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The In-Laws (2003/I)

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9 articles from 2003

1 July 2003 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Hollywood actor Michael Douglas has dumped his agent - following his last two box office bombs. Douglas, married to Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, has parted ways with his agent at Tinseltown's William Morris Agency - a move which, according to American website Page Six, is due to the poor performance of his flicks The In-Laws and It Runs In The Family. The actor is vacationing at his house in Majorca, Spain, while fielding calls from rival agencies ICM, CAA and Endeavor. A source says, "It's hard to get him the payday he still demands. He's an aging former heart-throb." A William Morris spokesperson says, "We wish him the best."

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10 June 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

2 Fast 2 Furious raced to the top of the box office over the weekend, taking in $50.5 million for its opening and leaving the Disney/Pixar fish story Finding Nemo in its ... er, wake. The computer animated family film earned $46.6 million, to bring its total to $144 million after ten days. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.' The Matrix Reloaded opened in Japan with $18.7 million, including sneaks -- Japan's biggest movie opening in history. The film also crossed the $300-million mark worldwide.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. 2 Fast 2 Furious, Universal, $50,472,480, (New); 2. Finding Nemo, Disney, $46,589,649, 2 Wks. ($144,043,789); 3. Bruce Almighty, Universal, $22,358,715, 3 Wks. ($171,435,525); 4. The Italian Job, Paramount, $13,163,133, 2 Wks. ($40,000,274); 5. The Matrix Reloaded, Warner Bros. $9,186,342, 4 Wks. ($247,778,753); 6. Daddy Day Care, Sony, $4,613,566, 5 Wks. ($88,465,297); 7. X2: X-Men United, 20th Century Fox, $3,006,643, 6 Wks. ($204,263,301); 8. Wrong Turn, 20th Century Fox, $2,654,013, 2 Wks. ($9,741,494); 9. The In-Laws, Warner Bros. $1,978,398, 3 Wks. ($17,896,585); 10. Bend It Like Beckham, Fox Searchlight, $942,320, 13 Wks. ($20,545,640).

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9 June 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The absence of Vin Diesel from Universal's 2 Fast 2 Furious, the sequel to 2001's The Fast and the Furious, turned out to be no deterrent to action-loving fans who spent $52.1 million at the box office to see it over the weekend, demonstrating that they were far more fascinated by cars than stars. The figure was more than $12 above what the original took in two years ago. The result pushed Pixar/Disney's animated Finding Nemo to second place with $45.8 million to bring its total after ten days to $143.3 million. Another Universal hit, Bruce Almighty, fell to third place with $21.7 million. Its total domestic gross has now hit $170.8 million. Overall, the top 12 movies took in $157.1 million, a whopping 52 percent above the same weekend a year ago. The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. 2 Fast 2 Furious, $52.1 million; 2. Finding Nemo, $45.8 million; 3. Bruce Almighty, $21.7 million; 4. The Italian Job, $13.3 million; 5. The Matrix Reloaded, $9.1 million; 6. Daddy Day Care, $4.8 million; 7. X2: X-Men United, $3.05 million; 8. Wrong Turn, $2.65 million; 9. The In-Laws, $2 million; 10. Bend it Like Beckham, $975,000.

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3 June 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Last weekend's astonishing box-office success of the Disney/Pixar animated feature Finding Nemo could prove to be a mixed blessing for Disney, which has been in talks with Pixar about extending its current film agreement, entertainment analysts observed today (Tuesday). The $70.2 million that the film took in in its first weekend could provide Pixar boss Steve Jobs with enough clout to push through his demand for a deal with Disney similar to George Lucas's with 20th Century Fox, under which Lucas pays the studio a flat fee for distributing his movies but keeps all the profits. Under the current arrangement, Pixar pays Disney a distribution fee plus shares revenue with Disney on a 50/50 basis. The two companies also split production costs equally. Some analysts are once again pointing the finger of blame at Michael Eisner for not renegotiating a contract with Pixar far earlier. (In another blow to Eisner, a Delaware court has allowed a shareholders suit to go forward that alleges that Disney was negligent when it hired former president Michael Ovitz and then approved a $138-million golden parachute for him when he was fired 16 months later. The suit charges that Eisner was responsible for the Ovitz fiasco.)

The films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Finding Nemo, Disney/Pixar, $70,251,710, (New); 2. Bruce Almighty, Universal, $37,329,480, 2 Wks. ($137,396,070); 3. The Italian Job, Paramount, $19,457,944, (New); 4. The Matrix Reloaded, Warner Bros. $15,687,241, 3 Wks. ($232,701,046); 5. Daddy Day Care, Sony, $6,744,438, 4 Wks. ($81,901,127); 6. Wrong Turn, 20th Century Fox, $5,161,498, (New); 7. X2: X-Men United, 20th Century Fox, $5,096,942, 5 Wks. ($199,365,036); 8. The In-Laws, Warner Bros. $3,741,063, 2 Wks. ($14,516,309); 9. Down With Love, 20th Century Fox, $1,570,924, 4 Wks. ($17,151,739); 10. The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Disney, $1,171,379, 5 Wks. ($39,324,982).

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2 June 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Families all over the country got into the swim of things over the weekend and found Finding Nemo at the box office, shelling out $70.6 million, the most ever spent on one weekend for an animated feature. ("B.O. is wholly mackerel," headlined Daily Variety.) The performance stunned box office analysts, many of whom had questioned Disney's strategy of releasing the film in the late spring. (All previous Pixar/Disney collaborations had been released over the Thanksgiving Day holiday in November.) Last week's top film, Universal's Bruce Almighty, fell to second place with $35.6 million, a 48-percent drop from its Friday-Sunday take over the Memorial Day weekend. Paramount's remake of The Italian Job came in third with $19.3 million, while The Matrix Reloaded continued its steep slide, dropping to just $15 million two weeks after opening with $91.8 million. Wrong Turn, from 20th Century Fox, which was not screened for critics (see below), opened in seventh place with a weak $5 million. Overall, the top 12 films earned $165.6 million, a remarkable 42-percent hike from the comparable weekend a year ago.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Finding Nemo, $70.6 million; 2. Bruce Almighty, $35.6 million; 3. The Italian Job, $19.3 million; 4. The Matrix Reloaded, $15 million; 5. Daddy Day Care, $6.8 million; 6. X2: X-Men United, $5.02 million; 7. Wrong Turn, $5.01 million; 8. The In-Laws, $3.7 million; 9. Down With Love, $1.6 million; 10. Bend It Like Beckham, $1 million.

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28 May 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Final figures for the four-day Memorial Day holiday indicated that Universal's Bruce Almighty earned $85.7 million, overwhelming the previous week's winner, Warner's The Matrix Reloaded, which took in $45.6 million. In all, moviegoers plunked down $201.8 million at the box office, a Memorial Day record. The total slightly exceeded last year's record of $200.1 million for the holiday.

The top ten films over the Memorial Day holiday, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Bruce Almighty, Universal, $85,734,045, (New); 2 . The Matrix Reloaded, Warner Bros. $45,612,152, 2 Wks. ($209,481,877); 3. Daddy Day Care, Sony, $18,113,333, 3 Wks. ($73,254,194); 4. X2: X-Men United, 20th Century Fox, $13,237,398, 4 Wks. ($192,197,843); 5 . The In-Laws, Warner Bros. $9,222,334, (New); 6. Down With Love, 20th Century Fox, $5,055,054, 3 Wks. ($14,582,029); 7. The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Disney, $4,317,247, 4 Wks. ($37,599,278); 8. Holes, Disney, $3,227,634, 6 Wks. ($60,235,819); 9. Identity, Sony, $2,682,373, 5 Wks. ($49,263,016); 10. Anger Management, Sony, $2,300,346, 7 Wks. ($131,745,970).

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27 May 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Bruce Almighty turned out to be a divine comedy so far as Universal Pictures, its star Jim Carrey, and the theater owners who screened it over the Memorial Day holiday were concerned. The film raked in $86.4 million over the four days, a personal best for Carrey and the second best for any comedy in box-office history (behind Austin Powers in Goldmember). At the same time, ticket sales for The Matrix Reloaded plummeted more than 60 percent as it earned $45.6 million. Commenting on the results, Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian told today's (Tuesday) Wall Street Journal, "We all thought this would be a big weekend, but the question was -- would Bruce Almighty top The Matrix? ... Jim Carrey in a broad comedy like this is pretty much unstoppable." In the face of such competition, Sony's Daddy Day Care continued to perform admirably, garnering $18 million, to wind up in third place. "To be in a marketplace dominated by another comedy and to do that well is very impressive," Dergarabedian said in a separate interview with Bloomberg News. By contrast, Warner's remake of The In-Laws, another comedy, opened in fifth place with just $9.1 million.

The top ten films for the holiday weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Bruce Almighty, $86.4 million; 2. Matrix Reloaded, $45.6 million; 3. Daddy Day Care, $18.0 million; 4. X2: X-Men United, $, $13.1 million; 5. The In-Laws, $9.1 million; 6. Down With Love, $5.1 million; 7. The Lizzie McGuire Movie, $4.0 million; 8. Holes, $3.0 million; 9. Identity, $2.6 million; 10. Anger Management, $2.4 million.

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26 May 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

In a dazzling surprise, the Jim Carrey movie Bruce Almighty jumped to the box-office top position over the weekend before The Matrix Reloaded could reload for a second week. The Universal comedy earned an estimated $70.5 million over the first three days of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, with several analysts forecasting that it would add an additional $15 million or more today (Monday). Meanwhile, The Matrix Reloaded earned just $37.2 million but did manage to bring its total gross past the $200-million mark, terrific by most standards, but disappointing to the film's producers, who had been expecting it to display the same sticking power as last year's Spider-Man in the top spot. Studios did not release three-day estimates for the other films. However, most analysts concluded that the other films would line up like this: 3. Daddy Day Care, $15.1 million; 4. X2: X-Men United: $10.5 million; 5. The In-Laws: $7.4 million; 6. Down with Love, $4.5 million; 7. The Lizzie McGuire Movie; $3.4 million; 8. Holes, $2.4 million; 9. Identity $1.9 million. 10. Anger Management, $1.7 million.

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23 May 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Unfortunately for The In-Laws , it's a remake of a relatively recent (1979) movie that critics remember with fondness. Most of them agree that the original was funnier. As Lou Lumenick writes in the New York Post: "What's cutting-edge comedy for one generation can become generic filler for the next -- that's the lesson to be learned from The In-Laws, a strenuous attempt to recycle a vastly funnier minor classic." Ty Burr in the Boston Globe puts it this way: "Those who know the 1979 film of the same title will recognize this sad little remake for what it is: Insult piled upon injury." Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal raises the appropriate question: "Why was this film perpetrated in the first place? The original was deservedly beloved, and left little or no room for improvement. The answer, of course, is that the original was beloved. These days the studios are terrified of taking chances on untested material, and remakes aren't meant to improve, but only to wring new revenue from old assets." Nevertheless, Glenn Whipp in the Los Angeles Daily News finds the film "funny and quite enjoyable" and concludes that while the writers may not have improved on the original, "they didn't ruin it, either." And Roger Moore in the Denver Post concludes his review on a similar note: "The new In-Laws never captures the cheesy anarchy of the original, something worth shooting for if you remake a comedy classic. But at least its funny enough that we can't call it a sacrilege."

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9 articles from 2003