Tag Archives: contrino

Will ‘Avengers’ Be The Year’s Biggest Blockbuster?

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Box-office expert looks at possible competition from ‘Dark Knight Rises,’ ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ and more. By Kara Warner Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson in “Avengers” Photo: Marvel Studios Now that so many of us have seen “Marvel’s The Avengers” and helped make it this summer’s box-office blockbuster to beat , it’s time to look ahead at the rest of the season’s cinematic offerings to see which tentpole has the power to compete with Earth’s mightiest heroes. The likeliest contender competing for some of the “Avengers”-size box-office haul is “The Dark Knight Rises,” Christopher Nolan’s dark, brooding, third and supposedly final Batman movie. Other buzz-worthy potential moneymakers to keep an eye on are Ridley Scott’s “Alien”-esque prequel “Prometheus,” Marc Webb’s “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Rupert Sanders’ “Snow White and the Huntsman” and Barry Sonnenfeld’s “Men in Black 3.” To be fair, the “Avengers” haul is going to be very difficult to duplicate, particularly the record-breaking opening-weekend take of $207.1 million, which beat the $169.2 million set by previous champ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,” MTV News consulted Boxoffice.com editor Phil Contrino for his wisdom on the subject and to see if any other summer fare has a chance at besting the records set by “Avengers.” “I don’t think anything other than ‘Dark Knight Rises’ can pull it off,” Contrino said. “With ‘Spider-Man,’ every time a franchise is rebooted, it takes a while for the fans to dip their toes in the water and get a feel for it. ‘Spider-Man’ will be the same thing, maybe worse, because it’s so close to the [release] of the original. ‘X-Men: First Class’ and even ‘Batman Begins’ didn’t open to huge numbers, and a lot of people forget that. ‘Prometheus’ is [rated] R. For an R-rated movie to do $200 million would be something really monumental, almost impossible, I think.” Contrino went on to say that “Dark Knight Rises” has a couple of factors that will prevent it from catching “Avengers,” but that it does have a chance of besting the #2 best opening-weekend gross set by “Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” “It’s not in 3-D, so it doesn’t have the bonus financial boost, and it’s not nearly as family-friendly; it’s dark and broody. Disney did a good job of turning ‘Avengers’ into a family-friendly movie. I think that’s ultimately what pushed it as far as it’s gone,” Contrino said. “I don’t see anything else this summer beating it.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Marvel’s The Avengers.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Avengers’ Related Photos ‘Avengers’ Assemble At Los Angeles Premiere ‘Avengers’

See more here:
Will ‘Avengers’ Be The Year’s Biggest Blockbuster?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Music

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Will ‘Hunger Games’ Sink 3-D ‘Titanic’ At Box Office?

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Katniss and company dominated theaters for the second weekend in a row, but box-office experts wonder if they can tackle the mighty ‘Titanic.’ By Kevin P. Sullivan Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Lionsgate For the second week in a row, “The Hunger Games” laid claim to the box office. This past weekend offered a unique challenge for the reigning champ, however. Two relatively big studio films, “Wrath of the Titans” and “Mirror Mirror,” challenged Katniss Everdeen and the rest of the tributes, but the two competitors could not overcome. “The Hunger Games” collected an estimated $61 million over the weekend, a 60 percent drop from its $152.5 million debut. Despite its enormous opening weekend, “The Hunger Games” managed to maintain the buzz around it heading into the second weekend. Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst with Exhibitor Relations, Inc., said that for how big “The Hunger Games” opened, a steeper drop could have been expected. “Ticket sales dipped 60 percent, but when compared to ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,’ which dropped 72 percent, that is a great hold,” Bock said. “Especially when you consider how great both films were received. ‘Deathly Hallows, Part 2’ got some of the best reviews of the franchise, and it still had a huge decline in the second weekend.” Part of that lasting success, says Phil Contrino from BoxOffice.com, belongs to the adults, who are interested in seeing the movie but aren’t part of the rabid fanbase. “It’s appealing to adults, and adults don’t feel the need to rush out opening weekend. They’ll take their time discovering it.” Almost as important as what “The Hunger Games” has — like its broad appeal — is what it doesn’t have. “The film has everything: love, mystery, and adventure. One thing it doesn’t have: 3-D,” Bock said. “Proving once again, it is not a necessary distraction for tentpole films.” But can “The Hunger Games” win the weekend competition for a third time in a row? Both Contrino and Box Office Guru’s Gitesh Pandya agree that the fight will be a difficult one. “It’s going to be tough. ‘Titanic’ 3-D and ‘American Reunion’ both look very strong,” Contrino said. Pandya sees James Cameron’s 3-D revamp of “Titanic” as the one that could take down “The Hunger Games.” “This coming weekend, ‘Hunger Games’ will be challenged by the 3-D release of ‘Titanic,’ which can compete with ‘Hunger Games’ for the #1 spot if it can break $30M over the Friday-to-Sunday Easter frame.” How long do you think “The Hunger Games” will stay hot? Leave your comment below! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Photos The Hunger Games

Excerpt from:
Will ‘Hunger Games’ Sink 3-D ‘Titanic’ At Box Office?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Music

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Breaking Dawn’: How Long Can It Top The Box Office?

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘Twilight’ flick blew past ‘The Muppets,’ but faces formidable holiday-movie competition in the coming weeks. By Kevin P. Sullivan Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” Photo: Summit Entertainment The box-office battle of Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone, and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” once again emerged as the victor. The penultimate entry in the vampire romance series pulled off an impressive haul of an estimated $62.3 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com . The weekend brought the film’s domestic total to roughly $221 million, and survived formidable competition from “The Muppets,” which earned a respectable $42 million. But what do the upcoming weeks hold for “Breaking Dawn – Part 1”? We consulted some box-office experts to find out. One of the biggest questions right now for “Breaking Dawn – Part 1” is whether it will continue to dominate the box office for a third week in a row. With only “Shame” — a small indie film by comparison — opening next week, the stage is set for another rematch between “Breaking Dawn” and “The Muppets.” Phil Contrino from Boxoffice.com said there is some potential for growth in the case of “The Muppets.” “It’ll be close between [‘Breaking Dawn – Part 1’] and ‘The Muppets,’ because [‘The Muppets’] has much better word of mouth,” he said, but he indicated that it was too soon to say which would come out on top. Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations , on the other hand, sees the weekend going to “The Muppets.” The fight for second place will be between “Breaking Dawn – Part 1” and “Hugo,” he said. ” ‘Breaking Dawn’ is performing almost identically to ‘New Moon’ and will likely dip another 60 to 65 percent next weekend and gross $14 million to 16 million,” Bock said. “That probably won’t keep it at #1, as family films hold exceptionally well during the holiday season. That means ‘The Muppets’ will jump to #1, and depending on how many screens ‘Hugo’ jumps to, it may be in a fight for second place.” Both Bock and Contrino expect “Breaking Dawn – Part 1” to finish its domestic run in the range of $300 million but say that we should expect a steep drop-off once more holiday films like “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” hit theaters. “It’s still going to fall fast,” Contrino said. “By the time ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ and ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ hit, the audience will have almost entirely disappeared.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV First: ‘Breaking Dawn’ Related Photos Twilight: Breaking Dawn

Read the original post:
‘Breaking Dawn’: How Long Can It Top The Box Office?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Music

Tagged , , , , , , ,