BOX OFFICE: Fairmount Rules

SEBRING, March 3, 2009 – The Fairmount Cinema 6 continues to dominate the Highlands County movie scene. It has made the right moves to nab the offerings that have most appealed to moviegoers.

The Fairmount hosted four of the top five box office hits the weekend of Feb. 27-March 1, including the champion, Madea Goes To Jail.

Despite a 60 % plus drop, Madea held on to the top spot with a take of $16.5 million, crushing Disney’s hopes for its Jonas Brothers 3D Concert.

Critics panned that concert release, and its take fell well short of Hannah Montana’s similar concert release of a year ago. The Jonas Brothers grabbed $12.7 million to finish second, but some experts expect a quick departure from the Top Ten. The Jonas Brothers is the only top five film not at the Fairmount.

Its Oscar win boosted sales for Slumdog Millionaire by 45 % across North America and gave it a weekend take of $12.15 million to finish third.

Taken continues to be the “sleeper hit” of the new year. Another $10 million weekend pushed Taken past the $100 million mark to a gross-to-date of $107.9 million. It finished fourth this weekend.

And He’s Just Not That Into You finished fifth with a $5.9 million take.

WHEREVER YOU GO, WHATEVER YOU SEE, HAVE A GREAT TIME AT THE MOVIES!!!

BOX OFFICE: Fairmount Grabs Top Spots

SEBRING, February 5, 2009 – Three of the top five grossing movies for the weekend of Jan. 30 – Feb. 1 played at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

Taken, starring Liam Neeson as a deadly CIA agent whose daughter has been kidnapped during a European trip, took top honors with a $24 + million haul. It also sported a solid $7,800 per theater average, tops in the Top Ten. This exciting action film plays at the Fairmount.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop, finished at No. 2 after two weeks at No. 1. It plays at the Regal Eagle Ridge and at the Carmike.

Scare flick The Uninvited hauled in $10,3 million to register as the only other movie in double digits for the Super Bowl weekend. It also plays at the Fairmount.

Hotel for Dogs and Clint Eastwood’s smart, emotional film of atonement, Gran Torino, rounded out the top five. Hotel for Dogs plays at the Regal Eagle Ridge and Gran Torino at the Fairmount.

We give high marks for Gran Torino, a film for which both young and old have left the theater with a favorable impression.

BOX OFFICE: HSM3, Saw 5 Cut Loose!

SEBRING, October 27, 2008 – A souped up TV movie slammed into the Silver Screen and produced gold for Disney, while an imaginative gorefest filled the plates of horror movie fans for Halloween.

The No. 1 film in North America is High School Musical 3, The song and dance spectacular with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens grossed $42 million – almost four times its puny $11 million budget.

It was followed by the film that has made Tobin Bell as household name and a household face, though not always his own. Saw 5 finished No. 2 with a gross of $30.5 million. Budgeted at a mere $10.8 million, Saw 5 is also a smashing success in just its opening weekend.

Both films play in Highlands County at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

Nobody else came close to these two. No other film scored in doube digits. It’s lonely – but wealthy and healthy – at the top.

NATIONAL BOX OFFICE: Prelims Are In

POINT AND SHOOT: Mark Wahlberg takes aim in Max Payne, playing at the Regal Eagle Ridge 12 in Lake Wales.

PHOTO COURTESY OF 20TH CENTURY FOX

SEBRING, October 19, 2008 – It took a guy with an oversized head to displace the dog.

Preliminary estimates are in, and it looks like the supernatural action flick Max Payne will dethrone Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which held the No. 1 spot for two weeks.

Max Payne grossed about $18 million in North America the weekend of Oct. 17-19, which let it cover more than half of its $35 million production costs. It should turn a profit.

Don’t cry for the Chihuahua. She’s alive and barking to the tune of $11.2 million to finish in the No. 2 position.

The Secret Life of Bees finished a strong third in limited release with $11 million.It owned the top per theater average of any film in the Top Ten with $6,945.

The only other film to finish with double digits was W, the George, well, W biopic. We could neither confirm nor disconfirm that theater employees had to work extra during intermission to wipe the egg yolks off the movie screens. W pulled in $10.6 million.

God bless, and see you at the movies!!!

BOX OFFICE: ‘Chihuahua’ Guards Its Spot!

DRIVE BY BARKING: This chihuahua seems to say, “Don’t mess with my No. 1 spot at the box office, or I’ll tinkle on your slippers!” Beverly Hills Chihuahua plays at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WALT DISNEY PICTURES

SEBRING, October 13, 2008 – And you thought a chihuahua was a nervous little dog that could be scared off! Not at the box office.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua jealously, growlingly, held onto its No. 1 spot at the North American box office the weekend of Oct. 10-12, pulling in $17.5 million to fend off all the weekend’s newcomers. In two weeks, the film has grossed almost $53 million, a nice chunk for a release this time of year.

Sci fi/horror thriller Quarantine finished No. 2. It drew out teens and young adults in droves to its creepy, gory story and pulled in $14.2 million.

Spy game film Body of Lies, the Leonardo DiCaprio – Russell Crowe starrer, finished weaker than expected but still came in at No. 3 and pulled in $13.1 million. The story, acting, and point are excellent. We may not like Russell Crowe as a person, but he is the perfect chauvinistic manipulator in this film.

The other thought-provoking thriller, Eagle Eye, continues to do well. It finished at No. 4 with $11 million, dropping only 37% from week 2 or release to week 3.

All those films play locally at the Fairmount Cinema 6. No other film posted double digits.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist finished fifth with $6.5 million. Its per theater average was low, however. It plays at the Regal Eagle Ridge and the Carmike.

The excellent Christian film Fireproof continues to do well. It fell out of the top 10 to No. 11, grossing $3.2 million. Keep in mind, however, that it is only playing in 875 theaters nationwide. Its per theater average this past weekend was $3,645 – better than any film in the Top Ten except the top three and double that of Nights in Rodanthe, with Richard Gere and Diane Lane, which is playing at 2,575 theaters!

The other Christian film, Billy: the Early Years, the biopic of Billy Graham, did poorly. That may reflect Christians’ distrust of and disgustedness with Hollywood. Unlike Fireproof, Billy was not made by an independent, Christian company.

God bless, and see you at the movies!!!

NATIONAL BOX OFFICE: ‘Dark Knight’ No Joke to Reach $500m

SEBRING, August 11, 2008 – Make it official. The Dark Knight rules the roost for the fourth week in a row.

The Dark Knight earned $26 million at the box office the weekend of Aug. 8-10 to remain at No. 1. As importantly, national trackers now say what Sebring Cinema and Sports has said: The Dark Knight will likely cross the $500 million domestic mark but will fall short of Titanic’s $600 million record.

Still, The Dark Knight’s feat is, well, titanic. Its gross-to-date is $441.5 million, third in history behind Titanic and the original Star Wars.

Finishing at No. 2 was the comedy Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen and James Franco. It earned $22.4 million. The latest Mummy sequel fell 60% but managed to finish third at the box office with a $16 million take. It’s a terrible movie.

The only other film to score in double digits at the box office was No. 4, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. It earned $10.7 million.

In order, the box office finishers were: Step Brothers, Mamma Mia!, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, Hancock, Swing Vote, and Wall-E.

Of note is that Mamma Mia! crossed the century mark in millions, Hancock has surpassed $221 million, and Wall-E is sitting at over $210 million.

NATIONAL BOX OFFICE: ‘Hulk’ Is A Monster

SEBRING, June 16, 2008 – Father’s Day weekend was clobberin’ time, not for the Thing, but for The Incredible Hulk, which took the top spot for June 13-15 with a $55.4 million gross.

Kung Fu Panda dropped just over 40 percent, by film standards, not much of a decline, and earned $33.6 million and the No. 2 box office spot. It was the champ last week.

M. Night Shyamalan isn’t finished – yet. The idiosyncratic writer/director/producer’s The Happening grossed $30.5 million to claim the No. 3 spot in the mix. Fox only has to overcome a relatively modest $50 million budget plus promotional costs, something The Happening should be able to accomplish between its North American and worldwide release.

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan dropped a hefty 57.5% to earn $16.3 million. Adam Sandler may have a tough time getting his racy comedy to earn back its estimated $90 million plus budget.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull collected a healthy $14 million plus this past weekend to finish No. 5. Not only that, but at a total gross of $276.5 million, it is the third best earning Steven Spielberg film behind E.T. and Jurassic Park.

Rounding out the Top Ten in order were: Sex and the City (cumulative gross of $119.5 million), Iron Man (c.g. of $297.9 million), The Strangers, The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian (c.g. of $131 million), and What Happens in Vegas, which has earned about three times what it cost to make, a tidy profit.

In Sebring, The Hulk, Kung Fu Panda, and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan play at the Fairmount Cinema 6. Indy, Narnia, Sex and the City, The Happening, and The Stranger play at the Carmike Cinema 8 at the Lakeshore Mall. For movie showtimes, please go to the links on the RIGHT SIDEBAR.