New York City Investment Fund, and Betaworks. Outside.In categories information on the web by tagging it by city, neighborhood, intersection or street address. When users plug in their location, they can pull up news stories and blog postings relevant to their little microcosm of the world. Outside.In’s Radar service provides news feeds. StoryMaps is a widget that allows users to display blog archives visually. The site can then sell ads not only by city, but also by neighborhood or even city block. The start-up launched its own API in November to allow third party developers to access its database of local content by location within 1,000 feet, including news stories, blog posts and Twitter tweets. How’s that for drilling down?
SOURCES:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997928.html?categoryId=13&cs=1
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997933.html?categoryId=18&cs=1
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997927.html?categoryId=18&cs=1
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997914.html?categoryId=1066&cs=1