FALL FILMS MAY BE STRONG AUTUMN FLICKS COME IN WAKE OF WEAK SUMMER BOX OFFICE.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer In the months before Hollywood begins to unleash its year-end blockbusters, studios and theater owners are hoping for some fall season breakout hits to try to gain a little bit of lost box office ground. In September and October, suspense SUSPENSE. When a rent, profit a prendre, and the like, are, in consequence of the unity of possession of the rent, &c., of the land out of which they issue, not in esse for a time, they are said to be in suspense, tunc dormiunt, but they may be revived or awakened. Co, Litt. 313 a. thrillers, horror films horror film n → película de terror or miedo horror film horror n → film m d'épouvante horror film horror n and romantic comedies will dominate at the megaplex, replacing the ambitious mid- and late-summer fare that mostly left moviegoers cold. Three films will kick off the fall season today: the horror flick ``The Exorcism exorcism (ĕk`sôrsĭz'əm), ritual act of driving out evil demons or spirits from places, persons, or things in which they are thought to dwell. It occurs both in primitive societies and in the religions of sophisticated cultures. of Emily Rose,'' the Samuel L. Jackson-Eugene Levy comedy ``The Man,'' and the drama ``An Unfinished Life'' starring Robert Redford Noun 1. Robert Redford - United States actor and filmmaker who starred with Paul Newman in several films (born in 1936) Charles Robert Redford, Redford , Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lopez. The goal of the industry each weekend moving forward is to try to exceed ticket sales from the previous year, something it was able to do on only four weekends out of 16 during the summer season. This led to widespread debates over whether to attribute the slump to the quality of movies or on a shift in overall moviegoing habits. ``We are fairly confident that the product is the primary factor in the slump,'' said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners. ``The rest of this calendar year looks particularly strong compared to last year, but we won't know until people start buying tickets.'' Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com, said the successful Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. weekend opening of ``Transporter 2,'' the strong bow of the drama ``The Constant Gardner'' and the continued popularity of the comedy ``The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' are an indication of the audiences' appetite right now. ``People are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. new and different stories, not remakes and sequels,'' Pandya said. Two of the September releases thought to have the most commercial potential include the romantic comedy ``Just Like Heaven'' starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (born November 22, 1967) is an American actor. Biography Early life Ruffalo was born in the industrial town of Kenosha, Wisconsin, the son of second-generation Italian American parents Marie Rose, a hairdresser and stylist, and Frank Lawrence and ``Flightplan'' starring Jodie Foster Alicia Christian Foster (born November 19 1962), better known as Jodie Foster, is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. She has also won two Golden Globes, 3 BAFTA awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award, making her one of the few select . ``Heaven'' hits theaters Sept. 16 and could attract the date crowd in big numbers, especially after the box office performance of Witherspoon's last romantic comedy, ``Sweet Home Alabama Sweet Home Alabama (song) ,'' which still holds the record for the biggest September opening with a bow of $35.6 million three years ago. Then a week later, Foster returns to the big screen after a long absence in the action-thriller ``Flightplan.'' Foster's biggest commercial hits have been thrillers, including 2002's ``Panic Room'' and the Oscar-winning ``The Silence of the Lambs.'' ``These are very mainstream, broad-appealing star vehicles and both stars are in the genres people like them in,'' Pandya said. ``Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'' opens in limited release Sept. 16 then goes wide a week later. Given the success of ``Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas,'' ``Bride'' is expected to also have a chance at making an impact at the box office. ``The Labor Day weekend performance does give us some encouragement that perhaps with the strength of the fall films, we can get the momentum back and try and forget the woes of the summer,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. ``September can provide an opportunity for some films to do really well.'' In addition to Witherspoon and Foster, there will also be star power from Dwayne ``The Rock'' Johnson, who headlines ``Doom,'' which bows Oct. 21. Pandya said ``Doom'' should have something of a built-in audience since it is an action film based on a popular video game. Meanwhile, DreamWorks will be looking to duplicate the box office success of last fall's hit ``Shark Tale'' with another October animated release: ``Wallace and Gromit: Tale of the Were Rabbit'' (Oct. 7). Nicolas Cage, coming off the smash ``National Treasure,'' has two films on tap starting with the Sept. 16 release of the action-thriller ``Lord of War'' and the dramatic comedy ``The Weatherman'' (Oct. 28). Other fall headlines include Steve Martin Noun 1. Steve Martin - United States actor and comedian (born in 1945) Martin (``Shop Girl''), Gwyneth Paltrow (``Proof''), Cameron Diaz (``In Her Shoes''), Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom[1] (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He had his break-through role in the early 2000s as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings[2] and blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Kirsten Dunst Kirsten[1] Caroline Dunst (born April 30, 1982) is an American actress, known for her roles in (for which she received a Golden Globe nomination), The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and Bring It On (``Elizabethtown''), and Matthew McConaughey (``Two For the Money''). Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Reese Witherspoon stars in ``Just Like Heaven,'' to be released in September. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion