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Box office: I am Legend $75+ million, Chipmunks...$40 million?!?

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R

Ripclawe

Banned
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/

SATURDAY AM: Some amazing numbers were posted Friday for this weekend's movie releases. Warner Bros' I Am Legend opens closer to $80 million than the studio's hoped-for $50 million from Friday through Sunday after making a whopping $29.6 million Friday in 3,606 theaters. This more than demonstrates that Will Smith is now the biggest U.S. box office stud bar none and breaks his previous opening record (I Robot's $62 mil in summer).


This also will easily be the biggest December movie opening ever. Not only did I Am Legend soar past the numbers for King Kong's and Narnia's December debuts, but it looks likely to pass all three of the Lord Of the Rings trilogy's Christmas-timed openings as well, including Return Of The King's record-setting $72.6 mil.) The humongous hit is a badly needed life preserver for Warner Bros' drowning movie division, which I'm told didn't even have time to do a research screening on the film since it came in so late.

I won't have exit polling until tomorrow, but Smith is one of the few, if not only, Hollywood stars right now who tracks extremely well with both African-American and Hispanic audiences as well as whites. That accounts for why I Am Legend's numbers went through the roof even though its "last man on earth who's not alone" subject matter is a downer. "But put Will Smith into it, and it really changes the equation," a Warner Bros source told me. "It's definitely tracking four quadrant."


I'm told the movie played broadly -- almost equally male/female, under age 25/over 25, ethnic/non-ethnic -- and playability was strong with all audiences being at or above the norms with males slightly stronger than females. That was evident even going into Friday, I was told, when the PG-13 thriller had definite interest among young males (74%), older males (67%), young females (56%) and older females (49%). The only question now is whether the East Coast storms will affect Saturday and Sunday turnout there, prompting one Warner exec to rue not having a degree in meteorology.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox had a lot to celebrate this holiday season as well since its remake of baby boomer favorite Alvin And The Chipmunks will wind up closer to $40 million than the $20 million that the studio anticipated for the weekend. The PG pic hauled in $13.2 million Friday in its 3,475 venue debut.

Indications are for the Saturday matinees to be huge since Moms especially feel pleasantly predisposed to take their kids to see The Munks. (I love the little guys. But can anyone actually understand anything that Alvin says?) Another reason that Fox is thrilled is because the studio claims the kiddie pic cost only in the high $50 millions. Although tracking had been slow at first, the pic's marketing did a good job of closing the gap by Friday when The Munks had 91% awareness.

And the bottom fell out of costly domestic flop The Golden Compass from New Line, which forked out $200+ million to make it, in its second weekend in release. I know, I know, the pic is doing OK overseas. But the fantasy pic is so lost domestically it earned only an anemic $2.6 million Friday from 3,528 nearly empty runs. I hear studio topper Bob Shaye once again is blaming everyone but himself -- including the movie's director Chris Weitz, and also his own prez of production Toby Emmerich.

(Keep refreshing for updates...)
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D

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
Stoney Mason said:
Never have gotten the appeal of Will Smith.
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He's entertaining and has charisma. And he's a decent actor. Beyond that, I don't get it either.
 
S

Stoney Mason

Banned
demon said:
He's entertaining and has charisma. And he's a decent actor. Beyond that, I don't get it either.
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I guess. I never thought he was especially funny nor especially commanding or varied as an actor. But I'll stop so it doesn't turn into that kind of thread.
 
K

kIdMuScLe

Member
im suprised chipmunks is making tons of money. i was suprised- shocked - actually when i went in friday morning to work when my co-worker left a note that we are getting an extra print of Alvin and the chipmunks movie. i was "wtf?! another one? damn we got 4 alvins and how the fuck did that happen?" oh well.
 
D

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
kIdMuScLe said:
im suprised chipmunks is making tons of money. i was suprised- shocked - actually when i went in friday morning to work when my co-worker left a note that we are getting an extra print of Alvin and the chipmunks movie. i was "wtf?! another one? damn we got 4 alvins and how the fuck did that happen?" oh well.
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well, you see, people like to watch shitty movies.
 
A

AltogetherAndrews

Member
bud said:
whether you like him or not, having will smith in a movie means $$$.
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He's always so, I don't know, unrealistic in his roles though. He seem strangely able to take any role and make the role and subsequently the setting feel completely implausible. And stranger even than that, I suspect that ability is the reason for his success.

krypt0nian said:
I feel ashamed to have contributed to the $75 mil.
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That bad?
 
H

HomerSimpson-Man

Member
Wow.

Will is just constantly kicking ass. Their is just something so likable about that man in his movies.

I liked the movie, it would be cool if they based a film around the events since the beginning like the comic books that were created around I am Legend and not just the aftermath years later.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
People LOVE Will Smith. He comes off as a regular guy to many people, they think he's hilarious, etc; in other words he's safe

It's not like I hate him but his sci-fi blockbusters almost always suck, and he's always the same guy in every one, ie the stereotypical angry black guy unwilling to conform to white authority figures. Then he finds some white chick, preferably a scientist, who constantly uses big words thus forcing Smith to constantly ask her to repeat them in layman's terms

example...

White chick: Oh no, he activated the fusion shield at 50% potency!
Will Smith: What you say guuurl?
White chick: We're screwed!
Will Smith: Let's get out of here, let me drive!

smh
 
R

RBH

Member
Warner Bros' I Am Legend opens closer to $80 million than the studio's hoped-for $50 million from Friday through Sunday after making a whopping $29.6 million Friday in 3,606 theaters. This more than demonstrates that Will Smith is now the biggest U.S. box office stud bar none and breaks his previous opening record (I Robot's $62 mil in summer).
Click to expand...

freshprince.gif
 
Nameless

Nameless

Member
PhoenixDark said:
People LOVE Will Smith. He comes off as a regular guy to many people, they think he's hilarious, etc; in other words he's safe

It's not like I hate him but his sci-fi blockbusters almost always suck, and he's always the same guy in every one, ie the stereotypical angry black guy unwilling to conform to white authority figures. Then he finds some white chick, preferably a scientist, who constantly uses big words thus forcing Smith to constantly ask her to repeat them in layman's terms

example...

White chick: Oh no, he activated the fusion shield at 50% potency!
Will Smith: What you say guuurl?
White chick: We're screwed!
Will Smith: Let's get out of here, let me drive!

smh
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? "Welcome to Earth" is the defining line in modern film.

ID4 4 Life!
 
J

Jenga

Banned
Okay, I am Legend, I read the book, but haven't see the movie. Does it stay true to the book? Or does it take liberties?
 
T

Tim the Wiz

Banned
Wow at Golden Compass. That's a huge bomb. Guess we won't be seeing Subtle Knife anytime soon. Maybe the overseas success will let it happen?
 
M

MrOctober

Banned
PhoenixDark said:
People LOVE Will Smith. He comes off as a regular guy to many people, they think he's hilarious, etc; in other words he's safe

It's not like I hate him but his sci-fi blockbusters almost always suck, and he's always the same guy in every one, ie the stereotypical angry black guy unwilling to conform to white authority figures. Then he finds some white chick, preferably a scientist, who constantly uses big words thus forcing Smith to constantly ask her to repeat them in layman's terms

example...

White chick: Oh no, he activated the fusion shield at 50% potency!
Will Smith: What you say guuurl?
White chick: We're screwed!
Will Smith: Let's get out of here, let me drive!

smh
Click to expand...

Except for when he is being nominated for Oscars for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. Or Breaking my heart in I Am Legend with just his face on screen
the scene where he has to kill Sam
. He was also great in The legend of Bagger Vance. Will Smith is a great actor and often he takes big money roles yes, but he is so likable in those roles it's to fault even those. He carries an entire film on his back and makes it interesting.

Look at the complaints of I Am Legend, everybody generally loves the first two thirds of the film, you know the parts where it's really just Will.
 
G

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
I Am Legend is showing at my local 20-screen theater literally every half hour on Friday, and when I went at 8:25 the showing was jam-packed.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
I'm surprised WB was looking so low for this one. Will Smith brings the bucks automatically, and there hasn't been a major live-action blockbuster since the summer. It was inevitable that people would end up seeing this, if only because of its positioning.
 
D

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
Calcaneus said:
People love Will Smith because he's not a bad actor, a likable dude, and the second best person on Fresh Prince.
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Just because ashley grew up to be really hot doesn't make her the best character.



oh, you mean carlton. Agreed.
 
L

lethial

Reeeeeeee
People were LINED up to see Alvin last night whereas people slowly trickled into I Am Legend before it started. I was flabbergasted.
 
J

jman2050

Member
Wait, people dislike ID4? I didn't think that was possible unless you were one of those uptight film snobs.

Oh wait, this is GAF... nvm
 
A

Absinthe (Permed)

Banned
Stoney Mason said:
Never have gotten the appeal of Will Smith.
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He's an awful actor that picks safe roles, but the public practically fellates him because he used to rap and he was on a silly, popular show at one point. His filmography is laughable. I understand why people like him, but I sure as hell don't care for any of his films.
 
R

RBH

Member
Absinthe said:
He's an awful actor that picks safe roles, but the public practically fellates him because he used to rap and he was on a silly, popular show at one point. His filmography is laughable. I understand why people like him, but I sure as hell don't care for any of his films.
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If by "silly", you mean "fucking awesome", then I agree.
 
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