In Contention

Tag: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  • SUNDAY CENTS: Wild about ‘Harry’

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    To the surprise of no one, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was the number one movie at the box office this weekend with $79.5 million. The film made an additional $80.1 million on Wednesday and Thursday, so Daniel Radcliffe and company have just under $160 million in the bank after five days. Comparisons to other Potter flicks are pointless except the previous entry since it was the only other film to debut on a Wednesday in the summer.

    “Order of the Phoenix” opened in 2007 to $80.5 million over three days and $146 million for five. This latest installment already seems a bit more front-loaded, so I think we might be looking at a total gross in the same ballpark as the $288 million for “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” which is currently the lowest earner of the franchise. But with worldwide sales, DVD and merchandise, every film in this 8-part series is worth about a billion dollars each to Warner Bros., so any scrutiny on the numbers is irrelevant.

    “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” holds on to second place for the third week in a row by dropping 36% to $17.7 million. A fourth film is already in the works where the three prehistoric friends get frozen and then thawed out in modern times for a museum exhibit. So, basically, it’s “Star Trek IV” with woolly mammoths. Where do I start the line?

    “Bruno” dropped a brutal 73% to fourth place and $8.4 million. In terms of major wide releases, only “Gigli,” “Friday the 13th,” “Star Trek: Nemesis” and George A. Romero’s “Land of the Dead” have lost more of their opening weekend audience. As I mentioned in last week’s piece, though, this was not unexpected and won’t keep Universal from making a tidy profit on their investment.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Toronto looming, ‘Education’ rising

    Carey Mulligan in An Education• Lots of buzz over “An Education” this week, with a new trailer and poster unveiled … and the talk isn’t only about Carey Mulligan.

    • We kicked off a new season of Tech Support with a look at the runners and riders for Best Cinematography.

    • Darwin biopic “Creation” will open this year’s Toronto fest, while “Bright Star” and “Precious” are also in the lineup.

    • Speaking of “Precious,” this week’s edition of Page to Screen examined the novel behind the Sundance sensation.

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  • 7/17 Web Round-up

    Joseph Gordon-Levitt• Judd Apatow’s risky departure from formula with “Funny People.” [Wall Street Journal]

    • Denise Martin talks to “(500) Days of Summer” star Joseph Gordon-Levitt. [Los Angeles Times]

    • PODCAST: Yours truly talks the Oscar’s move to 10, the “Let the Right One In” remake and more with John Campea et al. [The Movie Blog]

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  • 7/16 Web Round-up

    Emma Watson• Emmy nominations unleashed, Denis Leary robbed again. [Emmys.tv]

    • Xan Brooks and the “Antichrist” debate.  One more time around. [The Guardian]

    • Jonathan Romney, meanwhile, tries to break down the mind of Lars Von Trier. [The Independent]

    • 25 new faces of independent film. [Filmmaker Magazine]

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’

    Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

    I haven’t seen it, so I have no opinion.  But seeing as this thing has already taken down the midnight box office record, I think it’s safe to say plenty have.  So tell us what you thought in the comments section below.

  • SUNDAY CENTS: One fine gay

    Bruno*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Sacha Baron Cohen’s full frontal assault on audiences took the top spot at the box office this weekend with an estimated $30.4 million from 2,756 screens. Considering that “Borat” made $29 million from 837 screens in its debut and then $31 million from 2,566 in its second weekend, I think it’s safe to say that lightning hasn’t struck twice in the same spot here.

    Universal can still be happy with its $40 million investment as the film has bright prospects overseas and on home video. But with almost 50% of the weekend figure coming from Friday alone, the signs are there for this to vanish from U.S. theaters pretty quickly. $65 or $70 million seems like the probable domestic total, or roughly half of what “Borat” finished with.

    If you’re looking for an explanation, I’ve got one for you: Gay Sexual Content = Box Office Poison in 60% of the country.

    “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” retains the runner-up position with a slim 33% drop from its somewhat disappointing debut. Another $28.5 million in the bank brings the running total to $120.6 million and sets the film on track to finish in the $175 million range, or exactly what was expected of it. Ray Romano may actually have himself quite the successful film career, as long as we never have to see his face again.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Buried treasure, reading pleasure

    Leonardo DiCaprio and Michelle Williams in Shutter IslandEntirely slipped my mind to do this on Friday, but here’s what we (and you) were talking about this week:

    • At 2009’s halfway mark, this week’s list shone a light on the year’s most undersung films thus far.

    • In Page to Screen this week, we eagerly sank our teeth into Dennis Lehane’s “Shutter Island.”

    • As the respective “Ice Age” and “Transformers” rehashes battled for box-office glory, “Up” quietly became Pixar’s second-highest grosser.

    • Meanwhile, soon-to-be titan “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” garnered mixed-to-positive notices.

    • Burton, Lasseter, Miyazaki, Zemeckis … the upcoming Comic-Con just got a lot more auteur-heavy.

    • Speaking of comics, “The Green Lantern” has a lead … and his name is Ryan Reynolds.

    • Away from the big screen, we discussed the joys of bargain-bin DVDs.

    • And stirred up debate with a celebration of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

  • 7/7 Web Round-up

    Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard in Humpday• Good piece from David Poland about the age-old disconnect between audiences and critics. [The Hot Blog]

    • Marshall Fine implores you to see “Humpday” instead of “Bruno.” Why not see both, I say. [Hollywood & Fine]

    • While we’re on that subject, “Transformers” won the weekend box-office battle after all. Ew. [New York Times]

    • At the mid-year point, Peter Knegt reflects on the indie box-office winners and losers. [indieWIRE]

    • Cute feature, this — a rundown of the greatest credit sequences. Today: “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” [Cinematical]

    • On the web’s smartest new blog, a panel of critics re-evaluate Michael Mann’s “Miami Vice.” [The Auteurs’ Notebook]

    • Pamela McClintock contemplates the implication of the PG rating — after the franchise’s dip into PG-13 waters — for the latest “Harry Potter” effort. [Variety]

    • Speaking of which … my, how they’ve grown. [The Guardian]

  • Warm reviews for latest ‘Potter’

    Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceI must admit upfront that I don’t really get the Harry Potter franchise. I don’t dislike it — not having exposed myself enough to its components to justify such a response — but I’ve never felt remotely compelled to deepen my acquaintance with the material. I’ve tackled one of my J.K. Rowling’s novels, but the lumpen functionality of her prose didn’t tempt me further.

    As for the films, I’ve sat through two of them — and yes, one of them was Alfonso Cuaron’s expertly crafted but still personality-deficient effort — and found them both painless yet unengaging watches. I understand that they please millions of viewers, and I commend them for that. But for fear of breeding actual resentment, I think it’s better that I no longer watch them. The Potter films and I have reached an entente cordiale, if you will, and it works for both of us.

    All of which is to say that the more enthusiastic reviews emerging for the sixth (!) installment, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (am I the only one who always has to look the full titles up?), don’t really move me one way or the other. It would appear that director David Yates and writer Steve Kloves (are we ever getting another “Wonder Boys” from him?) have maintained their general success in streamlining the unwieldy novels with equal attention paid to character and craftsmanship, which is a significant achievement this far into a franchise. But I remain thoroughly untempted to get in line.

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  • 7/6 Web Round-up

    Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince• Ahead of the latest Harry Potter instalment, a profile of no-longer-boy wonder Daniel Radcliffe. [The Guardian]

    • Ever a must-read, Nick Davis continues reviewing the decade, taking on “American Psycho.” [Nick’s Flick Picks]

    • Dredging up the Marion Cotillard 9/11 “controversy” … again? Jeez. [Times of London]

    • Nathaniel Rogers tweaks his Oscar predictions, elevating “The Lovely Bones” to pole position. [The Film Experience]

    • A Brit offers his perspective on the ten-wide Best Picture field … and remains on the fence. [ScreenDaily]

    • List of the day: the top 10 “apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic” movies. [Rope of Silicon]

    • Jim Fusilli chats with “Public Enemies” composer Elliot Goldenthal. [Wall Street Journal]

    • Andrew O’Hehir catches up with the wonderful oddity “Tony Manero,” which is gradually making its way across the the U.S. [Salon]

  • 6/30 Web Round-up

    Sacha Baron Cohen in Bruno• Paul Dergarabedian bangs the Oscar gong for…”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?” [Hollywood.com]

    • Kim Voynar wraps up the LA Film Fest. [Movie City News]

    • Claudia Eller calls out Hollywood’s A-list for under-performing at the box office this summer while no-name productions have prevailed. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Brad Brevet kicks the tires on his Oscar coverage. [Rope of Silicon]

    • A whole bunch of words on Hollywood’s creative lull, this time concerning a slew of familiar characters. [USA Today]

    • ‘Brüno’ and Universal pull back the curtain. [The Big Picture]

    • David Poland, meanwhile, video reviews the flick. [The Hot Blog]

    • In honor of Stephen Frears’ “Chéri,” the top 10 “cougars” in films. [Spout Blog]

  • For those of you who care…

    … and I know there are a lot of you, so here’s the trailer for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

    To quote Maggie Smith’s wonderful Miss Jean Brodie: “For those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.” Enjoy.

  • DOH!

    Cover of Entertainment Weekly's 2008 Fall Movie Preview

  • Oh yeah, the ‘Half-Blood’ bump

    Michael Gambon in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceI received the press release regarding Warner Bros. pushing “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to 2009 earlier today when I was out and about. And frankly, four hours later, it had already slipped my mind.

    So what does this mean in the awards landscape? I’m not sure, since WB isn’t one of the awards-obsessive studios that makes decisions based only on “the season.”

    Maybe the movie is crap and needs some work. Maybe the studio smells blood after “The Dark Knight” and feels that “Terminator Salvation” isn’t enough of an ace in the hole next summer. I don’t know. But the wizard’s out of the derby now and that frees up some budget dollars for “Knight” and “Body of Lies.”

    That’s all I’m saying…

    Anyway, bravo to Steve Kloves for whoring it out on seven straight projects after an artistic showcase like “Wonder Boys.” The checks must be substantial. And his cut-and-paste function must be wearing out by now.