The Screening Log - blogging film

Weekend of Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2009: Michael Jackson film triumphs with $21M

Sony Pictures’ Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” prevailed at the top of the North American box office this weekend with $21.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Kenny Ortega-directed film opened at 3,481 locations Wednesday, bagging $11.1 million in two days. The domestic total of “This Is It” currently stands at a solid $32.5 million.

Most of the film's footage was shot in June 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. It includes scenes drawn from hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage.

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Saturday

24Oct2009

'Paranormal Activity' beats 'Saw VI' Friday!

Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 11:30PM | By

This just keeps getting better and better. Just as I expected, Paramount's surprise suspense thriller "Paranormal Activity" overpowered new entry "Saw VI" at the North American box office Friday with a superb $7.6 million in ticket sales after expanding to 1,945 locations.

Oren Peli's excellent thriller lifted its domestic total to $48 million. Meanwhile, Lionsgate's "Saw VI" opened at 3,036 locations and bagged $7 million Friday, enough for second place. The sixth installment in the series picks up where the last film ended and digs deeper into Jigsaw's past.

Things didn't go that well for this week's other new releases. Paul Weitz's "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," about a teenager who joins a freak show and becomes a vampire, only made it to No. 7 with a daily gross of $2.2 million from ticket sales at 2,754 locations.

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Sunday

18Oct2009

This week's new movie releases - October 23, 2009

Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 11:33PM | By

Opening this week are Kevin Greutert's "Saw VI"; Paul Weitz's "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant"; Mira Nair's "Amelia" with Hilary Swank and Richard Gere; and David Bowers' "Astro Boy."

SAW VI (directed by Kevin Greutert)

Synopsis: Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

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Tuesday

01Sep2009

New images & poster from 'Astro Boy' land online

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 8:44PM | By

I simply can't get very excited about David Bowers' upcoming animated adventure "Astro Boy." Maybe it's because the trailer kind of failed to win me over, or maybe it's because the whole robot boy story just doesn't catch my interest.

Anyway, some new stills (via SuperHeroHype) and a new poster (via Joblo) for the film popped up online today, and you can check them out above and below. The pic above is a shot from a battle scene during which Astro is forced to fight some of his robot enemies.

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Tuesday

11Aug2009

Brand-new 'Astro Boy' feature trailer hits

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 4:57PM | By

Yes, Astro has a bunch of machine guns sticking out of his butt. Check out the new feature trailer for David Bowers' upcoming animated adventure "Astro Boy" after the jump, and you will see what I mean.

Anyway, this new preview includes plenty of new footage from the upcoming film, and while it sure doesn't look fantastic, I admit it doesn't look that ugly either. As you can see, the trailer also reveals quite a lot about the movie's central plot.

"Astro Boy" is based on Osamu Tezuka's comic series that follows the adventures of a young robot created by a scientist to replace his late son. Some bad guy wants to use Astro for his evil plans, but our robotic hero tries everything in his power to maintain world peace.

Freddie Highmore, Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy and Nathan Lane are part of the film's voice cast. "Astro Boy" opens Oct. 23, 2009.

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Tuesday

28Jul2009

New 'Astro Boy' images land online

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 6:35PM | By

Some brand-new still images from David Bowers' upcoming big-screen adaptation of "Astro Boy" popped up online today, and you can check out some of them below.

While I'm not incredibly excited about this project, I sure admit these photos look beautiful. They display clean animation and strong colors, and that's something already. Check out some more pics at Sci Fi Wire here.

"Astro Boy" is an animated film based on Osamu Tezuka's comic series that follows the adventures of a young robot created by a scientist to replace his late son.

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Thursday

20Nov2008

Teaser radar: 'Astro Boy'

Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 4:51PM | By

Summit Entertainment today released the first teaser trailer for its upcoming "Astro Boy," an animated film based on Osamu Tezuka's comic series that follows the adventures of a young robot created by a scientist to replace his late son.

At 48 seconds with plenty of titles, this teaser doesn't really paint a good picture of what this thing will eventually look like. The only thing I can say for now is that the characters look like simple animated toys doing goofy stuff.

Freddie Highmore, Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy and Nathan Lane have all signed on to voice the characters. The film is set to open Oct. 23, 2009 (still via Cinematical).

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Monday

22Sep2008

‘Astro Boy’ gets a release date!

Monday, September 22, 2008 at 3:30PM | By

The wait will soon be over for fans of “Astro Boy.” Summit Entertainment and Imagi Studios today announced the animated film is scheduled for release Oct. 23, 2009.

“A beloved icon for over half-a-century, this marks Astro Boy’s first time on the big screen, making our film one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year,” said President of Imagi Studios Erin Corbett.

Directed by David Bowers, the film is based on Osamu Tezuk’s popular manga and follows the adventures of a young robot created by a scientist to replace his late son.

Freddie Highmore, Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy and Nathan Lane provide the characters’ voices.

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