Frankenweenie

‘Taken’ Sequel Banks $50 Million Opening Weekend

By Jeff Rosz | October 7th, 2012

The studio numbers have just been released for the weekend, and they verify what we have seen going into today. Taken 2 flat out dominated the box office since Friday with a stunning $50 million debut which qualifies the pic as one of the biggest openings ever in the month of October on par with that for Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) and Jack-Ass 3D (2010.)

A story might be held elsewhere though in this is by far and away Liam Neeson’s best debut ever in regards to films that he has led. The veteran action star has never even backed an effort beyond $30 million in its first three days, so this is a fairly big deal. Going into the weekend, numerous reports surfaced sourcing director Olivier Megaton and the movie’s star that this was the end of the Taken series, but this is the type of success that might have Europa and Fox backing up a Brinks trunk on Liam Neeson’s lawn to ensure a third outing. Continue Reading

Box Office: ‘Taken 2′ Crushes Competition with Near-$20 Million Friday, $45+ Million Weekend

By Jeff Rosz | October 6th, 2012

The lesson in the weekend’s box office report is that critics are not everything. In proof of one of the biggest gaps between audience response and what reviewers had to say in the action genre since Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Taken 2 is absolutely dominating the first weekend of October. What we are seeing is an $18.6 million Friday leading to a near-$50 million weekend. Early numbers late last night said $40 million and even that was adjusted up which gave us the feeling the Liam Neeson fans were content with the latest Taken movie. Verification came eventually in the CinemaScore which came in at a B+.

The fall has been really dry so far at the box office with exception to last weekend’s successes seen with Looper and Hotel Transylvania, so this is certainly positive. Hollywood is getting the sense that the hangover spell from after the Aurora Massacre has subsided and audiences are returning to normal levels. Ultimately, I do not buy into this notion of Taken 2 being just one hell of a movie–so powerful that Neeson kick started an entire industry. Let’s not forget that the studios pretty much ignored the mass-market PG-13 sector for a solid month. Three words: Pent up demand. Continue Reading

New ‘Frankenweenie’ Trailer Pays Homage to Genre Roots

By Jeff Rosz | July 12th, 2012

If you miss those classic horror film promos of yesteryear, look no further than the latest trailer for Tim Burton Frankenweenie. Basically, the newest spot for the animated feature about a boy bringing his dog back to life is a throwback to the good old days of corny marketing. It is pretty Pixar-like actually. The film hits theaters nationwide on October 5. Continue Reading

HGTV to Build Electrifying Garden at Comic-Con to Promote Disney’s ‘Frankenweenie’

By Jeff Rosz | July 10th, 2012

Chalk this up to good marketing gimmicks, but Disney definitely has my attention with their partnership with HGTV on Frankenweenie at Comic-Con. Continue Reading

Full-On Trailer Hits for Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie”

By Jeff Rosz | June 26th, 2012

Tim Burton has another one of his uniquely animated features due out this October, and today audiences received their first look at a full-length trailer for Frankenweenie–a movie about a reanimated dog named Sparky. Continue Reading

Teaser Trailer for Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie”

By Jeff Rosz | March 1st, 2012

Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie will not come out until October, but the media blast for the director’s new animated feature has already begun via the following teaser trailer. The vocal cast consists of Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short among others.