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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‘This Is It’ wins domestic, foreign markets

November 2, 2009 | Posted by Staff in Movie News, Read| 0 comments
thisisitHalloween audiences picked beats over blood this weekend, pushing Michael Jackson’s This Is It to the top spot, while horror phenomenon Paranormal Activity scored a strong second-place finish. With a $21.3 million domestic gross, This Is It raised its worldwide total to a massive $101 million that easily breaks the record for a concert doc, though it falls far short of the $250 million that concert promoter AEG reportedly predicted. Even so, the performance was good enough to convince distributor Sony (which acquired the pic for a mere $60 million) to announce that the concert pic will remain in theaters at least until Thanksgiving.

Still beating expectations in its third wide-release weekend, the sleeper hit Paranormal Activity dropped just 22 percent for a $16.5 million haul. At $84.8 million total after six weekends, the surprise smash is now the year’s highest grossing horror movie.

One of the few titles appealing to older females, Fox Searchlight’s “Amelia” improved its standing in its second sesh, moving into the top 10.

Adding 250 runs, the Amelia Earhart biopic dipped 23% to an estimated $3 million from 1,070 runs to tie with Summit Entertainment’s “Astro Boy” for No. 8. “Amelia” finished the frame with a cume of $8.3 million.

“Astro Boy” fell 55% in its second frame to an estimated $3 million from 3,020 runs; cume is $10.9 million. Toon was fully financed by Imagi Entertainment.

Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ “Saw VI,” hurt by “Paranormal,” likewise fell steeply in its second frame. Horror pic fell to No. 5, declining 61% to an estimated $5.6 million from 3,306 theaters for a cume of $22.8 million. Pic will likely be the lowest grossing in the blockbuster horror franchise.

Holdovers “Law Abiding Citizen” and “Couples Retreat” continued to place in the top five.

“Citizen,” Overture’s biggest commercial success to date, dipped 41% to an estimated $7.3 million from 2,764 runs for a cume of $51.4 million in its third frame. Pic came in No. 3 for the weekend.

Taking the No. 4 spot, “Couples Retreat” fell 43% to an estimated $6.1 million for a cume of $86.7 million in its fourth frame.

Nabbing the highest location average of any film was Sony Pictures Classics holdover “An Education.” Film grossed an estimated $504,831 from 48 runs for an average of $10,517 and cume of $1.6 million in its fourth frame.

Among specialty openers, Searchlight’s “Gentlemen Broncos” opened to an estimated $10,006 from two runs for a so-so per location average of $5,003.

Livelier overseas business wasn’t surprising since Jackson’s music has racked up far more sales abroad than in the U.S. in recent years. “This Is It” bowed in more than 100 territories, with a worldwide print count of 15,000.

Pic’s international bow finished just behind 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which debuted to $73.1 million in early May 2009.

Jackson pic was the first concert film to have a day-and-date release around the globe. Japan’s $10.4 million from 332 playdates was followed by the U.K.’s $7.6 million from 806, Germany’s $6.3 million from 930, France’s $5.8 million from 484 and Australia’s $3.6 million from 284.

Elsewhere at the foreign B.O., Disney’s “Up” came in No. 2, grossing $12.8 million from 4,700 runs in 27 territories for a cume of $352.7 million and a boffo worldwide haul of $645.6 million.

Mouse House’s “G-Force” stayed high up on the chart as well, grossing $6.1 million from 2,735 playdates in 32 territories for a foreign cume of $148 million and worldwide total of $267 million.

Disney also made headlines in Russia with local production “Book of Masters,” which topped the B.O. with $5.2 million from 750 locations. It’s the biggest opening ever for a family title in Russia, according to the Mouse House.

In the U.K., Fox’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” grossed $2.4 million from 486 in its second sesh to place No. 3 behind “This Is It” and “Up,” respectively. “Mr. Fox” ended the frame with a cume of $9 million.

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