Space Chimps Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Weekend Box Office: Holy Batman, Batman!
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
Not to be a snake in everyone's boot, but the all-time opening weekend record is not in the bag for The Dark Knight just yet. The $155.3 million weekend estimate is just that -- a studio estimate -- and when the final numbers come out later this afternoon, Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million may still be on top of the heap. So everyone should chill for a few more hours. Still -- $150 million! In one weekend! For a movie that's dark and scary and complicated and dead serious! That's pretty amazing, though my hopes for this wonderful film's box office staying power were dampened somewhat when I saw it a second time yesterday and heard the banter of the couple next to me, which consisted of statements like "Do you know what's going on? I don't know what's going on," and "I don't even understand who the bad guy is." (?!??) I guess you can't please everyone.
Anyway. $150 million +. First person to call it a disappointment because it's not the world's first $200 million opening weekend gets a kick in the crotch.
The weekend's counterprogramming saw mixed results. Mamma Mia!'s $27.6 million is an undeniable victory, though I think the market was begging for something not action- or family-oriented. I'm not sure what to say about Space Chimps' $7.4 million, seventh-place bow. I don't think anyone could have expected much more from a movie called Space Chimps.
The Dark Knight did a number on the superhero-themed holdovers, kicking Hellboy II down to the tune of 71%, and Hancock a somewhat gentler 57%. Hancock should see $200 million by the end of the week; Hellboy II probably won't get to $70 million domestic, though it should beat its predecessor's $60 million take.
The full top 10 estimates after the jump.
Review: Space Chimps
Filed under: Animation », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters », Family Films »
Imagine you're a filmmaker and you've got this cockamamie story about astronaut chimps that just won't go away. You don't have much money, but the story involves lots of technology and outer space effects. What do you do? You could use your imagination and shoot in darkness with lots of odd angles and perspectives, like Mario Bava's sci-fi masterpiece Planet of the Vampires (1965). But that would raise all kinds of questions about how to present the chimps. You could do a hand-drawn animated cartoon, something like Persepolis, for comparatively little money. But that would expose the fact that you really don't have much of an idea. So you decide to make a big, computer-animated film, make it fast, fill it with annoying jokes and hope no one notices how cheap and unfinished it looks. But what you don't do is open it three weeks after the astonishing WALL-E so that everyone notices the difference.
Space Chimps comes from the folks who brought you the universally despised animated film Happily N'Ever After (2006), and although I didn't see the earlier film, I'm told Space Chimps represents something of an improvement. Regardless, everything here has a kind of mechanical sheen rather than organic textures, and it feels like something closer to Tron than a cartoon about monkeys. Then comes the story: Ham (voiced by Andy Samberg) is the grandson of a famous chimp astronaut, who actually went into space. The younger Ham works at the circus, getting himself shot out of cannons. In the film's opening scene, he rockets toward the moon and reaches out for it, disappointed when gravity's pull inevitably begins dragging him back toward Earth.
What Are You Watching: 'The Dark Knight', 'Mamma Mia' or ...
Filed under: Action », Animation », Drama », Music & Musicals », New Releases », Fandom », Exhibition », Family Films », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
I'm fairly certain that a good majority of you will be taking full advantage of the summer weather this weekend by playing some friendly summertime games with the neighborhood children. However, if you happen to get the urge to visit your local multiplex (or IMAX theater) to watch one of them moving pictures in color and surround sound, then we here at Cinematical would be interested to know what you'll be watching.
In one corner we have the year's heavyweight champ of movie marketing in The Dark Knight. He's big, he's a bat and he's ready to take your hard-earned dollars. In another corner, we have one of Broadway's most beloved musicals arriving on the big screen for the first time: Mamma Mia! For the kids too young for Batman, we also have Space Chimps -- and for those in desperate need of an indie fix, we have Transsiberian. I'm happy to say there's a little something for everyone this weekend ... but what will you be watching?
Box Office: The Dark Knight Arrives
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Music & Musicals », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Box Office », Box Office Predictions »
It's a good time to be a cinematic super hero, and Jules Verne proved that his work still has legs 103 years after his death, but Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave died a thousand deaths pulling in a mere $5.2 million and not even making the top five. Here are the totals:
1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: $34.5 million
2. Hancock: $32 million
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $21 million
4. Wall-E: $18.7 million
5. Wanted: $11.9 million
Three new releases this week, and in the very broadest of terms we have one for the guys, one for the gals and one for the kids.
The Dark Knight
What's It All About: Do I really need to explain this one? Christian Bale returns to the role of Batman in the sequel to the series rebooting Batman Begins, with Christopher Nolan once again in the director's chair. There's a new crime boss in Gotham City and he's called The Joker (Heath Ledger). The two clash, things blow up, awesomeness ensues.
Why It Might Do Well: This will be the movie to beat this Summer. Batman is so ingrained into American pop culture that he's bonded to our collective DNA. Batman Begins grossed $205 million domestically and $371 million worldwide. The Dark Knight is scoring 88% over at Rottentomatoes.com and Cinematical's own James Rocchi had some good things to say about it.
Why It Might Not Do Well: There remains the possibility that people with a fear of bats will join forces with those with a fear of clowns and boycott the film, which of course means more popcorn for the rest of us.
Number of Theaters: 4,300
Prediction: $125 million
1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: $34.5 million
2. Hancock: $32 million
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $21 million
4. Wall-E: $18.7 million
5. Wanted: $11.9 million
Three new releases this week, and in the very broadest of terms we have one for the guys, one for the gals and one for the kids.
The Dark KnightWhat's It All About: Do I really need to explain this one? Christian Bale returns to the role of Batman in the sequel to the series rebooting Batman Begins, with Christopher Nolan once again in the director's chair. There's a new crime boss in Gotham City and he's called The Joker (Heath Ledger). The two clash, things blow up, awesomeness ensues.
Why It Might Do Well: This will be the movie to beat this Summer. Batman is so ingrained into American pop culture that he's bonded to our collective DNA. Batman Begins grossed $205 million domestically and $371 million worldwide. The Dark Knight is scoring 88% over at Rottentomatoes.com and Cinematical's own James Rocchi had some good things to say about it.
Why It Might Not Do Well: There remains the possibility that people with a fear of bats will join forces with those with a fear of clowns and boycott the film, which of course means more popcorn for the rest of us.
Number of Theaters: 4,300
Prediction: $125 million
EXCLUSIVE: 'Space Chimps' Poster Premiere!
Filed under: Fandom », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Posters »
Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film Space Chimps (click to enlarge), fresh from one of the primates that brought you Shrek. Featuring a voice cast that includes Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Stanley Tucci and Patrick Warburton, Space Chimps follows Ham III (Samberg), the grandson of the first ever chimp in space, who's recruited by a scheming senator (Tucci) for a dangerous mission to help thwart a powerful tyrant (Daniels) from taking over an alien world. Of course, Ham III will have a little help from his friends along the way. You can scope out the first trailer for Space Chimps over on Moviefone, then buckle yourself in and prepare to go bananas for Space Chimps when it touches down in theaters on July 18.
Trailer Park: Scooby Doo Edition
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Drama », Thrillers », Trailer Trash », Family Films »
This week week I'm feeling like one of the Scooby gang. Each trailer I see provides a clue that leads me to the next. For example:
Space Chimps
"From one of the primates who brought you Shrek," says the trailer. Obviously it's not the funny one. This computer animated tale of chimps being launched into space is chock full of jokes from the "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" school of humor. There's the slow-mo walk from The Right Stuff, a slip on a banana peel, and a pratfall followed by "that's gotta hurt." Younger kids may enjoy this one, but the string of cliche jokes is quite irritating. I begrudgingly cracked a smile only once, which is a good indicator that I should avoid this one. As is required by law for all animated features, Patrick Wharburton is one of the voice actors (I love his work as Brock Samson on The Venture Brothers). Monika first posted about this one last June.
Barry Sonnenfeld is a Space Monkey
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Casting », Deals », Scripts »
The man who brought us The Addams Family, Get Shorty and Men in Black is leaving live action for a bit to take a test drive in his first bit of animation. The latest news from Variety is that producer/director Barry Sonnenfeld is going to produce an animated comedy called Space Chimps through Vanguard Animation and Starz Media, for 20th Century Fox to distribute. Apparently, production on this movie began last fall, and he was then helping out as a creative consultant. The project was written, and is being directed by, Kirk De Micco (Racing Stripes), and it's simply about a group of astronaut chimps who are on a mission in space -- accompanied by music from Dave Stewart and the Blue Man Group. This news is eh, whatever. It could be cute, it could be Space Jam, it could be terrible, it could be any number of things!That being said, there's a chance for some sort of goodness considering the voice cast for the 2008 production. First, there is Jeff Daniels, the guy in everything from Terms of Endearment to Sonnenfeld's RV -- and I imagine the producer is also responsible for the other RV alum -- Cheryl Hines and Kristin Chenoweth. Then there's the SNL guy whose popularity is skyrocketing -- Andy Samberg -- who I can only hope will lend some of his music video humor to the movie, and his television cast-mate Kenan Thompson. To art things up a bit, there's the Tooch, Stanley Tucci, and then there's the quintessential man-voice. The roar of The Tick, the power behind Brock Sampson -- Patrick Warburton.
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