The Final Destination Tagged Articles at Cinematical
400 Screens, 400 Blows - Fear of the Unknown
Filed under: Columns », 400 Screens, 400 Blows »
Just take a look at that weekend box office. Sure, the critically panned Couples Retreat came in at #1, earning over $32 million on 3000 screens. But scan down the list and look at #4, which was Paranormal Activity. It earned $7.9 million on 160 screens. That's not a typo. One hundred and sixty screens. If we take the average, Paranormal Activity earned $49,375 per screen, and Couples Retreat took in a paltry $10,666 per screen. That's five times as many butts in the seats for the horror film than for the unfunny comedy (which means that there must have been a lot of empty seats at the latter). There's a simple reason for this: Paranormal Activity is a genuinely scary movie.
The same goes for any of the "body genres," i.e. comedies, steamy films, weepies, etc. If they genuinely work, and genuinely elicit the response that they promise, they will be a hit every time. Horror buffs -- myself included -- probably see more than a dozen new "scary" movies in the theater each year, but it's only once every few years that we actually get scared at one of them. Paranormal Activity achieves this by doing something very simple and not at all new: it doesn't show anything (or, rather, it shows very little). It knows that nothing that can be shown onscreen can equal the fears and nightmares of the people in the audience, and that the fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all.
Let's Make Theater Hopping Legal!
Filed under: Fandom », Distribution », Exhibition »
Arriving early for a 7:00 p.m. screening at a local multiplex on Friday, I decided to kill some time by sampling some of the other movies that were playing. Feeling like a criminal, I snuck into Surrogates (a small ship crashing, a very young-looking Bruce Willis), The Final Destination (white racist hung by his own petard), and Gamer (John Leguizamo giving Gerard Butler a pep talk). I stayed no more than two or three minutes at each, about the length of a theatrical trailer, and didn't sit down in any of the auditoriums, which were all pretty deserted anyway. Later, near the end of my selection for the evening's entertainment (Zombieland, a lighthearted comedy-horror blast), I saw a familiar multiplex sight: a half-dozen teens sneaking into the movie. And I started thinking, Why not make theater hopping legal?
My idea: You still must buy one ticket to a movie of your choice, and that's the only movie you're guaranteed to see. But the legal language ("the license granted is for a single viewing at the designated time only") is removed, so if that movie sucks, you're free to wander into another auditorium and check out what's playing there. Or bounce in and out of theaters as you please. And if you want to see two (or three) complete movies for the price of one, you're free to do so.
Would this benefit moviegoers? Sure. This will legalize something a good number of people are already doing. Just like downloading music or movies, pirates will still exist, but a majority of folks are law-abiding citizens who prefer to live within the law. People who've paid $9.50 to see a real turkey may not feel quite so ripped-off if they get to see another movie (or part of one) for free.
Discuss: How Long Until There is an Oscar for 'Best 3-D Film'?
Filed under: Awards », Box Office », Fandom », Steven Spielberg »
It may not be the future of film as some herald it, but it doesn't take a psychic to realize that 3-D, gimmick it may still seem, is here to say. Two unrelated news items today coalesced together into a dawning realization, is an Academy Awards category for Best 3-D Film inevitable? But before the examination of such a hypothetical category, let's take a look at the news that inspired this post.The Final Destination wins the international Hollywood box office.
According to Screen Daily, The Final Destination took in $17.3mil on its opening weekend run around the globe. Considering how poorly received the newest entry in the death-claims-all franchise was critically, that may seem like a surprise, but the mere presence of eye wear is the chief explanation for the successful haul. Russia alone accounted for roughly half of the weekend total, and according to the same report, half of Russia's contributions were driven by the extra premium charged for the third dimension.
What's that mean? Well for one, more crappy horror movies are going to go the 3-D route from now on. This trend was already on the rise, but studios will not ignore a win at the domestic and international box offices. And for two, more 3-D films of all genres will be on the rise. Clearly The Final Destination is not the sole catalyst for this gimmick renaissance, but it is the latest check box in a long column of studio wins.
The Hole wins the inaugural Persol 3-D Award for the Best 3-D Stereoscopic Film of the Year at the Venice International Film Festival.
Weekend Box Office: Tyler Perry, the Surest Bet in Town
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
Ho-hum, another Tyler Perry movie, another first place opening. The man is a franchise unto himself, obviously, and it's somewhat heartening that this -- his seventh film in four years -- is his consensus best; maybe Lionsgate will actually screen his next one (coming in April, natch) for critics. I Can Do Bad All By Myself didn't put up the numbers that Madea Goes to Jail did earlier this year (despite the apparent presence of Madea -- I wonder if her name in the title is what makes the difference), but $24 million was more than enough for first place on a low-key weekend. Interesting that first second and third place this week went to films by Lionsgate, Focus and the Weinstein Co., respectively. Second place went to Focus's 9, which opened on Wednesday to mixed reviews and around $15 million for the five days; the distributor aimed low, with a 1600 screen release, and the film did probably as well as it could have, despite that spectacular trailer. Inglourious Basterds, still holding up pretty well, took third and crossed the $100 million mark.
Further down the list we see a weird glut of late-summer horror: Whiteout and Sorority Row opened against each other, just a couple weeks after The Final Destination and Halloween II opened against each other. Both of this week's openers wound up with about $5 million to show for it; given that neither is a brand name or particularly distinctive, they probably didn't lose much. Halloween II sank out of the top 10, while The Final Destination hung around and is now the top-grossing movie in the franchise with $58 million.
The top ten films after the jump.
Review: The Final Destination
Filed under: Horror », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Remakes and Sequels »
When the decision was made to produce a fourth Final Destination movie, there must have been conversations about whether the same formula would work without any reconfiguring. Audiences were pretty familiar with it by now: someone has a premonition that saves a bunch of people's lives; then Death comes back around to kill everyone anyway, in the order they'd have died in if they hadn't gotten away the first time. Someone must have asked, "Should we tweak the formula a little? Offer some kind of new angle or a surprising twist we haven't used before?"
That person, if he existed, was outvoted. The new film, senselessly called The Final Destination, follows the formula to the letter, without deviation. You might just as well stay home and watch one of the other three, where at least there will be some devilish wit and ironic humor in evidence. You'll get none of that here.
This time we're at a racetrack when Nick (Bobby Campo), a young man with no defining personality traits, has a vivid daydream about a horrific accident that kills him, his friends, and 50 others. Spooked, he gets out of there just before the real thing happens, saving his own life and the lives of his girlfriend, Lori (Shantel VanSanten), her best friend, Janet (Haley Webb), and Janet's preppy d-bag boyfriend Hunt (Nick Zano). A security guard (Mykelti Williamson) is also spared, along with a few tag-alongs.
Box Office: The Final Halloween?
Filed under: Box Office Predictions »
Bringing naughty words to film marquees everywhere, Quentin Tarantino's latest film not only took the lead on its opening weekend but was the only one of last week's four new releases to land in the top five:
1. Inglourious Basterds: $38.5 million
2. District 9: $18.2 million
3. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: $12.2 million
4. The Time Traveler's Wife: $9.7 million
5. Julie & Julia: $8.8 million
Halloween is coming early this year and to celebrate we've got two films competing to scare the pants off us.
The Final Destination
What's It All About: In this fourth installment of the horror franchise a group of teens cheat death at a racetrack only to find that the grim reaper will track them down eventually.
Why It Might Do Well: Dude, it's in 3D!
Why It Might Not Do Well: The only thing the series ever had going for it was spectacular death scenes. Might this premise be running out of steam?
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $26 million
Halloween 2
What's It All About: In this sequel to Rob Zombie's Halloween remake, Michael Myers is not nearly as dead as we were led to believe and he continues his reign of terror.
Why It Might Do Well: Despite grumbling from a lot of horror fans, the previous film took in about $80 million worldwide and had a $26 million opening weekend.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Personally, I was lukewarm on Zombie's Halloween and don't feel it warrants a sequel.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $22 million
1. Inglourious Basterds: $38.5 million
2. District 9: $18.2 million
3. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: $12.2 million
4. The Time Traveler's Wife: $9.7 million
5. Julie & Julia: $8.8 million
Halloween is coming early this year and to celebrate we've got two films competing to scare the pants off us.
The Final DestinationWhat's It All About: In this fourth installment of the horror franchise a group of teens cheat death at a racetrack only to find that the grim reaper will track them down eventually.
Why It Might Do Well: Dude, it's in 3D!
Why It Might Not Do Well: The only thing the series ever had going for it was spectacular death scenes. Might this premise be running out of steam?
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $26 million
Halloween 2What's It All About: In this sequel to Rob Zombie's Halloween remake, Michael Myers is not nearly as dead as we were led to believe and he continues his reign of terror.
Why It Might Do Well: Despite grumbling from a lot of horror fans, the previous film took in about $80 million worldwide and had a $26 million opening weekend.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Personally, I was lukewarm on Zombie's Halloween and don't feel it warrants a sequel.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $22 million
Trailer Park: Shrinking Toys in the Twilight
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Trailer Trash », Family Films »
The Final Destination
Take note of the definite article "the," as this is supposedly the final chapter in the Final Destination franchise. As with the other entries, a group of teens cheat death but are slowly claimed by a series of supernatural Rube Goldberg-ian death traps. This minor bit of scary movie fluff is made all the more interesting by the use of 3-D and I have to admit the man eating escalator (pictured above) looks pretty cool. Carnage ensues on August 28.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
I haven't seen the original and I'm pretty far removed from the target demographic, but the overwrought dialog and performances here are a real cringe inducer. Suffice it to say if you like your teens angsty and your vampires sparkly then this Twilight sequel will be right up your alley. The ante has been upped by the introduction of werewolves to the story. Watch for this one on November 20.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
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