The overall box office weekend was nothing to brag about, with titles falling in the top 10 having the second worst weekend of the year. The overall top 10 only took in just over $65.36 million of which the top two titles, Resident Evil: Retribution (3-D) and Finding Nemo (3-D) accounted for $38.6 million, meaning the bottom 8 only accounted for about $26.76 million - ouch. Though not in the top ten, but with far fewer theaters compared to their studio brethren, the real story goes to The Master, which set a per-screen average record of over $145K in its roll out. And Arbitrage placed in the top 12 with a $10,506 average in just under 200 theaters.
more »
It's a big week for the filmmaking Paul Andersons. Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master opened in a handful of cinemas in New York and Los Angeles, and Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil: Retribution in theaters everywhere (in 3D and otherwise). While The Master offers up a immersive, abstract look at an unstable man being courted by the head of a cult-like movement, Resident Evil: Retribution in its own way also departs from the usual narrative confines of moviemaking. It's the closest thing you'll find yet to a recreation of a video game sensibility on the big screen — which is in line with the franchise's source material — and makes for a memorably unsettling if not particularly satisfying viewing experience. more »
As Paul Thomas Anderson painstakingly rolls out his latest labor of love, The Master — next stop, New York City, with a 70-mm screening at Manhattan's Ziegfeld Theater on Tuesday night — another Paul Anderson with different middle initials — W.S. — is preparing to infect the worldwide box office like a zombie virus on Friday with Resident Evil: Retribution. It's the latest chapter in the movie franchise based on the blockbuster game franchise, which will also spawn a new installment, Resident Evil 6 on Oct. 6.
Guess which film will fare better critically? more »
Deep thought of the day: They say if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. But if an undead creature rides motorbikes and shoots guns, is it still a zombie? If you're Paul W.S. Anderson pulling together Resident Evil 5, the latest in your megahit zombie franchise, the answer seems to be yes.
more »
