Harry Potter Tangled!

The post title should rather read Harry Potter Un-Tangled, because that is what the young wizard has managed to do during the weekend. Get the better of Disney's Tangled! And how close was it? Very! By just about $1 million. Yeah, that is a small figure when you compare it with the $50 million that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 earned at the US box office in its second weekend. The total for the latest Harry Potter flick now goes up to $220 million in US after 10 days while numbers from worldwide ticket collections are still pouring in. Tangled put in solid numbers at $49 million at the US box office ($69 million for the first five days since the movie had a Thursday Thanksgiving Day release) though way short of Disney's other movie that was released this year, with Pixar of course - the unforgettable Toy Story 3 that had a $110 million opening weekend collection! The numbers are slightly better than the opening weekend collection of another animation flick that was released this month, Megamind, that takes the third spot. A few other movies were released during the weekend, including Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhal and Anne Hathway, though it occupies a disappointing sixth position. The King's Speech had a limited opening at only four theatres, though it is a movie I am looking forward to watch and will not be surprised if it pops up among the Oscar contenders.

Potter mania reaches a new high!

It was expected to be phenomenal. And the first part of the epic finale of the Harry Potter series has pretty much lived up to the expectations. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, with all its wizardry and witchcraft, stole the limelight and had the best opening weekend of the franchise with $125 million at the US box office, better than the $103 million that had been collected by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Add to that another $200 million odd earned worldwide, and the first 3 days of the Harry Potter saga have been a whoop! But as is with such movies, the fall in revenues could be steep in the coming weekends and it is tough to know whether it would reach the elusive collection figure of $1 billion worldwide, the figure that has not yet been graced by any Harry Potter movie. With the audience having only one movie in mind during the weekend, the collections for the others were bound to be affected. Megamind claimed second spot and became the twentieth movie released in this year to achieve the milestone of reaching $100 million at the US box office. But it still remains way behind the money churned in by other Dreamworks movies of the year, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek Forever After, both of which have hit the $200 million mark. Russell Crowe’s The Next Three Days had a lackluster beginning with only $7 million in the opening weekend. The doom that must fall to any movie that dares to pit itself against the magic of Harry Potter and his friends! Next weekend it will be another movie daring to do the same when Disney release their new take on the old fairy tale of Rapunzel in Tangled. As the year is coming to a close, the weekend battles get hotter and next up is… Tangled v/s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1! How much money will be spent this time round... only a few days to go...

The Boy Who Lived...

It all began in the year 2001! Some would say it began before. In the year 1997, when the first book was published. Or others would argue that the seeds of the phenomenon were laid way before even these two dates. In the year 1990, when it is said that J.K. Rowling imagined for the first time a simple black-haired, bespectacled kid who would become the greatest nemesis of the most sinister Dark Lord to haunt the Wizard World. If you have not guessed the title of this great series yet, then I am afraid that you have been bereft of many a joy. For this post is a prelude to the release of the most anticipated film of the year, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

While the Harry Potter book series had become quite a sensation before the release of the first film, which provided a firm fan base to begin with, the kind of revenues that the movies could generate still remained to be seen. All expectations were shattered when the first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, opened in November 2001 to a phenomenal reception. $90 million at the US box-office was a good figure to start the first weekend with, especially when the production budget had not been more than $125 million. The movie till date remains the highest earning movie of the series, collecting $318 million at the US box office and $976 million worldwide. The phenomenon had however just begun! Exactly an year later, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets too met with success, with a collection figure of $262 million in US and $879 million worldwide.

While an April release did not suit the third film of the franchise, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is the only film of the series so far to collect less than $800 million in worldwide revenues, the next three films in the series restored things back to normal. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire raked in $896 million in 2005 and the next two films, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix & Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, once again took the revenues above the $900 million mark, collecting $938 million and $934 million worldwide, respectively. Such staggering collections have made the Harry Potter franchise the highest grossing film series of all time with $5.4 billion in worldwide receipts on a total production budget of less than $1 billion. Phew!! And to imagine that two more movies still remain in the pipeline…

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would be showcased in two different parts, the first one releasing this weekend while the second part would be shown in July 2011, marking the end of this great epic. The numbers that will be generated would be anybody’s guess. Somewhere close to $900 million in worldwide ticket sales is a safe bet. But with the end now in sight, both the final movies could be looking for a $1 billion earning. Already five of the six Harry Potter movies feature in the All-time #20 list in terms of worldwide collections, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 & Part 2, would be firm favorites to make their mark in this elite list. But only 7 movies so far have had the $1 billion tag shine across their names. Would Harry Potter finally make it there… I, for one, would love to see the Boy who Lived depart in such a grand style!

Megamind likely to stop the Unstoppable

November kicked off on the right note. And the momentum could remain strong for the second weekend of the month. While Megamind will continue to be the attraction for young ones who were too busy last weekend to catch it, the slightly older (but not so old!) have something else to look forward to - Unstoppable starring the ever intense Denzel Washington alongwith Capt. Kirk aka Chris Pine. Denzel Washington is a reliable character in the industry whose movies do not usually sweep away the box-office, but more often than not, post strong numbers that allow the studios to rake in the returns. His last movie released earlier this year, The Book of Eli, grabbed $95 million at the US box-office. But it was in 2007, under Ridley Scott, that Denzel Washington got his last $100 million+ movie with his dazzling portrayal of Frank Lucas, a drug lord, in The American Gangster. And while Unstoppable may not post those kind of numbers, and Washington in this flick may not be as memorable as some of his old characters (so many come to mind... Trip in Glory, Malcom X in Malcolm X, Lt. Commander Ron Hunter in Crimson Tide, Lincoln Rhyme in Bone Collector, Rubin Carter in Hurricane, Coach Boone in Remember the Titans, Detective Alonzo Harris in Training Day, John Creasy in Man on Fire etc. etc. etc.), it still would most likely post good enough numbers to post a challenge to Megamind for the top spot at the weekend. Following behind is the sci-fi Skyline that pretty much repeats the genre itself, trying to re-create the 'world is attacked by aliens' theme. Movies of such kind have done fairly well, though Skyline may not be the one that will creep to mind years later when you talk of Movies-with-Aliens while chatting with your buddies around a bonfire. But if you do... maybe you have seen a bit too many...

A grand beginning...

Two months to go before the year comes to an end. November seems to have started off in a very successful manner indeed. The weekend has seen three movies earn more than $20 million at the US box-office. And as expected, it was the animation flick, Megamind, to top the list with $48 million. Dreamworks has already enjoyed a successful year with its previous two ventures in the animated world, How To Train Your Dragon and Shrek Forever After, earning grand returns. And Megamind seems to be adding itself to the same list. While the first weekend figures for Megamind are marginally better than How To Train Your Dragon, the latter had some strong word-of-mouth that had led to low declines in the subsequent weeks, a phenomenon that Megamind may not witness, especially considering that the latest Harry Potter flick is on its way. Despite the same, $100 million would be achieved quite easily, though the movie may just fall shy of the $200 million mark.

The second spot was taken by the comedy movie, Due Date, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. The movie earned a strong $35 million during the weekend at the US box-office and would be aiming to hit the $100 million mark soon. With a career that had not seen a single $100 million movie before, Robert Downey Jr. has seen things change dramatically in the last three years. Since 2008, he has already had four movies crossing that mark (Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man 2), won critical acclaim for his varied roles and earned an Oscar nomination too. Talk of revivals! The final movie to garner $20 million at the US box-office during the weekend was For Colored Girls, directed by Tyler Perry, which has a long list of women starring in the film including Thandie Newton and Whoopie Goldberg. November has got off to a grand start but this is just the beginning. Come November 19, and it would be time for the green bucks to flood the cinema halls again!

Saw tops...

As expected, Halloween welcomed the final instalment of the Saw series with open arms. Saw 3D (or Saw VII) topped the weekend US box-office results with $24 million which is better than the previous Saw movie that had earned only $14 million in its first weekend. But the results still do not match the other Saw movies that have managed first weekend collections of more than $30 million. Paranormal Activity 2 slipped to second place but continues to put on a good run that should ensure another sequel in this low budget horror series. A significant achievement was however registered by Jackass 3D that climbed the $100 million barrier at the US box-office during the weekend and is the first movie in the franchise to do so, a milestone not many expected the movie to reach. Way to go! The other interesting story comes from the highly anticipated flick Captain America: The First Avenger. To be shown in theatres in July 2011, the first images of the film have been released. Most depict a uniformed Chris Evans in a war era setting, though the best one for me is the one below. A man walking away with his back to you, unaware that he has a destiny much greater than one he can ever imagine!

The End of a Legacy this Halloween

It is Halloween time! And as usual, for movie watchers, it means the release of the latest instalment in the Saw series. While Paranormal Activity 2 had a strong showing last weekend earning $41 million at the US box-office, it is likely to be replaced at the top by the seventh and final movie in the Saw series. Horror movies rarely come in as a solitary package. When the original does well, it usually attains a loyal following that prompts the studios to keep the story running till the series finally dies a slow death. Generally devoid of any big stars, the budgets are kept tight and the return on investments remain healthy. The earliest horror movie series that come to mind are the classics of the 1970s, Exorcist and Omen series.

The Exorcist released in 1973 (and re-released in 2000) is one of the most successful horror movies till date earning $205 million at the US box-office and more than $400 million worldwide on a reported production budget of $12 million. The movie that dealt with the tale of Father Merrin's attempt to free a 12 year old from the clutches of a demon that had possessed her, won 2 Oscars and was nominated in 8 other categories. The film prompted four other sequels/prequels, though none of them have even come close to matching the success of the original. In 1976, Satan emerged again in the form of a child of an American Ambassador (played by Gregory Peck) in another classic, The Omen. The film was a critical and commercial success too and grossed about $50 million in US on a budget of only $2.8 million setting the stage for two more sequels that followed the path of Damien's emergence from childhood to youth and then to adulthood. The original movie that helped the notorious number 666 garner more attention, was remade and released in 2006. To be exact, on 06/06/06.

The 70's also saw the emergence of another low-budget popular franchise aptly titled Halloween. What started off in 1978 on a budget as low as one third of a million, the series subsequently saw the release of ten movies. The film series, started by John Carpenter, follows the tale of Michael Myers as he stalks and kills teenage babysitters on... yes, Halloween night! The original movie had seven sequels with Halloween: Resurrection released in 2002, and finally the series was rebooted and the original was remade and released in 2007. A sequel to the same followed in 2009. The franchise has collected almost $366 million in worldwide earnings on a total budget of $70 million. Quite a way to celebrate Halloween!

The list of long horror movie series does not just end there. A Nightmare on

Elm Street, released first in 1984 (and had Johnny Depp in his first theatrical appearance), has seen seven sequels to the original and subsequently a remake of the original in 2010, thus bringing the total to nine movies for the franchise. The remake remains the highest grosser of the series earning $117 million worldwide, though it had a much higher budget of $35 million, almost 20 times that of the original. Then there is the masked slasher Jason Voorhees, of the Friday the 13th franchise, who quite conveniently kills those that encroach the Camp Crystal Lake. First released in 1980, this franchise has nothing less than twelve movies in its repertoire, with production budgets not being more than $5 million for the first nine and each one providing steady returns. The franchise also saw a restart of the film series in 2009, that earned $92 million worldwide. Other famous spine-tingling series that come to mind are Texas Chain Saw Massacre series with six movies as part of its franchise, and Child's Play that made dolls look bad, with five movies.

While there might be a few more famous horror movies that make Halloween special indeed (not to forget the solitary greats like The Shining and Rosemary's Baby), the Saw series has managed to make its mark emphatically in this segment. Released each year close to Halloween time, Saw started off in 2004 on a production budget of a mere $1.2 million. The tale began with the famous opening scene of two men waking up at the opposite ends of a bathroom, chained to the pipes. Then followed the start of a labyrinth of games and tests, being outlined by the creepy Jigsaw, which kicked off a commercially successful franchise. The first movie grossed $103 million worldwide, its sequel released an year later did better with $153 million. The third movie remains the highest grosser of the franchise at $164 million. The films of the series have been made at low production budgets, not exceeding $11 million, and apart from the sixth movie, the previous five have earned more than $100 million in worldwide revenues. With a combined worldwide gross of $729 million from its six movies, the Saw franchise is easily one of the most successful in its genre! The final movie titled Saw 3D, the first one shot in 3D technology, will mark the end of the franchise and the legacy of Jigsaw. But come next Halloween, it could be the beginning of maybe another horror movie franchise... one never knows... till then... boo! Happy Halloween!