Henry Cavill: Box Office: MAN OF STEEL (ALT guide)

Man of Steel box office: Superman 2013 reboot likely to break June domestic record — sort of (Photo: Henry Cavill as Clark Kent in Man of Steel)

Man of Steel will quite likely — sort of — break the June record at the North American box office this weekend, according to early, rough estimates found at Deadline.com. Things started out quite well for the $225 million-budgeted 2013 Superman reboot directed by Zack Snyder (300, Sucker Punch), and starring Henry Cavill (The Tudors) as Clark Kent aka Superman: on Thursday evening at the US/Canada box office, Man of Steel grossed an estimated $12 million, plus $9 million at Thursday midnight shows. That’s quite a bit better than Shane Black / Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man 3, which opened with $15.6 million from Thursday evening / midnight shows in early May. 

The current opening-weekend-in-June record officially belongs to Lee Unkrich’s Disney / Pixar-distributed, Tom Hanks-voiced Toy Story 3, which scored $110.3 million in early June 2010, or approximately $111 million adjusted for inflation. However, once inflation is taken into account (as it always should) Toy Story 3 is actually behind Alfonso Cuarón / Daniel Radcliffe’s fantasy Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which collected $93.68 million in 2004, or about $120 million today.

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Buyers make West End wait London sees shift in purchasing patterns By DAVID BENEDICT (VARIETY)

London box office figures for individual shows remain unpublished, but those seeking a barometer of the current state of the West End need look no further than "Absent Friends" and "Hay Fever."

Both classic British comedies opened last month within two weeks of each other in midsize houses to largely ecstatic reviews. The surprise is that, since opening, both shows have continued to offer major discounts and ticketing deals, suggesting box office has not been as robust as was hoped. Playful Prods.'

Matthew Byam Shaw, one of the lead producers on "Hay Fever," is in a confident mood after a major marketing spend and what he reports is a pickup in sales -- but he acknowledges the going was slower than anticipated. "After those reviews, you would have expected the box office to roar," he says. "But we didn't get the lift we'd hoped for." It's indicative, he says, of a shift in London's booking patterns: "Audiences for plays used to book way in advance. Those audiences are still coming, but their decision to buy is being made much later."

The phenomenon is trans-Atlantic, with Broadway producers in recent years also confronted by consumers who buy tickets closer and closer to the performance date. The trend is likely attributable to a number of factors, including the instant ease of Internet sales and the increasing profile of discounted tickets, for which some buyers might be holding out.

Byam Shaw points to the stage version of "The King's Speech," which opens in town next week following a critically applauded U.K. tour. "We took a ton of money in Newcastle, but people were only booking four days ahead," he says.


READ MORE:  http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118051834

The Woman in Black tops UK Box Office 3rd week (DIGITAL SPY)

The Woman in Black has topped the UK box office for the third consecutive weekend.

Daniel Radcliffe's Hammer horror film holds off strong competition from new releases The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Safe House to secure the number one spot with £2.4 million in ticket sales.

Marigold Hotel, which features an all-star British cast that includes Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson, and action-thriller Safe House both notched up impressive debuts of more than £2 million but still trail behind the supernatural horror among UK cinemagoers.


Read further:  http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a368136/woman-in-black-holds-off-marigold-hotel-safe-house-at-uk-box-office.html

'Sherlock Holmes' sequel leads slower box office (Reuters)

 

1 of 2. U.S. actor Robert Downey Jr. (L) Swedish actor Noomi Rapace (C) and British actor Jude Law pose for photographers at the premiere of ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' at the Empire Cinema in London December 8, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES | Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:47am IST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Action adventure film "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" led a trio of sequels at the box office over another underwhelming weekend that saw ticket sales fall from last year.
Robert Downey Jr.'s follow-up to the 2009 hit "Sherlock Holmes" pulled in an estimated $54.7 million around the world, distributor Warner Bros. said on Sunday.

That included $40 million from the United States and Canada, where the movie topped the domestic charts, plus $14.7 million from six international markets.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," the third film in the popular family franchise, rung up a global total of $38 million in sales, including a second-place domestic finish of $23.5 million. Thirty-eight international markets added $14.5 million.

Overall, the domestic box office repeated a sluggish trend of recent weeks and dashed hopes for a major kickstart before a crush of big-budget Christmas films hits theaters.

Sales for all movies from Friday through Sunday will reach about $119 million domestically, according to estimates from Hollywood.com Box Office. That is 11.6 percent below the same weekend last year and follows the worst box office weekend in three years.

"The momentum we have lost over the past few weeks has taken its toll on the bottom line," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com Box Office. "Thankfully there are some big titles on the way."

In third place for the weekend, Tom Cruise brought some holiday cheer as his fourth "Mission: Impossible" movie opened with a strong $13 million at just 425 domestic theaters over three days. "Sherlock Holmes" and "Chipwrecked" played in more than 3,700 theaters each.

"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" also racked up $68.2 million from three dozen international markets for a global total of $81.2 million.

'M:I' SETS IMAX RECORDS

Hollywood was closely watching the experiment of opening "Mission: Impossible" just on IMAX and other large screens before the movie heads to another 3,000 locations starting on Wednesday.

IMAX Corp (IMX.TO)(IMAX.N) said the film's domestic and international openings set records for December and Christmas IMAX debuts.

For "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," Warner Bros. said the film performed within opening weekend forecasts for the return of Downey as the famous Victorian detective with his sidekick Dr. Watson, played by Jude Law.

The sequel got an A-minus grade from audiences surveyed by exit polling firm CinemaScore, versus a B for the original.

The response puts the movie in good position to reach the $200-million-plus total domestic take of the first installment, said Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros.

"We have a movie that has great playability," he said.

"Chipwrecked," which sees the chipmunks stranded on an island, fell short of studio hopes for a mid-$20 million debut.

Chris Aronson, senior vice president for domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox, called the opening a "good start." "Being the only G-rated film for Christmas, I think we are going to have good run," he said.

In fourth place for the weekend, romantic comedy "New Year's Eve" and its star-studded cast took in $7.4 million during its second weekend in theaters.

"The Sitter," a comedy starring Jonah Hill as a reluctant babysitter and also in its second weekend, earned $4.4 million for fifth place.

So far this year, overall domestic sales are 4 percent below 2010. Hollywood is counting on strong showings from big-budget films that open in the coming week, including best-selling book adaptation "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and two movies from famed director Steven Spielberg - "War Horse" and "The Adventures of Tintin."

Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) unit Warner Bros. distributed "Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows" and "New Year's Eve." "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" and "The Sitter" were released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp (NWSA.O). Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc VIAb.O, released "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by John O'Callaghan

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/12/19/boxoffice-idINDEE7BH09H20111219