Colin Firth: How ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ Blew Away Bond, Bourne in South Korea

THE WRAP
MOVIES | By Todd Cunningham on March 23, 2015 @ 5:41 pm



In South Korea the movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is a cultural phenomenon and record-breaking $40 million box office smash, out-grossing the super spies — like James Bond and Jason Bourne — that it spoofs.

Just as mind-boggling are the unlikely factors powering its breakout, seized upon by clever and opportunistic Fox marketers who have pulled off a media coup.

To become Fox’s biggest hit in Korea since “Avatar,” the movie capitalized on a spate of recent high-profile beat-downs of poor Koreans, the bizarre mid-air meltdown of a Korean Air executive’s daughter and the country’s fascination with British dandies — perfectly personified in “Kingsman” by Colin Firth as the suave and stylish agent Harry Hart.

“We decided to take advantage of this and made three viral videos similar to real-life incidents to promote the film,” said Tom Oh, one of Fox’s top men in Korea. “Everything came together to create a massive hit.”

“Kingsman,” an action adventure adapted from the Mark Millar-Dave Gibbons comic book “The Secret Service,” has been a hit just about everywhere for Fox.

It has grossed $114 million domestically since it opened with a surprising $41.7 million against “Fifty Shades of Grey” over the Presidents Day weekend. It also has brought in $180 million at the foreign box office, and it will add to that figure when it opens in China this weekend. But for “Kingsman,” there’s been nothing like South Korea, which ranks as its No. 1 market abroad.

“The national mood at the time of release was one of strong dissatisfaction for politicians and the super-rich, like the second- and third-generation children of chebol (business families),” said Oh. “The most hated was the vice-chairwoman of Korean Air, whose abusive tantrum towards the flight attendants and forcing the plane to return to the gate put her behind bars.”

READ MORE HERE: http://www.thewrap.com/how-kingsman-the-secret-service-blew-away-bond-bourne-in-south-korea/

Judi Dench:‘Philomena’ Box Office Surprise: Heading to $45M Worldwide; Could It Be This Year’s Oscar Sleeper?

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD
By ANITA BUSCH
Friday January 3, 2014 @ 9:47am PST

 

Philomena is heading to become one of the most successful independent films winding into awards season this year, and having compiled the box office for four weeks now, I have watched this film — based on true events and starring Judi Dench — steadily climb both domestically and internationally.

Curious, I ventured out to see it last night and found a theater almost full to capacity on a Thursday night (the only seats left were a smattering of neck-benders in the front). After the picture ended, the audience erupted into applause. Strong, positive word-of-mouth is why. It was, simply put, a sweet surprise.

“Our exit polls were as high as anything we’ve had, including The Artist and The King’s Speech,” said Erik Lomis, president of distribution and home entertainment for The Weinstein Company. Exit polls are showing a very high 85% definite recommend, with 95% ranking it “excellent” or “very good,” and its CinemaScore is an A. After seeing the film, that is not a surprise. But its box office numbers might open readers’ eyes a bit.

So, domestically, Philomena has grossed over $18M in 6 weeks. Compare that to other Oscar contenders: Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features) is at $16M after 9 weeks and is pretty much gone, Nebraska (Paramount) is at $6.3M after 7 weeks has lost its steam, Inside Llewyn Davis is around $5.8M after 4 weeks and still playing for CBS Films; and Warner Bros.’ Her – another strong word-of-mouther — has taken in $2.2M in two weeks time. The only other serious contender for a Best Picture Oscar is 12 Years A Slave (Fox Searchlight), which has grossed $38M in 11 weeks of release and has virtually come to a standstill. Her, the wonderfully original film from Spike Jonze, will expand on January 10, and Philomena will expand to 1,250-1,500 theaters on January 24. Those are the two to watch now. Stay tuned.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/philomena-box-office-judi-dench-oscar-sleeper/

‘The Hobbit’ Passes Two ‘LOTR’ Pics At Worldwide Box Office By THE DEADLINE TEAM

Warner Bros and Peter Jackson have taken heat (including from Deadline) for turning JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit into three movies, but if the first film’s box office performance is any indication they might not much care. This weekend The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey eclipsed both Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring and Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers in worldwide box office.

READ MORE: http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/hobbit-box-office-worldwide-passes-lord-of-the-rings-movies/

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith: 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' beats 'Woman in Black' at UK box office (DIGITAL SPY)

Published Monday, Mar 5 2012, 2:30pm EST |
By Simon Reynolds

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has topped the UK box office, ending The Woman in Black's three-week reign in the number one spot. Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are among the all-star Brit cast for the comedy, which leaps above Daniel Radcliffe's supernatural thriller and into first place on its second weekend on release.

Marigold Hotel earns £2.3 million to chart ahead of Woman in Black's £1.88 million, while new release This Means War debuts at number three with £1.82 million. Safe House falls a place to number four, with The Muppets completing the top five.




Read more:  http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a369474/best-exotic-marigold-hotel-beats-woman-in-black-at-uk-box-office.html#yourviews

Box Offices, final weekend of 2011 - Tom Cruise Is No Meryl Streep (Neither's Anyone Else, for That Matter) (E-OnLine)

Today 11:53 AM PST by Joal Ryan

Paramount Pictures, The Weinstein Co.

For a second straight holiday weekend, Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocal led the box office.

But it was Meryl Streep's Iron Lady that really ruled.

Debuting at four theaters, the Streep Oscar vehicle, a biopic of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, averaged a New Year's weekend-best $55,000 per screen, BoxOffice.com reported.

Cruise's Ghost Protocol, meanwhile, continued to sell tickets at a nice clip, banking another $31.3 million.

With a domestic total of about $134.1 million, Ghost Protocol, just two wide-release weekends into its run, has already outgrossed the last M:I movie, Mission: Impossible III.

Overall, the weekend marked a solid end for 2011, and and solid start for 2012, with five films grossing at least $15 million each, up from three films last New Year's. Even New Year's Eve finally delivered, on its title as well as its all-star cast, with ticket sales double what they were Christmas weekend.

Among Steven Spielberg movies, Best Picture candidate War Horse once again showed more muscle than The Adventures of Tintin, at least domestically. Worldwide, it's Tintin that's the star.

Among awards-season hopefuls just getting started, the Iranian film A Separation ($66,598 at three screens, per BoxOffice.com) and Gary Oldman's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ($1.2 million at 57 screens) loomed large, while the Angelina Jolie-helmed Golden Globe nominee In the Land of Blood and Honey ($8,363 at two screens) struggled again.

Well, not everyone can be The Iron Lady. Or Streep.

Stay tuned Monday for four-day, holiday-weekend totals. For now, here's a rundown of the top movies, as compiled from the studios' Friday-Sunday domestic estimates and BoxOfficeMojo.com stats:

1. Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, $31.3 million
2. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, $22.1 million
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, $18.3 million
4. War Horse, $16.9 million
5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, $16.3 million
6. We Bought a Zoo, $14.3 million
7. The Adventures of Tintin, $12 million
8. New Year's Eve, $6.7 million
9. The Darkest Hour, $4.3 million
10. The Descendants, $3.7 million

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/news/tom_cruise_no_meryl_streep_neithers/283434#ixzz1iFL7eLJe

‘Twilight’ Opens as No. 1 Film With $139.5M

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,” the fourth movie in the teen vampire series, opened as the top weekend film in U.S. and Canadian theaters, collecting $139.5 million for Summit Entertainment LLC.

“Happy Feet Two,” an animated comedy from Time Warner Inc. (TWX)’s Warner Bros. studio, debuted in second place with $22 million, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said today in an e-mailed statement.

Sales for “Breaking Dawn” marked the second-best three-day opening for a “Twilight” movie, falling short of the $142.8 million debut for the second film, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” according to Hollywood.com. “Breaking Dawn Part 1,” made for about $110 million, was expected to have weekend sales of $148 million, the estimate of researcher Box Office Mojo.

The “Twilight” series is scheduled to end a year from now with “Breaking Dawn Part 2.” The first three movies in the series, based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer, have hadworldwide sales of $1.8 billion, according to Box Office Mojo.

The all-time record for a three-day opening is $169.2 million generated in July by the final “Harry Potter” movie, according to Hollywood.com.

In “Breaking Dawn Part I,” heroine Bella Swan, played byKristen Stewart, marries vampire Edward Cullen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson. She becomes pregnant and is targeted for death by werewolves. Taylor Lautner returns to the series to co-star as Jacob Black, whose unrequited love for Bella is tested by his commitment to his werewolf clan.

‘Happy Feet Two’

In “Happy Feet Two,” tap-dancing penguin Mumble is vexed by his son Erik’s lack of rhythm. The situation is worsens when Erik runs away and the penguin colony is isolated by shifting ice. The first film, “Happy Feet,” had global sales of $384.3 million. “Happy Feet Two” features the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

Among returning films, the action-adventure film“Immortals,” from Relativity Media LLC, dropped to third from first with $12.3 million in sales. In the film, a stone mason in ancient Greece gets help from the gods to battle a ruthless king set upon expanding his empire. The movie stars Henry Cavill,Freida Pinto and Mickey Rourke.

Bloomberg

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net

Friday Box Office: 'Immortals' Battling to Strong $35M+ Weekend

By Joshua L. Weinstein at TheWrap

Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:28am EST

Updated Saturday, 7:10 a.m. PT

Fanboys delivered Relativity's "Immortals" a strong $15 million box office Friday, and the movie is on track to pull in nearly $36 million for the weekend, studio estimates show.

Relativity had predicted an opening of only around $25 million, and most predictions outside the studio were also well below $30 million.

The swords-and-sandals epic opened to $1.4 million at midnight showings Thursday.

Sony's "Jack and Jill" is on track to meet the studio's low expectations, grossing just short of $10 million on Friday. The Adam Sandler comedy won't have the $30 million weekend the star is used to. Estimates have it at $23.7 million for the weekend.

"Puss in Boots" is enjoying a good third weekend, with an estimated $8.8 million Friday. That should put the DreamWorks Animation movie in second place, at $25 million for the weekend. If its pace holds up, "Puss in Boots" will have declined only around 25 percent from its opening weekend two weeks ago.

Universal's "Tower Heist" is in fourth place in its second weekend of release. Brett Ratner's adventure comedy starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy took in just short of $5 million on Friday and is looking at a $13.8 million weekend.

"J. Edgar," meanwhile, is looking at a soft, fifth-place opening. The Warner Bros. biopic about former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover took in about $4.25 million on Friday, estimates show. It is on track to gross a touch more than $11 million for the weekend.

Earlier:

Two of the three movies opening wide this weekend are targeted at a key film-going demographic that has been staying away from the movies lately: Young men.

Relativity's R-rated, 3D epic "Immortals" and Sony's latest Adam Sandler comedy "Jack and Jill" could both use help this weekend from males under 25 as they enter wide domestic distribution with tepid pre-release tracking.

Warner's "J. Edgar," an R-rated biopic focused on former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, is also going wide Friday, while Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" is set for a limited debut.

With domestic movie-ticket revenue down 3.5 percent over last year, much of the blame is being laid at the feet of moviegoers 24 and younger. They accounted for 60 percent of domestic box office attendance in 1975 but dwindled to just 32 percent of attendees by 2010, according to a recent survey (see chart below).

And the more dramatic drop is among young males, a studio distribution executive told TheWrap Thursday.

Young men, the executive said, "are toast. They're so away it's not even funny ... You know what they're all doing right now? They're all playing 'Modern Warfare 3.' I'm sorry, that's what they're doing ... It's just a fact of life."

Also read: Review: No, Zeus, 'The Immortals' Isn't Supposed to Be a Comedy in Leather

Against this backdrop, Relativity is hoping its $75 million after tax rebates swords-and-sandals action film can crack a middling $25 million on its opening weekend.

Sony, meanwhile, hasn't opened an Adam Sandler comedy to less than $30 million, but expects to gross no more than $25 million this weekend for "Jack and Jill."

"Particularly with younger moviegoers, if you don't get them on opening weekend ... you're not going to get them," Vincent Bruzzese, president of the motion picture division for the research firm Ipsos OTX, told TheWrap. "That shows the impact of the younger male. ... It's very difficult to get somebody who's not excited on opening night to go to a second or third week."

"Immortals" is Relativity's first stab at a big action movie.

Directed by Tarsem Singh ("The Cell"), "Immortals" has a soft Rotten Tomatoes score of 46 and is set to open in 3,112 locations.

Also read: 'Jack and Jill' Confirms It: Adam Sandler Is the New Tyler Perry

"Immortals" stars Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans and John Hurt, and tells the story of Theseus, a young cobbler whom the god Zeus chooses to lead mankind in a battle against the evil King Hyperion.

Not surprisingly, it is tracking strongest among men, but the greater traction is with males older than 25 -- a typical skew for action-driven movies these days.

According to research firm NRG, 81 percent of older males know "Immortals" is coming to theaters, while 55 percent report "definite interest" in seeing it and 22 percent call it their "first choice" on the marquee.

Box-office watchers outside Relativity predict the film will gross between $23 million - $28 million.

The movie is also opening this weekend in about 30 international territories, including China, Germany, Italy, UK, Japan, South Korea, Greece, India and Russia.

"Jack and Jill," meanwhile, directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Steve Koren, had a conspicuously bad Rotten Tomatoes score of 0 with 21 reviews in the bank as of late-day Thursday.

Also read: 'Melancholia': the Lars von Trier Movie for People Who Hate Lars von Trier Movies

The movie stars Sandler as Jack Sadelstein, a guy who dreads Thanksgiving weekend because it means a visit from his twin sister, Jill. Sandler plays both characters in the comedy, which also stars Al Pacino and Katie Holmes. It opens in 3,483 locations.

Sandler, of course, established his big-screen presence more than a decade ago on the backs of young male moviegoers with films like "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmore" and "The Waterboy." But young males are showing some of the weakest interest to see his latest movie.

According to NRG, 81 percent of males under 25 even know "Jack and Jill" is in theaters (compared to 87 percent of females under 25).

"Jack and Jill" cost about $79 million to make, and Sony expects it will gross in the low-to-mid $20 millions -- about on track with outside estimates.

Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar," meanwhile, has already shown proven traction among moviegoers, opening to $53,000 at seven locations Wednesday night.

The film -- which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench and Armie Hammer -- opens wide Friday at 1,910 locations.

Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black ("Milk") wrote the $35 million film, which garnered only 41 percent Rotten Tomatoes love through late-day Thursday.

It was filmed for about $35 million, and box-office watchers outside of Warner figure it will take in $12 million this weekend.
Related Articles: They May Be All Right, But Are Kids Running Away From the Multiplex? Review: No, Zeus, 'The Immortals' Isn't Supposed to Be a Comedy in Leather

Reuters

'Immortals' rules Friday box office; 'Jack & Jill' actually lures some moviegoers

By Liz Kelly Nelson

November 12, 2011 11:51 AM ET

Follow @lizkellynelson on Twitter

The Henry Cavill-fronted "Immortals," another CGI and rippling abs-laden take on Greek mythology, scored the biggest take at Friday's (Nov. 11) box office, logging $15 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo.

"Immortals" stands poised to win the weekend since the next closest competitor, Adam Sandler's "Jack and Jill" followed with $9.8 million in ticket sales -- far behind, but definitely more than expected considering the film's universal panning by critics.

Also making a bow this weekend, Leonardo DiCaprio's aged-up portrayal of CIA director J. Edgar Hoover in "J. Edgar" opened with just $4.2 million in ticket sales. Brett Ratner's homophobic comments got him axed from his Oscar-producing gig, but his action comedy "Tower Heist" hauled in $5 million in box office receipts in its second week of release.

"Puss in Boots," the animated kid-centric flick, also remained strong -- bringing in $9 million for DreamWorks.

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