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2 articles from 2005

29 August 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The Brothers Grimm attempted to enter Virgin territory at the top of the box office over the weekend but had to settle for second place. The Terry Gilliam-directed fairy-tale comedy starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger took in an estimated $15.1 million in its debut -- not enough to out-score The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which remained on top for a second week with about $16.4 million. (Today's (Monday) Wall Street Journal described The Brothers Grimm as "the latest under-performer in a series of castaways" that Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein are releasing before they officially depart the company tomorrow (Tuesday). Miramax is also planning to release another six films made under the Weinsteins' aegis over the next four weeks, a schedule the Journal likened to a "wholesale liquidation sale.") The horror flick The Cave opened with $6.2 million, while the Ashlee Simpson/Pell James/Steven Strait romantic comedy Undiscovered lived up to its name, earning just $690,000 in its debut. Penguin watchers continued to boost the total box office of the documentary March of the Penguins, which remained strong in its tenth week with $4.6 million, an amount few documentaries have scored during their entire release. The film has now grossed $55.7 million.The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. The 40-Year-Old Virgin, $16.4 million; 2. The Brothers Grimm, $15.1 million; 3. Red Eye, $10.4 million; 4. Four Brothers, $7.8 million; 5. Wedding Crashers, $6.25 million; 6. The Cave, $6.2 million; 7. March of the Penguins, $4.6 million; 8. The Skeleton Key, $4.4 million; 9. Valiant, $3.35 million; 10. The Dukes of Hazzard, $3.05 million.

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26 August 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The reviews aren't any better for the third feature opening this week, Undiscovered, starring Pell James, Steven Strait, and Ashlee Simpson. In fact, they're worse. Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post calls it "the dumbest movie of 2005." Jan Stuart's take on it in Newsday is even harsher: "Rancid movies, like celebrity deaths, tend to come in threes. We can breathe easy. The terrible burden of suspense that we have had to bear since the openings of The Dukes of Hazzard and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo has finally been lifted with the drop of the third, poo-smeared shoe." Harsher yet is Peter Howell's review in the Toronto Star, which concludes: "When Hollywood suits conduct their autopsy on what went wrong at the box office this summer, they may wish to exhume the corpse of Undiscovered for a closer inspection. If they can stand the stench."

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2 articles from 2005