By Phil Contrino It looks as though the marijuana-fueled antics of Seth Rogen and James Franco in Pineapple Express are going to lead to a strong box office debut. According to studio estimates, Express brought in $12.15 million yesterday, which set a new record for the highest Wednesday opening in the month of August. 2004's The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement previously held the record with an $8.5 million gross on August 11th of that year.
Read moreBy Phil Contrino The records keep coming for the The Dark Knight. With a gross of $6.28 million yesterday, the film crossed the $400 million dollar mark and it was only the 18th day of its theatrical release. In order to understand how staggering this new record is, consider that Shrek 3 previously held the record as the fastest movie to hit $400 million and it did so in 43 days. In the weeks to come, The ...
Read moreBy Adam Clement For the latest installment of our Exhibitor Profile Series, we were able to get in touch with George Solomon, CEO of Southern Theatres, LLC. Having made several theatre acquisitions and even selling some of his own throughout his long career, Solomon is a true veteran of the exhibition industry. Over the years he has carried out his family’s name in his work and he currently owns theatres in eight states. Solomon took the time out of his day to answer our questions about the industry as well as his own personal taste in movies. How many years have you been in the exhibition industry?
Read moreBy Phil Contrino When Pineapple Express hits theatres this Wednesday it will bring with it a little more pedigree than most "stoner comedies." Judd Apatow, who is now the most prolific and often the most successful comedy kingpin working in showbiz today, is not only serving as a producer on the film but he also has a "story by" credit. Adding to the drawing power of Express is star Seth Rogen, who has become a very bankable comedy actor over the last couple of years.
Read moreBy Phil Contrino In an inventive marketing turn, Lionsgate is allowing prestigious art schools across the country to design posters for their upcoming film, The Spirit. The Spirit is directed by Frank Miller, the creator of 300 and Sin City, and it is an adaptation of the popular comic by Will Eisner. Gabriel Macht, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Jaime King make up the ensemble cast. The following art colleges were invited to take part in the designing process:
Read moreBy Phil Contrino When The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer opens this Friday, Brendan Fraser's Rick O'Connell will have to do battle with a new villain. Martial arts superstar Jet Li enters the picture this time around as Emporer Han and the actor joins a handful of newcomers to the franchise including director Rob Cohen, actresses Maria Bello and Michelle Yeoh and actor Luke Ford as a more grown-up Alex O'Connell. This is the second movie of 2008 for Li, who was seen earlier this year alongside Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom which was able to bring in $100 worldwide.
Read moreBy Phil Contrino A very controversial film is on the horizon, and it should come as no surprise that Oliver Stone is behind it. This October, when Stone's George W. Bush biopic hits theatres nationwide there is bound to be heated discussion. Political pundits on the left and the right will dissect every scene and they will view the film in radically different ways. Meanwhile, main-stream audiences across the country will either consider W. an essential look into our recent history or a joke project that was filmed too soon.
Read more
