Sense of Wonder: Avatar a box office dud?

It has been interesting to view some of the reactions to the box office returns of the special edition of AVATAR, which is currently playing in 812 3D venues across the country. Re-releases seldom pose a real threat to new films in the marketplace, and true to form AVATAR did not destroy the competition, leading …

Genre Films Rule Summer B.O.

Not too surprisingly, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror films were  the biggest grossing Summer box office films this weekend. Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION hit bigger than expected, with a $60.4 million debut. Let’s see if the challenging SF film has legs. Universal’s winning animated SF-inspired comedy DESPICABLE ME took in another $32.7 million, bringing it’s total to …

Krueger Slashes Box Office

Once again the horror genre proves itself to be critic-proof as Samuel Bayer’s remake of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is sitting atop the weekend box office with a respectable $32.2 million. The film currently holds a ‘rotten’ 15% rating at Rotten Tomatoes but that didn’t stop it from storming the box office and fending …

Clash of the Box Office

CLASH OF THE TITANS, despite an overall mixed reception from critics, has managed to knock kids’ animated fantasy film HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON off of the top spot at the box office over the weekend. The new sword and sandal epic that we recently reviewed has grossed $61.4 million so far (slightly under analysis’ …

Alice beats Repo Men at box office

A fantasy film continues to rule the box office, with Tim Burton’s remake of ALICE IN WONDERLAND toping the chart yet again this weekend. Meanwhile, the science fiction film REPO MEN opened without much heart (or liver or kidneys). ALICE took in $34.5-million, raising its worldwide total to $565.8-million. REPO bowed with a meager $6.2-million.

Alice's Wonderful Box Office

It was a great weekend for horror, fantasy, and science fiction, as ALICE IN WONDERLAND scored an easy victory at the box office this weekend, earning more than the rest of the Top Ten releases combined. The fantasy film, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, sold over $116-million in tickets while playing in …

Sense of Wonder: 2009's Biggest Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Blockbusters

The genre delivered big bang at the box office, blowing most of the competition off the screen. It’s the end of the year. Time to look back and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the last twelve months worth cinefantastique. Before getting into the artistic side of the equation (a thornier problem that requires some …

Paranormal box office overseas

The sleeper hit PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, which earned over $100-million in U.S. theatres, is repeating its success in foreign territories, earning $19.4-million last weekend and raising its overseas total to $34-million. That put the ultra-low-budget horror film in third place behind NEW MOON and  2012, and just ahead of Disney’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL. NEW MOON GROSSED $40.7 …