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Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Pitch Perfect (Cinema)

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It films were marked purely on originality, Pitch Perfect wouldn’t do very well. It’s Bring It On meets Glee, with a plot that delves into pretty much every cliché of the underdog competition subgenre it can find. Thankfully though, Pitch Perfect has an excellent trump card, which is that it’s very, very funny.

Beca (Anna Kendrick) heads for college, but she doesn’t want to be there. She wants to go straight to LA and get into the music business, but her father has told her she has to get a degree first. He does eventually make one concession though – if she throws herself into university life and joins at least one club, he’ll support her move to LA after the first year if she still wants to go. [Read more…]

Universal Thinking About A Pitch Perfect Sequel

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pitch-perfect-posterWhen it was first announced, few people gave Pitch Perfect much chance of box office success, due to the fact musicals are notoriously boom or bust, and not that many people have an innate interest in a cappella singing. However the film has grossed $64 million in the US and only cost $17 million to make (and it’s still to be released in many countries, so will add to the gross).

It’s apparently good enough to have Universal talking about a sequel, with one the film’s stars, Skylar Astin, telling Movieweb, “I do have a meeting with a Universal representative next week. And I know that Rebel Wilson had hers last weekend. It’s definitely a talking point.”

As for what direction the movie might go, Astin says, “I think that I am willing to do anything. I like to collaborate. If my voice will be heard, then I will do some research and think about it. There are definitely times where I am listening to the radio, and I think, ‘That would be awesome. I would love to sing that.’ It’s this weird karaoke fantasy that I might someday get to live out on the big screen. Then again, I know there are so many politics in that decision-making. Also relevance. If we film this next year, and it doesn’t come out for another year and a half, will that song still be popular? Will it be over played? I think they did such a perfect job. The music landed so perfectly when it came out the first time, I can’t imagine, if the same people are involved, that lightning won’t strike twice. I will sing whatever they want me to sing.”

It sounds like it’s still early days, but personally we’d love to see a Pitch Perfect sequel.

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Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Rips Into US Box Office

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It might not have hit the $150-$160 million opening some were predicting, but The Twilight Saga – Breaking Dawn Part 2 was certainly no slouch at the US box office, taking $141 million, which is the eighth biggest first three-day take ever. It was slightly behind New Moon, which still holds the franchise record with $142 million, but slightly ahead of Breaking Dawn Part 1.

Globally the movie made $340 million over the weekend, which ain’t a bad total at all. It’s the franchise’s best opening internationally.

While there were no other brand new openers in the US top 10, Lincoln made its first appearance after its strong opening on just 11 screens last week. After expanding onto 1700 screen, it took $21 million to place third on the chart. It’s a very healthy take considering the subject matter and period setting – and the fact it doesn’t promise vast amounts of action.

Take a look below for the US box office Top 10 for the weekend of November 16th-18th.

Rank Title Weekend Gross (millions) Total Gross to date (millions)
1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 $141.3 $141.3
2 Skyfall $41.5 $161.3
3 Lincoln $21.0 $22.4
4 Wreck-It Ralph $18.3 $121.4
5 Flight $8.6 $61.3
6 Argo $4.0 $92.0
7 Taken 2 $2.1 $134.6
8 Pitch Perfect $1.2 $62.0
9 Here Comes The Boom $1.2 $41.0
10 Cloud Atlas $0.9 $24.8
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Skyfall Takes Over The US Box Office With A Franchise Record

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Throughout last week, the predictions of how well Skyfall would do on its US opening kept growing. It went from a possible $50 million debut, until the day before its opening many were thinking $60 million, perhaps even $70 million. By Friday the predictions had reached $80 million, but in the end even that was too conservative, as by Sunday it had hit $90 million.

That’s way ahead of the previous biggest Bond opening, which was Quantum Of Solace’s $67 million, and more than double Casino Royal’s $40 million first three days take. It’s an impressive debut, especially as for many years, 007 has been softer in the US than elsewhere. But then, perhaps Americans had gotten wind of how crazy the rest of the world has been for the movie, as it’s predicted that by the end of today, the film will have taken more outside the US than any previous Bond movie, and it’s done that in less than three weeks.

Skyfall was the only new entry in the US top 10, but a little further down, Spielberg’s Lincoln placed 15th with $900,000 on its opening, but it was only playing on 11 screens. That means it took an impressive $81,818 per cinema. The real test through will come next weekend, when it expands massively across the country.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend on November 9th-11th.

Rank Title Weekend Gross (millions) Total Gross to date (millions)
1 Skyfall $87.7 $90.0
2 Wreck-It Ralph $33.0 $93.6
3 Flight $15.1 $47.7
4 Argo $6.7 $85.7
5 Taken 2 $4.0 $131.2
6 Here Comes The Boom $2.5 $39.0
7 Cloud Atlas $2.5 £23
8 Pitch Perfect $2.5 $59.0
9 The Man With The Iron Fists $2.4 $12.7
10 Hotel Transylvania $2.0 $140.9
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Paranormal Activity 4 Soft But Still Tops US Box Office

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While each of the previous Paranormal Activity movies has opened stronger than the last, Paranormal Activity 4 broke that streak with a soft $30 million debut. It will still be an incredibly profitable film, as it only cost $5 million to make, but it’s certainly a dip from part 3’s $52.6 million.

However Paranount can console itself with the fact that elsewhere in the world the movie has opened stronger than the last film. That said, with dodgy reviews and apparently soft word of mouth, it may not hold up stunningly well in the rup up to Halloween.

Although it’s a rather made up record, Warner is trumpeting that Argo has had the best hold of any live action movie ever released outside the November and December holiday window, dropping just 15% from its debut. It added another $16.3 million, suggesting amazing word of mouth.

Other than PA4, the only other new movie to hit the top 10 was the Tyler Perry starrer Alex Cross, which opened to a disappointing $11.75 million. Despite a marketing campaign that tried to sell the film outside Perry’s core African American audience, trying to lure in James Patterson fans, 74% of the those buying tickets were black. It’s not a great start and is likely to nix plans that were already in motion for a sequel.

Here’s the US top 10 for October 19th-21st.

Rank Title Weekend Gross (millions) Total Gross to date (millions)
1 Paranormal Activity 4 $30.2 $30.2
2 Argo $16.6 $43.1
3 Hotel Transylvania $13.5 $119.0
4 Taken 2 $13.4 $105.9
5 Alex Cross $11.7 $11.7
6 Sinister $9.0 $31.9
7 Here Comes The Boom $8.5 $23.2
8 Pitch Perfect $7.0 $45.7
9 Frankenweenie $4.4 $28.3
10 Looper $4.2 $57.8
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Taken 2 Stays Top Of US Box Office, Just Ahead Of Argo & Sinister

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Taken 2 has topped the US box office for a second week running, taking another $22.5 million to take it total to $86 million after 10 days. While the holdover stayed top, Ben Affleck’s Argo was a strong second, outpacing many people’s expectations by taking $20 million to place second on the charts. It also got a very good reaction from audiences, suggesting it should have a good run at cinemas.

Sinister placed third with a good but not amazing $18 million. As it only cost $3 million to make, it’ll be very profitable, even if it’s now unlikely to reach true horror heights.

Here Comes The Boom did less well, marking a low point for Kevin James as a leading man with $12 million to place fifth. Although not a disaster, it’s less than Sony had hoped. Seven Psychopaths did even less well, taking just $4.2 million to place ninth. Although it was showing on fewer screens than many other releases, its per screen average still wasn’t great.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of October 12th-14th.

Rank Title Weekend Gross (millions) Total Gross to date (millions)
1 Taken 2 $22.5 $86.7
2 Argo $20.1 $20.1
3 Sinister $18.2 $18.2
4 Hotel Transylvania $17.3 $102.1
5 Here Comes The Boom $12.0 $12.0
6 Pitch Perfect $9.3 $36.0
7 Frankenweenie $7.0 $22.0
8 Looper $6.3 $51.2
9 Seven Psychopaths $4.2 $4.2
10 The Perks Of Being A Wallflower $2.1 $6.1
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Hotel Transylvania Takes September Record At US Box Office

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Sony execs will be smiling today, as while September is usually seen as a bad time to release family films in the US, Hotel Transylvania took a strong $43 million, which isn’t just good for an original animated movie, but is actually the biggest weekend gross any movie has ever taken in September. Indeed the month is normally such a slow time the previous record holder was Sweet Home Alabama, which took $35.6 million on its opening in 2002.

Looper also did well thanks to lots of buzz and great reviews, taking $21 million in its first three days. Although that may not seem a lot for a sci-fi film, it’s actually very good for the sort of cerebral sci-fi the movie deals in. Word of mouth should also ensure it has a long run.

The real overperformer was Pitch Perfect, which may have only reached number six on the chart and $5.2 million, but it did so on only 335 screens, giving it the highest per-screen average of the weekend. It bodes well as the Anna Kendrick movie expands onto more screens over the next few weeks.

The final new entry is Won’t Back Down, which rather flopped as despite the Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis movie opening on 2,550 screens, it took just $2.7 million. That’s the second worst opening ever for a film opening on more than 2,500 screens (indeed many have wondered why it got such a big screen count, considering the minimal marketing push).

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of September 28th-30th.

Rank Title Weekend Gross (millions) Total Gross to date (millions)
1 Hotel Transylvania $43.0 $43.0
2 Looper $21.2 $21.2
3 End Of Watch $8.0 $26.1
4 Trouble With The Curve $7.5 $23.7
5 House At The End Of The Street $7.1 $22.2
6 Pitch Perfect $5.2 $5.2
7 Finding Nemo (3D) $4.0 $36.4
8 Resident Evil: Retribution $3.0 $38.7
9 The Master $2.7 $9.6
10 Won’t Back Down $2.7 $2.7
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Pitch Perfect Trailer Chimes In

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It all looks a bit Glee, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the first trailer for Pitch Perfect has arrived. The film is rebellious student (Kendrick), who is unhappy to be at a university at which her father is a professor. However she discovers her voice and becomes the secret weapon for the school’s female a cappella group. Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Adam Devine and Christopher Mintz-Plasse also star.

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