'Wanted': A new boxoffice leader
Superheroes, family fare and a bit of comedy combined during the weekend to stir up the overseas summer season, with early estimates indicating that the 2008 prime playing time may be running about 5% ahead of last year's record achievement.
The June pickup, erasing the May blip of Speed Racer, continued as Universal's Wanted -- the latest comic book adaptation -- blasted into the overseas market with $32.5 million from 1,955 playdates in 22 territories, followed by Kung Fu Panda's $23.3 million, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian's $19.3 million, Get Smart's $12.3 million, The Incredible Hulk's $11.8 million, Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's $11.7 million, Sex and the City's $11.2 million and The Happening's $7.4 million.
At the same time, the new Disney/Pixar animated entry, WALL-E, showed great promise as it teed off in six Latin American countries to begin a staggered global rollout that ends in Japan on Dec. 5.
Wanted opened at No. 1 in 18 markets, highlighted by a record-breaking opening in Russia ($11 million from 612 dates), home of director Timar Bekmambetov, known for such Russian action-horror films as Night Watch and Day Watch. The ultra violent adaptation from a series of graphic novels by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones opened to $7.6 million from 412 screens in the U.K. (second to Prince Caspian's bow of $8.1 million from 526 screens). No. 1 openings for Wanted included Thailand ($1 million from 74 screens), Hong Kong ($951,000 from 37), Singapore ($780,000 from 43), Malaysia ($766,000 from 59), the Philippines ($693,000 from 910), Ukraine ($683,000 from 76), Turkey ($536,000 from 122) and Poland ($487,000 from 67).
The June pickup, erasing the May blip of Speed Racer, continued as Universal's Wanted -- the latest comic book adaptation -- blasted into the overseas market with $32.5 million from 1,955 playdates in 22 territories, followed by Kung Fu Panda's $23.3 million, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian's $19.3 million, Get Smart's $12.3 million, The Incredible Hulk's $11.8 million, Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's $11.7 million, Sex and the City's $11.2 million and The Happening's $7.4 million.
At the same time, the new Disney/Pixar animated entry, WALL-E, showed great promise as it teed off in six Latin American countries to begin a staggered global rollout that ends in Japan on Dec. 5.
Wanted opened at No. 1 in 18 markets, highlighted by a record-breaking opening in Russia ($11 million from 612 dates), home of director Timar Bekmambetov, known for such Russian action-horror films as Night Watch and Day Watch. The ultra violent adaptation from a series of graphic novels by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones opened to $7.6 million from 412 screens in the U.K. (second to Prince Caspian's bow of $8.1 million from 526 screens). No. 1 openings for Wanted included Thailand ($1 million from 74 screens), Hong Kong ($951,000 from 37), Singapore ($780,000 from 43), Malaysia ($766,000 from 59), the Philippines ($693,000 from 910), Ukraine ($683,000 from 76), Turkey ($536,000 from 122) and Poland ($487,000 from 67).
- 6/30/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film Review: Wanted
Opens: Friday, June 27 (Universal)
It's good to be Wanted.
The debut American feature by successful Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch and its record-smashing 2006 sequel, Day Watch), this over-the-top, ultraviolent, hyperkinetic action thriller pretty much has it all.
That would include engagingly offbeat source material in the form of Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' comic book series, a decent adaptation by Michel Brandt and Derek Haas (last year's 3:10 to Yuma remake) and Chris Morgan (Cellular), a terrific cast and jaw-dropping stunt work.
Then there's the visually charged talents of Bekmambetov -- a man who has funneled the best of the Wachowski brothers, Quentin Tarantino and contemporary Hong Kong action movies through his own wry sensibility.
Capably establishing the anything-goes tone of the Los Angeles Film Festival in its capacity as official curtain-raiser, the Universal guilty pleasure should make plenty of noise, especially with young males, when it opens next weekend.
James McAvoy, sporting a swell American accent, is certain to build on his big-screen appeal as Wesley Gibson, a put-upon account executive who discovers that his long-absent father belonged to a centuries-old league of supersensory assassins known as the Fraternity.
It also turns out that Gibson is a chip off the old block in the killing department, but before he can avenge his father's death, he must get into fighting shape with a little help from the Fraternity's Zen master of a leader, Sloane (Morgan Freeman), and tough-cookie Fox (Angelina Jolie, in sinewy "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" mode).
The three of them prove to be colorful assets in a film where even the bullets seem to have a personality all their own.
Set in Chicago but shot in a cleverly disguised Prague (save for a noticeably Eastern European-accented rendition of Happy Birthday by Gibson's fellow office workers), Wanted effectively hits the ground running with a steady flow of wildly inventive, CG-infused action sequences.
Also cranking things up a couple of extra notches are resident Michael Bay cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen, Oliver Stone's longtime editor David Brenner and prolific composer Danny Elfman, who skillfully dispenses with anything that could be mistaken for subtlety.
Production: Universal, Spyglass Entertainment, Relativity Media, a Marc Platt/Kickstart production. Cast: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common. Director: Timur Bekmambetov. Screenwriters: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Chris Morgan. Story by: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas. Based on the comic books by: Mark Millar, J.G. Jones. Producers: Marc Platt, Jim Lemley, Jason Netter, Iain Smith. Executive producers: Adam Siegel, Marc Silvestri, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber. Director of photography: Mitchell Amundsen. Production designer: John Myhre. Music: Danny Elfman. Costume designer: Varya Avdyushko. Editor: David Brenner.
Rated R, 110 minutes...
It's good to be Wanted.
The debut American feature by successful Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch and its record-smashing 2006 sequel, Day Watch), this over-the-top, ultraviolent, hyperkinetic action thriller pretty much has it all.
That would include engagingly offbeat source material in the form of Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' comic book series, a decent adaptation by Michel Brandt and Derek Haas (last year's 3:10 to Yuma remake) and Chris Morgan (Cellular), a terrific cast and jaw-dropping stunt work.
Then there's the visually charged talents of Bekmambetov -- a man who has funneled the best of the Wachowski brothers, Quentin Tarantino and contemporary Hong Kong action movies through his own wry sensibility.
Capably establishing the anything-goes tone of the Los Angeles Film Festival in its capacity as official curtain-raiser, the Universal guilty pleasure should make plenty of noise, especially with young males, when it opens next weekend.
James McAvoy, sporting a swell American accent, is certain to build on his big-screen appeal as Wesley Gibson, a put-upon account executive who discovers that his long-absent father belonged to a centuries-old league of supersensory assassins known as the Fraternity.
It also turns out that Gibson is a chip off the old block in the killing department, but before he can avenge his father's death, he must get into fighting shape with a little help from the Fraternity's Zen master of a leader, Sloane (Morgan Freeman), and tough-cookie Fox (Angelina Jolie, in sinewy "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" mode).
The three of them prove to be colorful assets in a film where even the bullets seem to have a personality all their own.
Set in Chicago but shot in a cleverly disguised Prague (save for a noticeably Eastern European-accented rendition of Happy Birthday by Gibson's fellow office workers), Wanted effectively hits the ground running with a steady flow of wildly inventive, CG-infused action sequences.
Also cranking things up a couple of extra notches are resident Michael Bay cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen, Oliver Stone's longtime editor David Brenner and prolific composer Danny Elfman, who skillfully dispenses with anything that could be mistaken for subtlety.
Production: Universal, Spyglass Entertainment, Relativity Media, a Marc Platt/Kickstart production. Cast: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common. Director: Timur Bekmambetov. Screenwriters: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Chris Morgan. Story by: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas. Based on the comic books by: Mark Millar, J.G. Jones. Producers: Marc Platt, Jim Lemley, Jason Netter, Iain Smith. Executive producers: Adam Siegel, Marc Silvestri, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber. Director of photography: Mitchell Amundsen. Production designer: John Myhre. Music: Danny Elfman. Costume designer: Varya Avdyushko. Editor: David Brenner.
Rated R, 110 minutes...
- 6/19/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
San Seb fest sets awards to finish films
MADRID -- The Films in Progress section of the 52nd San Sebastian International Film Festival, a program devoted to awarding completion funds to new projects, has selected seven films from South America and Spain to vie for postproduction incentives, organizers said Thursday. The titles in the sidebar, set to run Sept. 21-22, include Alvaro Buela's Alma Mater (Uruguay); Marcelo Gomes' Cinema, Aspirina e Urubus (Brazil); Tristan Bauer's Iluminados por el Fuego (Argentina); Javier Fox Patron's El Marlboro y el Cucu (Mexico); Edgardo Cozarinsky's Ronda Nocturna (Argentina); Sebastian Campos' La Sagrada Familia (Chile); and Ruy Guerra's O Veneno da Madrugada (Brazil).
- 8/13/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.