The kids demographic continues to carry cinema to prosperity. Children-oriented animated feature film “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” (image above) from Universal Pictures is the latest example, bagging a staggering $131 million in domestic boxoffice over the three-day Easter-holiday weekend (and $190 million for five days when including Wednesday and Thursday). Its ticket … [Read more...] about Kids Demographic Revives Cinema
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Hard-Action Trailer Targets Fanboys
What do the professional film critics say? This audience doesn’t care. What’s the plot of the movie? It’s immaterial. Welcome to the world of the hard-action film trailers. Liongate acquired distribution rights to the Hong Kong martial arts film “The Furious” for May 29 cinema premiere in North America (U.S. and Canada). It’s R-rated and the trailer is a case study … [Read more...] about Hard-Action Trailer Targets Fanboys
Online Wildfire Over Hollywood Hypocrisy
Hollywood’s glitterati are increasingly getting unwanted star treatment. Scrappy digital media eagerly acts as a megaphone spraying indiscretions like a firehose. Online media blasts alleged Hollywood’s green-climate hypocrisy as evidenced by the tsunami of garbage after Sunday’s Oscar awards ceremony. Pictured above is a Facebook screen grab of Emma Stone eating from a … [Read more...] about Online Wildfire Over Hollywood Hypocrisy
‘Bride’ Tagline Aims to Shock
Faced with a difficult movie to market, Warner Bros. Pictures went to the edge of good taste with key copy line “Here Comes the F*%#ing Bride!” The character salad in the text clearly suggests a curse word to promote “The Bride!” The shock-treatment language (image above is from a “The Bride!” marketing email) did not help. The R-rated horror drama bombed its opening weekend … [Read more...] about ‘Bride’ Tagline Aims to Shock
‘Scream 7’ Divides Critics, Audiences
Professional film critics trashed “Scream 7” but audiences paid no attention. The horror film opened to a blockbuster cinema premiere (above, the sinister Ghostface character unleashes movie mayhem!). The disconnect between pros and fanboys is striking. The Paramount Pictures release averaged a 77% favorable on Rotten Tomatoes (called the Popcornmeter), with above 60% is … [Read more...] about ‘Scream 7’ Divides Critics, Audiences
Film Merchandise Wows Toy Fair
The toy industry expects an extraordinary lift from film-related licensed merchandise this year. Trade show Toy Fair, which ended in New York this week, generated lots of buzz for movie-related toys from journalists and film fans (the polished Stormtroopers screengrab above from YouTube about Toy Fair is by a New Zealand couple who are “Star Wars” aficionados). The … [Read more...] about Film Merchandise Wows Toy Fair
Six Films Showcased During Super Bowl
Six movie-focused TV commercials aired during the Super Bowl, shining in what is the most expensive advertising platform. The NFL football championship game averaged 125 million people — TV’s biggest audience — in the U.S. and Canada with 30-second commercials priced $8 million to $10 million each. The six are for Netflix’s “The Adventures of Cliff Booth”; Disney’s “Star … [Read more...] about Six Films Showcased During Super Bowl
Devotees Lift ‘Melania’ Past Critics’ Barbs
Most film critics panned the first lady documentary “Melania,” even going outside their professional-reviewer roles to promise that the movie would bomb in cinemas. But mean-spirited film critics proved inept at business forecasting. The frothy Melania Trump movie (Instagram screen grab above) defied those knocks to gross a decent $7.2 million domestically (U.S. and Canada) … [Read more...] about Devotees Lift ‘Melania’ Past Critics’ Barbs
Luxury Wristwatches Star in Hollywood
The luxury wristwatch industry is going ga-ga over product placements on celebrities at awards shows. Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney are among the stars conspicuously flashing pricey time-piece metal for TV and photographers at Sunday’s Golden Globe awards. A Hollywood Reporter magazine story summed up with the headline: “Leonardo DiCaprio Really Wanted You to See His … [Read more...] about Luxury Wristwatches Star in Hollywood
Microsoft Wants to Reward You!
Movie theaters have their loyalty/rewards programs and so little surprise that tech giant Microsoft offers a rewards program whose prizes include permanent digital copies of movies. The Microsoft Rewards initiative recently blasted an ezine to consumers offering (pictured above) 2024’s “BeetleJuice BeetleJuice,” the 1939 version of “Wizard of Oz” and 2021’s “Dune,” as well … [Read more...] about Microsoft Wants to Reward You!