After the success of Taken and Gran Torino, Hollywood has been on a vigilante kick. And right now, Bryan Singer (along with studio execs all over town) has been seriously considering getting his revenge on with The Prisoners, a much-sought-after thriller script to which Mark Wahlberg is attached to star as a Boston dad who takes the law into his own hands when his young daughter is kidnapped. The screenplay, which has been compared to The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, has been buzzed about as a calling card for its unknown writer, Aaron Guzikowski, and as a rare project targeted at adult audiences but with real commercial potential. When asked whether The Prisoners will be his next movie, Singer told EW: 'I don't know yet. But I'm definitely intrigued. It's a great script. And I'd love to work with Mark.' source: EW
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‘Monsters’ crushes competition with $58.2 mil

March 30, 2009 | Posted by Staff in Movie News, Read| 0 comments
monsters

In a strong weekend at the box office, the DreamWorks Animation film is No. 1, earning $58.2 million — with about half of that from 3-D screenings.

Signaling the financial advantage of being able to charge several dollars for more a 3-D ticket, DreamWorks Animation and Paramount’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” beamed up the best opening of the year in grossing $58.2 million.

The 1,550 3-D screens repped only 58% of the entire gross, although those runs made up just 28% of the total theater count of 4,104.

Lionsgate’s horror entry “The Haunting in Connecticut” also did impressive business, grossing an estimated $23 million from 2,732 screens. Domestic box office was up as much as 40% over the same frame last year on the strength of the two titles. “Haunting” placed No. 2 after “Monsters.”

Weekend’s third new entry, “12 Rounds,” didn’t far as well. Distributed by Fox and produced/financed by World Wrestling Entertainment, the John Cena starrer grossed an estimated $5.1 million from 2,331 runs to come in No. 7.

“Monsters” nabbed the third best March opening ever, behind Warner Bros.’ “300″ ($70.9 million) and 20th Century Fox sequel “Ice Age: The Meltdown” ($68 million). Also, it’s the second best opening for an original DreamWorks Animation’s after “Kung Fu Panda” ($60.2 million), which had the advantage of opening in summer.

foreign box office

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Nicolas Cage’s “Knowing” gained knowledge of first place at the international box office, topping a moderate frame with $9.8 million at 1,711 playdates in 10 markets.

Three other entries — “Gran Torino,” “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “Marley and Me” — finished within $2 million of “Knowing,” according to Sunday estimates. “Slumdog Millionaire” and French comedy “Coco,” both which topped $10 million last weekend, may also contend for the top slot.

Summit Intl. reported “Knowing” scored first-place launches with $3.55 million in the U.K., including previews and matching “National Treasure 2,” and $1.4 million in Australia. The sci-fi thriller has cumed $14.7 million in foreign coin so far.

Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” led the rest of the pack with $8.4 million at 2,800 in 45 markets, with holdover territories dropping only 20%. As with other Eastwood titles, Warner’s “Torino” has shown solid traction in foreign markets with a cume of $73.7 million, led by France with $21.1 million after five weeks.

Sony’s “Paul Blart” rang up a respectable $8 million at 1,610 in 14 markets, led by a $4.2 million German launch and $1.5 million in its second Brit frame. “Blart” has cumed $14.3 million early in its foreign run.

Fox’s “Marley and Me” also continued fetching decent biz outside the United States with $7.9 million at 3,064 in 41 markets, led by a $2.5 million third weekend in the U.K. and a $1.9 million Japanese launch. Foreign cume for “Marley” has hit $72.7 million.

“Duplicity” stayed moderate with $6.9 million at 1,809 in 19 markets. led by a $2.5 million French launch and a $1 million Russian launch.

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” turned in $4.9 million at 2,017 in 41 markets for a foreign cume of $44.7 million, or slightly ahead of the disappointing domestic total. Spain opened with $800,000 while South Korea launched with $750,000.

“Watchmen” continued to fade fast outside the United States with $4.6 million at 3,727 in 60 markets, led by a moderate $1.2 million Japanese opening. With the property largely unknown overseas, the dark superhero pic’s cumed $68 million internationally.

Domestic winner “Monsters Vs Aliens” also took in another $4.6 million overeseas from 830 locations in eight markets. Most of the coin came from its second frame in Russia, where biz declined 35% to $3.8 million.

The toon should kick start overall biz next weekend when it launches in many major markets such as Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

Fox’s “Dragonball: Evolution” scared up $2.1 million at 1,726 in nine markets, including the studio’s biggest opening weekend ever in Indonesia with $785,134. Foreign cume for the actioner’s at $21.4 million with the Stateside launch in two weeks.

Warner Bros. announced that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” still playing with $927,000 at 1,862 in 51 markets, had crossed the $200 million milestone in foreign grosses. “Button” also sewed up $127 million in domestic take.

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