Movie Box Review

Summer always ends with a whimper.  While Memorial Day and Independence Day weekends are among the strongest of the box office year, Labor Day weekend is usually the lowest of the year in terms of movie-going.  This weekend features the opening of three more duds: a "found footage" space thriller, a shark bloodfest, and a well-reviewed but narrow drama about Nazi hunters.  None of these films have much chance of success long-term, though Apollo 18 should tie The Help for #1 this weekend.  Overall, the weekend should be up about 3% versus the same weekend last year.  

Opening at more than 2,750 theaters in North America by Weinstein, Apollo 18 should average $5,100 per theater (for $14 million for Friday-Sunday).  (All films the last two years have averaged $5,525 per theater in their opening weekend.)  Apollo 18 has not been screened for critics, usually not a good sign.  This film should be on track for around $30 million or less in North America when it leaves theaters.


At about 2,400 theaters, Shark Night 3D from Relativity should average a low $4,200 per theater (for $10 million this weekend).  No reviews yet for this movie either, which has not been made available for critics.  This horror/ thriller is probably headed for around $20 million domestically. 

Opening at 1,700 theaters from Focus (Universal) on Wednesday, The Debt should average an anemic $3,400 from Friday-Sunday (for a $6 million opening weekend).  Early reviews, however, have been quite positive at RottenTomatoes (75% positive), indicating some chance at having some legs.  The Debt is most likely on track for $25 million in North America.     

                                               (millions) 
New Films                        Critics    Opening  Domestic
September 2-4                    Positive   Weekend   Total*

Apollo 18              Wein  PG13   n/a      $ 14.0    $ 30
Shark Night 3D          Rel  PG13   n/a      $ 10.0    $ 20
The Debt              Focus  R      75%      $  6.0    $ 25

Note: Although critic reviews are not related to the size of the opening weekend, they are significantly correlated with the size of the declines in the opening weeks of a movie.
* The Domestic Total is a very early ShowBuzzDaily projection of the total North American gross, based on the Weekend Forecasts.

The Help will battle Apollo 18 for the top spot this weekend -- that's about the most exciting thing to watch this sleepy Labor Day weekend.  All of the other returning films should be well below the $10 million line for the weekend. 

                                              (millions)
Major Returning Films            Change     This    Domestic
September 2-4                   vs wknd 1  Weekend   Total*

The Help            DW/Dis        - 6%      $14       $145
Rise of Planet of Apes Fox        -22%      $ 7       $175 
Colombiana            Sony        -36%      $ 6.5     $ 30
Don't Be Afraid Dark FilmDis      -44%      $ 5       $ 25
Our Idiot Brother     Wein        -30%      $ 5       $ 25 
Spy Kids: All Time    Wein        -19%      $ 5       $ 35
The Smurfs            Sony        - 7%      $ 4.5     $140


Box Office Volume

For the past four years, the top 12 films in the comparable weekend have averaged $69 million total, ranking 52nd of 52 weeks -- yes, the bottom of the barrel generally.  Labor Day weekend has done a little better the past couple of years:  Last year and the year before this weekend's total was $81 million.  This Friday-Sunday is looking like a marginally up weekend at $84 million, up about 3% from this weekend last year.  Last weekend (dampened by Tropical Storm Irene in the northeast) will probably have the distinction of the lowest weekend gross in 2011.     


This Weekend Last Two Years

DVD Review the killer car/monster movie Super Hybrid

Dir: Eric Valette (One Missed Call, State Affairs)
Cast: Shannon Beckner, Oded Fehr, Ryan Kennedy, Melanie Papalia, John Reardon, Adrien Dorval
USA/Germany, 2011 (DVD)

Reason to see: Killer Car & Oded Fehr was enough to get me interested!

Killer car, here it comes! The premise alone got me interested and I'm actually quite of fan on Oded Fehr and really wish we saw him of more and I was surprized that although he's the first name to appear, he's not the protagonist of the film. Although I do really enjoy Oded Fehr (who is in the film a lot), this was a happy surprized as this killer car movie actual follows Shannon Beckner and she is our protangonist Tilda, who with a get it done attitude and no-muss, no-fuss take on life who is easy connect to and empathize with at her not-so-glam lifestyle of working on cars with a bunch of guys included a quietly connected family member.

Given that this is an monster movie, we should chat about the car itself and this film has an interesting take on killer car idea and creatively blends in ideas that allow for the opportunity to showcase several cars and bring in a creature feel into the mix There is a fair amount of action via car chases and lots of destruction and mayhem. Although you might be thinking Christine, Super Hybrid actually takes inspiration from films like Aliens 3 and Pitch Black focusing on characters and moral dilemmas under pressure of being faced with a monster. It has classic monster movie elements of denial, disbelief and of course dismemberment. I actually quite enjoyed our female protagonist grease monkey Tilda (Shannon Beckner), she's reluctant to try out the hero role of the crazy situation but steps closer in that direction each time our antagonist (or at least non-vehicular antagonist) the brutish Ray (Oded Fehr). Ray & Tilda play off each other really well, giving both tension to the crazy situation and an uneven opportunity for the remaining cast members to feel the need to choose sides. And with survivalist films, you know side-taking is likely going to crop up and ramp up everything.

I enjoyed the action sequences and chases, both of which are pretty fun and we get lots of different cars and vehicles in action. This makes up for the non-car special effects which aren't as snazzy but pretty on par with a lot of monster movies out there. I also really enjoyed the rag tag group of characters we follow through the mayhem, whom I actually connected to more that expected. If you watch a lot of monster movie you can usually see where they are going, but with this kind of film that’s where I find half the fun – how crazy will they take it? How far will they go? Who will survive (if anyone) versus the monster? Even if you figure out each and every moment, it’s still a hell of a lot of fun to watch the mayhem in action.

DVD Extras:

• Under the Hood of Super Hybrid (34 minutes) substantial featurertte that includes film clips, behind the scenes, interviews with director Eric Valette, producers Oliver Hengst, Elizabeth Wang-Lee & Kevin Dewalt, writer Neal Marshall Stevens, production designer Tom Valentine, cinematographer John Leonetti, special effects artist Emersen Z., 2nd unit director Richie Burden, actors Shannon Beckner, Oded Fehr, Melanie Papalia, Ryan Kennedy on the premise of the film, the stigma of the genre, the stunts & the huge number of cars destroyed in the process of filming (100+!), selection of and working with director Eric Valette and Shannon Beckner as Tilda, that the film is centred on the story & character journeys over CGI & effects and the characters their roles in the film; plus sections on The Look, The Cars, The Special Effects & .... that go through the locations of the film including the creation of the parking garage and the inspiration behind the look & feel of it and the challenge of the confined location, working with the red camera, the car as a character and film and the changes it goes through during the film, the effects in and touches on their creation and placement in the film and behind the scenes on some set up and shooting of car action scene plus challenges of all stunt working being mostly interiors and the importance of putting the stunt team together. This featurette has a voice over to guide you through, but it refers to the film as Hybrid, as opposed to the DVD title Super Hybrid.

DVD Review the killer car/monster movie Super Hybrid

Dir: Eric Valette (One Missed Call, State Affairs)
Cast: Shannon Beckner, Oded Fehr, Ryan Kennedy, Melanie Papalia, John Reardon, Adrien Dorval
USA/Germany, 2011 (DVD)

Reason to see: Killer Car & Oded Fehr was enough to get me interested!

Killer car, here it comes! The premise alone got me interested and I'm actually quite of fan on Oded Fehr and really wish we saw him of more and I was surprized that although he's the first name to appear, he's not the protagonist of the film. Although I do really enjoy Oded Fehr (who is in the film a lot), this was a happy surprized as this killer car movie actual follows Shannon Beckner and she is our protangonist Tilda, who with a get it done attitude and no-muss, no-fuss take on life who is easy connect to and empathize with at her not-so-glam lifestyle of working on cars with a bunch of guys included a quietly connected family member.

Given that this is an monster movie, we should chat about the car itself and this film has an interesting take on killer car idea and creatively blends in ideas that allow for the opportunity to showcase several cars and bring in a creature feel into the mix There is a fair amount of action via car chases and lots of destruction and mayhem. Although you might be thinking Christine, Super Hybrid actually takes inspiration from films like Aliens 3 and Pitch Black focusing on characters and moral dilemmas under pressure of being faced with a monster. It has classic monster movie elements of denial, disbelief and of course dismemberment. I actually quite enjoyed our female protagonist grease monkey Tilda (Shannon Beckner), she's reluctant to try out the hero role of the crazy situation but steps closer in that direction each time our antagonist (or at least non-vehicular antagonist) the brutish Ray (Oded Fehr). Ray & Tilda play off each other really well, giving both tension to the crazy situation and an uneven opportunity for the remaining cast members to feel the need to choose sides. And with survivalist films, you know side-taking is likely going to crop up and ramp up everything.

I enjoyed the action sequences and chases, both of which are pretty fun and we get lots of different cars and vehicles in action. This makes up for the non-car special effects which aren't as snazzy but pretty on par with a lot of monster movies out there. I also really enjoyed the rag tag group of characters we follow through the mayhem, whom I actually connected to more that expected. If you watch a lot of monster movie you can usually see where they are going, but with this kind of film that’s where I find half the fun – how crazy will they take it? How far will they go? Who will survive (if anyone) versus the monster? Even if you figure out each and every moment, it’s still a hell of a lot of fun to watch the mayhem in action.

DVD Extras:

• Under the Hood of Super Hybrid (34 minutes) substantial featurertte that includes film clips, behind the scenes, interviews with director Eric Valette, producers Oliver Hengst, Elizabeth Wang-Lee & Kevin Dewalt, writer Neal Marshall Stevens, production designer Tom Valentine, cinematographer John Leonetti, special effects artist Emersen Z., 2nd unit director Richie Burden, actors Shannon Beckner, Oded Fehr, Melanie Papalia, Ryan Kennedy on the premise of the film, the stigma of the genre, the stunts & the huge number of cars destroyed in the process of filming (100+!), selection of and working with director Eric Valette and Shannon Beckner as Tilda, that the film is centred on the story & character journeys over CGI & effects and the characters their roles in the film; plus sections on The Look, The Cars, The Special Effects & .... that go through the locations of the film including the creation of the parking garage and the inspiration behind the look & feel of it and the challenge of the confined location, working with the red camera, the car as a character and film and the changes it goes through during the film, the effects in and touches on their creation and placement in the film and behind the scenes on some set up and shooting of car action scene plus challenges of all stunt working being mostly interiors and the importance of putting the stunt team together. This featurette has a voice over to guide you through, but it refers to the film as Hybrid, as opposed to the DVD title Super Hybrid.

The cable landscape this week was dominated by MTV, a network that has gone through many incarnations and ups and downs over the past few decades.  Now it is going through a red-hot period.  The top four cable programs this week could be found on MTV, led by the simply terrific performance of the Video Music Awards.  Over a 6 rating with young adults and almost 12.5 million viewers of any age during an average minute.  These are ratings that a broadcast network would be ecstatic about not only in the summer but also in the traditional television season.




Next on the list are two episodes of Jersey Shore, one in the regular 10 pm Thursday time period and one in the lightly-viewed 7 pm Sunday slot.  The latter rating is particularly impressive and hard to achieve.  The rest of the ranking list is pretty normal with the exception of the disappearance of Storage Wars, which was in repeats this week. 

DVD Review of the Disney coming of age film Prom starring Aimee Teegarden & Thomas McDonell.







Dir: Joe Nussbaum (Sydney White)

Cast: Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, De’Vaughn Nixon, Danielle Campbell, Yin Chang, Kylie Bunbury, Nicholas Braun, Jared Kusnitz, Jonathan Keltz, Joe Adler

USA, 2011



Reason to see: Trailer easily piqued my interest



I've wanted to see Prom from the very first trailer I saw for it. It's hard to resist the teen drama angst, super sweet tone and the perpetual question of "Who will *you* go with?".



In the film we follow Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden) prom organizer extraordinaire, who is committed to giving the senior class the best, most important and last dance of the year. To do lists in hand and a trusty team of helpers, it looks like all is going according to plan. But life, nor prom, seems to ever go according to plan. Part of the non-plan comes into play with bad boy Jesse (Thomas McDonell), a very non-interested-in-prom guy gets roped into helping out with the grand event and of course him & Nova don't get along. Tensions mount as Prom gets closer and closer and we get closer and closer to understanding Nova and Jesse, and they to understanding each other.



Both Nova & Jesse are character with stories we are familiar with, but what I loved about the film is that it knows we are familiar with them and therefore can play with the type a little bit and get away with it. Don't get me wrong, it's not super out of the box and stays pretty risk-free but it does demonstrate the power of choice and the effect that choice has. The film does take the opportunity to get a little more out of the box while the supporting cast though, as we follow stories from eternally forever together couple Mei & Justin (played by Yin Chang & Jared Kusnitz), the popularity couple Tyler & Jordan (played by De'Vaughn Nixon & Kylie Bunbury), and a trio of sophomores including music obsessed best friends Lucas & Corey (played by Nolan Sotillo & Cameron Monaghan) and cutie Simone (Danielle Campbell) whose lives intertwine with senior prom goers in different ways. From them we experience a lot of romance drama, conflicting expectations and the tip of the iceberg of cascading decisions that they know will ripple over into the rest of their lives. And those are just the power-couples! Personally, I loved the polar opposite stories of Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) on the continual quest to find a prom date and the very relaxed Rolo (Joe Adler) whom isn't phased by all the hoopla around the prom takes everything in stride.



There is a huge emphasis on the lengths people will go to being asked, and it's sweet to see all the ways. I've always found the allure and emphasis on prom a bit elusive as here in Canada it's not as big a deal (and we call it the Formal), although any opportunity to get pretty and dance is something I support.



Prom is heart warming and sweet, and even puts a toe forward onto some pretty safe but still new ground in terms of bucking the norm and getting out there. I had a blast watching it and could easily recommend it for pure smiles, laughs & all-around fun.



DVD Extras:

• Putting on Prom Featurette (6 minutes) film clips, interviews with producer Justin Springer, writer Katie Wech, director Joe Nussbaum and actors Yin Chang, Joe Adler, Nolan Sotillo, Nicholas Braun, Janelle Ortiz, De'Vaughn Nixon, Kylie Bunbury, Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, Raign Rodriguez, Danielle Campbell on the inspiration for the story, the characters, casting - especially the choice of going with mostly new actors, peoples experiences with prom, the effect, impact & importance of prom and working together on the film.
• Bloopers (2 minutes) really funny collection of bloopers from physical blunders to line screw ups to all around goofing around.

• All New Short: Last Chance Lloyd following the character of Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) on his quest to find a date
• Bloopers
• 4 Deleted Scenes
• Putting on Prom Featurette
• 7 Music Videos including Allstar Weekend—“Not Your Birthday”, Neon Trees—“Your Surrender”, Moon—“Time Stand”, Nolan Sotillo—“We Could Be Anything” (English version), Nolan Sotillo—“Juntos Lo Haremos Bien” (Spanish version), Those Dancing Days—“I’ll Be Yours” and Girl In A Coma—“Come On, Let’s Go”
• & more

DVD Review of the Disney coming of age film Prom starring Aimee Teegarden & Thomas McDonell.







Dir: Joe Nussbaum (Sydney White)

Cast: Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, De’Vaughn Nixon, Danielle Campbell, Yin Chang, Kylie Bunbury, Nicholas Braun, Jared Kusnitz, Jonathan Keltz, Joe Adler

USA, 2011



Reason to see: Trailer easily piqued my interest



I've wanted to see Prom from the very first trailer I saw for it. It's hard to resist the teen drama angst, super sweet tone and the perpetual question of "Who will *you* go with?".



In the film we follow Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden) prom organizer extraordinaire, who is committed to giving the senior class the best, most important and last dance of the year. To do lists in hand and a trusty team of helpers, it looks like all is going according to plan. But life, nor prom, seems to ever go according to plan. Part of the non-plan comes into play with bad boy Jesse (Thomas McDonell), a very non-interested-in-prom guy gets roped into helping out with the grand event and of course him & Nova don't get along. Tensions mount as Prom gets closer and closer and we get closer and closer to understanding Nova and Jesse, and they to understanding each other.



Both Nova & Jesse are character with stories we are familiar with, but what I loved about the film is that it knows we are familiar with them and therefore can play with the type a little bit and get away with it. Don't get me wrong, it's not super out of the box and stays pretty risk-free but it does demonstrate the power of choice and the effect that choice has. The film does take the opportunity to get a little more out of the box while the supporting cast though, as we follow stories from eternally forever together couple Mei & Justin (played by Yin Chang & Jared Kusnitz), the popularity couple Tyler & Jordan (played by De'Vaughn Nixon & Kylie Bunbury), and a trio of sophomores including music obsessed best friends Lucas & Corey (played by Nolan Sotillo & Cameron Monaghan) and cutie Simone (Danielle Campbell) whose lives intertwine with senior prom goers in different ways. From them we experience a lot of romance drama, conflicting expectations and the tip of the iceberg of cascading decisions that they know will ripple over into the rest of their lives. And those are just the power-couples! Personally, I loved the polar opposite stories of Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) on the continual quest to find a prom date and the very relaxed Rolo (Joe Adler) whom isn't phased by all the hoopla around the prom takes everything in stride.



There is a huge emphasis on the lengths people will go to being asked, and it's sweet to see all the ways. I've always found the allure and emphasis on prom a bit elusive as here in Canada it's not as big a deal (and we call it the Formal), although any opportunity to get pretty and dance is something I support.



Prom is heart warming and sweet, and even puts a toe forward onto some pretty safe but still new ground in terms of bucking the norm and getting out there. I had a blast watching it and could easily recommend it for pure smiles, laughs & all-around fun.



DVD Extras:

• Putting on Prom Featurette (6 minutes) film clips, interviews with producer Justin Springer, writer Katie Wech, director Joe Nussbaum and actors Yin Chang, Joe Adler, Nolan Sotillo, Nicholas Braun, Janelle Ortiz, De'Vaughn Nixon, Kylie Bunbury, Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, Raign Rodriguez, Danielle Campbell on the inspiration for the story, the characters, casting - especially the choice of going with mostly new actors, peoples experiences with prom, the effect, impact & importance of prom and working together on the film.
• Bloopers (2 minutes) really funny collection of bloopers from physical blunders to line screw ups to all around goofing around.

• All New Short: Last Chance Lloyd following the character of Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) on his quest to find a date
• Bloopers
• 4 Deleted Scenes
• Putting on Prom Featurette
• 7 Music Videos including Allstar Weekend—“Not Your Birthday”, Neon Trees—“Your Surrender”, Moon—“Time Stand”, Nolan Sotillo—“We Could Be Anything” (English version), Nolan Sotillo—“Juntos Lo Haremos Bien” (Spanish version), Those Dancing Days—“I’ll Be Yours” and Girl In A Coma—“Come On, Let’s Go”
• & more

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011) *

*indicates co-production

Back to Countries List

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011) *

*indicates co-production

Back to Countries List

The broadcast week just concluded (August 22-28) was all about NFL preseason football again.  FOX did not have any games this week and has lost MasterChef, dropping the network's weekly average to around a 1.2 -- down from a 1.8 the last two weeks.  In contrast, NBC rose to almost a 1.8 for the week thanks to a solid Sunday Night Football game featuring New Orleans at Oakland.  This is NBC's best weekly performance since the third week of June.  CBS, with two NFL games on lower-rated Friday and Saturday nights, averaged almost a 1.7 for the week.

Time to take a look at a selection of DVD releases for Tuesday August 30, 2011!

• Prom (DVD Review) Disney's high school drama set along the backdrop of getting ready for the all important event of The Prom. It's quite charming and very enjoyable. DVD review will be up soon!
• The Ward (DVD Review) I can't wait to get my hands on this John Carpenter directed film set in 1960's in a mental institution with "unseen forces". I'm hoping it's as creepy as it sounds.
• Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season TV Series based on the L.J. Smith novels and it's got vampires, witches, love triangles, higt school drama and general mayhem throughout. I don't know how they get so much into each and every episode. If you haven't hopped on this fun train there is still time to catch up with Season 3 starting on September 15, 2011. I've been on board since day one and chatted through almost the entire series over at Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural.
• Paranormal State: Season Five I was late to the party on this one, but it's a fantastic non-fiction paranormal show with paranormal investigator Ryan Buell, and what really won me over is that the team always approaches the cases from the perspective of helping the people who are being affected. Another one that I chat about over at Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural.
• Nikita: The Complete First Season Action series starring Maggie Q in the title role inspired by the film La Femme Nikita of a forced trained agent who turns on and works towards exposing the company who trained her.
• Cell 211 Oh, I thought this was the Canadian horror flick Cell 213 (out soon I think), but it appears to be a Spanish film. Let's call it this week's wildcard!
• Bereavement Lots of buzz on this film recently with Michael Biehn in town just last weekend at Fan Expo! It's a prequel to Malevolence, and I'll admit it looked a little to brutal for me about a kidnapped kid who is forced to do some really bad things. Also stars John Savage, Alexandra Daddario and Brett Rickab.
• Roadkill I remember hearing about this horror flick over at the Saturday B Movie Reel over at Tuning into SciFi TV and although it didn't sound great, it did get my curious!
• Win Win I'm a sucker for inspiring stories and sport films and this indie flick seems to have it both, and is from the director of The Station Agent and The Visitor: Tom McCarthy.

Time to take a look at a selection of DVD releases for Tuesday August 30, 2011!

• Prom (DVD Review) Disney's high school drama set along the backdrop of getting ready for the all important event of The Prom. It's quite charming and very enjoyable. DVD review will be up soon!
• The Ward (DVD Review) I can't wait to get my hands on this John Carpenter directed film set in 1960's in a mental institution with "unseen forces". I'm hoping it's as creepy as it sounds.
• Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season TV Series based on the L.J. Smith novels and it's got vampires, witches, love triangles, higt school drama and general mayhem throughout. I don't know how they get so much into each and every episode. If you haven't hopped on this fun train there is still time to catch up with Season 3 starting on September 15, 2011. I've been on board since day one and chatted through almost the entire series over at Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural.
• Paranormal State: Season Five I was late to the party on this one, but it's a fantastic non-fiction paranormal show with paranormal investigator Ryan Buell, and what really won me over is that the team always approaches the cases from the perspective of helping the people who are being affected. Another one that I chat about over at Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural.
• Nikita: The Complete First Season Action series starring Maggie Q in the title role inspired by the film La Femme Nikita of a forced trained agent who turns on and works towards exposing the company who trained her.
• Cell 211 Oh, I thought this was the Canadian horror flick Cell 213 (out soon I think), but it appears to be a Spanish film. Let's call it this week's wildcard!
• Bereavement Lots of buzz on this film recently with Michael Biehn in town just last weekend at Fan Expo! It's a prequel to Malevolence, and I'll admit it looked a little to brutal for me about a kidnapped kid who is forced to do some really bad things. Also stars John Savage, Alexandra Daddario and Brett Rickab.
• Roadkill I remember hearing about this horror flick over at the Saturday B Movie Reel over at Tuning into SciFi TV and although it didn't sound great, it did get my curious!
• Win Win I'm a sucker for inspiring stories and sport films and this indie flick seems to have it both, and is from the director of The Station Agent and The Visitor: Tom McCarthy.