'Monsters vs. Aliens' tops overseas box office

DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" reigned supreme at the international box office with an estimated $34.2 million in ticket sales. The film's total gross currently stands at $47.7 million.

"Fast & Furious," the No. 1 movie in North America, is off to a really good start on the international circuit after grossing $30.1 million at No. 2. Directed by Justin Lin, the film stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Cage's latest sci-fi thriller "Knowing" picked up $8.6 million in third place, lifting its overseas total to $24.1 million. Following at No. 4 with $6.7 million was "Marley & Me," which brought its cumulative gross to $83.2 million.

At No. 5, Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" took home another $5.5 million, reaching a cume of $81.5 million.

Other results from the overseas box office: "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" pulled $4.2 million for a total of $20.2 million; "Duplicity" grabbed another $3 million; "Dragonball: Evolution" collected $2.4 million; and "Confessions of a Shopaholic" reached a total of $48.9 million after weekend earnings of $2.5 million.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Box Office: ‘Fast & Furious’ delivers stunning $72M

Weekend of April 3 – 5, 2009

“Fast & Furious” easily outraced its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a stunning $72.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The return of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the lead roles proved to be quite lucrative, as the fourth installment in the popular series delivered a better opening weekend than any of its three predecessors.

Also doing pretty well this weekend was DreamWorks Animation’s “Monsters Vs. Aliens,” which took home another $33.5 million for a domestic total of $105.7 million after only two weeks in release.

At No. 3, “The Haunting in Connecticut” pulled in $9.5 million, reaching a total gross of $37.2 million. Starring Virginia Madsen, the Peter Cornwell-directed horror thriller follows a family experiencing supernatural events in their new home.

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'Knowing' tops slow overseas box office

"Knowing" took control of the international box office this weekend with an estimated $8.8 million in ticket sales. The Alex Proyas-directed Nicholas Cage vehicle lifted its total gross to $14.7 million.

At No. 2, Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" took home $8.4 million in 45 territories, lifting its cumulative gross to $73.7 million. Following in third place with $8 million was Kevin James' latest comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," which brought its overseas total to $14.3 million.

Meanwhile, last week's winner "Marley & Me" dropped to No. 4, collecting $7.9 million for a total haul of $72.7 million. "Duplicity," Tony Gilroy's comedy starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, finished fifth with a weekend gross of $6.9 million and a cumulative gross of $12.7 million.

Other results from the overseas box office: "Confessions of a Shopaholic" took home $4.9 million for a $44.7 million total); "Monsters vs. Aliens" grabbed $4.6 million in eight markets; "Race to Witch Mountain" picked up another $2.6 million for a cume of $6.3 million; and "Dragonball: Evolution" finished with $2.1 million.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Box Office: 'Monsters vs. Aliens' takes No. 1 spot

Weekend of March 27 – 29, 2009

“Monsters vs. Aliens” easily destroyed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a whopping $58.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

DreamWorks Animation’s latest 3D-animated family adventure follows a group of monsters assisting the U.S. government in trying to destroy a ruthless alien leader. The film’s voice cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Hugh Laurie.

Debuting at No. 2 this weekend with $23 million was Peter Cornwell’s horror thriller “The Haunting in Connecticut.” Starring Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner and Amanda Crew, the film follows a family experiencing supernatural events in their new home.

Last week’s winner “Knowing” dropped to third place, collecting $14.7 million and reaching a cumulative gross of $46.2 million after two weeks in release. The Alex Proyas-directed apocalyptic thriller stars Nicholas Cage as a professor struggling to prevent a series of global disasters.

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'Monsters vs. Aliens' delivers monstrous b.o. start

DreamWorks Animation's 3D-animated adventure "Monsters vs. Aliens" stormed the North American box office Friday with an estimated $16.7 million in ticket sales.

Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon, the film follows a group of monsters trying to prevent a ruthless alien leader from destroying humanity. The voice cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett and Hugh Laurie.

Debuting in second place Friday with $9.5 million was Peter Cornwell's "The Haunting in Connecticut." Starring Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner and Amanda Crew, the horror thriller follows a family experiencing supernatural events in their new home.

Last week's winner "Knowing" dropped to No. 3, earning $4.6 million and lifting its cumulative gross to $36.1 million after two weeks in release. Directed by Alex Proyas, the film follows Nicholas Cage as a father trying to prevent a series of global disasters.

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Box Office: 'Knowing' reigns supreme at No. 1

Weekend of March 20 – 22, 2009

“Knowing” emerged as the champion at the North American box office this weekend with $24.8 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Alex Proyas’ apocalyptic thriller celebrated the widest release this week at 3,332 locations, taking the No. 1 spot as early as Friday. In the film, Nicholas Cage tries to prevent a series of global disasters.

Debuting in second place was John Hamburg’s latest comedy “ I Love You, Man,” which picked up $18 million. Starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, the movie centers on a man who doesn’t have male buddies and heads out to find the perfect best man for his wedding.

“Duplicity,” the weekend’s third new release, finished third with $14.4 million. The Tony Gilroy-directed comedy stars Clive Owen and Julia Roberts as two spies teaming up to pull off the perfect corporate con.

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'Knowing' destroys competition at Friday box office

Alex Proyas' apocalyptic thriller "Knowing" took the No. 1 spot Friday at the North American box office with an estimated $8.9 million in ticket sales. The film follows Nicholas Cage as he tries to prevent a series of global disasters.

Debuting in second place was new entry "I Love You, Man," which collected $6.3 million. Starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, the comedy centers on a man who has no male friends and heads out to find a best man for his wedding.

Meanwhile, Tony Gilroy's "Duplicity" finished in third place with $4.7 million. In the comedy, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as two spies teaming up to pull off the perfect corporate con.

At No. 4, last week's box office champion "Race to Witch Mountain" collected another $3.8 million, lifting its domestic gross to $35.5 million after two weeks in release.

Following in fifth place with $2 million was Zack Snyder's "Watchmen," which brought its total haul to $93.3 million. "The Last House on the Left" reached a cumulative gross of $20 million at No. 6.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

This week's new movie releases - March 20, 2009

We're only looking at three wide releases this week: Tony Gilroy's "Duplicity" with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, "I Love You, Man" with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, and Alex Proyas' thriller "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage:

KNOWING

Synopsis: In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

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Check out five new 'Duplicity' clips

One film I am really looking forward to this month is Tony Gilroy's "Duplicity," due in theaters March 20, 2009.

In the movie, two corporate spies decide to work together by pulling a huge con on their respective bosses, who happen to be in a ruthless war over a new product.

"Duplicity" stars Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti, and what I've seen of the movie so far really left me wanting to see more.

Five brand-new clips recently popped up on the Web, and you can check them out right after the jump. Most of what you'll see in the footage deals with Owen and Roberts trying to outsmart each other.

Gilroy last directed "Michael Clayton," a film I thoroughly enjoyed. His credits also include the screenplays for the "Bourne" flicks and upcoming thriller "State of Play."

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What to expect at the movies in March '09

January was a disappointing month as far as new movie releases were concerned, and to be honest, February hasn't been that great of a month either. But what about March? Will we finally be able to see more than just one or two solid films in one month?

I have to admit my expectations are pretty high. The movie month of March kicks off with Zack Snyder's anticipated "Watchmen," a film many folks out there are just dying to see. Some early reviews I read are pretty mixed, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I'm really excited to see this flick, and I hope it will deliver the goods.

The following weekend, however, doesn't look that exciting. One of the three releases set for March 13 is "Race to Witch Mountain," in which Dwayne Johnson helps two alien kids return to their crashed spaceship. Judging by the previews, the film looks rather crappy, but maybe it's the Rock's bad acting that just scares me too much.

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