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WPR Box Office Report: February 23
News Bits:
Variety reports Amazon Studios has ordered five new original series. The series are The Man in the High Castle, based on Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel, dark comedy Mad Dogs docu-series The New Yorker Presents and kids’ shows Just Add Magic and The Stinky & Dirty Show. Additionally Amazon renewed Mozart in the Jungle for a second season.
Eka Darville, Erin Moriarty, and Wil Traval have joined Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones, more details on Marvel.com:
Ewan McGregor will make his directorial feature film debut with Lakeshore Entertainment’s American Pastoral, as reported by Variety
Fox has ordered a pilot of Lucifer based on the DC Comics character.
Variety reported that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Bruce Sinofsky died early Saturday February 21 morning in his sleep from complications stemming from diabetes. Sinofsky is best known for the documentary series Paradise Lost
Neill Blomkamp confirmed on Instagram that he and 20th Century Fox have come to an agreement to develop a new Alien movie. This has been highly anticipated since Blomkamp posted his unused production designs on his Instagram, which can also be seen here
The Hollywood Reporter announced that Morena Baccarin has been cast as the female lead in Deadpool
Academy Awards:
| Category | Winner | Kyle’s prediction | Kaitlyn’s prediction |
| Best Picture | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | The Imitation Game | Boyhood |
| Best Directing | Alejandro González Iñárritu – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Alejandro González Iñárritu |
| Best Actor | Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything as Stephen Hawking | Eddie Redmayne | Eddie Redmayne |
| Best Actress | Julianne Moore – Still Alice as Dr. Alice Howland | Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything” | Reese Witherspoon – Wild |
| Best Supporting Actor | J. K. Simmons – Whiplash as Terence Fletcher | J. K. Simmons | J. K. Simmons |
| Best Supporting Actress | Patricia Arquette – Boyhood as Olivia Evans | Patricia Arquette | Patricia Arquette |
| Best Original Screenplay | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo, Jr. | Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel | Richard Linklater, Boyhood |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | The Imitation Game – Graham Moore from Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges | The Imitation Game | Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything |
| Best Animated Feature Film | Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli | Big Hero 6 | The Tale of the Princess Kaguya |
| Best Original Score | The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything |
| Best Original Song | Glory from Selma – Music and Lyric by John Legend and Common | Glory from Selma | Glory from Selma |
| Best Sound Editing | American Sniper – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman | Birdman | Birdman |
| Best Sound Mixing | Whiplash – Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley | Birdman | Whiplash |
| Best Production Design | The Grand Budapest Hotel – Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Grand Budapest Hotel |
| Best Cinematography | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Emmanuel Lubezki | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Roger Deakins, Unbroken |
| Best Makeup and Hairstyling | The Grand Budapest Hotel – Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier | Guardians of the Galaxy | Grand Budapest Hotel |
| Best Costume Design | The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero | The Grand Budapest Hotel | The Grand Budapest Hotel |
| Best Film Editing | Whiplash – Tom Cross | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Birdman |
| Best Visual Effects | Interstellar – Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher | Guardians of the Galaxy | Guardians of the Galaxy |
Golden Raspberries:
- Worst Picture: Saving Christmas (Samuel Goldwyn)
- Worst Actor: Kirk Cameron in Saving Christmas as Kirk/Himself
- Worst Actress: Cameron Diaz in The Other Woman and Sex Tape as Carly Whitten and Annie Hargrove
- Worst Supporting Actor: Kelsey Grammer in The Expendables 3, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (voice only), Think Like a Man Too and Transformers: Age of Extinction as Bonaparte, Tin Man, Lee Fox and Harold Attinger
- Worst Supporting Actress: Megan Fox in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as April O’Neil
- Worst Screen Combo: Kirk Cameron and his ego in Saving Christmas
- Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel: Annie (remake of the 1982 film with the same name)
- Worst Director: Michael Bay for Transformers: Age of Extinction
- Worst Screenplay: Saving Christmas (written by Darren Doane and Cheston Hervey)
- The Razzie Redeemer Award: Ben Affleck (From RAZZIE “Winner” for Gigli to Oscar Darling for Argo and Gone Girl)
Spirit Awards:
- Best Feature: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole - Best Director: Richard Linklater (IFC Films)
- Best Screenplay: Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler (Open Road Films)
- Best First Feature: Nightcrawler (Open Road Films)
Director: Dan Gilroy, Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak - Best First Screenplay: Justin Simien, Dear White People (Roadside Attractions/ Lionsgate)
- John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): Land Ho! (Sony Pictures Classics)
Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz, Martha Stephens, Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy - Best Supporting Female: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood (IFC Films)
- Best Supporting Male: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Best Female Lead: Julianne Moore, Still Alice (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Best Male Lead: Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
- Robert Altman Award: Inherent Vice (Warner Bros.)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis, Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Hong Chau, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Sasha Pieterse, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Kenneth Williams - Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
- Best Editing:Tom Cross, Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Best International Film: Ida (Poland – Music Box Films)
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski - Best Documentary: CITIZENFOUR (RADiUS-TWC / HBO Documentary Films / Participant Media)
Director: Laura Poitras; Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky - Special Distinction Award: Foxcatcher (Sony Pictures Classics)
Director/Producer: Bennett Miller, Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik, Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman, Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
Box Office Results:
This past weekend Fifty Shades of Grey failed to restrain nearly 3/4 of its audience. In spite of this dramatic drop the film still brought in over $22 million this past weekend. Following closely behind Kingsman brought in $18 million, fighting for audience members it is likely to gain more traction as good word spreads about the film. McFarland, USA fared best of the three new openings, by only just passing The DUFF which did very well among young teenage girls. Following behind the beguiling American Sniper, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 was found floating face down in its own failed jokes. This upcoming weekend Focus, and The Lazarus Effect will attempt to win a share of the audience from an abusive film. I predict Kingsman: The Secret Service will have a fare rise in audience.
| TW | LW | Title (click for our review) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count /Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget | Week | |
| 1 | 1 | Fifty Shades of Grey | Uni. | $22,259,030 | -73.9% | 3,655 | +9 | $6,090 | $129,161,540 | $40 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | Kingsman: The Secret Service | Fox | $18,346,023 | -49.3% | 3,266 | +62 | $5,617 | $67,926,972 | $81 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Par. | $16,573,682 | -47.3% | 3,680 | +26 | $4,504 | $126,245,516 | $74 | 3 |
| 4 | N | McFarland, USA | BV | $11,020,798 | – | 2,755 | – | $4,000 | $11,020,798 | – | 1 |
| 5 | N | The DUFF | LGF | $10,809,149 | – | 2,575 | – | $4,198 | $10,809,149 | $8.5 | 1 |
| 6 | 4 | American Sniper | WB | $10,052,447 | -38.8% | 3,235 | -201 | $3,107 | $320,009,625 | $58.8 | 9 |
| 7 | N | Hot Tub Time Machine 2 | Par. | $5,963,324 | – | 2,880 | – | $2,071 | $5,963,324 | $14 | 1 |
| 8 | 5 | Jupiter Ascending | WB | $3,805,317 | -58.9% | 2,503 | -678 | $1,520 | $39,662,296 | $176 | 3 |
| 9 | 8 | The Imitation Game | Wein. | $2,527,637 | -27.5% | 1,408 | -143 | $1,795 | $83,883,539 | – | 13 |
| 10 | 7 | Paddington | W/Dim. | $2,444,684 | -39.4% | 1,837 | -407 | $1,331 | $67,816,450 | $55 | 6 |
New to theaters this week:
Focus
Nicky (Will Smith), a veteran con artist, takes a novice named Jess (Margot Robbie) under his wing. While Nicky teaches Jess the tricks of the trade, the pair become romantically involved; but, when Jess gets uncomfortably close, Nicky ends their relationship. Three years later, Nicky is in Buenos Aires working a very dangerous scheme when Jess — now an accomplished femme fatale — unexpectedly shows up. Her appearance throws Nicky for a loop at a time when he cannot afford to be off his game.
The Lazarus Effect
Medical researcher Frank (Mark Duplass), his fiancee Zoe (Olivia Wilde) and their team have achieved the impossible: they have found a way to revive the dead. After a successful, but unsanctioned, experiment on a lifeless animal, they are ready to make their work public. However, when their dean learns what they’ve done, he shuts them down. Zoe is killed during an attempt to recreate the experiment, leading Frank to test the process on her. Zoe is revived — but something evil is within her.
- Big Hero 6
- Whiplash
- Sons of Anarchy: Season 7
- Sons of Anarchy The Complete Series Giftset
- Horrible Bosses 2
- Watership Down
- Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer’s Curse
- Love Chunibyo & Other Delusions Collector’s
- Beyond the Lights
- Fellini Satyricon
That is actually quite a bit for this week, what do you think? Adding to your collection? Disagree with the recent film awards? Upset that Aquaman looks like a hobo bit a big fork?
